Re-Application

[TB_Rays]

I unfortunately just received my TWE in the mail today. West Point has been my dream school for as long as I could remember. Although I am crushed by this, it has only made me want to re-apply and improve myself as a person. If someone could give me some advice on how to improve my chances it would be greatly appreciated. I will be attending a civilian college next year on a 4 Year AROTC Scholarship. I would also appreciate any advice from those who were accepted to West Point out of college.

Academics:
3.45 GPA at the top-ranked private school in my state that has an average GPA of 3.2 (no weighting at my school)
4 AP courses taken (5 is the max for my school without a waiver)
Honors Classes in all subjects except math
31 ACT composite 32 superscore (36 Eng, 30 Math, 35 Read, 26 Sci, 10 Writting)
No class rank because the school doesn't rank

Athletics:
4 Year Varsity Letterman for Golf, Indoor Track, and 3 Year Varsity Letterman for track (final season canceled because of COVID-19)
I was voted team captain for Golf, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track my senior year
In my junior year, I was all-conference (fastest in the conference) for Outdoor Track in the 100M dash, 4x100, and 4x200. Additionally, my 4x200 team won our sectional meet and qualified for the state finals where we finished top 15.

CFA:
Strong push-up number, very strong sit up number, very strong shuttle, good basketball throw, good run (6:20), and decent pull-ups (11)

Extra-Curricular:
Model UN participant all 4 years with leadership roles for my final 2 years. Volunteered at an after school program for grades 9-11. Attended a total immersion Spanish camp for two summers each time lasting a month. Held a job at a golf course for 2 summers working almost full time and working my way up gaining new positions. I also worked during the year. I also held a position on a program that assigns community service instead of jail time for first time youthful offenders for 2 years.

Additional:
I had very strong recommendations and interviewed well with my FFR.

 

[usmaismygoal]

I unfortunately just received my TWE in the mail today. West Point has been my dream school for as long as I could remember. Although I am crushed by this, it has only made me want to re-apply and improve myself as a person. If someone could give me some advice on how to improve my chances it would be greatly appreciated. I will be attending a civilian college next year on a 4 Year AROTC Scholarship. I would also appreciate any advice from those who were accepted to West Point out of college.

Academics:
3.45 GPA at the top-ranked private school in my state that has an average GPA of 3.2 (no weighting at my school)
4 AP courses taken (5 is the max for my school without a waiver)
Honors Classes in all subjects except math
31 ACT composite 32 superscore (36 Eng, 30 Math, 35 Read, 26 Sci, 10 Writting)
No class rank because the school doesn't rank

Athletics:
4 Year Varsity Letterman for Golf, Indoor Track, and 3 Year Varsity Letterman for track (final season canceled because of COVID-19)
I was voted team captain for Golf, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track my senior year
In my junior year, I was all-conference (fastest in the conference) for Outdoor Track in the 100M dash, 4x100, and 4x200. Additionally, my 4x200 team won our sectional meet and qualified for the state finals where we finished top 15.

CFA:
Strong push-up number, very strong sit up number, very strong shuttle, good basketball throw, good run (6:20), and decent pull-ups (11)

Extra-Curricular:
Model UN participant all 4 years with leadership roles for my final 2 years. Volunteered at an after school program for grades 9-11. Attended a total immersion Spanish camp for two summers each time lasting a month. Held a job at a golf course for 2 summers working almost full time and working my way up gaining new positions. I also worked during the year. I also held a position on a program that assigns community service instead of jail time for first time youthful offenders for 2 years.

Additional:
I had very strong recommendations and interviewed well with my FFR.

TB_Rays I recently got an appointment for the class of 2024 and can give you some insight since I got my appointment after a re-applying from college.
1) My RC was able to tell me what held me back last year, though it was medical misdiagnosis that DQd me, he told me what to work on so that I would not have to worry about anything else except a waiver. So call or email your RC so that you can get his perspective on how to attack re-applying. Also, you do get extra points on your WCS for being a college re-applicant.
2) You will be able to open a new file, I remember being allowed to in August(late summer). Make sure your current one gets closed.
3) being a college re-applicant (When I did it this past school year) required I: took the CFA again, got two SOEs from professors, sent in transcripts after my first semester and also took classes that looked like that a plebe would take. I also remember my high school guidance counselor having to re-certify something too on my portal. They will have all of your SATs/ACTs but it is recommended you take it again. At least a small improvement will mean something. I’m under the impression (my opinion) that since the SATs?ACTs are supposed to show how well you will perform in college then it would mean more that you had a solid college transcript instead because that will show how well you actually do. But that is just me and I still took the SAT again.

extra) a few bits of advice also.
- I would recommend strongly going for an ROTC nomination (on top of your other nomination sources you will need to get again). When you ask for this make sure it is not asked for the first week or two there. You will have plenty of time to get this done and like the SOE's after a month or two, your cadre will know you better and write a stronger comment about you for the nomination.
-Clubs/Ec: Do not join every club there is, my RC suggested doing just ROTC and trust me that’s enough. In ROTC I did do Ranger Challenge and that was a kicker with trying to keep good grades while averaging 4 hours of sleep a night Monday-Saturday. But as I said, ROTC should be enough.
-grades are important but don’t be afraid of Bs. They are normal in college and going to a tough college like I did I got one or two.
-ask if you are allowed to, but I would suggest getting the CFA done as soon as possible and ready to submit. Maybe even before you get to college if it is allowed to be taken so early. Make sure you will perform well before you do it. There is a balance between trying to get it done early and trying to get it done and perform at your best.
- realize that you will need to get 2 professor SOEs so from the start you need to be going to office hours every single time you can. If the teacher knows you by name and a good bit about you it will reflect in your application. Like the ROTC nom, it's best that you get these done after a month or two of college.
- personally I think being a re-applicant from college and taking ROTC is not a bad thing. I know that it will help me for the academic rigors that will come since I will be attending USMA. So don’t think of it as a bad thing, if anything you should feel lucky that you gain a year of maturity academically and from a military standpoint if you do ROTC.

 

[usna94]

Very sorry to hear the bad news. You obviously had an awesome HS career. Your grades, stats, extracurriculars, and sports are obviously very competitive. Sometimes there's just not enough spots to take everyone. Great advice above. Here's an excerpt I sent out last Sunday:

Service academies look favorably upon re-applicants. An improvement in every aspect of the application should be the goal. Different from HS applicants, most service academies will not review a college re-applicant's file until they receive the first semester transcript. I say this to avoid any unnecessary stress trying to get the application completed even sooner than this year's app.

-College grades: college grades will be one of the most, if not the most important aspects of your application. Going to office hours and getting EI (extra instruction) with professors should be the plan.
-SOEs (letters of recommendation): in the directions for USMA it says "If you are a prior candidate and submitted your four high school SOEs, you may contact us to have them added to your current file." But as the previous poster said, SOEs from two (or three) college professors should be sought after. The guidance my DS got was to ask professors at the end of October/early November with a target of having everything (except your transcripts) completed in your re-application by Dec 1st.
-What was mentioned above about getting the CFA completed earlier is very helpful advice. Try to get this done before college starts if you can.
-For USMA, there will be a supplemental document on ECAs/clubs that will be submitted. This is where you can show how they got involved in various clubs and activities in college. But doing AROTC should be enough. Look for leadership opportunities. Being a participant in a club is good. But leading an organized effort or fundraiser is better. Also, you can talk about what you did over the summer following HS before college started. Even with a college load of 14-18 hrs, most college kids have more time on their hands than they realize.
-SAT/ACT: Agree with the above poster that SATs are supposed to show how well you will do in college. But it's something that can show an improvement in your overall application score. Getting a higher score on your ACT math score would reflect positively on your re-app - maybe an improvement from your current 30 to a 32? Specifically when looking to improve the math, DS went through all of his practice SAT math tests to identify the types of math problems he either missed or guessed at. Then he created a program to hone in on those types of problems and concepts. He practiced the tests again under real timed conditions after all of the review. He used a book called The College Panda SAT Math to review math concepts, but used actual SAT practice tests to improve his score. Our DS's verbal score also needed some improvement. Over the summer he took a course called Ace Reader, which helped improve his reading speed and strengthened his comprehension. He also took a course in SAT grammar to review/re-learn all parts of grammar. These two courses not only helped improve his SAT verbal score, but they also set him up to do well in university classes. Khan academy is a free resource that can also help with both Math and Verbal.
-Essays: You can use this experience and what you did to improve yourself over the next year as part of the narrative of why you want to attend USMA.
-Thank everyone who helped with the application process and let them know that you will be re-applying.

Getting a TWE is very disappointing, especially this late in the game. But don't let it define you. You've got a good attitude and bright future ahead. Service academies admissions boards appreciate perseverance. Good luck. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

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[IAM4UK]

I unfortunately just received my TWE in the mail today. West Point has been my dream school for as long as I could remember. Although I am crushed by this, it has only made me want to re-apply and improve myself as a person. If someone could give me some advice on how to improve my chances it would be greatly appreciated. I will be attending a civilian college next year on a 4 Year AROTC Scholarship. I would also appreciate any advice from those who were accepted to West Point out of college.

Academics:
3.45 GPA at the top-ranked private school in my state that has an average GPA of 3.2 (no weighting at my school)
4 AP courses taken (5 is the max for my school without a waiver)
Honors Classes in all subjects except math
31 ACT composite 32 superscore (36 Eng, 30 Math, 35 Read, 26 Sci, 10 Writting)
No class rank because the school doesn't rank

Athletics:
4 Year Varsity Letterman for Golf, Indoor Track, and 3 Year Varsity Letterman for track (final season canceled because of COVID-19)
I was voted team captain for Golf, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track my senior year
In my junior year, I was all-conference (fastest in the conference) for Outdoor Track in the 100M dash, 4x100, and 4x200. Additionally, my 4x200 team won our sectional meet and qualified for the state finals where we finished top 15.

CFA:
Strong push-up number, very strong sit up number, very strong shuttle, good basketball throw, good run (6:20), and decent pull-ups (11)

Extra-Curricular:
Model UN participant all 4 years with leadership roles for my final 2 years. Volunteered at an after school program for grades 9-11. Attended a total immersion Spanish camp for two summers each time lasting a month. Held a job at a golf course for 2 summers working almost full time and working my way up gaining new positions. I also worked during the year. I also held a position on a program that assigns community service instead of jail time for first time youthful offenders for 2 years.

Additional:
I had very strong recommendations and interviewed well with my FFR.

My DS had similar stats out of high school as you. Specifically ACT numbers. He went to MMI as a self-sponsor and was appointed in March. Our liaison stressed the importance of getting all scores up to at least a 30 so there is room for improvement on science. Otherwise, the ACT numbers are very good. I believe that taking courses similar to West Point plebe classes next year at your AROTC school and pull up science to 30 (or at least closer), your re-applicant status and good grades in your college courses will give you extra points on WCS that you didn't have this year. Good luck.