What do I need to add?

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bobbyjohn99

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Jan 29, 2025
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Hi everyone, I am a current high school junior who is hoping to be a part of the class of 2030. I was hoping you all could look at the big parts of my application and give me advice on what I need to work on and add.

-Dad was USNA graduate who served for 20 years (I don't know if this carries any consideration)
-Attended USNA Summer STEM and have been accepted for Sumer Seminar and a CVW
-4.0 UW GPA taking mostly basic classes with a few honors. Plan to take College English, AP Stats and AP pre-calc next year. Already have chemistry and will take physics.
-Varsity football (not sure if they care or not but we were runner ups in the state championship this past year, might also reach out to Navy coaches about long snapping)
-Varsity baseball
-National Honors Society
-Christian Club at school
-Take weekly classes at a youth group
-About 100 community service hours so far(hoping to get this up)
- Working on acquiring private pilots license
-Part of an Air Force run flying club
-Sons of the American Legion
-Work walking dogs
-Work as a head coach of two youth flag football teams


I know leadership is the big thing I am lacking as they take a look at the whole person individual and I'm sure there's more I'm leaving out. I was planning to run for student council again for my senior year as well as possibly starting a club next school year. If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations on anything I would be grateful. Thank you very much.
 
Keep up the great work! The SAF provides lots of guidance, and I'm sure some others will add their advice. I recommend 'leaning' into your different activities to find leadership and project responsibilities. As I advise my students to make an impact. Also, start take the SAT/ACT as soon as possible to take advantage of 'superscoring.' Another item is to start preparing for the CFA and be sure you can reach the averages published by USAFA and USMA (as USNA does not typically share that data). Good luck!
 
Your academic rigor is questionable. Are you in a competitive district? Does your school offer AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1 and 2? It's too late for AP Calculus but AP Chemistry and Physics should be your goal if offered at your school. If not, don't sweat it. You can only take the hardest classes you can get good grades in at your school.
 
In my experience, it's not about what shows up on the paper, but rather what the tangible effects of your presence were. Did you have any experiences in leadership? How did your presence change the culture or change the result of something you participated in? Think about that, and come up with stories or experiences you can reference.
 
Necromancer said:
Your academic rigor is questionable. Are you in a competitive district? Does your school offer AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1 and 2? It's too late for AP Calculus but AP Chemistry and Physics should be your goal if offered at your school. If not, don't sweat it. You can only take the hardest classes you can get good grades in at your school.
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I am in a smaller area (population wise) in Northern California and from a small but growing town. Will my academic rigor put me farther behind despite the fact I have obtained a 4.0? Also will high SAT/ACT scores help balance this out a a bit?
 
You should be fine. As I said, as long as you are taking the highest level STEM classes at your high school, you will be okay. Yes, high standardized scores will contribute to your academic profile score. Being in a remote area may help as your competition are the kids from your congressional district.
 
My kids went to a small school with not a lot of classes. Take as many AP / Honor STEM classes that you can. If they have 5, take 5. Obviously if a larger school has more, take more. Can you supplement with junior college classes? My kids took many online. I have a class of 2016 grad and 2028.
 
OP, the classes your school offers are not within your control. I grew up in rural NorCal. Limited options back then.

We raised DD and DS in the rural Southwest. No AP options. Zero.

DS took the hardest classes offered (dual credits) and excelled at them. That’s all you can do in terms of your transcript. Great test scores can help prove your ability to be a successful scholar at the college level.

Lots of intangibles with every applicant. Showcase the things that are within your control.
 
Academics (GPA/weight of classes and ACT/SAT); Athletics and Leadership are the key. Some of the other stuff (parent grad, flying, STEM really doesn't add much to the equation. They don't hurt, and private pilot license might be helpful if you present it right (see my prior posts on the subject).

One thing that is really important is your Math/English teacher evaluations. This is not a letter of recommendation, but an evaluation they complete with specific questions regarding scholastic performance and aptitude. This carries a lot of weight, so important that you put your best foot forward in those classes .
 
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Clubs and community service hours:

Be sure to mention on your application what you accomplished. Anyone can join a club and anyone can show up to a beach cleanup. More impressive in their eyes if you had some sort of leadership role in organizing a community service event, or say in leading a team to victory in some sort of competition as an example.
 
One thing USNA looks at is whether a student is taking the most challenging courses offered. Obviously, some schools offer more AP/Honors courses than others -- you can only take what's offered. However, if a student consistently takes non-AP/Honors courses when those were available, that wouldn't be great (i.e., not every course need to be at the AP/Honors level, but some should be).

You didn't post your SAT/ACT scores -- which is perfectly fine (this IS a public forum). To be highly competitive for USNA, you want to have 650/700 (or ACT equivalent). Many students are accepted with lower scores, but this is a good target.

Sadly, dad being USNA grad really doesn't count for anything other than you should be eligible for a Presidential nom. Years ago, USNA gave a VERY slight nod to candidates who had military parents or siblings on the theory that they had a better understanding of the military and thus would be more likely to stay at USNA. This was in the days of 30% attrition. Now, attrition is less than 10% and USNA seems to place a greater emphasis on folks who are the first in their generation to attend college, etc.

Today, USNA expects students to have taken calculus in h.s. Again, not all do, but most do. You might look into taking pre-calc over the summer (maybe at a community college) so you could take calc next year. Take it from someone who did NOT have h.s. calc (b/c calc in h.s. not as common 40 years ago :eek2: :eek2: ) -- calc at USNA almost killed me.
 
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