I guess I'll go ahead and put myself on the line

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
1

<p>I want to know my chances at getting a slot in USNA. I just finished my 1st year of college and didn't apply to USNA in high school.</p>

<p>High School:
3.3 GPA (2.8 9th-10th and a 3.8 11th-12th, the 3.8 I averaged is inline with the top 20%)
1340 SAT (710M 630V), plan on taking again cause I tore my ACL the night before this test.
5 AP's: Phys B- 4, Calc AB- 4, Chem- 4, US Hist- 3, Stats- 2
6 or 7 honors classes</p>

<p>NC District 6</p>

<p>African American</p>

<p>National Honor Roll (2003-2004)
Who's Who Among American High School Students (2003-2004)
AP Scholar (2004)</p>

<p>2000 State Envirothon Champion Overall
2000 State Enviorothon 1st place Forestry
2000 Regional Envirothon Champion (we placed in about 3 events but I can't rememeber)
2001 Regional Envirothon Champion (we placed in 2 events but can't remember)
2003 State Science Olympiad 1st place "Boomilever"
2003 Regional Science Olympiad 3rd place overall
2003 Regional Science Olympiad 1st place in "Wright Stuff" (Airplane construction)
2003 Regional Science Olympiad 4th place "Boomilever"
2004 Science Olympiad VP and event advisor
2003 Georgia Tech MITE Camp- 1st place teams competition</p>

<p>Summer before 9th grade, I helped work on the creation of an E-commerce solution. No Programming, but database creation and graphic design.</p>

<p>Football 3 years- (2 Varsity, Team Captain) Gained D1 scholarship
Track 2 year- (Varsity)
Wrestling 1 year- (JV) was undefeated until I got hurt
Student Selection for Class IronMan</p>

<p>College by the time it is USNA time:
I should have a 3.2-3.3 college GPA
2 years of Football (2004: 10-3, conference champs; 2005: better)
2 years of ROTC</p>

<p>My dad works closely with SOCOM, DTRA, Homeland Security, and the Naval Postgraduate School as a defense contractor. He also works closely with some of our state's MOC's.</p>

<p>Well that's it in a nutshell. I hope I fair well. Thanks</p>

2

<p>Some random thoughts:</p>

<p>1.Your background is very good; as a minority I believe you would have a leg up on being admitted. Football background is also a big plus. However you will have to sit out a year if you do transfer. This may not be a bad thing, sort of a redshirt year for you.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It will be tough adjusting to a military atmosphere at two years of civilian college. Be SURE this is what you want to do. </p></li>
<li><p>How will your college coaches react to the fact that you are planning on transferring at the end of the year? It's likely that your playing time will be cut back if they are aware of this.</p></li>
<li><p>What school are you presently attending? If you care to say.</p></li>
<li><p>You may wish to look into the Coast Guard Academy since they are heavily involved in homeland security and you could play football right away since it's Division III.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck on whatever you decide and keep us in the loop. You sound like a wonderful young man.</p>

3

<p>Tuva - Don't listen to Boss! Have at look at USMMA before you do anything rash! They are homeland security as well. We don't want to start fighting over you but I'll do whatever I can do to get a good football team at Kings Point! Just kidding. Go for it kid and apply. You've got ROTC under your belt & fantastic things to offer the Academy. I do agree with Boss about the coaches cutting your play time. Just a fact of life when you become an adult. Dealing with the fairness of matters......... Good luck to you!
GO ARMY BEAT NAVY!!!</p>

4

<p>tuva: I think you'll find that this board is quite unlike the others on CC with regard to "what are my chances" postings. As noted on another thread, its always about what the Navy needs, not what the candidate has "earned". </p>

<p>That said, I understand how stressful it is to endure the year-long process (which is mostly waiting :).) As a parent I've been through this twice (kid admitted out of HS and kid admitted after 1 year of college). Although the application forms were the same, from where I sat the process felt quite different. Disclamer: I'm just a USNA parent and have no insider knowledge about the workings of the Academy! These are my observations in watching the two applications work their way through the system.</p>

<p>I have come to believe that USNA values the presence of older students with some college and life experience. I just read in the Alumni magazine that the Class of 2009 included 81 students with at least 1 year of college. This number does NOT include NAPS, Foundation, or prior enlisted which were broken out separately. Note: this is the number that were inducted into the Class, the number offered an appointment may have been higher.</p>

<p>You have some important strengths, particularly your athletic background and what looks like a strong aptitude for engineering considering your science competitions. </p>

<p>HS Grades and scores are in range, however, its your college performance that counts the most now. What type of program are you pursuing? On my kid's application the Academy focused on Chemistry, Calculus and Physics at the college level. Are you taking these courses and performing well in them?</p>

<p>Are you playing sports in college? Varsity isn't necessary at the college level, but club sports show that you have maintained your edge. How about leadership and community service activities at the college level? Since you are on your own now, it's important to show that you have been using managing your time wisely and applying your "free" time well. </p>

<p>How are you doing in ROTC? Will you have a strong recommendation from your commanding officer? </p>

<p>Last bit of advice: your Academy essay could be very important. It's my belief that when it comes down to the wire, the essay is the make or break detail. Keep in mind that the Academy is looking for commitment. Your stats will never tell that story, but your essay can. I believe those who read the essays will be expecting something different from older applicants than from HS students -- after all, you've been on your own for a while now: how have you grown? Tell them what you have learned during the past 2 years, how you have changed, and why you know that the Academy is where you belong. Convince them that you know who you are and what you want, from the Academy, from a career in the military, and most of all from yourself.</p>

<p>Just my 2 cents: hope there's at least a grain of wisdom in here! Good luck.</p>

5

<p>I am aware of the 1-year rule. I'd rather not say what school I attend now because the could bring unwanted attention and that would just be a distraction, which is one reason I'm waiting until the end of the season to announce it. If my coaches knew I wanted to transfer, that would cut down on playing time, but that wouldn't be so bad because the younger guys would get PT. This year, I plan on giving them my all and trying to help out the younger players as much as I can. Because I hurt my knee my senior football season, without them, I wouldn't even have a chance at passing DoDMERB by proving my knee is up to the stress. I thought about transferring after my frosh year, but I knew that with the older guys graduating, we were going to be short on guys at my position. Because of that I put it off for a year to do what would be best for my team. I love my teammates and the coaching staff to death, I would seriously take a bullet for some of them. It's gonna kill me to do it, but it'll also kill me not to.</p>

<p>Thanks for the Coast Guard tip. I'll look into this.</p>

<p>I think the military life is for me. Heck, growing up, my mom was practically a drill sergent :) lol. Naw, I just love the structure. I operate best if I have a lot to do in a limited time. Also, as odd as it sounds, there's nothing I love more than PT. :)</p>

6

<p>My college record I'm a bit worried about. Because of my science history, the department was quick to put me into advanced classes with Juinors and Seniors that I didn't have the prerequistes for. I ended up not doing so well (C) and had to withdraw. So later I started from where I was supposed to and I got an A in the first physics class in the series. I placed out of Calc 1 at my school and I am waiting to take calc 2 this fall. However, because I am thinking about doing Homeland Security, I am leaning towards Poly Sci/ Sociology. And those are the classes I am going for this year. But i think that with a modertely strong science record and doing poly sci, I would still be inline with what the academy is looking for.</p>

7

<p>Rule # 1 Tuva - Never assume. Keep working at the highest levels and as ooiixg pointed out, a strong essay and adding some community service might be beneficial things to work on. ROTC could offer you some suggestions on community service if you're not already involved. Keep in mind that no one here can give you an insider's edge. One thing that I've found in all of the academies, is that they have the common ground of wanting "well rounded students". AND last but not least - The first thing I'd do if I were you , is to go get your DODMERB completed. Life seems to hinge on this thing.</p>

8

<p>Oops: somehow I didn't see the line on your stats that you're playing D1 football in college right now. Sorry - Not sure how I missed that (age, eyesight... :) ). For any other current college students following this thread the point I was making is that varsity status seemed (from our experience) to be less critical for a college applicant than a high school application, but athletic aptitude and interest remained important.</p>

<p>I'm not sure I agree with Boss that: "It will be tough adjusting to a military atmosphere at two years of civilian college." It's tough for those out of HS to adjust also, but they have the added burden of wondering what life would have been like had they chosen a civilian school. The daydream is always better than the reality! You on the other hand know EXACTLY what life on the outside is like and know that it is not providing what you really want in your life. For some, this can actually can make enduring the stress of Plebe year easier.</p>

9

<p>I just did my first practice PAE test. I did pretty well.</p>

<p>Pull-ups: 6
Push-ups: 60
Standing long jump: 8'1"
300 yard shuttle: 58 sec
Basketball throw: 70 feet</p>

<p>One thing I forgot to mention earlier, I play Defensive Tackle at my school now, so I weigh about 290 right now at 6'4". I'm not fat, with about 15% body fat. When I do the test for real on the application, I'll be hopefully about 230-240.</p>

<p>My target for each event when I weight 240.</p>

<p>Pull ups: 10-12
Push ups: 100+
Standing long jump: 9 feet
300 yard shuttle: 52 sec
Basketball throw: 72 feet</p>

10

<p>They changed it. It's now the CFA. </p>

<ul>
<li>standing long jump</li>
<li>300 yard shuttle run</li>
<li>40 yard shuttle</li>
<li>1 mile run</li>
<li>modified sit ups</li>
</ul>

<p><a href="http://admissions.usma.edu/prospectus/step_06.cfm#CFA%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.usma.edu/prospectus/step_06.cfm#CFA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

11

<p>Now I am confused. DS's paperwork talks about a CFA (candidate fitness assessment). Not a PAE. And there isn't mention of standing long jump but instead a mile run. All the other events are the same. Maybe one is outdated and the other isn't???</p>

<p>Very confusing.</p>

<p>Kat</p>

<p>ps. just saw the above post, cleared that up!!</p>

12

<p>does anyone know the averages and minimums for these CFA events?</p>

13

<p>The PAE was the test used for prior classes up to and including the class of 2009 at the academies. The CFA has replaced it and is the test that will be taken by anyone applying to the class of 2010.</p>

<p>Here's a link that may help you.</p>

<p><a href="http://admissions.usma.edu/prospectus/CFA_Instructions05.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.usma.edu/prospectus/CFA_Instructions05.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Keep practicing!</p>

14

<p>Just found this. These results will give you a score of 100.</p>

<pre><code> BB Throw Pull-Up Sh. Run M. Sit-Ups Push-Ups 1-mile run
</code></pre>

<p>Male 102 feet 18 reps 7.8 sec. 95 reps 75 reps 5:20 min.
Female 66 feet 7 reps 8.6 sec. 9 5 reps 50 reps 6:00 min. </p>

<p>Female applicants used to do a flexed arm hang instead of the pull-ups. Now they must do the pull-ups and that is often quite a challenge. Also, the 1-mile run has been added while the long jump has been eliminated.</p>

<p>edit: The chart did not copy and paste very well so here's a link:</p>

<p><a href="http://admissions.usma.edu/prospectus/step_06.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.usma.edu/prospectus/step_06.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

15

<p>Found out that I passed the Prelim App. :)</p>

16

<p>tuva137,
Congratulations on your progress so far! USNA is the place to be. Good luck, sounds like you meet the profile of a future midshipman!</p>

17

<p>Good News!!! The Military Doc reccomended to DoDMERB that my knee was qualified. I get a leg strength test on Wednesday, which should be okay. All the other waivers are only about my Allergies (Zyrtec), acne, and ADD med history (which I stopped 3 years ago).</p>

<p>My BGO is great and lives only a mile from me. After some early bumps, I think this USNA process is going to workout.</p>

18

<p>tuva137</p>

<p>You've received a lot o good advice from these posts...</p>

<p>The only thing I wanted to add was that when my son was considering USNA, his Blue & Gold Officer informed him that his own son had applied 3 times to USNA and was finally given an appointment after his second year in college. The BGO's son accepted and went to USNA starting there, of course, as a freshman. I've been told that one girl entered after completing 4 years at a civilian college...So as long as you do it before age 22.</p>

<p>PS: Don't rule out the US Merchant Marine Academy...check out their web site...
and best of luck in whatever you decide.</p>