Worth Retaking CFA?

[GoNavyPlebe]

Hi everyone,

my CFA scores are as follows (I'm a female):

Ball throw: 55 ft
Pull-Up: 1
Shuttle Run: 9.81 sec
Sit ups: 95 (Max)
Push ups: 50 (Max)
1 mile: 7:09

Is this worth retaking or are these competitive numbers? Does USNA weigh a CFA score heavily when comparing two candidates?

Thank you!

 

[Ravens]

I would say you have done just fine. I would now focus on other things and move along in the process.

 

[GoNavyPlebe]

@usna1985 mind giving me your opinion, sir?

 

[DesertCaliMom]

Great CFA!

 

[GoArmy2022]

Don't retake. Here's why:

1. Physical fitness is only 10% of your application and you can get stronger before Plebe summer if you're admitted to USNA.

2. For whatever reason (perhaps you're fighting off a cold or the flu and haven't actually shown symptoms yet, you overworked yourself recently, or you're fatigued from failing to replace the electrolytes you lost from sweating), if you fail the second CFA by doing no pull-ups (or something like that) and the person administering it records your scores then submits them, that's not something you want. My USMA RC told me that failure of a CFA retake is disqualifying.

Of course, that's just the worst case.

3. It's already a little late to be taking the CFA. Worry about getting involved in your extracurriculars, and keep those grades up. I remember during my stressing out over the CFA and stuff my GPA dropped from a 3.75 to a 3.4 and is now at a 3.9 after I got my thumb back over my time management skills.

 

[usna1985]

@usna1985 mind giving me your opinion, sir?

I think the scores are fine. You max'ed out two of the three areas on which USNA really focuses (crunches and push-ups) which is terrific. You knocked out one pull-up!! And your mile time was good, given your scores in the other areas (which USNA knows will tire you out). I agree with Army 2022 that you could do worse next time.

BTW, I'm a "ma'am," not a "sir."

A couple of points not specific to the OP . . . failure of a CFA retake is not "disqualifying" per se for USNA. Because the new (failing) scores replace your older (passing) scores, it does leave you without a successful CFA so you can't be appointed until you retake it again and pass. If you do that, you're fine.

It is NOT late to be taking the CFA. Candidates have until Jan. 31 and quite a few of my candidates have yet to take it. The one caveat is, if you wait until the last minute and can't find someone to administer the test (had this happen to a candidate last year) or you fail, you may run out of time and not have a passing (let alone good) CFA by Jan. 31, which will doom your application.

And, at this point, it's a little late for senior to do anything more to advance their application other than doing very well on 7th semester grades, in the event you're one of those for whom USNA requests those grades.

 

[time2]

^^ I agree. Also good to remember that USNA has never published their formula relating to being 3Q, so what may X% for another SA, isn't necessarily the same at USNA. Each year you will see a few on here who got an appointment to one SA, but got the TWE from another, so don't assume each considers things exactly the same way.

 

[Keel-USNA]

Your scores are very similar to mine, and my BGO said that I passed/qualified. So hopefully that helps.

 

[GoNavyPlebe]

Your scores are very similar to mine, and my BGO said that I passed/qualified. So hopefully that helps.

Thank you so much! Did he happen to say how competitive they were?

 

[usna1985]

The BGO has no official idea how competitive the CFA is. We are told only whether it's a pass or fail. We don't even see how you performed on each element. If you tell your BGO how you did on each element, just as here, he/she can make an educated guess based on experience regarding how well you did. But it's only an educated guess. It appears that, this year, if your CFA is passing but not great, the RDs are suggesting candidates retake. If that happens, I'd heed that advice.

 

[Patriot4Life]

As a female, this is a great CFA. Focus on your Fall academics. And any improvements you may need on testing, SAT or ACT. If you are submitting ACT, Navy will equalize your score with SAT based on the percentile on English and Math only. So if you got 99% on English 35 and Math 34, this equals V800, M800, hence 1600. This is how the Navy equalized my ACT. ACT is a harder test overall. And all Academies and most selective colleges focus on your English and Math. All the IVIES report only the ACT English and Math as official scores in their internal reporting. This is compared to SAT Verbal and Math. So get the English and Math right. They just need your Reading and Science to get the Composite. Reading, Writing, and Science are used more like the SAT Achievement Tests, so they are treated second class in your overall ACT evaluation. Good luck Candidates!

 

[Billberna]

As a female, this is a great CFA. Focus on your Fall academics. And any improvements you may need on testing, SAT or ACT. If you are submitting ACT, Navy will equalize your score with SAT based on the percentile on English and Math only. So if you got 99% on English 35 and Math 34, this equals V800, M800, hence 1600. This is how the Navy equalized my ACT. ACT is a harder test overall. And all Academies and most selective colleges focus on your English and Math. All the IVIES report only the ACT English and Math as official scores in their internal reporting. This is compared to SAT Verbal and Math. So get the English and Math right. They just need your Reading and Science to get the Composite. Reading, Writing, and Science are used more like the SAT Achievement Tests, so they are treated second class in your overall ACT evaluation. Good luck Candidates!

Patriot, from where/whom did you obtain this information? Interesting that you write that "all Academies" focus on English and Math. And where do you get those ACT/SAT equalities from?

 

[Patriot4Life]

Billberna. My advise is to take all posts on the forum at its face value. Some posts are accurate some are guesstimates and some are clearly flawed. My assessment on the score conversions are based on the latest practice this year how the services converted mine. I applied to all services all programs ROTC / SAs. I assumed if you're Army you're Army. If Navy ROTC or USNA you're still Navy and they evaluate similarly within the Service. My scores are on the high end so I compared notes from each services and how the programs equalized my scores. Navy only look at ENG/Math or Verbal/Math. So they can apples to apples. Army Air Force look at all sections of ACT/SAT and Army evaluate Writing. And if your Writing is strong you get extra points on Reading. Based on discussions with admissions they look at ENG and Math as central. This is very similar with the Ivy Colleges Admissions. They value Eng and Math higher than Reading and Science. Science is actually not really Science. It is more Reading. Need Reading and Science to get Composite. However if Reading and Science are too low it raises red flag. You will find info on the SA min requirements that each section has min for all SAs. For those demonstrating low sections, Air Force appears to bundle Eng/Read Math/Science to give candidates a best possible score to achieve the minimum. It is clear the system is designed to give all candidates best chance to meet and exceed requirements. It's a great system designed by the Armed Forces.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

My advise is to take all posts on the forum at its face value.

We be mixing metaphors here ....but take all posts on the forum with a grain of salt. There is an old saying that free advice is worth what you pay for it, and another USNA saying "live by the gouge, die by the gouge". Some here have had formal training from USNA regarding the Admissions process, some have either served in senior positions at USNA, and some are talking about their own , or DS/DD own personal experience. It's up to each user to ascertain what each posters perspective is, and weight it accordingly.

 

[throwaway24821]

What would you recommend for me? Should I re-take? I'm a male.

Basketball Throw - 57 Feet
Pull Ups - 10
Shuttle Run - 9.5 Seconds
Crunches - 82
Push-Ups - 51
1-Mile Run - 6 Minutes and 18 Seconds

Thanks!

 

[usna1985]

^^^^

IMO, no.