USMA and homeschooling

SomeGaveAll said:
@bookreader - I agree on thinking out of the box and I actually thought DS's extra-curriculars would look better than they did. However, checking the boxes doesn't give room for creative thinking: it's either a yes or a no, and unless it's a yes, it's a no. Easiest examples: Boy Scouts? Yes or No. Eagle Scout? Yes or No. Not "Did you participate in something you consider similar to Boys Scouts? Did you achieve something you'd consider equivalent to Eagle Scout?" High School Varsity? Yes or No. Team Captain? Yes or No. Team captain of travel league wasn't an option (he listed in "other activities," "resume," and in essays!) Everything that wasn't an officially checked box, was at the discretion to admissions on if they give him the magical WCS points for it. Maybe we took too black & white of a view, but DS didn't want to check something he considered equivalent, and have them disagree and accuse him of lying. He did discuss equivalents on a few items during his interview. In addition, anything that went above and beyond in the officially checked box also must be annotated in the resume or other activities (Chairman of a non-school club? Not a checkbox; written in other activities & resume.) During his overnight visit, DS was told his ECs looked "light" compared to another candidate in our district. However, if you read his resume, he has ECs and leadership coming out his ears. Even if we knew the magical point values for the check boxes, we have no idea what was counted and what wasn't.
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A long-time academy liaison once told me that there are special groups within Service Academy admissions teams that are tasked with evaluating non-traditional candidates (i.e. “homeschoolers”), and that part of their efforts are dedicated to evaluating and verifying non-traditional extra-curricular activities. It’s certainly better to be able to check as many boxes as you can, rather than having to present all of your ECs in the “Other” section of the application, but if your ECs are essentially equivalent to the check/box experiences, then they should count for something toward your WCS. How much will they count? I dunno.

That all being said, I do believe that there’s a way to influence the academies into taking a closer (friendlier) look at your non-traditional ECs, and that would be to blow your standardized-test-scores out of the water! High ACT & SAT scores are already extra-important to homeschoolers as a way of impartially demonstrating the validity of their non-traditional education in a way that directly competes with traditionally educated candidates.

The academies definitely want “well rounded” youngsters, and that means being more than just a bookworm. But, if there’s one thing about your application that is truly outstanding, even by lofty SA standards, then it should warrant extra attention to the rest of your application. Remember, academics represents 60% of your WCS, while ECs (i.e. “leadership”) represents 30%. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR700/RR723/RAND_RR723.pdf (I know, this is from 2015 and could be different now)

However, you absolutely must find ways of demonstrating both leadership and the ability to function effectively in a team setting. If you can do this athletically, then you’ve got the added benefit of demonstrating your physical prowess as well. But, there are plenty of non-athletic ECs that are available to homeschoolers and have boxes you can check. All seven of my children have been homeschooled their whole lives, and all four of my sons have earned the Eagle Scout rank, my youngest son did it in three years. My DS attended Boys State through our local public high school even though he’s never been a student there. DS was also a member of that same school’s Robotics Club for four years, and was the Mechanical Team Captain for three of those years. Their team went to the World Competition in his last year. My two youngest sons are now members of that same team with the youngest being the current Mechanical Team Captain.

All of that bloviating is to make this point: You have to be willing to bend-over-backwards to give the academies what they need to determine that you’re not only worth the risk, but that your application stats make their school look better! There are youth leadership opportunities in places you may not expect, but will find if you look around. You can do this, and this forum will help you immensely…….
 
@birdwatcher4125 I so agree! I originally was replying to
scpal said:
I'm curious, what did your Cadet find to be the most difficult part of the application to do well?
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and I thought I was posting about "thinking out of the box" from our experience to someone who was applying for next year . . . then realized @bookreader has MUCH more experience than I have! We expected to think out of the box and to do extra work. That was no surprise OR complaint! The "most difficult to do well" was the checkboxes. Hindsight.
 
SomeGaveAll said:
This was our first time through the process. Probably the biggest piece of advice could be considered something so obvious that it shouldn't need to be said . . . complete the application process. Then I would add, complete it as early as possible. I've heard of many kids who wanted to attend a SA and get to about their sophomore/junior year and just don't want to put in the work required to complete it. And, it is a HUGE undertaking! That's why you need a goal to complete it early - because things will happen or take longer than you expect and BOOM, a deadline is approaching. We set a goal for August, thought application was complete at the end of September (just waiting on noms) and hit a snag that pushed it into November. Also, if you're going for ROTC scholarships, the first boards meet early fall. DS missed the first rounds due to prioritizing completing SAs and missed the second round of AFROTC due to ignorance of board dates. As a parent of a homeschooler, your role as school counselor will require you to have transcripts, school profile, and course descriptions ready to send for the first 6 semesters. Start now.
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@SomeGaveAll I had to chuckle when I read this because it's almost exactly what happened to us. We too are 1st timers, that had a laser focus on the academy applications, and a near total disregard for the ROTC apps until it was almost too late. We were lucky in that while we were mad-dashing to get the ROTC apps done before the deadlines, knowing that we'd already missed a shot at the fall boards, DS was offered an appointment to the Merchant Marine Academy. This definitely took the pressure off, but we both still felt bad that we allowed something so important to fall completely off the priority list. We also could've gotten done with the academy apps a lot sooner if we'd started everything a lot sooner. By the time we were wrapping up his academy apps there were other candidates reporting to this forum that they'd already received LOA's, completed their DoDMERB physicals and gotten 3Q'd notificatons.

By far, the hardest part of this process for me was getting the course descriptions done. The transcripts and school profile were not easy, but course descriptions for the first six semesters was a crushing load of work for me to get done in the time that I had. My next DS (USNA Class of 2025 hopeful) will be sooooo much easier an experience that I start giggling when I think about it!
 
I’m homeschooled, and I’m having a hard time making sure that I’m going to have all the required courses at the end of the year. Does anybody know what the requirements are for transcripts?
 
@willrb2024 - I have a few suggestions for you.
1. Contact your area field force rep and have a chat with that person. If you can't find one in your area, I'm sure someone on this forum can assist you.
2. Course requirements - Did you look on the WP website for guidance? My son and I read it each year as we made decisions about what courses he will take each year. Basically they want to you take challenging classes. My son took quite a few classes at our local community college as this worked well for him. If this is an option for you, I'd encourage you to check out what your local college/uni/comm college offers.
 
Best source of info for USMA is your RC (Regional Commander). If you can attend one of their information sessions, that is a great place to get specific questions answered.

The RC calculates WCS score and has some discretion when things don't fit into the standardized boxes on the application. WCS score has to be checked by another RC for accuracy and fairness. Important to explain any non-traditional activities on application or in email directly to RC.
 
bookreader said:
@willrb2024 - I have a few suggestions for you.
1. Contact your area field force rep and have a chat with that person. If you can't find one in your area, I'm sure someone on this forum can assist you.
2. Course requirements - Did you look on the WP website for guidance? My son and I read it each year as we made decisions about what courses he will take each year. Basically they want to you take challenging classes. My son took quite a few classes at our local community college as this worked well for him. If this is an option for you, I'd encourage you to check out what your local college/uni/comm college offers.
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Thank you! I definitely will.
 
jl123 said:
Best source of info for USMA is your RC (Regional Commander). If you can attend one of their information sessions, that is a great place to get specific questions answered.

The RC calculates WCS score and has some discretion when things don't fit into the standardized boxes on the application. WCS score has to be checked by another RC for accuracy and fairness. Important to explain any non-traditional activities on application or in email directly to RC.
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Okay thanks. One more question about the WCS: I see that fitness is only 10%, but yet 92% of cadets played Varsity sports. Since I live in virginia, homeschooled kids can’t play high school sports so I’ve always just played league, and obviously you can’t letter in league. I also do CrossFit. Anyway, how important will that be? Also, what is the best way to get in contact with RC? Sorry for all of the questions haha
 
willrb2024 said:
Okay thanks. One more question about the WCS: I see that fitness is only 10%, but yet 92% of cadets played Varsity sports. Since I live in virginia, homeschooled kids can’t play high school sports so I’ve always just played league, and obviously you can’t letter in league. I also do CrossFit. Anyway, how important will that be? Also, what is the best way to get in contact with RC? Sorry for all of the questions haha
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The 10% physical portion of WCS is your score on the CFA. Sports activities fall under the 30% Leadership category.

RC contact info is in the admissions section of the USMA website: westpoint.edu. Just click "Contact Admissions Team" and then select your state from the map. If you are a minority, it is also worthwhile to contact the Diversity Officer for your region.
 
As far as sports outside of school, that is where the RC can determine how those activities relate to WCS points. It is common for candidates to play club sports outside of high school on teams that are more competitive than their high school leagues or sports that are not offered at their school.
 
FYI - my son was homeschooled and so he couldn't play on a team through our local high school. He participated in karate (2nd degree black belt) through the town rec dept and also hockey in a local (not very competitive ) league. HE was in both for many years and developed leadership through both sports - he taught karate to the lower belts and was a team captain on the hockey team.
I write all this to give an example of how a homeschooled student met the sports component of the application.

Good luck!!
And BTW, there are many, many homeschooled students at the service academies.
 
Question, when completing candidate activity record, would a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo (Kukkiwon certified) be considered as a varsity letter? It wasn't achieved through high school, but is definitely leadership/captain in terms of what is required (teaching lower belts, adult classes and proctoring belt tests). Curious how this will be viewed by admissions. No high school sports were participated in, 10 years TKD instead.
 
@Heatherg21 - I can't answer your question. My son also did not have a varsity letter and did not participate in any school sports (due to being homeschooled). He had many, many years of karate (2nd degree black belt) and hockey. He is currently a cadet at WP, so it was clearly acceptable.
 
bookreader said:
@Heatherg21 - I can't answer your question. My son also did not have a varsity letter and did not participate in any school sports (due to being homeschooled). He had many, many years of karate (2nd degree black belt) and hockey. He is currently a cadet at WP, so it was clearly acceptable.
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Thank you for your insight. And congrats to you and your son!
 
Heatherg21 said:
Question, when completing candidate activity record, would a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo (Kukkiwon certified) be considered as a varsity letter? It wasn't achieved through high school, but is definitely leadership/captain in terms of what is required (teaching lower belts, adult classes and proctoring belt tests). Curious how this will be viewed by admissions. No high school sports were participated in, 10 years TKD instead.
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No, it would not be considered a Varsity Letter. The black belt is a separate check box, but in any area for comments or in the essays you can explain any leadership aspects of the activity - the responsibilities you describe are significant. It would also be a good idea to email the RC to reinforce the leadership required in that activity.
 
This is an interesting thread. Several years ago I looked into this and asked the RC exact same question. Response was TKD is = Varsity Sports in WCS and there is a separate check box. If you advanced to Dans 1-10, beyond black belt, you should receive a Certificate from WTF (World Tae KWON Do Federation). This works as a Varsity Letter. If you did time as an Instructor at your TKD School then you can count that as = team Captain since it is a leadership position at the school. There is a small section to explain your leadership should you like to elaborate. You can submit your app in this format and let your RC take care of the rest.
 
CrewDad said:
This is an interesting thread. Several years ago I looked into this and asked the RC exact same question. Response was TKD is = Varsity Sports in WCS and there is a separate check box. If you advanced to Dans 1-10, beyond black belt, you should receive a Certificate from WTF (World Tae KWON Do Federation). This works as a Varsity Letter. If you did time as an Instructor at your TKD School then you can count that as = team Captain since it is a leadership position at the school. There is a small section to explain your leadership should you like to elaborate. You can submit your app in this format and let your RC take care of the rest.
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Thank you for that info. That is how we had understood it and that is how he completed the application. He is 3rd degree Dan and also teaches both youth and adult classes as well as sparring classes. 10 years to earn a 3rd degree should show dedication, commitment, leadership, athleticism and a respect for self and others. He did send his certificate showing his 3rd degree from the Kukkiwon in Korea to each SA he applied to as well as his nomination sources. Now if only DODMETS can get the Dr. office to correct whatever errors they made we could move on to the next step. :)
 
I’m glad it worked out for you. As for DODMERB. DODMET will not correct it you have to ask the Dr office to send in the correct reporting they evaluated your child. DODMERB only accepts what the Dr office report to them and not from you directly. So don’t wait for DODMERB to do it for you.
 
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