Physical fitness test problems

Colleges and Universities A-Z Merchant Marine Academy - Kings Point
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<p>I am having some trouble with the physical fitness part of my application i order to get into Kings Point. Let me give you some background and the whole scenario of my situation right now. I am a pretty well-rounded person i am in all honors classes and play sports along with plenty of extra-curricular activities. I play water polo which is a fall sport and i am a varsity starter and captain of the team. I like to consider myself as decently athletic and i have also broken records for the sport at my school and stuff like that. Anyways the season recently ended in the beginning of November and since sports do make school more challenging i decided to really focus on academics. I have also been killing myself with getting better scores on ACT and SAT so my schedule after my season ended was and still is school til 3pm then homework til 8 pm and SAT/ACT studying till 1030 or 11. I feel like i have been really working my a** off and then i just started working again so that makes things even more complex. I haven't had a free Saturday for the past 3 weeks because all I do is take the stupid tests and do work for school. Then comes the real problem, the other stuff isn't a huge deal b/c im use to working hard, i decided to take the candidate fitness test in order to get it done before Christmas break. Now being an athlete, so i thought, i figured i would try and run and lift a couple days before the test to kinda make sure i wasn't too out of shape and ive been eating really healthy. Well today i took the test and i didn't do so hot on any part of it not to mention i ran the mile in 20 degree weather with strong wind and snow coming down the whole time. I know that every result on that test is below my potential, but how big of a part does this test play and i am pretty sure its due sometime in January. The person giving me the test was saying well you should have had this completed in September. Now i am just completely in over my head and i don't know what to do anymore. I am planning on sending an e-mail to the admissions office explaining the situation and asking when would be a good time to also call and explain it to them. I just don't know how much more i can physically or mentally do because i am working very hard right now. I could easily put no effort into school not have a job and do nothing but condition myself for this fitness test but i have so much i am trying to do. I have no idea how i am suppose to be a God and do everything perfectly. The fitness test i took required me to do all the things my sport is not even associated with. Ask a swimmer how often he runs and they will probably say never. You give me a fitness test on doing laps in a pool and treading and ill do great but i just dont know what to do anymore.</p>

<p>Any advice would help thanks</p>

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<p>My recollection of the test for my son was a shuttle run, a basketball throw, pull ups, push ups and a run. If you are decent athlete it shouldn’t be a problem. you should be able to do everything indoors if you have access to an indoor track. My son did many practice runs before he had his coach time him. How bad were your times compared to the minimums? Relax though, try not to stress yourself out. Things have a way of working out.</p>

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<p>Any athlete can pass that test. Do not worry about trying to go for being at the “Ironman”
level. It’s a box that gets checked - Pass or Fail on your way to admissions. My son is a football player, and one of his fellow classmates is a water polo guy and they have had no problems with the PT at the Academy - or the test. Just keep up the good work on you studies, and get some running in along with all that swimming.</p>

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<p>i didnt do terrible i got the minimum for the shuttle run the bball throw was weird b/c he made me use a flat basketball with no grip but i did fine on tht the push ups and pull ups were my spot situps were prob average and the mile was rough because i had to do everything before i ran and the shuttle run took a couple of tries. Throw all the factors before running along with snow, wind, and freezing weather and it wasn’t a great mile but i got better than the minimum
i just hate to think my so-so scores will hurt my acceptance chances</p>

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<p>If i remember correctly it doesn’t really play a factor in the admissions process. I had to do mine after i was accepted. I wouldn’t worry about it at all.</p>

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<p>Always do your best… period. </p>

<p>You must MEET all the requirements(paperwork, nom, fitness, etc), but focus on academics!!! Also, BREATHE! Don’t super-stress.<br>
You do your best. If it’s enough, and there are slots and you qualify, you may get picked. If NOT (well, that’s where the REAL learning comes in)… you figure out WHY. Did I not take XXXX seriously, and wait to the last minute? </p>

<p>The other stuff is a requirement to get IN. It will not KEEP you in, once there. Academics WILL get you bounced.</p>

<p>Prep: Best of luck to you. I understand what you are saying.<br>
Please take this in the absolutely best possible way–I encourage you to do some introspection. Show this to your parents and discuss the feedback if you’d like… Or some teacher at your school. </p>

<p>You asked for advice. In addition to the stuff below, search this forum for “PLEBE” and “RUNNING” and “ACADEMICS” … Read the responses. CAREFULLY.</p>

<p>THINK about what you are striving to qualify for.
READ the stuff about Plebe Year (at this, or any of the other academies).
Understand what hardships really are. Understand what level of effort is required just to SURVIVE the ordeal, much less THRIVE in it.</p>

<p>Candidate Fitness Test:
You admit that you blew it off, and thought you could lift/run a few days and do well. Oops. Nothing stopped you from running yourself through this course at any point, for a SELF assessment.</p>

<p>And, they DO put stuff in that order to pre-exhaust muscle groups, and as a measure of core fitness. Look at pics of the Mids… most are NOT P/T studs… but almost everybody is FIT, and regularly active. Granted, football kids struggle with certain measurements, long distance runners with others (like pullups).</p>

<p>You ran, but it was during a snowstorm? (go to a gym/YMCA/Church activity center in your area… most have roofs :slight_smile: ) What I hear here is an excuse about why you were unhappy with your performance, or a failure to plan in advance. You can say ‘reason, not excuse’. Doesn’t matter. no place on the form for that.</p>

<p>There IS a place for a time. Write it in. Move on.</p>

<hr>

<p>Academic prep: "I have also been killing myself with getting better scores … my schedule is school til 3pm then homework til 8 pm and … studying till 1030 or 11. I feel like i have been really working my a** off… I haven’t had a free Saturday for the past 3 weeks because all I do is take the stupid tests and do work for school.</p>

<p>prep: take all this , multiply it, do it for basically 10 months out of the year. Optionally, put a sport on top of that. Welcome to a preview of plebe year. :slight_smile: This is not to scare you, it’s just to make sure you know what you are fighting to join. ALL the kids in there will have done the same, and MANY of them will have taken a significant number of AP courses as well. It is good that you say that you are ‘used to working hard’, because you certain will.</p>

<p>Can you do it? You certainly appear to be doing quite a lot of the right things.<br>
Can you plan out your time better, to allow you to prepare in advance for upcoming events, and to ‘level out’ the effort-required commitment? usually , everyone can do better at this than they are.
HONE some time management, resource balancing, conflicting/competing priorities skills. They will serve you well.</p>

<p>Let me share a story with you: My DS , in Sr year of H.S, pretty much responded with “DAD!!! I’m taking ALL these AP courses, EVERYTHING else is honors, I have all these EC commitments, I have the Sr Exit Paper/Presentation/Product to do, I’m reviewing for SAT <em>AND</em> ACT, and TAKING those tests… I CAN’T <em>WORK</em> ANY HARDER”. I said, Ok, always do your best.</p>

<p>Now, flash forward about 1 1/4 years. Plebe year is just finished. I asked "Hey, son… remember when you said “I can’t work any harder”? After Plebe year, would you care to reflect on your statement, relative to the amount of work you discovered you really could do :wink: ? "</p>

<p>He looked up at me. His eyes registered how he’d felt at that point in Sr High School, and what he’d just been through. The corners of his mouth turned up, just for an instant, before he stifled half a laugh. Dropping his eyes a bit, I got just a “humph. No Comment. Ok, Dad?”</p>

<p>No matter how hard you feel you are working now, Plebe year will be more… EVERYTHING (except TIME).</p>

<p>Always, do your best.
Good luck !</p>

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<p>hey zonker thanks for the reply even though it was kind of harsh, but i appreciate it. I know it seems like i am making a lot of BS excuses and I’m sorry i was just trying to explain myself. Anyways thanks you gave me a lot to think about and i know what i am working towards and i know that i will never work any harder than i will when i get to Kings Point and i am ready for that.</p>

<p>thanks for the replies</p>

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<p>Prep Rambler: I forget the minimums but the simple straightforward answer is it is a pass fail box that needs to be checked like h2constable stated. That said you must submit a completed signed off CFA that you actually completed and that at least meets all the minimums. I am 99.99% sure of this answer but the best way to validate this statement is to call the admissions office itself. I have been and admissions field rep for over 20 years but I always say that as part of answers to questions like this. That way you know the actual final date that the CFA as well as everything else in your admissions pack must be at the Academy for absolute certain as well as the answer toi this specific question. There are several Addmissions Officers at the Academy and they cover “regions of the country” really any of them, the Head of Admissions Capt. Johnson or the senior administrative person in the department who will likely be the one answering the phone if you call the main number - Darlene can all verify this answer and the exact date the information is required.</p>

<p>All that said, assuming you achieve your goal and do get in, make very certain you report for Indoctrination in good shape and ready to run as you will do a “fair amount” of running. Further if you haven’t done so I’d also have a discussion about all these things and introduce yourself to the Head Swimming Coach Mr. Shawn Tedesco at the Academy.</p>

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<p>hey prep. just some words of advice from a current first class mid. these will seem a bit harsh (if you thought zonker was rough on you), but they’re meant with absolute sincerity and only your success at KP in mind. </p>

<p>while you may have reasons and excuses up the wazoo for why you failed, no one really cares. bottom line is that it was a failure. own it. i would call admissions and ask if you can submit another CFA if you did indeed fail, but honestly, i can tell you that saying you were focused on studying and it was cold and snowing will only make you look like an immature punk. you don’t want to do that. just tell them you didn’t do as well as you needed to, are going back to the drawing board and humbly request a second chance at it.</p>

<p>it all goes back to the main point of not making excuses. no one wants to hear them. especially at KP. </p>

<p>to echo Zonker, if you think your academic load now is tough, then just wait. KP has a brutal academic system that eats validictorians for lunch. once again, no one cares how little sleep you’ll get or how hard your classes are. everyone there is in the same boat.
if you want to be successful, the best advice i can give you is to stop making excuses. unless someone asks you to explain yourself, you’re better off just sitting quietly. also, realize that your situation is not special. most people at KP were in the top 2-3 % of their graduating class, captain of a varsity sport, and have tons of other activities they were involved in.
it’s a new day… cowboy up. </p>

<p>if i can make it through KP you can make it through KP, however, the excuses HAVE TO STOP. don’t blame others for things that happen, accept your failures and fix them. </p>

<p>hang in there buddy and don’t give up.
Acta Non Verba</p>

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<p>thanks for the post i appreciate it i know its sincere and it means a lot to me because any advice i receive helps.</p>

<p>Thanks to everyone else who replied also</p>