<p>friartown,</p>
<p>It sounds like you have a great attitude. Best of luck to you. Stick around here and you'll find a lot of encouragement along with the stories of people like wpmom and her daughter.</p>
<p>I don't think there is a cut off score for SLS selection. To tell the truth, CR: 45 and Math: 68 on PSAT was mine and got into SLS.
So, don't feel bad if you are not selected as a SLS candidate.</p>
<p>^ she is right 100%</p>
<p>Hey, I made it into SLS with terrible SAT scores myself. I'm pretty sure it's a factor but it's even with everything else on there (Class rank/gpa/sports/clubs/leadership).</p>
<p>I had a PSAT score of:</p>
<p>70 Math
49 CR
62 Writing</p>
<hr>
<p>WPmom2011:"She mostly got B's, with a few A's and a few more C's. ... Weighted GPA at Graduation: 4.54"</p>
<p>Woah..... that is some serious GPA inflation! How did her school calculate GPA? What kind of weight did they give???</p>
<p>Regular classes are weighted on a 4.0 scale.
Honors classes are weighted on a 5.0 scale.
AP/IB classes are weighted on a 6.0 scale.</p>
<p>I think the only non-honors, non-AP/IB class she took was PE. Most of her classes as a freshman and sophomore were Honors (considered Pre-IB) with a few IB. All of her junior and senior classes were AP/IB.</p>
<p>That's interesting grade weighing scale. My S's school doesn't give any extra points for honors classes but only AP classes are weighted to 5.0 scale.</p>
<p>we have the same scale as wp. </p>
<p>Our school also only offers College Board accepted AP classes...make sure you take only CB AP/IB, human genealogy is one that quickly comes to mind that is not an AP class, it exists for kids to load up the transcript, but it is better to take the "true" AP classes...USHis, EuroHis, Gov, English, Lit, Bio, Chem, Physics and Calc...just taking those classes you will have an amazing transcript. I know that when DS transcript was sent, they included how many AP classes were available and our grading scale, we are on a 7 pt. scale.</p>
<p>Also remember the SA re-weights your gpa to their scale, seeing as my ds scale did not change from his uw, I am guessing they also use a 7 pt scale.
CB/ACT gives him a higher uw which makes me think they use a 10 pt scale.</p>
<p>The problem surrounding GPA calculation is one of the reasons why USMA does not use a candidate's GPA as an objective measure when calculating academic scores - it is really difficult to compare apples to apples. Class rank and standardised tests are far easier to compare objectively and subjective adjustments are made depending on a candidates class rigor, grades and the level of competiveness of the individual school.</p>
<p>Ann, since you are a wonderful fountain of information, I have always wondered how do they determine the competiveness of a school. I have seen an official transcript, but there is nothing on there stating how many kids go to Ivies, 4yrs, etc. They also don't show anything else, but what APs are offered and how many they took and of course his full transcript grades, SAT/ACT, shot records and a gpa conversion sheet.</p>
<p>A few years ago my son was accepted to SLS, or equivalent with a slightly different name, seminars at all four of the five service academies at which they were offered; he attended three of the four and loved all three. The only academy offering a formal graduation ceremony was the USMA at West Point, which we, as parents, regretably were unable to attend. Although our son did not have time to share a great deal of info. with us, he did mention that the interviews were informal and conducted by student squad leaders. The interview mainly consisted of asking the attendee, our son, his thoughts about the 6 day experience and whether or not he would like to attend the academy. Our son knows several students who did not attend SLS, or were rejected to SLS, yet were admitted to a service academy. The SLS equivalent at the USAFA in Colorado Springs was tantamount to acceptance to the academy if the student completed all requirements.</p>
<p>Bullet; I can't speak for the army; but in the beginning process of the air force academy process, they required an official transcrip and a "SCHOOL PROFILE" if it wasn't included on the transcript. The profile showed graduation percentages, college percentages, and other stats about the students and their post high school plans. Not sure if the army asks for this info or not.</p>
<p>Bulletandpima - when schools send out transcripts to colleges they usually include a separate "school profile" which includes the courses offered, college admissions data etc. In addition, USMA Admissions and MALOs/MAARs often know which schools are competitive from past experiences.</p>
<p>Oops - I posted before seeing Christcorp's response. I believe most colleges request a school profile.</p>
<p>Nosy mom here, I actually purchased an extra transcript (had to buy for nom process and back up schools), when I openeed it, there was no statement of the school profile. I know that 94% go onto college from other public stats, but that did not show up, it didn't say anything about the school except for their SAT/ACT code. They only showed how many AP's are offered and the gpa scale...I am now wondering if that info came through the guidance counselor info, I recall somewhere during the process that the gc had to file info online, who knows I might be confusing that with the college apps or the ROTC scholarship, heck it could of been one of the MOC's that wanted gc info...all I know is that it was a full time job keeping track b4, at least now all of the apps, nom, and scholarship info is done so we are in a sit and wait mode</p>
<p>Bulletandpima - you will need to ask your son's school if they submitted a school profile and what their normal procedure is. If the school is competitive it is to their advantage to submit a profile (usually a separate document from the transcript).</p>
<p>"he did mention that the interviews were informal and conducted by student squad leaders."
Yes the SLS interviews are informal - so much so my son did not know he had had one until his MALO told him that his interview report was on file and he did not need another one....Candidates are assessed during SLS and a report is written....</p>
<p>This, however, does not apply to the USAFA, which requires either phone or, preferably, in-person interviews prior to attending the 6 day leadership seminar. This is because acceptance into the Colorado Springs program is as close to acceptance to the USAFA as you can get prior to completing the entire application and nomination process.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A school profile is one of the required documents that must be submitted at USAFA.</p>
<p>On the "application status" web page, it's the first "check mark."</p>
<p>Yes - I am happy to stipulate that anything I say on the USMA board only applies to USMA candidates and should not be taken to mean that it applies to other academies. T</p>
<p>"This, however, does not apply to the USAFA, which requires either phone or, preferably, in-person interviews prior to attending the 6 day leadership seminar. "</p>
<p>I don't think that's a firm requirement, because this year dd attended USAFA seminar w/o a prior interview.</p>