Senior grades

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Lammi

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I FAILED my 1st semester of my senior year (D,D,F,), I spent all of my time into the USAFA application and other things going on in my life I easily should be able to get A’s and B’s for the 2nd 3rd and 4th semester will this potentially affect getting an appointment
 
Yes. It will impact your application, but it is not the end of the journey and "it depends." Where are you now in terms of grade level? Are you still a senior in High School? If so, certainly not a great last impression for the admissions board because they will not see grades from the second half of the school year. If not, and you are now a freshman in college - the board would see your turn-around and take all information into consideration.

Let's assume you are a senior right now. You've had a wake up call - how will you respond? The next steps you take will provide you with a narrative for a nomination interview, an ALO interview, and personal essays. Being realistic, it has probably tanked chances for this admissions cycle and PLAN B may need to shift into PLAN A. All you realistically can do is focus on the goal. If gaining admission to a service academy is your dream, there are multiple paths to the same outcome. If you are unsuccessful this cycle, considered self-prep at one of the formal prep programs for service academies.

In the end, you can overcome bad grades. Just know, it may take a different path or a little longer than you originally envisioned.
 
shiner said:
Yes. It will impact your application, but it is not the end of the journey and "it depends." Where are you now in terms of grade level? Are you still a senior in High School? If so, certainly not a great last impression for the admissions board because they will not see grades from the second half of the school year. If not, and you are now a freshman in college - the board would see your turn-around and take all information into consideration.

Let's assume you are a senior right now. You've had a wake up call - how will you respond? The next steps you take will provide you with a narrative for a nomination interview, an ALO interview, and personal essays. Being realistic, it has probably tanked chances for this admissions cycle and PLAN B may need to shift into PLAN A. All you realistically can do is focus on the goal. If gaining admission to a service academy is your dream, there are multiple paths to the same outcome. If you are unsuccessful this cycle, considered self-prep at one of the formal prep programs for service academies.

In the end, you can overcome bad grades. Just know, it may take a different path or a little longer than you originally envisioned.
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Thank you, I’m currently a senior. Applying for C/O 2025

just out of curiosity, I’ve already submitted my transcript to USAFA (before these grades) so if USAFA were to request senior year grades when would they do so.
 
Looks like you mean failed first Quarter, not semester. That's slightly better, but does your school report semester grades or quarterly. Obviously semester reporting gives you a chance to pull them up a little.

Those are pretty significant grades so listen to Shiner. Pull those grades up dramatically and have a good narrative that shows why and what you learned.
 
To directly answer our OPs concern: Yes, I think your 1st quarter grades will seriously impact your competitiveness. There is only so much you can do to average up a D, D, and F. However, it is certainly not the end of the world, nor it is the end of ultimately getting an appointment, depending on many other factors. We don't know your school's profile. We don't know the "quality" of the 3.6 GPA you posted earlier (ie, grades in key core classes), and we don't know the rest of your package, esp. teacher recs/SOEs and essays, CFA, medical status. I hope you did follow through and get your Eagle Scout and the CAP achievements. I commend you on those! Hopefully you were able to take the SAT/ACT and have a confirming solid score in those.

Pivot and reflect on your grades - it is not just the grades, but also your comment about "spend all my time on USAFA application". This year, as much or more than any other, is to see who THRIVES and who wilts in the Covid environment. This answers the question - does this candidate have the demonstrated capacity to THRIVE at USAFA (in this new world environment)?

Class of 2024 has one of the highest AFT scores (I think during Basic), and after midterm exams, has one of the highest GPAs in many years. What does this tell you? That the Cadets selected are able to THRIVE in an uncertain environment, fluid and ever changing rules, and actually extra competitiveness in dealing with Getting Stuff, Getting Stuff Done, and Thriving With Limited Opportunities (e, clubs have reduced spots or not able to operate due to Covid), and at any time BOOM! you could be in Q&I, disrupting all other plans.

Clearly whatever you did (or did not do) 1st quarter must be corrected. The best thing you can is reflect on why - an F is really bad. I mean, it's an F! A D could be explained, but it's still a D. And you got 2! Is it the grading system? For example, my older DD's AP Calc exams are 100, 70, 40, or 0. One mistake in an early line item and it's a 70 at best. No retakes, not half points back, no extra credit. Very, very sad if you forget +C or whatever that thing is. Did you go to tutoring? Did you do any retakes allowed? Did you join a study group? Reach out to any other teachers? Use any online study aids? Is there something in hardcopy that shows evidence of your taking a proactive step to improve or save yourself from Ds or an F? THIS is what USAFA Cadets do - they go to EI (Extra instruction), seek out classmates for tutoring, and tutor others. I think there is also an academic resource center, but not sure what they do (look at the website and core curriculum manual; I think it's referenced there).

You still have to time to improve, not just the grades, but your PROCESS. Pivot your mindset to a can-do, can-multitask attitude. Obviously through Eagle Scout/CAP you have work ethic and capacity - now just apply that to academics! Your competition will be doing this.
 
Building on great perspective from @HCopter. There are two major potential outcomes of your poor start of senior year.

One, it may not hurt your candidacy and you win offer of appointment. Then the question becomes: How do I prevent a repeat of that? Because at USAFA, you can’t focus obsessively on just one thing. You‘ll have academic, military and athletic obligations — all of which must be done to a certain level, with never enough time in the day. Focus, diligence and time management will be at a premium.

Two, it may hurt your candidacy and you don’t win offer of appointment. Will you have learned valuable lessons, rectified poor habits, addressed any larger issues? Because whether you decide to re-apply or pursue ROTC or OCS — or just give up on the military altogether — you still have a lot of life yet to live. And turning in that kind of performance beyond high school is not a winning formula.

Work on getting those grades up. Use the resources available to you. Don’t fall back on “I was working on my USAFA application.” (Every year, high-school seniors are managing to get straight As while applying to several SAs and for several ROTC scholarships!) Also get cracking on Plan B. All is not lost. It’s now time for you to rally.
 
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