Work or School?

Vercingetorix

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2018
Messages
6
Hello all,

I had gotten into contact with a graduated USMA candidate and he said that after a 4-month prep school (NWP), to enjoy my time off. I am a reapplicant from the class of 2022 and I was told that my SAT score is what held me back. I am conflicted because I have an amazing job opportunity as an EMT that would require me to leave for 2 weeks on and off. This job would be difficult to balance with college. I was wondering if I do well enough on my SAT (~1350+) would it be a wise decision to pursue that job opportunity? I would be working in the medical field which is a potential career path or would a local college be better?
 
This is a matter of prioritization. I’m presuming that becoming an Army officer via USMA is your #1 priority. In that case, academics should take precedence. The SAT may have been the obstacle last time, but as a reapplication, you also need to show USMA that you’re capable of excelling at the college level. You’re also taking quite a leap in assuming you can reach a certain SAT score. Perhaps you can, but wouldn’t bank it quite yet.

The EMT experience may serve you well re potential career path. But that would come after four years at WP and five years (at least) of active duty. So that’s nine years away. And again, what’s more important to you!

The ideal route would be to do both. Show USMA that you can excel at academics while taking on a great professional experience. See if you can pull it off. Best wishes to you.
 
This is a very difficult question to answer, because although against this year's competition the SAT held you back, next year you may run into a group with better high grades and activities than you had. You can't go back to high school, but one of the advantages of being a re-applicant is you can show you can perform well academically at the college level. NWP does not allow you to do that because their main focus is on SAT/ACT and the CFA. Any USMA appointment decision is going to come before second semester college grades are in, so any spring semester college is mostly for your own academic preparation. In my opinion there is no reason why you can't take an SAT/ACT course in preparation for the fall ACT/SAT, then enroll at a university close to home to show you can handle college level work, train for the CFA on your own, and if available enroll in ROTC. This hits many more points that the USMA admission office looks at then NWP alone. I know people have gotten appointments to West Point from NWP, but NWP gets most of their appointments from USAFA due to their partnership with the Falcon Scholarships.
 
As a reapplicant, above and beyond a stellar ACT/SAT, you need to show you can handle a plebe-level college load. That means taking calculus, chemistry and English — at the very least. Look up a plebe’s core curriculum on the USMA website and try to duplicate it as best you can.
 
Back
Top