My DD got her rejection and is self prepping next year and said she is willing to apply the following year if she gets a rejection again. What I don't quite understand is from MMI she was told it was her act, 27 if they super score it's a 29, she was 3qd but I saw a maps appointee with a 27 ACT, this whole process can be so confusing.
You have to look at the whole person, not just the ACT score. I'm sure you are talking about my DS who got into USMAPS with a 27 ACT/1230 SAT, 3.8 GPA, but that is his only weak spot and that is why he was admitted. He attends a very competitive department of defense school in Germany made up of mostly high ranking officer's kids. His achievements are that he has 4 Varsity letters in track, was the track team captain his junior and senior year, won 2 gold medals at Euros (which is the equivalent of State in the US), has played soccer for the past 13 years, 4 of those years he was on a German soccer team, he is Student Council Vice President, a member of NHS and multiple other clubs, has over 300 + volunteer hours, he has been in JROTC for four years, is currently at the rank of captain, is one of the company commanders (the 3rd highest rank) in an honor unit with distinction and received the JROTC nomination to WP, is the top in his class for physical fitness performance, attended 4-week long leadership academies over the last four years, one at Columbia University in NYC, and three in Germany, has taken a total of 16 AP classes, fluent in German, plays guitar and cello, has lived in Europe for the past 7.5 years and is very well traveled and cultured, is the son of an active duty military officer (so used to moving around and the military lifestyle), had a principal congressional nomination and a presidential nomination, and is the son of a grad (which may or may not have the tiniest bit of influence.) In the same token, he has a classmate/friend that received a direct appointment who had a slightly lower SAT score, same GPA, no leadership positions at the high school, however he did play football and was one of the captains, was in NHS, and threw discus in track, but what stands out for him is that he served as a page in Washington D.C. for his state senator and had a personal recommendation from that senator and was from a non competitive district whereas my DS was in a very competitive district. They were practically equal and one got into the prep school and one directly into the academy. Moral of the story......some of it doesn't make a bit of sense to us, but to the admissions board even the smallest things can tip the scale in one direction or the other. I think what they do admire is perseverance in the form of reapplying and your DD seems like she's on the right track in her desire to attend and I do pray that she is rewarded for her diligence. Either way she will be successful in anything she does because of that quality.
