Is it already too late?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Military Academy - West Point
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<p>Hi, I've very recently become interested in trying for admission at West Point. I'm a Junior at the moment. I'm a little worried, though, that I'm too late to work at having a real shot at getting into the academy. Tell me what you think.</p>

<p>My GPA is 4.7/5.0, which I think equates to 3.76/4.0
I'm in the top 12 of an about 500-person class.
I've still yet to take my SAT/ACT, but on the PSAT I scored a 213 and on both that and the PLAN I've scored above about 99% of the rest of the nation. I expect/hope my studying to produce better results when I finally get to the real thing. </p>

<p>...ECs
I've never been spectacular here because 1) my home isn't exactly right next to our school and my parents are the ones who drive and buy gas 2) my parents are very selective about the sort of things they'd let me do and often I don't find these constrained options entertaining. and 3) I've been unaware of the merit of doing tons of things. Like the National Honor Society — it's just a prestigious proxy by which you can get community service through after paying the organization your money. I have NJROTC for that, so why do it? Apparently, it looks good on a college application. What bull.</p>

<p>I've done Track since 8th grade and will continue through Senior Year
I'm only so great at this, though. I'm no superstar, I mean. I've always done it because I liked it, not because of some competitive edge.
But now I hear that I NEEED to do very well, be a Team Captain, whatever to look good in ECs for West Point.</p>

<p>I've also been in NJROTC from Freshman to Junior Year, doing a variety of things including:
- PAO/Head Editor of Newsletter, 2 Years
- Academic Team, 2 Years, (Captain the second year)
- 50 or so hours of community service and counting
- Orienteering, 1 year</p>

<p>Next year I'll replace JROTC with either Cross Country or by founding a Debate Team. No time/resources to do both. I can't continue JROTC because I'm in the IB Programme and that apparently means my Senior Year Schedule must be dominated by IB courses — there's no room for anything else.
And student government is impossible when you're cross-enrolled between schools, like me. I don't even take classes anymore at the schools where I do my ECs. </p>

<p>Other than that, eh. I pray to get into some summer program, but those cost and my parents want me to get a job. Track and Cross Country are tiring everyday things with lengthy seasons that refuse coexistence with most activities. </p>

<p>Are my ECs too weak? Well, of course they are. But what can I do? I would've done things differently had I known, but no one told me until it was too late...</p>

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<p>No, it isn’t too late. I would suggest you check out [United</a> States of America Service Academy Forums - Powered by vBulletin](<a href=“http://www.serviceacademyforums.com%5DUnited”>http://www.serviceacademyforums.com) Check out the USMA section. You will find a lot of threads from candidates with concerns similar to yours regarding ECs.</p>

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<p>You’re not too late, this is actually the right time to start thinking seriously about it. You should know that both service acadamies and ROTC programs look at class rank instead of GPA, so 12/500 looks real good. For EC, the editorships and captaincies are much more important than memberships and ticket-punching. For this summer, you can look into Boys State with your local American Legion Post, and you can apply for the summer leadership programs at different service academies (if it’s not too late). Of course, you will be taking the SAT this spring, right?</p>

<p>Can you do a number of pull-ups? If not, start training because that’s on the fitness assessment.</p>

<p>Your local member of Congress could have someone on their nominating committee to give you more advice.</p>

<p>Also, be sure and look into ROTC.</p>