Single Most Important Factor?

5Day said:
If I had to pick one factor it would be:
The son or daughter of a Medal of Honor winner.
I think that would be a slam dunk as long as you at least met all the other requirements.
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Love this one! And they deserve it! MOH recipients are the bravest, most selfless heroes in our Nation's history. Thank you for this answer!
 
My 2 cents worth: My opinion only:
SAT/ACT is big. It get you in the "to be considered" pile
If you have a really good score here (say top 10% or so), they will give you a pretty good look.
Of course that's no where near all of it. Lots of other important stuff. Leadership, Sports, Grades...
 
Dadx4 said:
Love this one! And they deserve it! MOH recipients are the bravest, most selfless heroes in our Nation's history. Thank you for this answer!
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Seriously no joke. Had I known that my 100% service connected disabled dad's status could have gotten me a nomination, my life would have been very different.
 
I got an appointment with a poor CFA (max pushups, below average on everything else. I'm working on it for plebe summer!) and I really expected a rejection. I had a 4.0 UW, 4.5 W GPA, and 1520 New SAT (770 M 750 R). So my anecdotal evidence is in favor of academics being the greatest quantifiable factor, but I'd also say that my desire to attend was is what got me in. You need to be able to convey in your interviews and essays that you want to get in. The application process is long, especially if you have medical hurdles as well. It was far more stressful than any of my other college applications, and none of my friends could empathize. I only got through it because I knew how much I wanted it.
 
YoloHanSolo said:
I got an appointment with a poor CFA (max pushups, below average on everything else. I'm working on it for plebe summer!) and I really expected a rejection. I had a 4.0 UW, 4.5 W GPA, and 1520 New SAT (770 M 750 R). So my anecdotal evidence is in favor of academics being the greatest quantifiable factor, but I'd also say that my desire to attend was is what got me in. You need to be able to convey in your interviews and essays that you want to get in. The application process is long, especially if you have medical hurdles as well. It was far more stressful than any of my other college applications, and none of my friends could empathize. I only got through it because I knew how much I wanted it.
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Those are some excellent scores! My DS is nowhere in that ballpark but he's going to take SATs until he can't anymore. It seems like SAT/ACT are coming in pretty strong in this informal survey. Desire to get in . . . excellent. One that I took for granted because it's not quantifiable, but such an important factor. I'm learning so much. Thank you!! Congrats and good luck this summer!
 
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Blessedmom said:
Unless you are a recruited athlete or an All State Varsity Captain, I would say~
SAT/ACT & Weighed GPA.
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DD was a recruited athlete for USMMA, Captain, First Team All-State, All-Area, etc. So I agree, in her situation SAT/ACT/GPA were not weighted as heavily.
 
Dadx4 said:
I know that there are no absolutes in the Academy admissions process. I have read most of the threads here on SAF for years. I'm curious though. If you "had to" pick the single most important factor for admission to any service academy, what would it be?
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DODMERB
If you can't pass that one way or another (waivers), you aren't getting in.
Everything else seems to be the abyss....

Wait, getting a NOM is go or no go too for acceptance.
These two are the Most important factors...

As for the rest of the variables, look at the class profiles, and try to match that as accomplishments for a goal and run
 
I'm going to chime in with: *any one thing.* That is to say, at a certain point, all remaining candidates are not "just" qualified, they are "highly" qualified. So, *any* one thing that makes your candidate stand out could make all the difference.
 
Agreed with all that said there is no one thing. As I have posted before, when I line DS up against a lot of his classmates, honestly, he does not stand out.
 
A lot of emphasis has been placed by others on standardized testing as the "one thing" that makes the most difference. I must respectfully disagree. If that were truly the "one thing," my DS wouldn't be at USNA, because his scores were good, but not near-perfect (and he was not a recruited athlete). As many others have stated, there is no one thing. The whole idea behind choosing suitable SA appointees is the fact that they are accomplished in a wide range of areas: academic, athletic/fitness, leadership, etc. Sometimes, those things show up in the numbers (scores and GPAs), but other times they show up in letters of recommendation and BGO interviews. So, to answer your question, if I had to pick, I would say the single most important thing is being well rounded.
 
Picking one . . . class rank. HOWEVER . . . that also assumes a decent high school and core courses, most of which are at the AP or honors level. IOW, if your h.s. is terrible and your courseload is weak, class rank isn't as impressive and your SAT/ACT becomes more important.

SAT/ACT isn't everything. I've had candidates with (literally) 800/800 be turned down and/or not even get a nom.

The sad fact is that, especially in highly competitive regions, many candidates who have everything going for them still are turned down. Just too many great kids for too many spots. Why some get in and others don't . . . if any of us knew the answer to that, we'd be running a consulting firm for SA admissions. :)
 
It's extremely hard to say any one factor is most important. Sure, even if we knew the formula for WCS, that is only part of the equation. First you have to be Physically (CFA) and Medically Qualified. Then, your WCS has to qualify for the Admissions Board "qualification" (including academic, leadership, and other academics). Being 3Q is only half way there --- each offer of appointment has to have a corresponding Nomination source. Most MOC use a Competitive nomination, where they nominate up to 10 candidates for each slot. Admissions then needs to decide which of the 10 is the most qualified. In a competitive district, the qualifications of those candidates may be virtually indistinguishable (ie. great academics, great leadership, sports , etc),. That's where the real competition is, and often comes down to comparison of each category and subjective calls by Admissions.

As said on this Forum many times, there is little sense is asking whether you are competitive. All you can do is start building your record early .... academic excellence, leadership development, athletics are all important. If you haven't maxed out in everything you do, you are leaving something on the table. And even if maxed out, there is always an element of uncertainty and matters outside of your control, including medical. The medical requirements are very detailed and strict, and I have seen some very outstanding candidates passed over because of DODMERB.
 
usna1985 said:
Picking one . . . class rank. HOWEVER . . . that also assumes a decent high school and core courses, most of which are at the AP or honors level. IOW, if your h.s. is terrible and your courseload is weak, class rank isn't as impressive and your SAT/ACT becomes more important.
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I can only personally relate what happened with my son, but he came from a very small high school in an exurban area about an hour from Atlanta. We had very few AP classes and no honors classes at all. I'm sure the school profile is extremely weak, though the education available to students in the school is good, if the kids are willing to work for it (sadly, most are not). Our school had never sent anyone to any of the service academies. As I stated earlier, my son's SAT scores were less than stellar, so he had neither the benefit of perfect SAT scores nor high class rank in a high-achieving school (he was 6th in his class, behind kids who took all their classes at our local community college and received extra points added to their grades as a result). He was not a recruited athlete nor a minority so, in essence, statistically he was nothing special from a nothing-special school. I am convinced that his BGO interview, LORs,and a follow-up meeting he took advantage of with the admissions officer for our area made the difference for him. These are all personal touch points, not statistics, so they are impossible to quantify. But, based on my son's experience, I believe their importance cannot be overstated.
 
coachkarl said:
Agreed with all that said there is no one thing. As I have posted before, when I line DS up against a lot of his classmates, honestly, he does not stand out.
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But if you HAD to pick.....
 
Dadx4 said:
But if you HAD to pick.....
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For my DS? There are two things I'd say he did well - 1) he wrote a great essay and converted that into great interviews; 2) he proved he's well-rounded by being both a very good varsity football player and an all-regional musician.
 
@Dadx4 I am not sure what you are really getting at. The standardized test scores have the highest weighting for an individual item in the WCS(this is a simple math equation and really not open to debate). The scoring in other areas are more subjective and carry less weight individually but in line with everyone's comments, you need to meet the "WHOLE" part in the WCS to be successful.

The other unknown is how you are competing against the others on your nomination slate. Reality is if you only have one nomination from your local MOC, you are only competing against 9 other individuals and only have one chance for an appointment. Having a 3.5 gpa and a 30 ACT may be good enough to win the slate this year but would not win other slates and could have you ranked #10 against next year applicants.

You cannot compare how your candidate stacked up against other candidates in other areas of the country as you do not know who they are competing against. This really isn't a national competition. I am sure there are many kids offered appointments who have a lower WCS score than others based on nomination slates.

Bottom line is to do your best to excel at everything you do. The academy wants well rounded individuals who are driven to succeed in all areas.
 
USMA 1994 said:
@Dadx4 I am not sure what you are really getting at. The standardized test scores have the highest weighting for an individual item in the WCS(this is a simple math equation and really not open to debate). The scoring in other areas are more subjective and add carry less weight individually but in line with everyone's comments, you need to meet the "WHOLE" part in the WCS to be successful.

The other unknown is how you are competing against the others on your nomination slate. Reality is if you only have one nomination from your local MOC, you are only competing against 9 other individuals and only have one chance for an appointment. Having a 3.5 gpa and a 30 ACT may be good enough to win the slate this year but would not win other slates and could have you ranked #10 against next year applicants.

You cannot compare how your candidate stacked up against other candidates in other areas of the country as you do not know who they are competing against. This really isn't a national competition. I am sure there are many kids offered appointments who have a lower WCS score than others based on nomination slates.

Bottom line is to do your best to excel at everything you do. The academy wants well rounded individuals who are driven to succeed in all areas.
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Thanks USMA. This forum is amazing and the moderators and contributors have so much experience. Here's what I'm getting at: assuming, hypothetically, that there is one most important factor for admission, what would it be? If every known factor in existence were listed in one long multiple choice answer, which would you choose as the most important? Standardized test scores?
 
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