I don’t have Varsity sports…

[USAFA_nominee#1]

I’d appreciate it if you’d read through my full post and let me know what I can do to keep my chances high.

As the title says, I don’t have any varsity sports. I ran 1 year of varsity cross country (I was the team chaplain) my sophomore year and transferred to a selective academics-centered high school program for only juniors and seniors that does not have varsity sports.

Otherwise, I think my application is okay regarding the academic and leadership side:

1. 3x published research papers. 1 co-authored by college professor, 2 grant-funded. Was a university research assistant and Senior Fellow for a pretty selective research organization. Chief of staff for this research organization meaning I oversaw all associates and managed research projects as well as general business management.
2. University (vague for obvious reasons—it’s my local university. I’m the only high school kid on the team) rocketry team (business/procurement sub team), funded by NASA and under AIAA.
3. STEM Club President, former VP, went to VEX competitions on state level and had some fun projects.
4. Founder, President of Mock Trial. Regional Champions and went to State.
5. Student Council Vice President, former Junior Representative. Raised $20K from fundraisers to support the school clubs. Planned a STEM summer camp.
6.Vice Chairman of state political party’s official high school auxiliary. Founded regional chapter, became regional director. Founded 3 county chapters and 12 school chapters across my region.
7. Coding coach (paid, this is my job).
8. Director of production and intern at my church.
9. Ultramarathon runner. Ran 6 ultramarathons since 10th grade, improved time each time. Nationally ranked top 50. Trained in local run clubs and nonprofit running organizations. 1 year varsity cross country chaplain
10. NASA High School Aerospace Scholars

I’d like to focus on #9 in my extracurricular list. I am an ultramarathon (50K and 50 miler) runner, nationally ranked, and I run in nonprofit groups and run clubs twice a week. I am still athletic. Additionally, I’ve run through the PFT test and I pass with flying colors and I’m dang close to a perfect score (funny enough, it’s my mile time holding me back). I show team leadership in other activities since varsity sports aren’t an option for me (mock trial Pres, university rocketry team, etc).

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[MidCakePa]

About 10% of every class lacks varsity sports in high school. So there's that. You clearly are fit -- at least the endurance part. Suggest you pre-test yourself on the actual CFA, because it's different from the PFT. You may find room for improvement.

The SAs value varsity sports for more than just presumed fitness. Sports, particularly in teams, are a breeding ground for leadership, teamwork, resilience, persistence, discipline, grit, teachability and time management. So the onus is on you to show you've developed those attributes via other experiences. If you can do that, then you should be a viable candidate.

 

[USAFA_nominee#1]

About 10% of every class lacks varsity sports in high school. So there's that. You clearly are fit -- at least the endurance part. Suggest you pre-test yourself on the actual CFA, because it's different from the PFT. You may find room for improvement.

The SAs value varsity sports for more than just presumed fitness. Sports, particularly in teams, are a breeding ground for leadership, teamwork, resilience, persistence, discipline, grit, teachability and time management. So the onus is on you to show you've developed those attributes via other experiences. If you can do that, then you should be a viable candidate.

Thank you. I’ll definitely work on the CFA. I am worried about the lack of varsity sports because of that teamwork and “coachability” aspect. Coachability is a word I heard a lot from mentors of mine regarding service academies and I hope that my relationship with local coaches/running groups, attorney coaches for mock trial, and engineering team coaches for my rocketry team will demonstrate my teamwork and teachability. That’s my main worry is that the service academies won’t see those as an adequate replacement of the skills that varsity sports teaches.

 

[A1Janitor]

That’s my main worry is that the service academies won’t see those as an adequate replacement of the skills that varsity sports teaches.

Stop worrying about things you can’t control. Develop your application. They will review your file properly.

 

[emeraldheron]

If you run ultra marathons at a nationally ranked level, you have something that makes you stand out in a good way athletically. You also have something which shows you have plenty of grit, perseverance, discipline, resilience, etc. You can't do ultras (let alone succeed) without those qualities.

Do you have a crew who helps you during races? If you do, think about the instructions you give, how you organize and direct them, etc. When you're not racing, do you volunteer at races? Do any organizing? Help other, less experienced runners by acting as a pacer where permitted by the rules? Etc. You'll need to highlight these for those not familiar with the sport, but there are many possible ways you can demonstrate leadership and being good at taking direction within ultra running.

 

[foxtail0520]

While no one can say how your application will turn out, I think you're a pretty strong applicant.

I had ZERO varsity letter under my belt as an applicant let alone team captain or vice-captain positions. I did 3 years of JV XC and a year of JV baseball. I did do well academically with fair test scores (32 ACT, superscored) but lacked some impactful extracurriculars that you have. I founded a small investment club which honestly didn't really do much and got into NHS but that was it. My CFA wasn't that great either because I was overconfident with my fitness levels and didn't practice much. Your application already looks stronger than mine.

Despite my lacking application "stats", I am currently ranked top 11% athletically and 20% academically at USAFA. I really don't think your stats as an applicant matters that much once you get appointed.

Also just a sidenote, I have a friend from high school (same congressional district) who applied to USAFA a year before I did (for c/o 24). He had a much stronger application than mine as he did better academically while serving as a team captain for Varsity XC and various other clubs/extracurriculars. To everyone's surprise, he didn't even get a nomination to USAFA which meant an automatic rejection.

I still don't get what happens behind the scenes for admissions. I highly suspect there are so many more factors than just your performance when it comes to SA/nomination applications.