<p>Hello all,
I have been ‘lurking’, reading all these great posts, and have finally logged on. I am a mom, watching my son go through the application process and I have a few questions. First, here’s some background info:</p>
<p>Son is a senior, here in Singapore (US Citizen)
Rec’d Sen Cornyn Nomination in November
Attended USAFA Summer Seminar
Medically Qualified</p>
<p>All the other info regarding his qualifications, I’ll let you know upon request. Sometimes it seems wierd to list the resume. He must have done something right to get the summer seminar and Cornyn’s nomination.</p>
<p>Okay, here’s the question:</p>
<p>When should he submit the CFA? He broke his ankle during volleyball and that set him back quite a bit. He’s recently been re-qualified medically (whew!) and is close to being able to take the test. I know everyone says that no minimums are posted for the CFA, but it would be nice to know what he should strive for, just to get this behind him.</p>
<p>I think now he’s at:</p>
<p>BB Throw 70
Pullups 8
Shuttle run 9.1
Situps 50
Pushups 50
Mile Run 7.30 (he’ll get this down to below 7 soon)</p>
<p>If someone could give us some real numbers on what should be improved that would help. It was amazing to realize that a broken ankle and 2 months recovery affected every single one of these scores, but it did!</p>
<p>Also, how much longer should he wait to get the CFA done?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your posts…I really appreciate it.<br>
-SingaporeMom</p>
<p>Work on the pullups and definitely work on the situps, he should max those.</p>
<p>Do it quickly, his scores aren't terrible.</p>
<p>Hey... I know your son! He was in my summer seminar group! Tell him Hilary says hello and I hope to see him there!!!</p>
<p>Thanks...he'll keep working on it.</p>
<p>Congrats, I also received Sen Cornyn's nomination back in 2005, definitely a relief how early he does it (especially with the LENGTH of his application!)</p>
<p>For his CFA: throw is good. I would suggest getting pull-ups ot at least 10. Run is fine. Sit-ups need to go up. hint below on that. pushups also should go up by about 10. His mile looks like he'll be ok once its down.</p>
<p>Also, my scores were actually less than many of his current (i was higher in pull-ups and sit-ups), and I an a very happy and semi-successful sophomore at USAFA. :)</p>
<p>For sit-ups. The test requires the elbows to touch the thigh. Practice raising just enough to hit the thighs as well as tapping the ground barely with should blades (like the bottom of the blade). Most will max sit-ups here with that technique. Takes me about 1:20 to do all 95 sit-ups (before the technique I was getting maybe 70 at 2:00.)</p>
<p>Thanks!!! Just told Zac about the technique, and he'll give it a shot tomorrow. He's working on the pushups...trying to do 200 a day for 2 weeks, hoping that will bring that up. The pullups he'll keep at. He went from 2 to 8 since September, so he's getting there.</p>
<p>Yes, he was glad to get Cornyn's nomination. I actually think he was in shock when we got the phone call. This is a kid who has done alot of amazing things, but has not realized it. I honestly think that he doesn't feel worthy of this honor.</p>
<p>I applied for Cornyn's nomination, and was turned down because they knew I was getting another one... It was really stressful to see the "We regret to inform you..." letter though!</p>
<p>What's funny is I was told the same thing by my local rep since I had Sen Cornyn's nom, so I didn't even go to my interview. Well, a month later I have both nominations in hand. jeez! Didn't get Kay Bailey's, that would have been odd.</p>
<p>I got a call from Kay Bailey's office the day I got my nomination from my local rep... I think they gave it to someone else though because they knew I already had a nomination. Singaporemom... tell Zach he deserves it!</p>
<p>Thanks Hornetguy for the situp technique! Son tried it today and increased situps from 50 to 75. His run also improved while on vacation:</p>
<p>Here's his new cfa stats:</p>
<p>BB Throw 70
Pullups 8
Shuttle run 9.1
Situps 75
Pushups 50
Mile Run 6:38</p>
<p>If you have any pushup hints, we'll take 'em!</p>
<p>Just do a lot of pushups... thats the only real way to improve. Best of luck to him!</p>
<p>Thanks dyenior_2008. He's almost up to 60 pushups now. Getting close! Also, just got nom from congressman as well as senator. Just wish he could get this CFA out of the way. He's calmer about all of this than I am!</p>
<p>For push-ups, one strategy is to do as many as he can without slowing down significantly, then do bursts of 5-10 after that with a short pause in between bursts. (That has improved my push-ups by about 10, even without practicing enough.)</p>
<p>60 is a respectable number, but if he can improve, that's just extra points.</p>