<p>Just out of curiosity. How heavily weighed is the personal statement in the admissions process? Is it a part of the application that will make or break you? Thanks!</p>
<p>As I was explained to it, there is a whole person number. And different things are assigned different points. I think to be considered a good candidate you have to have around 60,000, but you can be less if there are certain factors, such as recruited athlete, minority etc. But I think the statement is around 1000 points. I'm not sure of the exact number, but it's pretty important. In gett6ing into the academy nothing can make or break you. It's an all over thing.
Just so you know that's how it was explained to be by one of my profs who sat on the admissions board a few times.</p>
<p>what is the percentage breakdown and how many points do each "stat" give you</p>
<p>My son emailed some questions about what his PS should cover to a coach who is takling to him and the Regional Rep. He wanted to know what he should write about. Both responses were be yourself. Write about what is important to you but answer the questions. The PS is not very long only up to 500 words and covers 2 questions. Unlike some of the civilian college application questions it seems USNA wants brief to the point answers. It took my son awhile to select what he wanted to write about but once he decided it went pretty quick. Good luck.</p>
<p>A lot has been posted on CC re: the personal statement-
my suggestion is to use the search engine on CC -
it might provide you with some additional info-</p>
<p>best of luck!</p>
<p>JackTraveler is correct in the sense that it is the overall person that the SA is looking for. They are definately not looking for someone who tries to do the minimum in the areas they are weak and do the maximum in the areas where they are strong. They are looking for someone who puts forth the maximum effort in each and every area. The one aspect of this board that I find troubling is asking for advice on how to write their personal statement. I would think this would be the simplest part of the application process. If YOU (not your parents) want to attend USNA, then you should be able to write 500 words as to why. There are many people who will offer advice as to what to write, but is that the right way to put YOUR thoughts on paper. Make sure USNA is what YOU want and then say why. It should be simple.</p>
<p>"Unlike some of the civilian college application questions it seems USNA wants brief to the point answers. "</p>
<p>I doubt that the writing course at USNA bears much resemblance to a creative writing course at XYZ U, either. Learning to be concise is an important writing skill for an officer. At various times in their careers, USNA grads may be told something like this, "There's an X% budget cut coming down from Capitol Hill. You have 1 hour to give me no more than a paragraph that will convince ADM ____ to recommend keeping your program in the budget." I'm not an alumnus, but that was a real life situation.</p>
<p>2012mom?- Great example!! But, I think your statement could be expanded to a daily real life situation. Even more fun to write responses to than budget questions are responses to Congressional inquiries.</p>
<p>The personal statement is unlikely to make or break you, unless you can't put together cogent sentences or say something really dumb, such as "the only reason I want to go to USNA is because my dad/mom wants me to." </p>
<p>It is but one more element of your entire application packet. A well-written, to-the-point statement will likely help. A poorly written one won't help. As with all parts of your application, do your best.</p>