Just sharing

I would say your are in the ballpark but as others have said it is impossible to know what the competition is in a given year. I see affluent districts that have 5-6 competitive candidates this year where last year you would have just need to be qualified to get an offer.

I will give you a little different take on the CFA though. It is important to understand the process. Academics are weighted the highest and the CFA is weighted the lowest. While everyone says you should try and max everything, it is just not reality for most applicants. Your CFA scores are above the averages and in my opinion is almost a pass/fail. You application would be far better improved working on the areas that give bugger bang for the buck like test scores. Remember that academics is weighted 65% and the CFA is weighted at 10%. Hypothetically a 10 point increase in the academic portion adds 6 points to your score while a 10 point increase in the FA adds just one point.
 
With that near-perfect ACT, I think your son is barking up the wrong tree. If it were me I would go Ivy-League and do ROTC.
 
UPDATE

He took the ACT and did some prep this time, and improved his score:

First ACT: 32
Second ACT: 35
SuperScore: 35

He is planning to take it a third time.

My DD got a 34 on her 3rd try. I told her she’s done. She wasn’t interested in taking it again anyway. Between her #1 class rank and 4.85 (W) and 4.0 (UW) GPA, I figured she had the academic piece taken care of.

She had a very successful application season. She is now enjoying her plebe year at USMA.

I guess my point is I’m not sure the needle of appointment/no appointment moves much when go you from a 35 to a 36.

If your DS is trying to get a 36 to attend HYSP, then maybe (I don’t know) it may help. I do know tiered scholarships at many schools give the highest amounts with only an ACT of 36.

Good luck with your DS.
 
With that near-perfect ACT, I think your son is barking up the wrong tree. If it were me I would go Ivy-League and do ROTC.

I’m curious to know why you think that. My son had a 35 math and 36 science ACT and did not even consider the Ivies. USAFA was a perfect fit for him and he’s thrived both at the Academy and after in his career.

Stealth_81
 
With that near-perfect ACT, I think your son is barking up the wrong tree. If it were me I would go Ivy-League and do ROTC.

I’m curious to know why you think that. My son had a 35 math and 36 science ACT and did not even consider the Ivies. USAFA was a perfect fit for him and he’s thrived both at the Academy and after in his career.

Stealth_81
not only that, but a 35 ACT is a guarantee of nothing at the ivies, or any of the tip top schools. They turn away kids with 35's all day long. Now, if you are female or a member of an underrepresented race, color, creed, or any of the 77 genders besides male and female, you have a very good chance of admission at all of them.
 
Stealth_81[/QUOTE]
not only that, but a 35 ACT is a guarantee of nothing at the ivies, or any of the tip top schools. They turn away kids with 35's all day long. Now, if you are female or a member of an underrepresented race, color, creed, or any of the 77 genders besides male and female, you have a very good chance of admission at all of them.[/QUOTE]

I would say being a female wouldn't help that much at the top schools, and also being from a northeast state or Cali would hurt. But I would only add that top very top schools also ruthlessly turn away 36's and 1580 SATs. Why those schools have the same # of students despite all the money they have spent over the past 50 years and the growth of the population and foreign students is beyond me. Oh wait, no it's not. It's so they can quote 4% acceptance rates.
 
I would say being a female wouldn't help that much at the top schools, and also being from a northeast state or Cali would hurt. But I would only add that top very top schools also ruthlessly turn away 36's and 1580 SATs. Why those schools have the same # of students despite all the money they have spent over the past 50 years and the growth of the population and foreign students is beyond me. Oh wait, no it's not. It's so they can quote 4% acceptance rates.
The schools at the top of the academic food chain aren't meritocracies - they are social constructs completely out of touch with the mainstream world.
 
My DS is considering alternatives, but mainly as backups. He is looking at Stanford, Purdue and MIT mainly along with AFROTC. His uncle, who is an USAFA grad then went on to get a MS at MIT straight out of the academy then separated from USAF in mid-90s when the USAF was actually paying officers to leave. He took the money and went to Stanford Law. So the uncle has advised him to consider other schools. He also has a cousin that graduated USMA and got his MS from MIT following graduation.

That being said, my DS wants to be a military pilot, eventually a test pilot and after that, astronaut. It is his dream. He wants to immerse himself in flying. There are no promises that he will get pilot training out of USAFA, but if anyone knows a path with better odds of becoming a military pilot than an academy, please let me know. He is also considering USNA btw. To be honest, after attending summer events at USNA and talking to people, he thinks a "normal college" would be boring. My feeling is that he should pursue his passion. There are opportunities for Stanford, MIT, etc in context of an academy career that he can pursue if he wants to.

Choosing between these schools would be a luxury and I remind him that at this moment he has no offers from anyone so he needs to stay focused and keep working.
 
Remind him that there are pilot opportunities available out of all five academies. My DS (USMMA class of 2013) turned down USNA in part because his appointment to USMMA gave him better odds of becoming a pilot. He is now a Navy pilot and is very happy with the route he took. He has classmate friends who are pilots in all the services.
 
My DS is considering alternatives, but mainly as backups. He is looking at Stanford, Purdue and MIT mainly along with AFROTC. His uncle, who is an USAFA grad then went on to get a MS at MIT straight out of the academy then separated from USAF in mid-90s when the USAF was actually paying officers to leave. He took the money and went to Stanford Law. So the uncle has advised him to consider other schools. He also has a cousin that graduated USMA and got his MS from MIT following graduation.

That being said, my DS wants to be a military pilot, eventually a test pilot and after that, astronaut. It is his dream. He wants to immerse himself in flying. There are no promises that he will get pilot training out of USAFA, but if anyone knows a path with better odds of becoming a military pilot than an academy, please let me know. He is also considering USNA btw. To be honest, after attending summer events at USNA and talking to people, he thinks a "normal college" would be boring. My feeling is that he should pursue his passion. There are opportunities for Stanford, MIT, etc in context of an academy career that he can pursue if he wants to.

Choosing between these schools would be a luxury and I remind him that at this moment he has no offers from anyone so he needs to stay focused and keep working.

So, I have learned a lot (not nearly what these retired academy grads know about this process.) Your DS has better qualifications than ours did and he was offered both USMA and USNA; he did not apply for USAFA even though we live only a three hour drive away from there. He chose USNA. What I heard at the dinner at PPW after plebe summer was that the competition level really matters where you are from. You have to be the best candidate that your Congressman/Senator put on his slate, if he didn't rank them. If he ranked his list, they have to take them in the order he presented if they are fully qualified. If not, the academy chooses. So you are really competing against your district. More than half the kids at the academy didn't have their senator's/congressman's nomination. So they really mean what they say to apply for all nominations. There were many VP and Presidential nominations in his class. My DS didn't know that and only applied for the two senators and our congressman. He got lucky :) My DS really likes USNA even as a plebe. Good Luck!
 
Remind him that there are pilot opportunities available out of all five academies. My DS (USMMA class of 2013) turned down USNA in part because his appointment to USMMA gave him better odds of becoming a pilot. He is now a Navy pilot and is very happy with the route he took. He has classmate friends who are pilots in all the services.

I believe there was also a USMMA graduate who went on to become an astronaut as well.
There are tons of service opportunities after graduating from there.
 
With that near-perfect ACT, I think your son is barking up the wrong tree. If it were me I would go Ivy-League and do ROTC.

I’m curious to know why you think that. My son had a 35 math and 36 science ACT and did not even consider the Ivies. USAFA was a perfect fit for him and he’s thrived both at the Academy and after in his career.

Stealth_81

Not to mention: no big bill with outrageous interest rates at the end of the formal education- "just" service to the country, not that bad, IMO.
 
With that near-perfect ACT, I think your son is barking up the wrong tree. If it were me I would go Ivy-League and do ROTC.

I’m curious to know why you think that. My son had a 35 math and 36 science ACT and did not even consider the Ivies. USAFA was a perfect fit for him and he’s thrived both at the Academy and after in his career.

Stealth_81
not only that, but a 35 ACT is a guarantee of nothing at the ivies, or any of the tip top schools. They turn away kids with 35's all day long. Now, if you are female or a member of an underrepresented race, color, creed, or any of the 77 genders besides male and female, you have a very good chance of admission at all of them.

uhm, wow. i have gotten hand slapped for WAY less offensive comments than this.
 
Applicant Details:
Gender: Male
Race: White (non-Hispanic) - I will add that we are from probably one of the most diverse districts in the country.
Height: 5’ 11
Weight: not sure
Family: Uncle was enlisted in Navy, grandfather enlisted WW2. Not a strong family background of military service.

GPA: 4.0 unweighted (7 AP classes through Junior year, 6 AP classes scheduled for senior year) - my kid nearly same. 4.0 UW.
Class Rank: school does not rank
Desired Major: Not sure

ACT: 33 composite not taking additional

Sports:
Varsity sport 1 - 1-4, Captain 3,4
Varsity sport 2 - 1-4, Captain 3,4

Extracurriculars:
Environmental Science Club - 1-4, President 3,4
NHS
Peer Health Educator

Leadership:
Class President 3,4
President Environmental Club


Community Service:
Tons - 500+ hours



Work:
Two year internship for government agency.

Other:
Pursuing his Private Pilot’s License, but much less further along than your son

Attended USNA Summer Seminar 2019
Attended Boys State 2019
Attended USAFA Summer Seminar 2019

CFA results:
June 2019
BBall Throw: 66ft
Pull-ups: Max
Sit-ups: Max
Push Ups: 65
Shuttle Run: 8.1
Mile: 6:30

My thoughts:

Academics:
Academically he is very strong. He has always been in Honors/AP classes. - Same for my child.

Athletics:
2 sport 4 year varsity athlete. Captained one team to district runner up for 1st time in school history.

Extra-Curricular:
Strong for my kid.

Work:
Full time prestigious internship over two summers. Students rarely get asked to return for 2nd summer but he was a stand out, according to letter of recommendation.


Leadership:
Strong for my candidate. Class President, captain of varsity teams, peer educator, President of club, etc.

Overall:
I think mine will have trouble being the top of the slate in our district but may compete we’ll in national pool[/QUOTE]

I added our candidate stats above, to give you some comparison stats. The boys seem very similar.
 
My DS is considering alternatives, but mainly as backups. He is looking at Stanford, Purdue and MIT mainly along with AFROTC. His uncle, who is an USAFA grad then went on to get a MS at MIT straight out of the academy then separated from USAF in mid-90s when the USAF was actually paying officers to leave. He took the money and went to Stanford Law. So the uncle has advised him to consider other schools. He also has a cousin that graduated USMA and got his MS from MIT following graduation.
I hope he has some more "match/safety" schools that Stanford and MIT!
 
My DS is considering alternatives, but mainly as backups. He is looking at Stanford, Purdue and MIT mainly along with AFROTC. His uncle, who is an USAFA grad then went on to get a MS at MIT straight out of the academy then separated from USAF in mid-90s when the USAF was actually paying officers to leave. He took the money and went to Stanford Law. So the uncle has advised him to consider other schools. He also has a cousin that graduated USMA and got his MS from MIT following graduation.
I hope he has some more "match/safety" schools that Stanford and MIT!

He should have no issue with Purdue, but he is also applying to OSU so he has his based covered...
 
Remind him that there are pilot opportunities available out of all five academies. My DS (USMMA class of 2013) turned down USNA in part because his appointment to USMMA gave him better odds of becoming a pilot. He is now a Navy pilot and is very happy with the route he took. He has classmate friends who are pilots in all the services.
Can you explain why it works that way?
 
Not sure what you mean by your question. Around 30-40% of each graduating class at USMMA elects to go active duty each year. It is one of the available options to fulfill their service obligation. One of the options they can be selected for is aviation. Each service has a slightly different selection process, and there will be representatives at USMMA to advise the midshipmen who are interested in all the details. Specifically with regard to Naval aviation, everyone in my DS's class got a spot either pilot or NFO. Every year is different, so there are no guarantees, but the Naval Academy has more mids who want aviation so there is more direct competition. Does that answer your question?
 
Not sure what you mean by your question. Around 30-40% of each graduating class at USMMA elects to go active duty each year. It is one of the available options to fulfill their service obligation. One of the options they can be selected for is aviation. Each service has a slightly different selection process, and there will be representatives at USMMA to advise the midshipmen who are interested in all the details. Specifically with regard to Naval aviation, everyone in my DS's class got a spot either pilot or NFO. Every year is different, so there are no guarantees, but the Naval Academy has more mids who want aviation so there is more direct competition. Does that answer your question?

Are you saying that a USMMA student who wants naval aviation competes against their same class counterpart at USNA for a spot? Or are they only competing against USMMA classmates who want a spot?
 
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