My USNA Admissions Process

I have to agree with 1964BGO:

E-mail is preferable. I have folders assigned to every candidate and it's easier for me to manage. In addition, e-mail provides a "paper trail" for both the candidate and myself.
 
I have a dilemma.

So on June 2nd there's an SAT test and on June 9th there's an ACT test.

In between the two, on that Wednesday and Thursday, I have final exams.

Should I do both tests, or one or the other?

I feel that it would be to my advantage by only doing one so I can prep for just one of the two, in the meantime preparing for final exams. I know it was suggested to take both tests each time they're offered. If I only do one of the two I think I'd be able to do more successful since I'd only have to worry about prepping for one. I'm leaning towards ACT.

Let me know what you guys think, thanks!
 
Go ahead and do both. I'd say prep harder for SAT, but take a peek at ACT practice tests to get a feel for it. Everyone I know that's taken both says the ACT was easier, although I don't know if their scores agree. Good luck to you!
 
it all depends on you. ACT covers what you've learned in normal HS courses. SAT is a critical thinking test. If you feel more comfortable with ACT then choose it, and take SAT later, and vice versa. I took both, ACT once and SAT thrice.

ACT
31 overall
26 math
31 english
35 science
32 reading
30 english/writing

SAT (best)
720 math
720 writing
760 critical reading

So... I like SAT better even though I thought ACT everything was easy.

Hope it helps.
 
LakeErie69 said:
I have a dilemma.

So on June 2nd there's an SAT test and on June 9th there's an ACT test.

In between the two, on that Wednesday and Thursday, I have final exams.
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Good prep for mid-term and finals week once you're a Midshipman.
 
Sailingoff2016 said:
it all depends on you. ACT covers what you've learned in normal HS courses. SAT is a critical thinking test. If you feel more comfortable with ACT then choose it, and take SAT later, and vice versa. I took both, ACT once and SAT thrice.

Hope it helps.
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I think that's what I'll do. Just prep really hard for the ACT so I can score the best possible score.
 
LakeErie69 said:
I have a dilemma.

So on June 2nd there's an SAT test and on June 9th there's an ACT test.

In between the two, on that Wednesday and Thursday, I have final exams.

Should I do both tests, or one or the other?

I feel that it would be to my advantage by only doing one so I can prep for just one of the two, in the meantime preparing for final exams. I know it was suggested to take both tests each time they're offered. If I only do one of the two I think I'd be able to do more successful since I'd only have to worry about prepping for one. I'm leaning towards ACT.

Let me know what you guys think, thanks!
Click to expand...

My suggestions was not specific enough... What I recommend is that you take both exams at least once to determine which exam seems most favorable to you, then adjust accordingly.
 
I took the SAT in November and didn't do very well and I thought the ACT was more favorable for me, so I'll stick with that for June.
 
LakeErie69 said:
I took the SAT in November and didn't do very well and I thought the ACT was more favorable for me, so I'll stick with that for June.
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I would recommend taking the SAT at least one more time. people generally do better the second time. You can still focus on ACT but it doesn't hurt to take SAT again. You might be surprised.
 
kinnem said:
I would recommend taking the SAT at least one more time. people generally do better the second time. You can still focus on ACT but it doesn't hurt to take SAT again. You might be surprised.
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I want to strongly agree with Kinmen here.

After my son took two ACTs he still had one 'rogue' bad score (Reading). The score is not needed for USNA but he still is applying to other schools that do need that score. So upon the advice of his AP Lit teacher he signed up for the SAT. When he signed up for the SAT, for some reason he signed up and paid for two SATs in a row (Jnauary and February). He took the 1st SAT and did TERRIBLE (720 math, 560 R, 530W). He said he was surprised by the low SAT scores because he felt like it was pretty easy. The night before he was supposed to take the second SAT I told him to not even bother with the SAT and just stick with trying to improve the ACT. DS's response was-"well we already paid for it and it cant hurt." So though I told him not to bother, he went anyways. He scored 730M, 630 R, 620W; not great but a huge improvement. He signed up for two more ACts in April (national and state) and one more SAT in May.
 
Alright, I think this time around I'll take the ACT in June. I'll take the summer to prep hard for both tests and take them as many times as possible in the fall.

I'm going to Academy Day this Saturday at my Congressman's office, so I'm looking forward to that.

Also, wrote up an email for my BGO, anyone care to look it over before I send it?
 
I attended Academy Day at my MOC's office yesterday. I was fortunate enough to meet my BGO as he represented USNA there. He suggested that I wait until AFTER NASS to start my process of applying for nominations. Does anybody else agree that I should wait until then?
 
All depends on your nomination sources. You can start writing things up, essays and the like, and asking for recommendation letters now. Of course, being able to talk about NASS in an essay might be looked upon favorably. There would be nothing wrong with beginning the process now, but it is quite early, and that's a much longer time for paperwork to be lost, among other things. And besides that, you'll have your finalized transcript for this year as well as testing scores by mid-summer, which means you can finish just about everything at once.
 
Given this was an Academy Day in association with the MOC I would assume the BYOB knows something about the MOCs process. Is go with the BGO's recommendation. You can always check your MOC's website. They all list their process and deadlines there. You can start on essays now. Multiple drafts will help and you can add BASE stuff later.
 
JettAirliner said:
All depends on your nomination sources. You can start writing things up, essays and the like, and asking for recommendation letters now. Of course, being able to talk about NASS in an essay might be looked upon favorably. There would be nothing wrong with beginning the process now, but it is quite early, and that's a much longer time for paperwork to be lost, among other things. And besides that, you'll have your finalized transcript for this year as well as testing scores by mid-summer, which means you can finish just about everything at once.
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Yeah I think my best option is to wait till after NASS then get things really rolling. I'll for sure be going around asking for letters of rec. by the end of the school year. Probably after AP tests.
 
Some good news to help my cause. I was elected VP of my high school's Student Council!
 
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