Scholars vs athletes

[oldcorpsdad]

Ideally, the perfect candidate is at the max end of the scale in all facet s of the whole candidate score. Very few probably hit that mark, most are a good blend of all areas. The academy recruits world class athletes (or as best they can find) and will even take some who are exceptional athletes but weak at academics. Some of them will end up at the prep school for a year of academic hardening before they are accepted. They also will take some exceptional scholars who may not even have a varsity letter. There have been multiple posts on this topic. They still need to pass the CFA and should ideally do really well at it to eliminate the fear that they will fail out physically. It happens. While the Academy boasts of its sports teams, club and well as Corps Squad, it also works quite hard to promote its scholars. Just as they revel in beating Navy, achieving NCAA championships, etc.., they look forward to announcing the award of Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Fulbright and other scholarships. West Point is up there with the Ivy League Schools in many of these. They don’t just happen. Each year they scan the yearling class and select about 5% of the top academic students for special preparation. They are pretty much all Star men and Star women. They have to apply and once selected are placed in an immersion program to prep them for the many interviews and applications for all of the scholarships. This is in addition to their normal academic load. It includes an additional class period several times a week. This program is similar to the prep sessions places like Harvard and Yale implemented to up their own prospects chances of winning these prestigious scholarships.

If you are an exceptionally smart student who never made time for varsity sports, you may still have a chance. Make sure you can do really well on your CFA and have leadership, lots of high quality leadership on your resume. Yes, that can be band, student government, Boys or Girls State, Eagle Scout, Civil Air Patrol etc.. It is always easier to make a smart kid stronger than it is to make a strong kid smarter. More get kicked out for academics than athletics (but there are some of both). When in doubt apply, it costs you nothing but time.