National Guard to West Point?

Cadet1855

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Feb 14, 2020
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I am currently a senior in High School who is strongly considering enlisting in the National Guard. I will do split training, as I am already enrolled in college. I was wondering if anyone could give me any insight on active duty/guard appointments to West Point. I would have applied to the USMA but I didn't feel my gpa was good enough, I also played only a few varsity sports throughout high school and I wasn't a star. I plan on doing AROTC my freshman year as an SMP cadet, and after my freshman year, apply to the USMA. The college I am attending is a small liberal arts college with a VERY good reputation, my state senator is an alumnus.
Here's my High School information
3.3 GPA (Almost exclusively Honor's and AP Classes)
29 ACT
Rotarian (Nominated by teachers and administrators, very prestigious club at my school)
Varsity Football
German Club, Quiz Bowl, DARE role model , Speech and Debate Club, Anti-bullying mentor, Founder and President of a hunger prevention club
Do I have a good shot of getting an appointment to West Point or the prep school? Thank you for any insight you can give. Also I am aware that I can commission through AROTC, but it is my dream to attend West Point.
 
Hi there. I'm a scout in the ARNG, and I have been appointed to West Point for the class of 2024. Some insight I can give you is: you can obtain a nomination from your company commander and will not be required to be nominated by a congressman. I applied for them anyways and got one, can't hurt. Varsity sports will help your case, but the physical aspect only makes up 30% of your application while academics make up 60% (the other 10% is character/leadership). It is good that you are thinking of doing a year of college first; I am entering the academy with an Associate's in Engineering, and it is true that having completed college courses helps your case a lot.

I would say that applying as an enlisted Soldier, you are guaranteed to at least get the prep school. Enlisted candidates are automatically considered for USMAPS. I was offered direct appointment, and if you are interested in what my academics/physical activities/extra curriculars were like, I can provide that information. Best wishes to you in your application process and feel free to reach out to me for more insight.
 
Hi there. I'm a scout in the ARNG, and I have been appointed to West Point for the class of 2024. Some insight I can give you is: you can obtain a nomination from your company commander and will not be required to be nominated by a congressman. I applied for them anyways and got one, can't hurt. Varsity sports will help your case, but the physical aspect only makes up 30% of your application while academics make up 60% (the other 10% is character/leadership). It is good that you are thinking of doing a year of college first; I am entering the academy with an Associate's in Engineering, and it is true that having completed college courses helps your case a lot.

I would say that applying as an enlisted Soldier, you are guaranteed to at least get the prep school. Enlisted candidates are automatically considered for USMAPS. I was offered direct appointment, and if you are interested in what my academics/physical activities/extra curriculars were like, I can provide that information. Best wishes to you in your application process and feel free to reach out to me for more insight.
It’s actually 60% academics, 30% and 10% CFA
 
Hi there. I'm a scout in the ARNG, and I have been appointed to West Point for the class of 2024. Some insight I can give you is: you can obtain a nomination from your company commander and will not be required to be nominated by a congressman. I applied for them anyways and got one, can't hurt. Varsity sports will help your case, but the physical aspect only makes up 30% of your application while academics make up 60% (the other 10% is character/leadership). It is good that you are thinking of doing a year of college first; I am entering the academy with an Associate's in Engineering, and it is true that having completed college courses helps your case a lot.

I would say that applying as an enlisted Soldier, you are guaranteed to at least get the prep school. Enlisted candidates are automatically considered for USMAPS. I was offered direct appointment, and if you are interested in what my academics/physical activities/extra curriculars were like, I can provide that information. Best wishes to you in your application process and feel free to reach out to me for more insight.
Thanks for such a detailed response! I didn't know that I only needed my company commander's nomination. I still plan on getting a congressional nomination (or two). As someone who went to college beforehand, I'm curious as to how well you did academically and how it affected your nomination? Did they care more about your high school grades or your college courses? I'd imagine it's the latter, but I have also heard that SAT's and ACT's are more important for admissions than GPA. Also, would you recommend I get involved in clubs/intramural sports while in college? I plan on doing that anyway, but I wonder if I should exclusively looking for leadership positions.
 
I would add that the point of sports isn't that you be a star. It's the discipline, teamwork, getting up after a loss, that are the important lessons there. You get that whether you're a star or not.
 
Thanks for such a detailed response! I didn't know that I only needed my company commander's nomination. I still plan on getting a congressional nomination (or two). As someone who went to college beforehand, I'm curious as to how well you did academically and how it affected your nomination? Did they care more about your high school grades or your college courses? I'd imagine it's the latter, but I have also heard that SAT's and ACT's are more important for admissions than GPA. Also, would you recommend I get involved in clubs/intramural sports while in college? I plan on doing that anyway, but I wonder if I should exclusively looking for leadership positions.
I did very well academically in college which balanced my mediocre performance in high school. HS GPA: 3.5 with only a couple AP's. College: 4.0 with practically all science and math. The board determining whether you receive a nomination is interested in determining if you'll succeed at the academy. College courses are great, especially with impressive grades, but I can't say for sure what they care more about. I had to retake the ACT and improved my score significantly with a 29. I recommend definitely getting involved in extra curricular activities because there's a part of the application that specifically asks for what you're involved in. I also recommend trying to gain leadership in the military atmosphere. I was awarded the Leadership Award in my BLC (Basic Leadership Course) out of 168 Soldiers, and I think that quantifier helped my case. I also got promoted to Sergeant which is a rank that I believe cows at the academy hold. Hope this was insightful. Not trying to talk up my own achievements, I'd just like to give you a sense of what my application looked like. Reach out to me if you have more questions.
 
I'm an active duty applicant, 2Q with nom and pending medical waiver for class of 2024. Obviously I haven't been admitted, but CPT Mason (the officer in charge of soldier admissions) says that I'm good to go for direct admit when my waiver goes through. As Spartan19 stated, you don't need the MOC nominations as a prior service applicant, but they always encourage you to have as many nominations as possible. Your company commander will need to endorse you, which is sometimes easier said than done. I completed the class of 2023 application in its entirety just for my commander to say he won't endorse me, so I was forced to withdraw. Each year, the academy is designated a certain amount of slots for prior service cadets at USMA and USMAPS, and non-direct admits are automatically considered for admission to USMAPS. That being said, while your likelihood of appointment may be higher with a prior service background, it's also important to remember that you need to maintain a solid backup plan in the event that something falls through the cracks (such as your commander refusing to endorse you, for example). Since you're already planning to participate in AROTC, my guess is that you'd finish out that commitment and commission that way. If you do the split option program, begin talking with your guard unit early so they're tracking your goals. See if you can sit down with your commander and establish what he would like to see from you before he is willing to endorse you. I had a 1240 SAT/27 ACT and a 3.8 unweighted, did not play sports in high school, but was involved in lots of clubs and extra curriculars. Your academic stats will likely qualify you for a direct admit. I have quite a bit more information regarding the process, please reach out to myself or CPT Mason if you have any additional questions!
 
You could also do ROTC as a programmer and get a Nomination from your PMS. Be a top Cadet and get a local ROTC scholarship. That could be your path to commissioning if WP doesn’t give you the nod.
Would you be ok serving as an enlisted soldier if you don’t commission?
Could skip the SMP program all together.

Explore all options and make an informed decision that will be a path to meet your goal(s).
 
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