Should I retake CFA?

Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
63
I have been working hard on studying for my ACT retake and completing my application lately so I have not retaken my CFA yet. I heard you have a better shot of getting in to an academy if you submit everything by end of October so if I do retake the CFA it will need to be very soon. Here were my stats from my first CFA.

(Male BTW)
B-BALL: 80 ft.
Pull-ups: 10
Shuttle run: 8.5 sec
Crunches: 77
Pushups: 63
Mile: 6:10
 
The application deadline varies by the academy but I believe the following to be correct
USAFA 12/31
USNA 1/31
USMA 2/28
Read the various academy web sites to confirm this

Nominations from MOCS are not due until Jan 31. Most appointments do not start going out until February and March. If you have a Presidential nomination, and statistically you walk on water, you might receive an appointment in the autumn.

The point of all this is that your information on October meaning anything is pretty worthless.

By all means, retake the CFA if you feel you need to. Sooner is always better because of potential injuries, illnesses, etc.... BUT only if you are actually prepared to retake it to improve your score.
 
Last edited:
If you are otherwise athletically active (i.e., organized sports), I don't think you should retake. Your mile time is excellent and the marginal benefit you might get from improving your crunches could easily be outdone by worse scores in other areas.
 
If you are otherwise athletically active (i.e., organized sports), I don't think you should retake. Your mile time is excellent and the marginal benefit you might get from improving your crunches could easily be outdone by worse scores in other areas.

I am an athlete year round and lift quite a bit. The main part for me is losing time I have been using to prep for the ACT and my other college apps. I’ll probably start doing practice CFAs during my gym class (free period for me to weightlift) and if I get to a point I feel I can improve significantly my score I’ll get my PE teacher to test me.
 
That CFA is not strong.. Definitely take it again, the pull ups, pushups, and crunches all need to improve significantly.. You are in a very competitive arena trying for an SA appointment. Do not settle for barely average, those you are competing with won't.. Good Luck..
 
B-BALL: 80 ft.
Pull-ups: 10
Shuttle run: 8.5 sec
Crunches: 77
Pushups: 63
Mile: 6:10

There's nothing wrong with that CFA. If anything, you need to work on pull-ups
 
That CFA is not strong

Actually, it is. Pullups and crunches could be a bit better, but neither is terrible.

It's like someone with 700/720 SATs. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Is it worth the effort of retaking for that marginal improvement? Probably not -- and this is especially true with the CFA, which is not super-scored, so there's always the potential of doing worse for some weird reason and having those new scores count.
 
Exactly, and well-said.
It's Pass/Fail. Concentrate on the other parts of your application.
(Just my opinion, mind you!)
 
That CFA is not strong

Actually, it is. Pullups and crunches could be a bit better, but neither is terrible.

It's like someone with 700/720 SATs. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Is it worth the effort of retaking for that marginal improvement? Probably not -- and this is especially true with the CFA, which is not super-scored, so there's always the potential of doing worse for some weird reason and having those new scores count.
Let me correct myself, that CFA is weak for USMA maybe its OK for USNA..
 
@CyberSecurity17, let’s try to settle this debate with some facts. Here’s a link to a USMA CFA guide, which lists average and max for each event. Never mind that it’s West Point. I’ve never been able to find a comparable resource for USNA, but I’m confident that this is a very good proxy.

https://www.usma.edu/admissions/Shared Documents/CFA_Instructions.pdf

As you can see, your CFA is above average for West Point, and I’m sure the relationship is comparable for Annapolis. Now that you have these facts, you can make an informed decision.
 
Your CFA looks fine to me too especially fine with the run time! I would spend my time getting rest of your college and ROTC Scholarship Apps done well.
 
As you can see, your CFA is above average for West Point, and I’m sure the relationship is comparable for Annapolis.

It's really not wise to make Admissions comparisons of any type among the SAs. Each SA weights different elements of an application differently. This is one of the reasons that some candidates are offered appointments (or even LOAs) from one SA but are turned down by another. Thus, it would not surprise me if USMA (a ground-based service) had tighter requirements for the CFA -- not saying they do, only that it wouldn't surprise me.

USNA does not publish average scores or passing CFA scores. However, those who've been involved in the process for many years tend to have a decent sense of what is "good." It's not set in stone and it's not official policy; rather, it is an opinion born of experience. USNA would say that, until you achieve the max in every event, there is room for improvement. As a practical matter, at some point, certain scores are probably good enough such that the benefits of marginal improvement are outweighed by the downsides of retaking.

For USNA purposes, CFA scores are not viewed in a vacuum; thus, if a candidate is not o/w athletically active, the CFA is the only measure of fitness and will be weighted more heavily. What does that mean? A varsity swimmer who is a district champion will likely be cut some slack for a sub-par (but passing) mile run time as compared to a candidate who has no organized sports. If you're unsure, your BGO is a good source of info. Your RD in USNA Admissions may also have a view.
 
It's really not wise to make Admissions comparisons of any type among the SAs. Each SA weights different elements of an application differently. This is one of the reasons that some candidates are offered appointments (or even LOAs) from one SA but are turned down by another. Thus, it would not surprise me if USMA (a ground-based service) had tighter requirements for the CFA -- not saying they do, only that it wouldn't surprise me.

USNA does not publish average scores or passing CFA scores. However, those who've been involved in the process for many years tend to have a decent sense of what is "good." It's not set in stone and it's not official policy; rather, it is an opinion born of experience. USNA would say that, until you achieve the max in every event, there is room for improvement. As a practical matter, at some point, certain scores are probably good enough such that the benefits of marginal improvement are outweighed by the downsides of retaking.

For USNA purposes, CFA scores are not viewed in a vacuum; thus, if a candidate is not o/w athletically active, the CFA is the only measure of fitness and will be weighted more heavily. What does that mean? A varsity swimmer who is a district champion will likely be cut some slack for a sub-par (but passing) mile run time as compared to a candidate who has no organized sports. If you're unsure, your BGO is a good source of info. Your RD in USNA Admissions may also have a view.

My BGO said my CFA was good and retaking would not help too much. I just came here for another opinion.
 
My BGO said my CFA was good and retaking would not help too much. I just came here for another opinion.[/QUOTE]
Do not retake. Listen to your BGO!!!
 
Back
Top