I am very interested in going to West Point and I realize that it is very difficult to get in which is why I’m looking for extra advice on here. I’m a freshman. My weighted GPA is 4.05 (Honors= +0.5 and AP= +1) I’m in an advanced math class and I’m in a private school so the classes are difficult. I start on JV football and have potential to play D1 as a kicker. I am also on the baseball team during the spring. I am also almost an Eagle Scout. I feel pretty good about my chances and am extremely motivated to get it. Please give me some feedback and advice on my current information.
@GWCarter: What I tell everyone here who posts a resume is that due to the vagaries of the nomination process and the rubric the service academies use to determine appointments, it is impossible to chance anyone. You should look at the makeup of current classes at West Point and make sure you at least meets if not exceed those stats. For example:
http://www.usma.edu/admissions/SitePages/Class%20Profiles.aspx
Your first step is getting a nomination. USMA does not consider applications without a nomination, so you need to familiarize yourself with this process if you aren’t already by checking the websites of your congressperson and both senators. Once you start the nomination and application process, you will be assigned a Field Force Representative (FFR) who will shepherd you through this process and who will have insight into how competitive your district is and how you stack up against his competition in the year you apply. Getting the nomination is the gating factor; once a candidate has a nomination and is deemed 3Q (qualified academically, physically, and medically) and the application goes to the academy admissions team, the likelihood of an appointment is close to 50%.
Also, you should scour the wealth of applicant information on the USMA website and serviceacademyforums.com as that is the official site for academy applicants. No one there will chance you either for the reasons I gave above. These sources will tell you to do your best academically, up your physical fitness game, and pursue leadership opportunities. You will want to show quality over quantity, stay focused, and put your best application forward. That’s all you or any candidate can do,
Thanks for the information. I’ve been to the website and I have a brochure with that chart but I think its from the High School class of 2012 because of those SAT scores being out of 2400.
Just for some more advice. What should I be doing as a Freshman as far as preparing and contacting different people.
You should be taking advantage of all the rigor your high school offers which means taking the highest/most rigorous courses available to you, especially in calculus, physics, and chemistry. You should also be pursuing team sports and leadership as well as upping your physical condition to the highest level you can. West Point scores candidates based on a Whole Candidate Score (WCS=60% academics, 30% leadership, and 10% physical), so you need to be the best you can be in each of those silos. Once your candidate profile is open in your junior year, you will know who your Field Force Rep (FFR) is and that is the main person you need to stay in contact with. Your FFR can answer any questions you have and will know how you stack up against others in your district. Remember, you need a nomination from a member of congress (MOC) so, initially, you are only competing against candidates in your district. But all of this does not happen until your junior year or later. Until then, get the best grades you can in the toughest courses your HS offers and continue to pursue leadership opportunities and work toward your top physical game. If you want to listen to the conversation of candidates and parents who are a little further along this path, lurk on serviceacademyforums.com which is the official website for those applying to service academies.
I forgot to include this in my last email but I remembered after I started reading your response. How do they take into account that my high school is much harder than others in my area. For example, its easier to get an A at Athens Drive High School then it is to get an A at my school. Also, is there a website where I can calculate m
Sorry it got cut off. I meant to ask if there was anyway to calculate my WCS
The WCS is calculated by WP admissions, the exact formula is not known beyond the weights given to the three general categories (academics, leadership, physical). There is an old Rand report that gives some detail on the WCS, but it is not something you can calculate. Even if you could somehow know your own WCS, it would not tell you how you compare to other candidates from your district in the year you apply. Your FFR will have some idea of how competitive you are for a nomination in the year you apply, but even your FFR will not know your WCS.
West Point understands the rigor of each high school from the school profile provided by the school. No need to worry there; there isn’t a high school that admissions doesn’t have a profile for. The admissions reps for each region are familiar with the high schools in their region. If a “new” school appears on their radar, they request the school profile. Every school is able to provide West Point with the information needed for WP to understand how to evaluate applicants from that high school. Even if your high school doesn’t rank its students (many don’t), WP knows how to assign a class rank to you. They’ve been in this game a long time.
I know you are trying to judge your “chances,” but you can’t. All you can control is yourself. Be the best you can be academically, physically, and in leadership. Get the best grades and standardized test scores you can. Then, submit the best application you can with your best effort and let the chips fall where they may.
Good luck!
One thing I can tell you from personal experience (my hubby is a grad and was also on the admissions committee for four years while we were stationed there) is that they like Eagle Scouts. So make sure you get your rank. The reason is because you showed commitment to a long-term challenge and didn’t give up, especially because for your Eagle project you have to step up, make mistakes and still lead others who may be older than you. That’s hard for a teenager to do even without the added “distractions” of school, sports, music lessons, etc.
Keep the same perspective for other activities. Pick one or two more that you can stay with for several years and improve on and show leadership in. Don’t try to be perfect in a dozen different things.