Poor grades

T

talltrees

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Joined
Feb 23, 2019
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127
can my extracurricular activity’s make up for my poor grades
Unweighted gpa 3.2
Weighted gpa 3.7
Sat 1240
Act 26
Class rank 121 of 475
Plan on retaking both tests until I get an adequate score
Varsity water polo for two years
Varsity swim for one
In a local politics academy at my high school
Boys state delagate
Founder and president of an anti bullying club at my high school
Vice President of key club
Intern for my congressmen and state senator
I’ve taken all the hardest classes my school has to offfer since sophomore year
Since the second semester of my sophmore year when I realized I wanted to attend an academy I’ve had above a 4.0 weighted gpa but my freshman year had dragged me down already
 
Sometimes, but utltimately your academics will weigh a bit more. What you can change at this point is your SAT and ACT. Maybe shoot for the 1350/29 range, or go even higher! Do not lose faith before even trying to apply. You never know what can happen!
 
Hey buddy just wanted to chime in and give my 2 cents. I was a candidate for USMA and have recently just accepted my appointment for the class of 2023. Im going to be blunt so please don't take offense I only want to give constructive and honest criticism. Firstly, Your extracirriculars are good but understand that they are not excellent. Your SAT isn't particularly high either. That along with your poor grades doesn't exactly make for a great resume. Are you a URM or are you from a weak congressional district ? If so, I still see a good fighting chance. If not, you have to bring that SAT score up. The SA's are willing to overlook one aspect if you are GREAT in a few other aspects. For your reference I had nearly the same GPA as you weighted and unweighted just 0.1 higher in both which is negligible. My transcript was riddled with C's and even a D for a year end grade. I however had a 1540 SAT and like you took a crap ton of AP classes. I also was a nationally ranked athlete and had similar extracurriculars to yours. I could have been an anomaly so take me for a grain of salt, but I have a few other friends who have been accepted to the academies and they averaged a 1350 SAT but with nearly all A's and solid extracurriculars. I don't mean to discourage you, if your a junior you still have plenty of time to bring up that SAT score, but I'm not quite sure if you can do the same with your GPA with such few semesters left on the clock. Regardless, Push Hard... Press Forward.
 
UmiZoomi said:
Hey buddy just wanted to chime in and give my 2 cents. I was a candidate for USMA and have recently just accepted my appointment for the class of 2023. Im going to be blunt so please don't take offense I only want to give constructive and honest criticism. Firstly, Your extracirriculars are good but understand that they are not excellent. Your SAT isn't particularly high either. That along with your poor grades doesn't exactly make for a great resume. Are you a URM or are you from a weak congressional district ? If so, I still see a good fighting chance. If not, you have to bring that SAT score up. The SA's are willing to overlook one aspect if you are GREAT in a few other aspects. For your reference I had nearly the same GPA as you weighted and unweighted just 0.1 higher in both which is negligible. My transcript was riddled with C's and even a D for a year end grade. I however had a 1540 SAT and like you took a crap ton of AP classes. I also was a nationally ranked athlete and had similar extracurriculars to yours. I could have been an anomaly so take me for a grain of salt, but I have a few other friends who have been accepted to the academies and they averaged a 1350 SAT but with nearly all A's and solid extracurriculars. I don't mean to discourage you, if your a junior you still have plenty of time to bring up that SAT score, but I'm not quite sure if you can do the same with your GPA with such few semesters left on the clock. Regardless, Push Hard... Press Forward.
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Thabks I appreciate the honesty, so would you say that it was the sat score that made a candidate?
 
No, I wouldn't say the SAT score makes the candidate. What it does do is help cover some other weakness's in your resume. It works vice versa as well, a kid who is a bad test taker but fantastic student might have a 4.7 weighted GPA but have 1200 SAT. The academies will think twice before just throwing your app in the bin because your GPA is so high that it overshadows your weak SAT score. In essence, it's the combination of various factors which make the candidate. Being extraordinary in a few other aspects helps overshadow any singular weakness. Same way if your some freak athlete you may be accepted even though you have subpar grades and test scores. If you aren't at the highest percentile in at least one thing then you best be at least at the academies averages at EVERYTHING.
 
UmiZoomi said:
No, I wouldn't say the SAT score makes the candidate. What it does do is help cover some other weakness's in your resume. It works vice versa as well, a kid who is a bad test taker but fantastic student might have a 4.7 weighted GPA but have 1200 SAT. The academies will think twice before just throwing your app in the bin because your GPA is so high that it overshadows your weak SAT score. In essence, it's the combination of various factors which make the candidate. Being extraordinary in a few other aspects helps overshadow any singular weakness. Same way if your some freak athlete you may be accepted even though you have subpar grades and test scores. If you aren't at the highest percentile in at least one thing then you best be at least at the academies averages at EVERYTHING.
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What else could I do to create an excellent extracurricular profile
 
talltrees said:
What else could I do to create an excellent extracurricular profile
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It’s not the titles you held or the clubs you joined, it’s the leadership impact you made. Find an issue that needs resolving in your school, community church or team. Devise a solution. Rally others to the cause. Show how you led that group from the front to resolve the issue.

That’s what will tell SAs that you have the potential to be a leader of men and women in the military. It won’t make up for poor grades or low test scores, but it goes a long way to helping your case.
 
So, you had a challenging freshman year--and since you decided you wanted to attend USMA, you have taken the most challenging courses at your school and earned an outstanding GPA while doing it--and doing varsity athletics? That sounds like a WINNER to me--and should to everyone on this page! Make sure you write about that in your essay. Your drive to do well so that you can become an Army officer will help you to be compassionate to your soldiers as they work to overcome challenges. Further, it demonstrates your ability to buckle down and work hard when the going gets tough in your own academic program, which will help you with the demands of the West Point academic program.
Don't let anyone tell you that this GPA is not good enough. Keep getting those grades, be ready to tell your story.
 
You'd be a decent candidate for Norwich, VMI, Citadel or Univ of N Georgia - they're a bit expensive
 
talltrees said:
BlueBulldog said:
You'd be a decent candidate for Norwich, VMI, Citadel or Univ of N Georgia - they're a bit expensive
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How would transferring from there work?
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It works great! Also add VT and A&M to the list. You just reapply freshman year but note you start again as a plebe at USMA. A year at any of these combining a strong academic performance and ROTC/Corps experience matures you an amazing amount and shows you can handle what it takes at the academies. Our DD was much better prepared after a year at a SMC. Look at how many of those on the appointment list here are college reapplicants. And if USMA is not in the cards then these schools turn out outstanding officers, some that become generals.
Keep working on your SAT/ACT scores, with a test tutor if possible, to reinforce that story that your freshman year was an exception. Need to be targeting 1400/32+. You can do it!
 
Add an explanation for the gpa wherever possible - that tells a good story. Invest in a good ACT, SAT coach and get those scores up. Apply for Plan B options - ROTC, other military schools, etc. Reapply in following years if you’re still interested. Good luck!
 
Things to add-
1. Remember the SAT/ACT is your super scores. So if you scored above a 30 on the ACT in one section (or equivalent on the SAT), don’t worry about those subjects.
2. Practice for the CFA. You can control the CFA points.
3. See if you can be a team Captain by fall of your senior year. That adds points. Any chance of being recruited for swimming or water polo?
4. Be prepared for a plan B school and ROTC. Immediately reopen your portal when available. Then reconsider. If you still want West Point, apply again. But be open about it with your ROTC cadre.
5. Remember, you don’t need to just earn a nomination, but an appointment. I’m going to assume you don’t have a parent who is active duty. It’s not for everyone but a possible source is to enlist in the National Guard or Reserves and do a split training by going to basic training this summer. I know several Cadets who did this but it has pluses and minuses.
 
A tip that I heard was that you should include your story and how you learned to be a good student in your essay (demonstrate active change and perseverance). The admissions counselors should be able to see that you have worked hard and differentiate between freshman and later grades. However, if your district is super competitive then it will be different.
 
usma23sgc21 said:
A tip that I heard was that you should include your story and how you learned to be a good student in your essay (demonstrate active change and perseverance). The admissions counselors should be able to see that you have worked hard and differentiate between freshman and later grades. However, if your district is super competitive then it will be different.
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This could be a good idea. Just don’t make any excuses for the poor grades.
 
I had pretty similar academics and extra curriculars and I got in the second try. I got 26 on ACT first try, 28 second time with math/science around 30 and that was good enough. Don't be discouraged if you don't get in just keep grinding and they will see your improvements.
 
zevenson said:
I had pretty similar academics and extra curriculars and I got in the second try. I got 26 on ACT first try, 28 second time with math/science around 30 and that was good enough. Don't be discouraged if you don't get in just keep grinding and they will see your improvements.
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Does gpa matter
 
talltrees said:
zevenson said:
I had pretty similar academics and extra curriculars and I got in the second try. I got 26 on ACT first try, 28 second time with math/science around 30 and that was good enough. Don't be discouraged if you don't get in just keep grinding and they will see your improvements.
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Does gpa matter
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gpa matters but not as much as the types of classes you take. My gpa was around 3.4 but I had some honors/AP classes as well as a few college courses. You said you've been taking the hardest classes they offer which is good. 3.2 gpa with hard classes is better than 4.0 will all easy classes. Also shows that you are not afraid of a challenge/ you want to keep pushing yourself which is good.
 
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