Will high school class rank and standardized tests make up for lacking sports participation?

All WCS points are equal - a collection of WCS points from varsity sports carries no more weight than the same number of WCS points from non-athletic activities. The most WCS points wins - there is no committee putting the thumb on the scale in favor of varsity athletes (except for recruited athletes).

It is easy to confuse correlation with causation. USMA does not select varsity athletes; varsity athletes select USMA. West Point is a very physical environment and the overwhelming majority of those seeking appointment are involved in physical activities - the applicant pool is not a uniform distribution. There are far fewer applicants with no varsity sports than there are applicants with varsity sports. Adding the additional hurdle of passing the CFA explains the very high percentage of appointees with varsity sports.
 
Thanks for the link. I love the data, but am seeking context behind the numbers. If we take the figures at face value, we can see the following:
Class of 2021 - 19 students entered the class without earning a varsity athletics letter in HS
Class of 2022 - 10 students entered the class without earning a varsity athletics letter in HS

In the same data set, we see that there were 13 foreign exchange students in co21 and 16 foreign exchange students in co22.
The foreign exchange numbers are included in the total number of students on R-day which impact the overall percentages represented in the chart. Do we assume they hold the equivalent "varsity letter" ?

At the same time, we then look at the composition of the West Point Spirit Band (
). There are easily 100 students in this group. We know that historically, membership of the club is comprised of members from every grade, but the largest percentage of membership is the freshman class. So, if a balanced distribution is 25% (and we know it is more), that is ~25-30 students that we now need to question whether or not these cadets were lettering in band AND a sport in HS. Having been in HS band AND a SA band, I can say with a high degree of confidence that someone in band lettering in a sport does happen, but that person is quite rare and by no means the norm in High School.

We could continue a similar evaluation into each of the other clubs and cliques that comprise a service academy freshman class and you do not have to go too deep before there is reasonable doubt to the number presented in the data set.

The truth behind the figure is of no real consequence to me, but it does clearly impact the psychology of an applicant without an athletic background. My tin foil hat theory is that there is an agenda behind reporting like this to push a message around desired demographics. When we look at similar data sets from USAFA and USNA, their figures sound more reasonable -

USAFA c/o 2025 with 76% having a varsity letter (and they tell you what sports....) -https://www.usafa.edu/app/uploads/CL2025-Class-Profile.pdf -- and this is qualified by stating students earned "1 or more." Does this potentially suggest the USMA figure is a summation of letters earned rather than unique values correlating 1:1 for entering students?

USNA c/o 2025 with 91% having a varsity letter -https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Apply/Class-Portrait.php

Are we to conclude that USMA only attracts the unicorn applicants and only selects varsity athletes except in extraordinary circumstances? For me at least, there is enough here to question it.
I think you bring up good questions about those numbers. I do wonder if USMA does put more emphasis on having a sports background than USAFA or USNA. DS#2 was told at a USMA recruiting event last month that you MUST play some sport. The admin rep wasn't necessarily talking about a varsity sport. He said to email your RC about anything that doesn't fit in the box, Crossift, martial arts, OCR, etc, and let the RC sort it out. He emphasized to over-report physical activities because he would not consider an app without sports. I was surprised that he pushed it so much during the briefing. We can't remember quite that much emphasis when DS#1 was going through the process last year.
 
Based on this thread:

Strangely enough what I caught from this thread is that sports, especially those in which a “letter” is earned, is a requirement to get accepted. And sadly, it seems to be acceptable to lie…err…”fabricate” your sports history on your application as long as your RC says to do so.

Apparently some RCs don’t have much oversight (or professional ethics). I wonder the consequence to the Cadet if discovered. Also, how the ethics of this doesn’t bother those Cadets were that accepted.
 
In the reference to “over-report” in post #42, I didn’t see any encouragement to fabricate, I took that to mean be sure to include athletic activity such as running 5ks or marathons, participating in things like Girls on the Run, CrossFit, etc., as activities that demonstrate willingness to be physical, even if not the same as a traditional sports team with leadership activity. The SAs are looking for well-rounded individuals. That rounding can manifest in diverse ways. We have sponsored mids at USNA who weren’t on sports teams, but had a physical activity that demonstrated discipline, commitment, physical and mental rigor, and they demonstrated their strong group leadership skills in other activities. I’m reminded of twins who were elite figure skaters who had grueling practice schedules, but still managed stellar grades and test scores, active leadership of significant organized groups, plus they organized peer tutoring in STEM. They knew how to drive themselves hard, didn’t shrink from physically demanding athletic activity, were phenomenally good at time management (early AM and PM practices), stepped up to lead in activities where they made a difference and it wasn’t just a title. They excelled at USNA, achieving high-level striper positions as 1/C, wore Supe’s stars indicative of their all-around excellence, aced the PRT, did well in their engineering majors, graduated in the top 100, had a blast on an informal hockey team, and went on to succeed in their respective warfare communities. Their puzzle pieces just looked a bit different. They were also accepted to USMA.

I also didn’t read the thread as confirming a varsity letter is a “requirement.” Quite the opposite in several thoughtful posts. Though a large number of cadets or midshipmen at a SA will fit a certain class profile with regard to having a varsity letter, there are clearly many who don’t. I think the SAs have been assessing applicants long enough they can see candidates whose “round” is a bit different than others yet still possess desired qualities, skills and experience.
 
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They knew how to drive themselves hard, didn’t shrink from physically demanding athletic activity, were phenomenally good at time management (early AM and PM practices), stepped up to lead in activities where they made a difference and it wasn’t just a title
I tie this back to the earlier post in which someone said “SAs don’t select varsity athletes. Varsity athletes select SAs.” The characteristics and traits that drive successful athletes go hand in hand with the characteristics and traits that drive successful cadets/mids and commissioned officers. Where some suspect causation, I see correlation.
 
OP, and future candidates, if not too late...try to max out your CFA-that will help.
 
60 percent of all high school students play at least one sport.

I suspect that percentage is much higher for students that are academically qualified for service academies.

A quick google review leads me to believe the percentage of harvard students that played a sport is much higher than average.
 
I will add my two cents. Since USMA (and other service academies) use a “Whole Candidate” score matrix it is hard to know what the true value of one year of participation in a varsity sport would be. That said, several progressive years in a sport shows diligence and perseverance. If one shows growth in the sport and possibly even rising to be a team Captain that is even better. I know West Point will even credit time as a team manager. I think the key is showing continued growth and upward progression. For many high school students varsity sports are the first opportunities to learn and exhibit leadership which is what West Point, and other SAs, are looking for in prospective candidates. If you try to dissect the varsity sports out you might still achieve a “whole candidate” score sufficient to make it to a SA but they will still be looking for areas where the candidate can show the ability to work as a team, demonstrate a desire to win, persevere, and demonstrate leadership. This can be done in other areas - but for most in high school varsity athletics is the most common path.
 
I will add my two cents. Since USMA (and other service academies) use a “Whole Candidate” score matrix it is hard to know what the true value of one year of participation in a varsity sport would be. That said, several progressive years in a sport shows diligence and perseverance. If one shows growth in the sport and possibly even rising to be a team Captain that is even better. I know West Point will even credit time as a team manager. I think the key is showing continued growth and upward progression. For many high school students varsity sports are the first opportunities to learn and exhibit leadership which is what West Point, and other SAs, are looking for in prospective candidates. If you try to dissect the varsity sports out you might still achieve a “whole candidate” score sufficient to make it to a SA but they will still be looking for areas where the candidate can show the ability to work as a team, demonstrate a desire to win, persevere, and demonstrate leadership. This can be done in other areas - but for most in high school varsity athletics is the most common path.
And since about 90% of a typical class at a SA have Varsity Sports … those without varsity sports are essentially competing in a much smaller pool of applicants-making it stistcically more challenging to get an appointment.
 
Thanks for the link. I love the data, but am seeking context behind the numbers. If we take the figures at face value, we can see the following:
Class of 2021 - 19 students entered the class without earning a varsity athletics letter in HS
Class of 2022 - 10 students entered the class without earning a varsity athletics letter in HS

In the same data set, we see that there were 13 foreign exchange students in co21 and 16 foreign exchange students in co22.
The foreign exchange numbers are included in the total number of students on R-day which impact the overall percentages represented in the chart. Do we assume they hold the equivalent "varsity letter" ?

At the same time, we then look at the composition of the West Point Spirit Band (
). There are easily 100 students in this group. We know that historically, membership of the club is comprised of members from every grade, but the largest percentage of membership is the freshman class. So, if a balanced distribution is 25% (and we know it is more), that is ~25-30 students that we now need to question whether or not these cadets were lettering in band AND a sport in HS. Having been in HS band AND a SA band, I can say with a high degree of confidence that someone in band lettering in a sport does happen, but that person is quite rare and by no means the norm in High School.

We could continue a similar evaluation into each of the other clubs and cliques that comprise a service academy freshman class and you do not have to go too deep before there is reasonable doubt to the number presented in the data set.

The truth behind the figure is of no real consequence to me, but it does clearly impact the psychology of an applicant without an athletic background. My tin foil hat theory is that there is an agenda behind reporting like this to push a message around desired demographics. When we look at similar data sets from USAFA and USNA, their figures sound more reasonable -

USAFA c/o 2025 with 76% having a varsity letter (and they tell you what sports....) -https://www.usafa.edu/app/uploads/CL2025-Class-Profile.pdf -- and this is qualified by stating students earned "1 or more." Does this potentially suggest the USMA figure is a summation of letters earned rather than unique values correlating 1:1 for entering students?

USNA c/o 2025 with 91% having a varsity letter -https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Apply/Class-Portrait.php

Are we to conclude that USMA only attracts the unicorn applicants and only selects varsity athletes except in extraordinary circumstances? For me at least, there is enough here to question it.

Are you saying that you belive the folks in the West Point Spirit Band could not have been high school varsity sport athletes? I know lots of band and orchestra kids at my son’s high school that were also varsity athletes. Or are you saying that most,if not all, of the Spirit Band cadets must have lettered in band? I don’t know the requirements to be part of the band, but that’s probably not true. My son was both a two-sport varsity athlete and also played the cello in orchestra, though he did not letter in orchestra. I have found that a lot of high achieving kids excel in multiple disciplines.

I doubt WP is doing a compilation of varsity letters earned. If that were the case, I think you’d see a much, much higher number. For example, my son earned 6 varsity sport letters in high school and similar totals were not at all uncommon.

I agree that the numbers seem high and a drill-down would be interesting. My son is not at WP, he’s at the CGA, so I wouldn’t be privy to any anecdotal info from parents or students, but I do think some of what you’re suggesting may not track.
 
Are you saying that you belive the folks in the West Point Spirit Band could not have been high school varsity sport athletes? I know lots of band and orchestra kids at my son’s high school that were also varsity athletes. Or are you saying that most,if not all, of the Spirit Band cadets must have lettered in band? I don’t know the requirements to be part of the band, but that’s probably not true. My son was both a two-sport varsity athlete and also played the cello in orchestra, though he did not letter in orchestra. I have found that a lot of high achieving kids excel in multiple disciplines.

I doubt WP is doing a compilation of varsity letters earned. If that were the case, I think you’d see a much, much higher number. For example, my son earned 6 varsity sport letters in high school and similar totals were not at all uncommon.

I agree that the numbers seem high and a drill-down would be interesting. My son is not at WP, he’s at the CGA, so I wouldn’t be privy to any anecdotal info from parents or students, but I do think some of what you’re suggesting may not track.
Agree. My son was selected for region band in middle school and continued in High School. Did a couple of years in marching band while also doing Cross Country and track. Summer before Junior year he was picked to be assistant Drum Major. Before taking that spot he talked to Cross Country coach as he couldn't do both and found that he was going to be one of the XC track co-capts. He chose to stay with Cross Country.
So fairly high level band type and three sport athlete. Ended up a multi-season varsity athlete at USNA in a different sport
 
In the reference to “over-report” in post #42, I didn’t see any encouragement to fabricate, I took that to mean be sure to include athletic activity such as running 5ks or marathons, participating in things like Girls on the Run, CrossFit, etc., as activities that demonstrate willingness to be physical, even if not the same as a traditional sports team with leadership activity. The SAs are looking for well-rounded individuals. That rounding can manifest in diverse ways. We have sponsored mids at USNA who weren’t on sports teams, but had a physical activity that demonstrated discipline, commitment, physical and mental rigor, and they demonstrated their strong group leadership skills in other activities. I’m reminded of twins who were elite figure skaters who had grueling practice schedules, but still managed stellar grades and test scores, active leadership of significant organized groups, plus they organized peer tutoring in STEM. They knew how to drive themselves hard, didn’t shrink from physically demanding athletic activity, were phenomenally good at time management (early AM and PM practices), stepped up to lead in activities where they made a difference and it wasn’t just a title. They excelled at USNA, achieving high-level striper positions as 1/C, wore Supe’s stars indicative of their all-around excellence, aced the PRT, did well in their engineering majors, graduated in the top 100, had a blast on an informal hockey team, and went on to succeed in their respective warfare communities. Their puzzle pieces just looked a bit different. They were also accepted to USMA.

I also didn’t read the thread as confirming a varsity letter is a “requirement.” Quite the opposite in several thoughtful posts. Though a large number of cadets or midshipmen at a SA will fit a certain class profile with regard to having a varsity letter, there are clearly many who don’t. I think the SAs have been assessing applicants long enough they can see candidates whose “round” is a bit different than others yet still possess desired qualities, skills and experience.
No mention in my post specific to post #42 but there are at least two from which I base my statement.

Perhaps I should have posted that a sports “letter“ is touted to be a “requirement” (note quotation marks). The general consensus from posters here is that it is highly unlikely that one will receive an appointment without it. Only 10 of 1,200-ish this year supports this consensus.

Therefore, the “fabrication technique” seems to be encourage…despite the questionable RC’s and applicant’s ethics involved.
 
I do not think candidates are fabricating their sports resumes and I also do not believe that RCs are asking applicants to lie on their applications. An RC knows what the "equivalency" is of a varsity letter in a competitive sport that is not a Varsity sport. My DS was a 2019 USMA grad and he said in his company's class he didn't know a single cadet who did NOT participate in varsity sports. He could tell you what sport they were in, as well. A lot of these kids were very good athletes, but not Division 1 caliber. They often times played on the club teams or they chose the intramural sport that they had played in high school.

Also to the point of band, the school that I went to was a small school (100 kids per class) but 1/3 of the whole school was in band. Many of the varsity athletes were in band. In fact, the cheerleaders and football players would even march during the half-time show and would go to the weekend competitions with the marching band. I was a 3-sport varsity athlete, who was in marching band, pep band, the concert band, wind ensemble and county honor band. I was not unique and I would bet you would hear many of these same stories at USMA.
 
Based on this thread:

Strangely enough what I caught from this thread is that sports, especially those in which a “letter” is earned, is a requirement to get accepted. And sadly, it seems to be acceptable to lie…err…”fabricate” your sports history on your application as long as your RC says to do so.

Apparently some RCs don’t have much oversight (or professional ethics). I wonder the consequence to the Cadet if discovered. Also, how the ethics of this doesn’t bother those Cadets were that accepted.
There are two aspects of the admissions process that make it unlikely/risky that that a candidate would fabricate activities, or that an RC would overlook such fabrication:

1. A high school official must confirm the activities reported by the candidate. False activities would have to be reported with the collusion or ignorance of the high school official.

2. RC's calculate WCS scores for each candidate in their region. Those scores must then be validated by another RC, who could easily note a pattern of discrepancies.
 
No mention in my post specific to post #42 but there are at least two from which I base my statement.

Perhaps I should have posted that a sports “letter“ is touted to be a “requirement” (note quotation marks). The general consensus from posters here is that it is highly unlikely that one will receive an appointment without it. Only 10 of 1,200-ish this year supports this consensus.

Therefore, the “fabrication technique” seems to be encourage…despite the questionable RC’s and applicant’s ethics involved.
No one is suggesting falsifying information. The encouragement was to report ALL of your activities whether you think they are important or not which is what he meant by "over-reporting." They want to see some kind of sports and are willing to give points for unconventional activities. If the candidate doesn't report it, the RC can't allocate any points for it. The RC has some discretion to award WCS points and/or assign activities to categories. This isn't questionable ethics, it is the job. My USAFA '26er (who got a USMA appointment also) reported his Crossfit activities in the extras section and we have no idea how points were allocated to it. He was also a varsity athlete and a team captain who was told he "maxed out" his EC points during an admissions event so it might not have even made a difference for him but he reported it anyway.
 
I tie this back to the earlier post in which someone said “SAs don’t select varsity athletes. Varsity athletes select SAs.” The characteristics and traits that drive successful athletes go hand in hand with the characteristics and traits that drive successful cadets/mids and commissioned officers. Where some suspect causation, I see correlation.

I think this is at the core of it all. Why would someone want to go to a "college" and enter a profession with as many difficult physical challenges (not just athletic but all of the other physical/mental stresses) and not already be engaged in these experiences in high school? And and environment in which "team" is the most important thing? A 36 on your ACT says nothing about team and physical stamina. If you're not engaged in said activities and working in teams in high school, why would an SA want to take a chance on you to survive, let alone succeed? And why would anyone want to go to an SA if they haven't proven to themselves that they would have a good chance of being successful? Failure is expensive for both parties. The metrics are just a biproduct.
 
I have known some people who think their amazing leadership position or their excellent academic record will be able to overcome a lack of sports participation/athletics. I think this was the type of question that the OP initially had.

The general answer for that is no.
You may be able to find a small number of candidates who were exceptions, but in general you need to have a strong record of some type of sports/physical fitness and a decent score on the CFA in order to receive an appointment and succeed at a military academy. If you don’t, your application will likely be rejected at some point in the process, either when applying for a nomination or when the appointments are awarded.
 
I would challenge some of the responses in this forum. Not to say that athletics aren't important, but academics and leadership performance weigh heavier in the admissions process. I never received a varsity letter (head coach and I didn't get along) but was still admitted. My WPCS was in the top 13% of the class, which I assume was largely a result of academic test scores and class rank. That being said, I would recommend rejoining the team, assuming it will not force you to slip in your academics/leadership.
 
I would challenge some of the responses in this forum. Not to say that athletics aren't important, but academics and leadership performance weigh heavier in the admissions process. I never received a varsity letter (head coach and I didn't get along) but was still admitted. My WPCS was in the top 13% of the class, which I assume was largely a result of academic test scores and class rank. That being said, I would recommend rejoining the team, assuming it will not force you to slip in your academics/leadership.
You are assuming your situation is the rule and not the exception.

Maybe on your slate your wcs was tops. Maybe on a different slate it wouldn’t have been - others with top grades and activities plus sports might have edged you out?
 
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