How Vital is Upper Body Strength in the Application Process?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Military Academy - West Point
1

I wish to apply to the USMA. I am skinny but have great endurance and love a good challenge, so USMA appeals to me. With that in mind, however, I am not great at pushups nor the basketball through. In fact, I score at about 2/3 the max score for each. I am, however, a great runner and very agile, so the mile test, shuttle run, and pull-up test are a breeze for me (I don’t know why I do so well on the pull-up test, maybe my weight?). With all that in mind, how much of an emphasis does West Point put on upper body strength for admissions?

In case it’s useful in your response:

ACT Composite: 32
ACT Mathematics: 35
ACT English: 35
ACT Science: 30
ACT Reading: 28

GPA (unweighted): 3.99
GPA (weighted): 4.71
AP Exams (11): Chemistry 5, Seminar 5, Physics C 5, Calculus BC 5, Statistics 5, Computer Science 5, Psychology 5, Economics 4, US History 4, European History 4, Language and Composition 3

Sports: Tennis (rejected freshman year, on team sophomore and junior years)
Over 50 volunteer hours

2

Upper body strength is vital at WP. That said, why not train specifically to improve your upper body. There are many sources for advice on this.

3

Physical fitness is important, but the CFA only counts for 10% of your overall Whole Candidate Score, so you certainly need to pass it, but don’t waste time trying to max any of the CFA portions at the expense of the academic (60%) or leadership (30%) areas of your application.