Pre-Evaluation

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BLSnared

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5-Year Member
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I was wondering if someone could help me by giving me your opinion on what my unofficial resume would look like competitively for admissions to the USNA.

In a nutshell, i've kept a 3.5 GPA throughout high school, and scored a 1700 on the SAT, and a 31 on the ACT. I've been in the marching band, jazz band, wind ensemble, and indoor drumline for all four years of high school, and have been in the chess club all four years, 2 of those years being the president.
 
pre-eval....without a sport you won't be competitive. I KNOW that music kids in marching band have equal aerobics to kids in sports. I am the mom of 5 children and the older 4 ALL were in our 200+ size marching band. We were
band parents for 11 straight seasons.

When child #5 was considering USNA she was in 8th grade. I personally called the USNA Admin office and asked about band as a sport requirement for them. They said it is NOT equal. I mentioned that studies reveal that marching band is equal to or above any sports workouts - but the nice response was: "sports is a necessary part of our application process"

Our girl never joined band - became a 4 year varsity swimmer and is now a Second Class at USNA.

Your academics and leadership are fine - congratulations on those...

Call your local Blue and Gold Officer and talk with that person and inquire of them my response and any others you get...and keep us all in the loop.

God bless!
 
Peskemom is correct in that USNA (and the other SAs) really like to see evidence of athletic participation. You could probably somewhat make up for no athletics with a VERY strong CFA. However, in the view of the SAs, participation in athletics, especially team sports, has other benefits (teamwork, focus on goals, fitness, etc.) and the overwhelming majority of successful candidates are active in organized sports (individual or team, in school or outside of school).

A few other comments -- it's very difficult for people on this forum to counsel you adequately. You indicated your GPA but not what courses you are taking or how you rank within your class. If that GPA incluldes AP classes and lots of math and science, you will be in better shape than if you're taking Music Theory, Language, English, Art History and the lowest math you can take. Not saying the above isn't a worthwhile curriculum, but it won't help you for USNA. Also, if your GPA puts you in the top 10% of the class, that's going to be more impressive than if it puts you in the bottom 40%.

Finally, think about leadership. Chess Club president is OK if you are actually doing things in that position that demonstrate leadership. However, it is good to have activities that require you to develop and/or organize events, supervise fellow students, interact with adults to get things done -- in other words, to lead. There are many, many opportunities in and out of school.

You should contact your BGO who is in the best position to advise you about YOUR specific situation. As I say so often on this forum, BGOs aren't just there to conduct an interview; they are also there to help candidates with questions such as these.
 
with that said, I would vigorously pursue the USNA. Only you can decide whether it's worth it or not. As far as your chances go, you've done well in school and you're obviously a leader, so go for it. Talk to your Blue and Gold officer and get more information from her. Send any information that you think would be a good representation of you to USNA. Not everyone at the academies have been on varsity sports, most have, but not all, so you decide whether you want it or not. If you're not willing to endure the grind of the application process, it's much tougher when you're actually there so keep that in mind.
Best of luck, I'm rooting for you.
 
My GPA includes 3 AP's as one of you have asked. That doesn't put me in the top 10% of my class but it puts me in the top 15%. That GPA will be higher by the end of this year also so it could become up to the top 10%. That sucks about not being competitive without a sport? I mean really, does being in band make you any less of a person than if you are a football player? It seems farfetched if not downright stupid for me.
 
Here are some classes I've taken.

English: English 1 Honors, English 2 Honors, Creative Writing, World Literature and Cultures.

Math: GATE Algebra 1, GATE Geometry, GATE Algebra II, Statistics

Science: Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry

Social Sciences: Sociology, Health, Geography, AP World History, AP US History, AP Government, Economics

My current CFA:
BB Throw - Haven't tested yet.
Pull-ups - 5
Shuttle Run - 9.1 Seconds
Sit-Ups - 95 (Maximum allowed)
Push-Ups - 55
Mile Time - 7:18
 
That is a good ACT score. The ACT was much kinder to you than the SAT:smile: Admissions would like for you to take Pre-Calculus and then AP Calculus AB, and then AP Calculus BC and also Physics. Mids need to be strong in Math:eek:
Do you have your application completed? If not, get it in! Your other fine qualities will hopefully balance it out! Good luck! Keep us posted!
 
Have you already got an application in???? You have time on the application but you are likly out of time to get your MOC nomination in if you have not already done so.

In regards to the athletics. Find a sport at your high school that does not make cuts.... swimming, track, what ever. Join the team, stay on the team for the season. You can check the box that says you are a varsity athelete on your application.
 
for those band geeks out there:

"every cadet is an athlete, but not every athlete is a cadet."

I think I heard that from the movie Annapolis...
 
NavySupporter said:
That is a good ACT score. The ACT was much kinder to you than the SAT:smile: Admissions would like for you to take Pre-Calculus and then AP Calculus AB, and then AP Calculus BC and also Physics. Mids need to be strong in Math:eek:
Do you have your application completed? If not, get it in! Your other fine qualities will hopefully balance it out! Good luck! Keep us posted!
Click to expand...

Was the remark about the SAT sarcasm? or is that bad for USNA standards, because I was told it was rather decent...

I'm not trying to sound like a smart*** I really am confused on what you meant.
 
BLSnared said:
Was the remark about the SAT sarcasm? or is that bad for USNA standards, because I was told it was rather decent...

I'm not trying to sound like a smart*** I really am confused on what you meant.
Click to expand...

I don't think it was sarcasm at all.

A 1700 combined (Math/Verbal/Writing) SAT score is not impressive by USNA standards.
 
BLSnared,

No sarcasm what so ever on my part. You knocked the ball out of the park with that ACT score. If you look at the ACT/SAT converter - your ACT score is the equivalent to an SAT score of 2040 - 2100. 400 points higher than your actual SAT score. An unbelievable difference. The USNA says that they do not look at the writing part. Whatever, Run with it! If you do not apply, then the answer to your original question will always be "No." Go for it!
All the best!:thumb:
 
BLSnared:

I agree with NavySupporter - your ACT is really good.

What was the breakdown on your SAT scores and ACT scores?

Knowing the breakdown makes your test scores much easier to evaluate.
 
bigcox said:
for those band geeks out there:

"every cadet is an athlete, but not every athlete is a cadet."

I think I heard that from the movie Annapolis...
Click to expand...



Although i'm a recruited athlete to the academies and know what all that entails, i'm kind of insulted with the way you use the term 'band geeks' as to categorize all of those candidates who play in the band over doing varsity sports as somewhat less distinctive then the athlete like me with no musical orientation what so ever. in fact, at my visits to west point and navy the swimmers there held high regards to those 'band geeks' who had to perform at very high standards the way they did when compared to the non-varsity "athletes"

I'm certainly not the only one who finds that movie in terms of actual reality to be the worst depiction of the naval academy I have ever seen, and wonder how you got that quote...
 
right...well i apologize for the term band geeks, in no way do i mean that anyone who's in band is a geek, nor do i label them as less intelligent or less athletic than the rest of the people who are applying for the academies. i think that "Annapolis" wasn't even filmed at Annapolis, and i can't say for sure i got the quote from the movie. but i got it from somewhere, and it is true. i think one of the reasons why the academies "require" their applicants to be in sports, is that it assures the academy that you are physically prepared for the rigors of a military career (especially if you were on varsity), as well as the team-attitude you gain from athletics. plus, if you have been training your body for the past 3-4 years for an academy, a transition from a civilian life to an upbeat military life will not be as large as it is for someone with little athletic experience.
 
yeah i know what you mean, haha yeah it wasn't aloud to be filmed there
i remember the previews for it said that there were 50,000 applicants each year for 1200 spots
i think they were counting the applicants to EVERY service academy as in
west point, annapolis, air force, coast guard, and merchant marine because even the people at the NA wouldn't tell you that
 
cadets...midshipman...plebes...doolies...whatever. the quote applies to at least USNA, USAFA, and USMA to my knowledge. don't know about USCGA or USMMA cuz i haven't applied to them...
 
I'm in the same boat. I have not taken my ACT but plan to in Feburary. I have been in the marching band since my 7th grade year and I am now a junior. I have just recently been thinking about applying for the Naval Academy, but have not been sure if band was good or not. My grandfather was in the Navy for about 20 years. My dad was in the Army and my uncle went into the Air Force. I would like to follow in thier tradition and be in the Armed forces, but would like to do that through an academy so I could also have my college education as well.
:confused:
 
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