<p>My son has a problem with standardized tests. He does not test well. Here are his credentials, please give me an opinion as to his possibility of gaining acceptance to the USNA or NAPS.</p>
<p>GPA 4.4 weighted 3.73 unweighted
National Honor Society
Vice President of the school 11th grade
VP of his class 10th grade
Most likely will be president of school for 12th grade
Ranks 20/107 at a competitive school
Varsity athletes, football, lax, wrestling since 8th grade
Varsity starter football, wrestling since 8th grade, lax since 9th
All-Conference football since 9th grade
State Qualifier wrestling since 9th grade
Captain wrestling team since 10th grade
Captain football team 11th grade
Defensive MVP football 10th, 11th grades
MVP wrestling since 9th grade
Invited to Football University (invitation only football camp)</p>
<p>Now the bad part
SAT:
Math 510
Verbal 490
Written 480
Essay 8</p>
<p>I had him tutored prior to taking the test, his tutor told me he was better prepared than most of the stutdents he had worked with. His tutor projected a Math score between 680 - 710. </p>
<p>I know that my son would accept a year at NAPS if it meant the opportunity to go to the USNA. How do they decide who gets NAPS? Also, we do know some schools that are interested in him for sports, including an Ivy, but his heart is in Annapolis.</p>
<p>Those are very good credentials except for the test scores... realllllyyyyy need to get those up. Have him take it again and try the ACT as well.</p>
<p>if luigi is right about not being able to get a candidate number then no they will not,</p>
<p>to get into NAPS you have to be reviewed by the board, which would first require getting a candidate number so that you can complete the actual application</p>
<p>that being said take the test again and try the act like was mentioned but also if you really think your son has DI football potential, fillout the recruit questionairre on the website and send e-mails send in clips from the newspaper, basicallly push your self on to the coaches as much as you can its what i did for track and it worked quite well so far, been accepted to USMA and been offered full scholarships to both VMI and the Citadel, and triple qualified with 2 noms to USNA just waiting to get my file reviewed at this point</p>
<p>What courses is your son in and what has he already taken? Any AP courses; if so what scores?</p>
<p>The concern is test taking skills. He will have to take some rigorous tests during his entire time at USNA. As far as I know, they do not replace finals with projects or alternate evaluation tools.</p>
<p>I suggest that in addition to a SAT prep class, you my want to purchase one of the DVD prep courses that can be done at home, if he has the self-discipline. Absolutely take the ACT.</p>
<p>You might want to enroll him in a general test-taking course to overcome the anxiety.</p>
<p>Not to throw a monkey wrench in the resume, but when your class is only approximately 100 students, figure half are female, it is pretty easy to play varsity sports at an early age, and be captain and class officer. Compare that to students whose graduating classes are 500 or even 1000.</p>
<p>When we visited during my son's sophomore year, the admissions officer told us that candidates needed an SAT minium of 1100 to be issued a candidate number. He then joked that candidates needed an SAT miminum of 1200 to "send the application back" to USNA for consideration.</p>
<p>CM is correct on the testing at USNA. There will be many standardized test. Most of the core classes has a standardized test for Finals where all sections take the same test. If he wants to go to flight school there is the test (like SAT's) the military gives to all aviation prospects. It can be taken only 3 times.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Not to throw a monkey wrench in the resume, but when your class is only approximately 100 students, figure half are female, it is pretty easy to play varsity sports at an early age, and be captain and class officer. Compare that to students whose graduating classes are 500 or even 1000.
[/quote]
Not sure I agree here. My Mid graduated from a school with 92 in his graduating class - about 380 students total. Was a 10 semester letter winner, state XC - team took 2nd place he was the #2 runner on the squad, state swimming participant. Many Academic honors, Academic EC's and ART's EC's. Leadership - pres of club, vp of club, Section chair in Band, Rep for class of Judicial committee... One of the things people need to keep in mind is when you go to a small school you will be expected to participate in a lot of things and at an earlier age. You all may view it easier to participate and stand out - maybe easier to participate, to stand out and achieve state, all conference etc standing probably not. If it is like my son's school, class elections were less about popularity and more about you doing for the school than what I saw in the large publics. What it does show the academy is how you handle being involved with may things plus your academics. My son has not struggled one day at the academy with balancing all of the commitments and continuing to carry over 20 credits a semester. I attribute that to what he was used to coming from a small school as opposed to many of his friends from large high school that have had a hard time with time management. Both types of schools do have their merits. I do not believe that the Academy holds going to a small high school as a negative and a large school as a positive. Nor do they disregard your accomplishments because you attended a small high school.</p>
<p>"Not to throw a monkey wrench in the resume, but when your class is only approximately 100 students, figure half are female, it is pretty easy to play varsity sports at an early age, and be captain and class officer. Compare that to students whose graduating classes are 500 or even 1000."</p>
<p>Actually he is in a unique situation, Since his HS does not have athletics he plays for the other HS that occupies the same building. He has made All-Conference in the highest level conference in our state since 9th grade, His HS is also ranked in the top 400 public schools in the US for academics. There are approximately 21,000 public HS's in the US. Being asked to attend Football University is also a special honor. They only ask 120 kids from each region. I don't appreciate you denigarting his accomplishments.
The new tutor he is seeing told me that he is very bright, and that he does not get many questions wrong. That he is a slow processor and very meticulous with his answers. He has 3 AP classes at the moment and the rest of his classes are honors classes. The tutor also feels that his desire to attend Navy might tighten him up for the test.
Last, I served in the Marine Corps for 6 years. I know what makes a good officer, this young man would make a great officer. He has been a leader his whole life, just does not do well on standardized tests.</p>
<p>Lippy - If this is what your son wants then he should go for it. The service academies are looking for scholar/leader/athletes and not every candidate is equal in all three.</p>
<p>He is a junior in high school, he should take the ACT and the SAT again. What you aren't telling us is the level of his coursework in high school. What math is he taking this year and will he take next year? Is he taking honors classes? AP classes?
The academies look at the "whole person". When test scores are not up to the level they like to see they look at the academic work on the transcripts.</p>
<p>Your son should complete the pre-candidate questionairre if he has not already done so. If he doesn't get a candidate number right away the academy will probably ask for his transcripts.
I know a yearling at Navy who didn't get a candidate number right away because of low SAT's. He finally got it, was selected for a foundation scholarship, went to NMMI for a year and is a midshipman. </p>
<p>When the academies see a kid who would make a good officer, who shows ability but is a little weak in test scores or academics then they may offer NAPS or a Foundation scholarship. It is entirely possible your son could be offered NAPS.</p>
<p>While your son is not a shoo-in, hardly any candidates are. Spend the next 6 months or so exploring all his options and back ups. Improving his SAT's will help with a NROTC scholarship application as well.
Good Luck -</p>
<p>Sorry to have upset you, that was not the intention; just responding to your inquiry.</p>
<p>The reality is that at the academy, mids are subjected to an onslaught of tasks and information which they must filter and prioritize in rapid order. They are given more to accomplish that can reasonably be done in the given time. This is part of their leadership training. They do not have the luxury of reflection and thinking things over before they must act. I do not want to be misunderstood and think that their actions are reckless; mids are trained to collect information in rapid order, filter the critical information from the superfluous, assemble the facts coherently and then make a decision based on those facts. </p>
<p>These rapid fire decisions often determine the welfare of their subordinates in a combat situation. There are many anecdotes you will find on line which are reflective of this statement.</p>
<p>And so, not knowing your son's academic background, and being able only to speculate, I would recommend that
a) your son apply for the Naval Academy Summer Seminar
b) Keep working with the tutor to help with the time management necessary to be successful on the standardized tests.
c) work on his own with a test prep dvd so that he can filter test question information rapidly. This reduces test anxiety. The more of these a student does, the more familiar they become, and the more routine the task seems. This again reduces the test anxiety. BTW this also works well for the AP tests coming up this May.
d) Take the ACT. Often a student will do much better on one of the standardized tests than the other.</p>
<p>I cannot speak about NAPS. We were told that it was primarily for students who have an academic deficiency, but strengths in other areas (leadership potential). Your son appears to have academic strengths, based on the given GPA.</p>
<p>I wish him the very best in his quest for appointment.</p>
<p>
[quote]
When we visited during my son's sophomore year, the admissions officer told us that candidates needed an SAT minium of 1100 to be issued a candidate number. He then joked that candidates needed an SAT miminum of 1200 to "send the application back" to USNA for consideration.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeah, that's what they say. However, I just had a candidate receive an appointment with just under 1200 SATs -- had two noms and is in a very competitive geographic area. Varsity athletics did NOT play into it.</p>
<p>That said, as the above posters said, SATs at the level you describe are going to be a problem. It's not just test-taking skills. USNA believes that math SAT/ACT is a predictor of likely success in the rigorous science/math/engineering program at USNA. Not the only predictor or maybe the best predictor, but a predictor nonetheless.</p>
<p>So, what to do? The advice above is sound re taking the ACTs, practicing, etc. While you can get into USNA with less than 1200 SATs (see above), it is obviously better to have scores in the 600s and 700s. Most people can and do improve with dedication and practice. I suggest spending literally 45-60 minutes, 5-6 days a week, working on test prep. Take practice tests at home once a month under real test conditions. Do that for 6 months and I will be shocked if scores don't improve.</p>
<p>Another way to demonstrate academic strength is to take high level math and science courses in h.s., and do well -- and score well on AP tests in those courses (those taken junior year). If you get As and Bs in AP Calc, Chem, Physics, Biology, English, etc., that helps demonstrate that you can handle the workload at USNA.</p>
<p>I spoke with the admissions counselor from my state. Actually, we spoke for a while. She did say that his SAT scores are not the best, but they take into account the whole person. She did say he would have a difficullt time getting in with those scores, it is not out of the question. With all the other qualifications my son has, he would most likely be offered NAPS.</p>
<p>Lippy, your son needs intensive test tutoring, and he needs to show enormous desire.</p>
<p>My son's profile was much like yours, w/ slightly (but just slightly) higher SATs. He applied to NASS and was turned down INSTANTLY. Then he got a letter from USNA admissions saying, "Normally we open a USNA applicant file for all NASS applicants. We're not doing that for you." </p>
<p>Enter his sainted BGO: He happened to call to introduce himself at about that time (not knowing about the rejection), and said, "Wait, I know your school, and know your grades aren't inflated -- let me see if I can get a file opened for you." He did. Son got SAT tutoring, upped SATs but not quite to 1200. Still, he applied, blah blah blah, heard nothing. A classmate received an appointment. Son figured he didn't make the cut.</p>
<p>So son got on a plane, flew 3,000 miles and just appeared at the Academy. Somehow got to see his admissions officer and a coach (in a sport he wants to pursue but hasn't tried). Frankly, didn't get any encouragement. At all.</p>
<p>Came home, 48 hours later phone rang. His BGO said, "How'd you like to go to NAPS?" </p>
<p>He's in his second year @ USNA, varsity athlete on the Superintendent's list, candidate for the honors program, blah blah. He balances Academy demands just fine. I'm only bragging publicly because I want you to know I believe you when you say your son is smart and capable but has this snag in his fabric. He needs to improve SATs or ACTs somehow, and he needs to let the Academy know he'll do anything to get there, including NAPS.</p>