Please give me some feedback

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

<p>Hello guys,
my name is Louis P and I got a letter in the mail last week stating that, "high demand for the seminar prevents us from hosting you this year". I have to mention however that I had to submit my ACT scores 2 weeks past the due date for the SLS, since I got my first ACT scores about 2 weeks too late.</p>

<p>Upon receiving the letter of West Point, my parents, who do not want me to attend USMA, told me that I should focus on a civilian college, since USMA is to dangerous and probably not interested into taking me as a candidate. I do not agree with them and wanted to ask people who have more experience as I do if I should still apply to the academy, with my current profile (which my parents think is not what admissions is looking for). </p>

<p>-Nationality: Belgian, American
-Born 1992 in Michigan, but moved to Germany at the age of 1. In Germany, I attended kindergarten and elementary school, which was run by the Belgian military. At the age of 11 I went to a German middle school. In September 2007 my dad was transferred for his job again, this time back to Michigan, and so I had to go to an American high school, without being able to hardly speak any English at all, and I arrived in the fall of sophomore year. Here, in Michigan, I currently attend the International Academy, a very competitive high school (ranked 6th in US news’ America’s best high schools). Students attending the International Academy are required to earn both the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma as well as a normal high school diploma.
-My current GPA is 3.6, and I took my first ACT test in March, getting a composite score of 26
-I can fluently communicate in German, Dutch/Flemish, English and French
- I started to fence in Germany in 2005 and still do today, but I do not have any varsity letters or similar, since those or unknown in Europe. I additionally work out at the local gym twice per week and am going to play on my home high school's football team next semester.
-As far as leadership goes, I am Publication Editor-in-Chief for my high school's newspaper, officer of the German Student Association and member of the German Honor Society.
-Medical condition: I did have asthma when I was about 11 years old, but have not had any asthma-related problems over the past years. I also wear glasses</p>

<p>This is basically my profile, and I really hope that I can get some feedback whether to apply or not and if there is something I can do to improve?</p>

2

<p>Not being selected to SLS does not mean that you are a less qualified cadet candidate for West Point. Your file looks good, and one suggestion is to improve ACT score a bit more. make sure you are active in sports, too :slight_smile: Good luck!</p>

<p>Oh, class rank really matters…</p>

3

<p>Most cadets at West Point did not attend SLS. Many say SLS is even more competitive than application to West Point. </p>

<p>By the way, USMA is not dangerous. Your parents are right, though. If you are pursuing any service academy, you should also be applying to civilian colleges.</p>

<p>Prep for the next ACT, keep up the grades, and learn all you can about West Point, the Army, and life as an officer. That way you will be able to discuss with your parents.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you.</p>

4

<p>Yes - I agree you should complete your USMA application. SLS has a limited number of slots available and not being selected for SLS does not mean that you will not receive an appointment. Since your profile is slightly different, make sure you communicate with Admissions at West Point and let them know your background. You can always call your regional commander in Admissions and discuss your file with him/her.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>I would try to improve your ACT. The nice thing about USMA is that they accept the highest individual scores from your ACT and average them together to form a separate ACT composite. </p>

<p>I got accepted to the SLS summer seminar. My GPA isn’t as great as yours (3.46), but I also took the ACT last October and got a 33. So I’d keep up with the GPA and sports, and try to improve the ACT score.</p>