I want to go to a service academy but need advice.

A

anricha1

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Joined
Jan 25, 2024
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7
Hello,
I am a junior in high school at a very good school in the first congressional district of Massachusetts. I have been wanting to go to USAFA since I was a kid. I want to serve my country and do my part. My mother is a USAFA alumni, so I have been going to USAFA football games and reunions since I was little. This has given me many chances to see the dorms, eat at Arnold Hall, and meet cadets and USAFA staff. I am interested in both USAFA and USMA. I applied to the USAFA summer seminar and will apply to USMA SLE. I want to know what I can do to make my application better, and any advice anyone has would be extremely helpful.

Currently, my stats are:

SAT: 1300

(My junior year is Semester 1, including midterms)
Junior GPA: 4.6
AP Physics: A
Honors Precalculus: A
AP US History: A-
Honors English: A-
Spanish IV: A+

Sophomore GPA: 4.3
English: A-
Spanish: A
geometry: A+
Honor Algebra II: B
Chemistry H: A
Honors Modern World History: A

Freshman GPA: 4.0
Honor Bio: B
Honors Algebra I: B
Honors United States History: A-
English I: B+
Spanish I: A-


Extracurriculars

- State-level representative from Western Mass for the State Student Advisory Committee under the MA Dept of Education. Also, the workgroup leader for the state-wide health and wellness workgroup under SSAC. I have the option to run for president next year, which I would probably win, which would make me a full-voting member of the Massachusetts School Board.
-President of Model UN (thirty members)
-Member of the Math team
-Boy Scouts (Life rank, working on eagle)
-National Honors Society

Extras
-I worked for the Northwest Youth Corps, contracted out to the Forest Service on a camping trail crew all summer, where I worked in a tight crew of eight on conservation projects and received an educational stipend to pay for my EMT course in return. Got hundreds of hours of volunteer conservation. I also gained some great essay material and leadership skills.
-I have my EMT license and an internship set up with my fire dept for my senior year to act as a volunteer EMT in my town. This will be every day for 4 hours and is a recognized internship by my school.

Athletics
Swim: High school team freshman and sophomore, club team junior year.
Track: Freshman and Jr.
Boxing: My main sport, two and a half hours every day. I am on a boxing team modeled after the West Points Team, and the head coach has a connection to West Point Boxing. Because of this, I have met and talked to the West Point Boxing coaches a few times because they know I am interested in a service academy. I have also gotten to talk to West Point cadets and gotten some advice from them. I am being made Varsity and a "captain" in my senior year.

My current athletic schedule is 2:30-4:15 track, 4:30- 7 Boxing, and 7:15- 8:15 swim. Every day, with track meets and Swim meets every weekend.

CFA (We take a PT test every month for boxing, so these are the parts that align with the CFA)
Pushups: 61
Situps: 93
Mile: 5:41
Hight: 6'1
Weight: 160
 
(FYI I don't have any special information or connection to admissions, so take my advice with a grain of salt)

Your resume looks great so far! It sounds like you will pass the CFA and you have a fair amount of leadership experience. Definitely become an Eagle Scout. That it is an attention-grabber for any application. I also know from my friend (who's an eagle scout) that it can open up different opportunities, such as internships with your local government. It sounds like you're doing a ton of athletics. I'll just warn you that you don't want athletics to get in the way of academics/other extracurriculars. I did two sports in high school and it made things hard. I can't imagine doing three along with boy scouts, model UN, and everything else you mentioned. I'm not trying to push you away from sports (you absolutely want to be doing at least one) but I'm just saying if there comes a point where you don't have enough time to balance school, sports, and extracurriculars, I think it's better to drop one sport than get a bad grade or miss out on a unique internship.

I have been told that Massachusetts is a competitive state, particularly academically speaking. I think that's the only area that you could really work on. Your current SAT score is good but it could be better. Definitely study hard for the SAT and retake it (USAFA superscores btw). Try to get 1400+. You could also try the ACT. Keep up the good grades. Do you know if your school ranks? If it does then try to be in the top 10% of your class.

You sound like an awesome applicant. Best of luck!
 
anricha1 said:
SAT: 1300
Click to expand...
This is your most obvious weakness. Put the work in to bring the score up. Study for this or the ACT if you discover you can score higher more easily. A score of 1400 or better could dramatically change your likelihood of 1 or more appointments (as compared to a score of 1300). You should treat this as if it is as important or more important than any other item on your resume (as provided). Good luck!
 
dddad said:
This is your most obvious weakness. Put the work in to bring the score up. Study for this or the ACT if you discover you can score higher more easily. A score of 1400 or better could dramatically change your likelihood of 1 or more appointments (as compared to a score of 1300). You should treat this as if it is as important or more important than any other item on your resume (as provided). Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thank you. I should have said this in my main post, but I am retaking the sat in March. My plan is to keep studying and keep re-taking until I get a 1450+. I think 1300 is good for my first time taking the SAT, but it definitely needs improvement.
 
bananafish said:
(FYI I don't have any special information or connection to admissions, so take my advice with a grain of salt)

Your resume looks great so far! It sounds like you will pass the CFA and you have a fair amount of leadership experience. Definitely become an Eagle Scout. That it is an attention-grabber for any application. I also know from my friend (who's an eagle scout) that it can open up different opportunities, such as internships with your local government. It sounds like you're doing a ton of athletics. I'll just warn you that you don't want athletics to get in the way of academics/other extracurriculars. I did two sports in high school and it made things hard. I can't imagine doing three along with boy scouts, model UN, and everything else you mentioned. I'm not trying to push you away from sports (you absolutely want to be doing at least one) but I'm just saying if there comes a point where you don't have enough time to balance school, sports, and extracurriculars, I think it's better to drop one sport than get a bad grade or miss out on a unique internship.

I have been told that Massachusetts is a competitive state, particularly academically speaking. I think that's the only area that you could really work on. Your current SAT score is good but it could be better. Definitely study hard for the SAT and retake it (USAFA superscores btw). Try to get 1400+. You could also try the ACT. Keep up the good grades. Do you know if your school ranks? If it does then try to be in the top 10% of your class.

You sound like an awesome applicant. Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, swim and track end in two weeks, and I will have some more free time to study for the SAT. I plan on re-taking my SAT until I get into the middle 1400s. Thank you for your advice.
 
anricha1 said:
Hello,
I am a junior in high school at a very good school in the first congressional district of Massachusetts. I have been wanting to go to USAFA since I was a kid. I want to serve my country and do my part. My mother is a USAFA alumni, so I have been going to USAFA football games and reunions since I was little. This has given me many chances to see the dorms, eat at Arnold Hall, and meet cadets and USAFA staff. I am interested in both USAFA and USMA. I applied to the USAFA summer seminar and will apply to USMA SLE. I want to know what I can do to make my application better, and any advice anyone has would be extremely helpful.

Currently, my stats are:

SAT: 1300

(My junior year is Semester 1, including midterms)
Junior GPA: 4.6
AP Physics: A
Honors Precalculus: A
AP US History: A-
Honors English: A-
Spanish IV: A+

Sophomore GPA: 4.3
English: A-
Spanish: A
geometry: A+
Honor Algebra II: B
Chemistry H: A
Honors Modern World History: A

Freshman GPA: 4.0
Honor Bio: B
Honors Algebra I: B
Honors United States History: A-
English I: B+
Spanish I: A-


Extracurriculars

- State-level representative from Western Mass for the State Student Advisory Committee under the MA Dept of Education. Also, the workgroup leader for the state-wide health and wellness workgroup under SSAC. I have the option to run for president next year, which I would probably win, which would make me a full-voting member of the Massachusetts School Board.
-President of Model UN (thirty members)
-Member of the Math team
-Boy Scouts (Life rank, working on eagle)
-National Honors Society

Extras
-I worked for the Northwest Youth Corps, contracted out to the Forest Service on a camping trail crew all summer, where I worked in a tight crew of eight on conservation projects and received an educational stipend to pay for my EMT course in return. Got hundreds of hours of volunteer conservation. I also gained some great essay material and leadership skills.
-I have my EMT license and an internship set up with my fire dept for my senior year to act as a volunteer EMT in my town. This will be every day for 4 hours and is a recognized internship by my school.

Athletics
Swim: High school team freshman and sophomore, club team junior year.
Track: Freshman and Jr.
Boxing: My main sport, two and a half hours every day. I am on a boxing team modeled after the West Points Team, and the head coach has a connection to West Point Boxing. Because of this, I have met and talked to the West Point Boxing coaches a few times because they know I am interested in a service academy. I have also gotten to talk to West Point cadets and gotten some advice from them. I am being made Varsity and a "captain" in my senior year.

My current athletic schedule is 2:30-4:15 track, 4:30- 7 Boxing, and 7:15- 8:15 swim. Every day, with track meets and Swim meets every weekend.

CFA (We take a PT test every month for boxing, so these are the parts that align with the CFA)
Pushups: 61
Situps: 93
Mile: 5:41
Hight: 6'1
Weight: 160
Click to expand...
... Pullups?
 
anricha1 said:
Thank you. I should have said this in my main post, but I am retaking the sat in March. My plan is to keep studying and keep re-taking until I get a 1450+. I think 1300 is good for my first time taking the SAT, but it definitely needs improvement.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good plan. The freshman and sophomore year grades are in the past. Looks like you have consistently improved academically year over year. Keep working on that even if it means spending a little less time on your sports or other academic extra-curriculars. But, overall, you look like you are making the right moves!
 
anricha1 said:
Thank you so much, swim and track end in two weeks, and I will have some more free time to study for the SAT. I plan on re-taking my SAT until I get into the middle 1400s. Thank you for your advice.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't limit yourself to 1400s. My DS got a 1280 his first time and took it 3 more times until he got a 1530. I think you will see a lot of posts in here that say if you don't have a 1600, take it again if you have the time. Especially since it sounds like you are in a competitive area.
 
Great resume, you should apply. Your freshman year grades typically are not considered. 1300 on your SAT is awesome, but you could make it even stronger. If given a chance to attend the prep-school on that basis (many are) I would strongly recommend it. You're freshman year will be much easier, academically.

After reading your initial post I'd make one more suggestion: rethink your desire to attend and ensure that it's yours and not your mom's. Some of the unhappiest people at that place were there because someone else wanted them to be (i.e., their parents).
 
All looks great, and the advice above is on point. I agree that Eagle is a big deal (as you know) so plan and complete your project so you can meet the Eagle review board sooner than later. Not too early to think about recommendations from different individuals, mentors and teachers. Look to apply for Boys State so start the process now -- many of my students apply and go to this summer event. No shared pull-ups, shuttle or basketball numbers so be sure to practice those events. I recommend online material and videos from Stew Smith, www.stewsmithfitness.com -- he is a USNA grad, ex-SEAL and military fitness expert. Keep up the good work!
 
Another consideration might be adding Coast Guard. Not only do you dodge the nomination process in your crowded state, but it aligns with the SAR and conservation activities you've been investing your volunteer hours in. Give it a look as an alternative.
 
Standardized tests intend to measure forms of intelligence, but they also (inadvertently) measure test taking ability. People who take practice tests (assuming they are actual/past tests) and retake official tests tend to do better over time. If you really want to go to USAFA, the cost of an additional test is much, much less than the dollar value of a USAFA education.
 
I think of them as the academic equivalent of the basketball throw. Maybe not exactly like anything you'll ever do again, but it shows that you can take a task and master it either through practice and preparation or simple direct application of native abilities. Ideally you would do both and do better, but that's why the results are effective at sorting the applicants.
 
That's insane that you do sports until 815 every day! How do you find time to work on homework and things for school? Maybe in SoCal, it's more competitve academically, but I need to do at least 3 hours of revision a day to keep my grades up. Good luck on your application though!
 
dylantrnn said:
That's insane that you do sports until 815 every day! How do you find time to work on homework and things for school? Maybe in SoCal, it's more competitve academically, but I need to do at least 3 hours of revision a day to keep my grades up. Good luck on your application though!
Click to expand...
No, haha, I am normally up until about one or two in the morning doing homework for my AP classes. just living off of coffee and a dream until indoor track season is over
 
Academician said:
All looks great, and the advice above is on point. I agree that Eagle is a big deal (as you know) so plan and complete your project so you can meet the Eagle review board sooner than later. Not too early to think about recommendations from different individuals, mentors and teachers. Look to apply for Boys State so start the process now -- many of my students apply and go to this summer event. No shared pull-ups, shuttle or basketball numbers so be sure to practice those events. I recommend online material and videos from Stew Smith, www.stewsmithfitness.com -- he is a USNA grad, ex-SEAL and military fitness expert. Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much. I have not tested myself on pull-ups, shuttle, or basketball. I will probably do that this weekend, seeing how so many people are asking about it. I do plan on getting Eagle, just because I just got life two weeks ago; I have to wait about 6 months until I am eligible; I have started planning for my project, though.
 
StPaulDad said:
Another consideration might be adding Coast Guard. Not only do you dodge the nomination process in your crowded state, but it aligns with the SAR and conservation activities you've been investing your volunteer hours in. Give it a look as an alternative.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will look into the Coast Guard Academy.
 
Your CFA events are all above what is necessary....HOWEVER....you need to practice all of them sequentially in the order that you will be tested under the same time limits. Running a 5:41 mile is good, but you can't count on running that fast immediately after doing a bunch of pullups, situps, pushups, shuttle, and BB throw...without practicing all of them sequentially. Good luck!
 
Reading over your given statistics and background, it makes me glad I don't live in Massachusetts :), as I'm also class of 2029. Take this with a grain of salt as well, but from what I've seen, you are (so far and excepting the SAT) quite impressive for all the reasons above.
 
dylantrnn said:
That's insane that you do sports until 815 every day! How do you find time to work on homework and things for school? Maybe in SoCal, it's more competitve academically, but I need to do at least 3 hours of revision a day to keep my grades up. Good luck on your application though!
Click to expand...
Massachusetts tops all other states with the highest percentage of top-ranked public high schools. Aug. 28, 2023, at 9:00 p.m. A breakdown by state of the 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools rankings shows that Massachusetts is once again the leading performer.

CA is rated as the 4th best state for highest percentage of top-ranked public high schools.
 
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