Low CFA Scores? Possible Remedy at a prep school

[RagingBull]

Hello All,

I am extremely motivated to earn an appointment to one of the service academies, but my biggest hurdle is my CFA. Of course I'm working out twice a day 6 days a week in order to get into much better shape, but would I be offered a spot in a prep school to remedy a low CFA score? I believe the other areas in my application are solid?

Thanks!

 

[Small Team Bacsi]

Solid?

Years ago I saw a truly outstanding academic type sent to prep school because she had problems with the physical tests..

I have no idea how often this sort of thing happens at one of the prep schools. Its more often to be sports recruits or those prior enlisted etc not the physically challenged .

And solid is not going to cut it.

Do you play sports? If not your road got even harder.

 

[Capt MJ]

Hello All,

I am extremely motivated to earn an appointment to one of the service academies, but my biggest hurdle is my CFA. Of course I'm working out twice a day 6 days a week in order to get into much better shape, but would I be offered a spot in a prep school to remedy a low CFA score? I believe the other areas in my application are solid?

Thanks!

Don’t pin any hope on that. The SAs may choose to use their prep school in any way they wish, but the purpose is to generally prepare prepsters academically for the rigors of a SA curriculum. The CFA is much more under the control of the individual to achieve, with will, skill and sweat. Anyone healthy in their teens and early twenties should be able to meet and pass CFA criteria.

You may be working out a lot, but are you working smarter?

Have you taken an inventory CFA, exactly as it is required to be administered, to assess your weak points? Researched and created a strategic workout plan to address them? Consulted a coach or PE teacher if needed?

Have you reviewed the official YouTube videos - USMA’s are very good - on proper technique, do’s and don’ts? There is no point in upping reps if you are doing them incorrectly from the get-go; they won’t be counted. Look up “USMA CFA pull-ups” on YouTube. Great visuals on what not to do.

Have you found Stew Smith’s CFA advice on his website and YouTube videos on various individual events? Stew is a USNA grad, former SEAL and USNA staff officer, now a fitness professional.

Do you know anyone else working toward a SA appointment you could do CFA-focused workouts with? It’s helpful to have someone assess your technique, so you are not wasting the effort on bad form.

^^^^All rhetorical questions. No answers needed.

Will, skill and sweat. Good that you are doing this now, instead of those posters who pop up in December in a complete panic over the fact they can’t do “X” for the CFA. You’re conditioning your body to work every day, good, now get strategic and smart about specific objectives, set a goal date for your CFA and interim inventories. Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate. If you leave it too late and too close to application close date, you risk bad weather, injury-illness, family emergency, sudden non-availability of your test administrator and find yourself begging for an extension because of your own poor planning.

Good luck! Let us know how it’s going.

 

[RagingBull]

Solid?

Years ago I saw a truly outstanding academic type sent to prep school because she had problems with the physical tests..

I have no idea how often this sort of thing happens at one of the prep schools. Its more often to be sports recruits or those prior enlisted etc not the physically challenged .

And solid is not going to cut it.

Do you play sports? If not your road got even harder.

In lack of better terms I used solid in lieu of saying up to par with the academies standards i.e. a 1400+ 3.7+ , meaningful leadership positions in student government clubs, etc. The academies academic and extra curricular standards at times seem open to interpretation and although we have an idea of what a good candidate looks like, the only people that truly know are up in admissions. I'm not in the greatest physical shape but I am also not in military shape as of now, I am and will continue to work very hard to get into shape. Thanks for the insight into the prep school mission as well.

 

[RagingBull]

Don’t pin any hope on that. The SAs may choose to use their prep school in any way they wish, but the purpose is to generally prepare prepsters academically for the rigors of a SA curriculum. The CFA is much more under the control of the individual to achieve, with will, skill and sweat. Anyone healthy in their teens and early twenties should be able to meet and pass CFA criteria.

You may be working out a lot, but are you working smarter?

Have you taken an inventory CFA, exactly as it is required to be administered, to assess your weak points? Researched and created a strategic workout plan to address them? Consulted a coach or PE teacher if needed?

Have you reviewed the official YouTube videos - USMA’s are very good - on proper technique, do’s and don’ts? There is no point in upping reps if you are doing them incorrectly from the get-go; they won’t be counted. Look up “USMA CFA pull-ups” on YouTube. Great visuals on what not to do.

Have you found Stew Smith’s CFA advice on his website and YouTube videos on various individual events? Stew is a USNA grad, former SEAL and USNA staff officer, now a fitness professional.

Do you know anyone else working toward a SA appointment you could do CFA-focused workouts with? It’s helpful to have someone assess your technique, so you are not wasting the effort on bad form.

^^^^All rhetorical questions. No answers needed.

Will, skill and sweat. Good that you are doing this now, instead of those posters who pop up in December in a complete panic over the fact they can’t do “X” for the CFA. You’re conditioning your body to work every day, good, now get strategic and smart about specific objectives, set a goal date for your CFA and interim inventories. Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate. If you leave it too late and too close to application close date, you risk bad weather, injury-illness, family emergency, sudden non-availability of your test administrator and find yourself begging for an extension because of your own poor planning.

Good luck! Let us know how it’s going.

Thank you for the insight, although it's tough to work everyday, its always good to remind myself that I'm working to attain a goal that's greater than myself, a commission as an officer in the United States Armed Forces.

 

[Capt MJ]

Thank you for the insight, although it's tough to work everyday, its always good to remind myself that I'm working to attain a goal that's greater than myself, a commission as an officer in the United States Armed Forces.

When you roll out of bed in the AM, bang out push-ups every day, in good form. Hang a pull-up bar in the doorway and do them every time you pass by, in good form. Work on your grip strength, if that’s a problem with your pull-ups. You can break things up throughout the day to isolate and focus on certain muscle groups and exercises. You can get a lot done in multiple 10-15 minute sessions, if you can’t block off a big chunk of time on a particular day. Improvise and don’t skip. You will never have more time than between today and your CFA target date to prepare.

 

[RagingBull]

When you roll out of bed in the AM, bang out push-ups every day, in good form. Hang a pull-up bar in the doorway and do them every time you pass by, in good form. Work on your grip strength, if that’s a problem with your pull-ups. You can break things up throughout the day to isolate and focus on certain muscle groups and exercises. You can get a lot done in multiple 10-15 minute sessions, if you can’t block off a big chunk of time on a particular day. Improvise and don’t skip. You will never have more time than between today and your CFA target date to prepare.

Since committing myself to this goal, I find myself doing exactly this. Whenever I'm bored, and it happens a lot, I just crank out pushups or sit-ups. Never bored during those

 

[Capt MJ]

Since committing myself to this goal, I find myself doing exactly this. Whenever I'm bored, and it happens a lot, I just crank out pushups or sit-ups. Never bored during those

Perfect!