How good are my chances?

C

cdlynch2013

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
8
I have already turned in all of the information i can so far for the class of 2013. My cradentials are listed below in the areas that the academies had laid out on what they look for.

Academics:
GPA: 3.7 (on a 6 point scale), 4.2 (on a 10 point scale)
classes: 5 years of math classes, 4 years of science, 5 years of language, 4 years of english, 4 years of history
SAT overall: 1660
ACT overall: 28 (got in the 95th percentile in the math section)
my school was rated in the top ten in the state of Virginia and in the top 50 overall in the US. my school system is known to be one of the hardest in the country (Fairfax County Public Schools)
I am currently at the VA governors school for math, science, and technology (140 people out of the entire state of Virginia)
National Honor Society (also in 4 other honor societies)

Leadership:
Scouting - Eagle Scout with 6 palms, OA Vigil Honor, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, OA District Community Service Chairman (in charge of coordinating community service projects for around 1,000 people in around 20 scouting troops)
Virginia Boys State - 800 people from VA

Athletics:
Varsity indoor track (2 years) lettered both years
power lifting (2 years) - 4th place in my weight class in my district
the physical assessment what I got when i had my parents proctor it to test myself (I have not officially taken it yet)

bb throw: 70 + feet
pushups: 80
situps: 95
pullups: 5
mile run: 7:30
sprints: 8 seconds


I need an honest assessment on what my chances of being accepted to West Point are. I am trying to get a letter of acceptance later this year, and am wondering if my cradentials are good enough to get one.

Thank you for your time
 
also, my father is an Air Force Academy graduate (I do not know if this helps in any way, but he did not retire and i can not get the presidential nomination)

to add to leadership, my job is doing yard work and taking care of other peoples pets. I was responsible whenever one of my neighbors went on a trip (which was about every month) to take care of their two cats, one of which had to get inseline shots.
 
Your grading system (6 and 10 pt??) confuses me...but your grades are good if I compare to what I am used to seeing. Your SAT is weak; however your ACT is good. The fact that you are at the MST school is a plus. Eagle with 6 palms is great. You are in a VERY VERY competitive area for a nom. That will probably be the trickiest piece of the puzzle for you. HOWEVER...you will never know unless you try. Apply early, and keep taking the SAT. If you are a great athlete, contact the coaches....that might help get you in. Good luck!
 
academics looks good.

take the SAT again if you can. a couple points higher on the ACT wouldn't hurt.

work on your mile time and pullups. good luck.
 
...

and just so you know, the avg. score for mile is 6:43, and pullups is 13.

if you have any questions about how to improve distance running, feel free to ask me, I run cross country and know a little about that.
 
Definitely take the SAT and ACT again. While you are required to take the writing portion of both tests - USMA will only count CR and Math for the SAT and English, Reading and Math for the ACT.

Apply, you might get in, you might not. Apply for an Army ROTC scholarship as well and have a Plan B.
Apply to both senators and your US Representative for a nomination. Your chances of an appointment are going to be dependent on whether or not you get a nomination and we have no way of knowing what the competition is like in your district this year.

Go for it - you have nothing to lose.
 
Your grading system is very different than my son's school so I don't know what to say about that but what is your class rank? You seem to do better on ACT than SAT so you should definitely take ACT again.
 
Acceptance chances??

Mr. Lynch, your record thus far seems very positive. While somewhat confused by your GPA, I do know that Governor's School is for top-tier, college-bound students. If you continue to do well academically, and pick-up some more points on both the ACT and SATs, your chances look quite good. Not knowing where exactly you are in Virginia, it is a little hard to say just how good. If you are in the Northern part of the state near DC, it is hugely competitive and you have to be very good to make the cut. Tidewater is similarly competitive. The other Congressional districts are less so.

I take it, though, that you were not invited to SLS. This is not anything bad at all, but does put some of those kids on a faster track. In any event, complete your application file (including teacher recommendations, submission of transcript, etc.), medical exam and CFA ASAP. If all stacks up well against the applications (each is reviewed and acted on by the Admissions Committee as soon as it is completed), and you demonstrate an ability to handle the academic load and pressures, have leadership potential and physical abilitities, you may receive an LOA. If you don't, it isn't the end of the world. It just means you have a place in the queue somewhere and likely won't know whether you will be offered an appointment until sometime in 2009.
 
For those as slow as me:
I think I figured out what a 6 and 10 pt scale is:

6 pt: This is a crazy insanely hard scale!
A=94-100
B=93-88
C=87-82
D=82-78
F=<77

10 pt is the traditional 90-100 is an A, etc...
 
Whew, is this typical?

Most schools in our area use a scale that uses more of a bell curve distribution than the previously described 6 point scale:

93-100 A
85-92 B
75-84 C
74-70 D
69 and below F

Our AP classes are on the 90-100 spread, but are not weighted into the GPA because our school no longer names a valedictorian or ranks students numerically. As of this year, Honors courses are another scale in between the regular courses and the AP (of course that did not help my son any as they did not go back and change the grades for the Honors courses previously taken that were graded with the regular standards!).

Apparently this is why the ACT and SAT scores are looked at closely by admissions: the grading comparisons between schools are really difficult to compare! Thanks mom3boys for figuring this one out!
 
my grading scale is as follows:

94 - 100 A (4.0)
90 - 93 B+ (3.5)
84 - 89 B (3.0)
it continues on in the same pattern down from there.

I do live in northern virginia, but am lucky to live in a congressional district where they get the most people out of any district in the US to the academies. Last year, 20 applied for west point from my district, and 15 got in. since there is a lot of military in my area, most of the people applying are from military families and get presidential nominations. my father did not retire, so i can not get this.
 
also, I have some connections that will help. I am really close with my liason officer who reports directly to my congressman, as well as my father being good friends wiht my congrassman's attorney. I also have connections to the addmissions office as well as the Commandant of Cadets at West Point. I do not want to have to count on the connections getting me in, but actually be qualified in all areas that i have control over.
 
oh, and my class rank is around 20 out of around 800 students in my class. (top 5%). For the ACT test without the science, it was around a 32. I did the worst on the science part since I was not adiquately prepaired for that section. I am taking the SATs again in October, and I have been preparing for them. The first time, I took it without studying for it.
 
If you are so confidant that your "connections" can get you in, don't worry about your SAT scores or your GPA or your class rank. Use Daddy's connections to the Congressman and your "closeness" to the ALO as your "ace-in-the-hole" to ensure an appointment. :rolleyes:

However, if you are not so confidant in your ability to bypass the normal steps to admission, and want to get an appointment on your own accomplishments, then keep studying, re-take the SAT/ACT until you are satisfied you cannot do any better, work on your physical fitness, and stay healthy. :thumb:
 
Hmmm...could be you are assuming too much. You do know what happens when you ASSUME??

:rofl:
 
Word of caution: Do NOT let it be none to anyone who you are and what you posted on this forum. If you do get an appointment and it does become known to the Cadre that you have boasted about having connections (whether you used them or not to get in), they WILL provide you with more "attention" than you know what to do with.

Suggestion: Do what everybody else does - go through the process and rely on YOUR credentials to get in. It'll mean a whole lot more to you than having "to pull strings."
 
Maybe now is a good time to change your screen name, since it looks like it contains your last name....

There was a young man who posted on all the boards last year...bragged a lot about how everyone wanted him, had tons of appointments, etc...as it turns out, he lived in my congressional district. As I recall, he did not report anywhere for inprocessing this year.

"Pride comes before the fall." paraphrased from Prov. 16:18 :rolleyes:
 
maybe I did not make it clear in one of my previous posts, but I believe i mentioned taht I wanted to be able to get in on my own acomplishments and not have to rely on any connections. I know about 5 people who are cadets at West Point adn they have already promissed to give me hell if I make it in, so I'm not too worried about that.
 
"I do not want to have to count on the connections getting me in, but actually be qualified in all areas that i have control over." - exact quote form one of my previous posts. I actually got a letter of acceptance just a day ago, so...
 
I am sure you mean Letter of Assurance. ???
If so then Congratulations - your worries are over. Good Luck on your Dodmerb exam and make sure you apply for the VP nomination in case your congressman falls through.

Don't worry about "connections" or lack thereof. They may open the door but only YOU can walk through the door.
Since you know so many people at or affiliated with West Point - do not allow their influence to sway you and your decision to attend. You are a bright kid who can get accepted to a number of very fine universities. Make sure you go to West Point for yourself and only yourself.
 
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