<p>Most of this forum is dedicated to seniors working their way through the process of application; I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread for those contemplating applying to USMA in the future. Seniors et al, please add any “I wish I had done this” thoughts you might have.</p>
<li><p>Freshmen/sophomores - if you live within driving distance of West Point, try to attend the R-day practice which occurs the Friday before the real thing, usually in late June. The cadre use civilians to work out the kinks in their logistics, stepping them through the R day process in a semi-realistic fashion. It gave my D a nice insight into a pressure-filled day - reporting to the cadet in the red sash, learning to march, getting corrected at, etc. Of course, the cadre don’t yell too much…but they still make their displeasure known if you’re a little slow. Call the West Point info office in May/early June to sign up.</p></li>
<li><p>Sophomores - prep for your junior year PSAT’s. Although they are “practice” for the SAT, they are one of the primary determinants for acceptance to the Summer Seminar. Don’t blow them off.</p></li>
<li><p>Juniors - Make sure you apply for the summer seminar, no later than February. Admission is done on a rolling basis and, when it’s filled, it’s filled. Summer seminar’s a great way to see West Point, the cadre, and the professors. You also get an extra shot at the PAE.</p></li>
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<p>Juniors:
Check into opportunities to attend the American Legion Boys'/Girls' State program in your state. Sponsoring Legion posts usually require applications to be submitted in early spring, conduct the interviews shortly afterwards, and make their selection in late spring. The program is held in late June/early July. Selection and attendance is looked upon favorably by the academies.
CM</p>
<p>Try to be a class officer! This will probably be harder in a large school, but at least in our school I was class president just because I wanted to. Being a class officer is very important to the Academies. That was probably the biggest thing that saved me and got me in :).</p>
<p>I agree with Tyler. It seems that participation in leadership activities are very important in trying to present your self as a well-rounded candidate for any of the academies. Definitely do something you enjoy. Ive been involved in a leadership role/officer positions throughout my high school career through ASB (student government), FFA, community service club, and the like. For me, aside from my friends, my involvement in activities and sports was what helped made high school more bearable & fun.</p>
<p>Start letting West Point know you're interested as early as possible. I first filled in the Pre-Candidate Questionairre in my Freshman year. Also, read as many books as possible. DEFINITELY go to one of the Academy's Summer Seminars, be it Navy, West Point, or Air Force. It'll give you a good idea of whether you're cut out for these awesome institutions.</p>
<p>Here are my suggestions for improving your chances of acceptance. They are based on my review during the last year of the various academy materials(class profiles, whole candidate score methodology, etc), comments from current cadets, and the profiles of current candidates who have received LOA's. They are also based on my observation that West Point, as well as the other academies, focus on three main areas when evaluating candidates: academics(60%), athletics(10%), leadership(30%). Yes, there are many subjective criteria also used such as the interview and family military history. However, the major "sorting" is done using relatively objective measures. I am not addressing recruited athletics since that is a whole different process. </p>
<p>Academics. Fair or not, the number one criteria used by USMA to rank candidates and their scholastic ability is the applicant's SAT/ACT score. Second are high school grades in major subject areas and class rank. Prepare as best you can for these standardized tests (review classes, books) and take them several times during your junior year. Most people get better and better at these tests - so suck it up and give up a couple of sleep-in Saturdays during the second half of your junior year. Your junior year scores are important since they are used by USMA to select candidates for the summer seminar. Minimum SAT target should be 1300, ideally 1400 or better. </p>
<p>Athletics. Participate in team sports, preferably at the varsity level. Much of the activities at the academies are done in a "team" mode so this is important. Endurance sports such as swimming, soccer, cross country and wrestling are great. Review the PAE materials and build up your upper body strength as much as possible. Pull ups(men) and arm hang time(women) are two of the hardest elements of the test. </p>
<p>Leadership. The primary function of the academies is to develop leaders with character. That's why it is vital to demonstrate an ability/willingness to assume leadership roles. Although opportunities to lead are somewhat limited in high school, academies are looking for individuals who are willing/able to take on positions of responsibility. I suggest candidates serve as class officers, student body rep. or officers of various school clubs. Try to be a team captain or leader within other groups such as scouting, volunteer or church groups.</p>
<p>A final suggestion. Read the application/website materials and use the various resources for prospective cadets. There's a warehouse of information out there if you take the time to find it.</p>
<p>Good luck and thanks for considering the pursuit of a career as a military leader within the finest army in the world.</p>
<p>These are all great suggestions and I can only add one more. Because WP asks for recommendations from English, Math and Physics/Chemistry teachers specifically, I suspect it will be to a student's advantage to make sure the teachers know them well enough to write meaningful comments. That's in addition to doing very well in the class.</p>
<p>not to belittle what anyone has said (b/c its great advice) but i didnt do any of that and have gotten recruited heavily from the school. i will say i was a class officer 3 years and played varsity tennis (3 time state champ and usta), but i didnt actually go to the r day or contact the admin office at all. my sat wasnt way way up there (but im content w/ my 1350). they contacted my the beginning of my senior year and both the school and athletic dept have been calling me a lot, but not together. in fact, the admin off scheduled a visit for me for the cadet weekend thing and didnt know the tennis coach had scheduled a tennis visit for me another weekend.</p>
<p>my point is that for those of you who are worried that you have to do or havent done any a lot of what was mentioned, calm down. playing a sport (and well) definetely helped my alot, so that the best way to go...along with the traditional great gpa, good sat, etc..</p>
<p>coqui, It's great that you have this great skill, however recruited athletes make ups such a small percentage. about 90% of the people will have to go through the regular process, and compete for an appointment with thier own merit. </p>
<p>If you are a recruited athlete, your director of admissions switches. (e.g. If you are NY, in stead of having the Director of admissions of the N.east, represent your file, the direct of admissions of athletics represents your file at the admissions board meeting). </p>
<p>However USMA is in division I, so even if you are very talented in sports, don't bank on it, Still heed the advise of these posts. Just to reiterate myself, recruited athletes make up such a small percentage, and if you want to be competative on a academic, ec, etc level please take the advise posted previously to heart</p>
<p>ummm, i already turned in all my stuff, got a pres and cong nom, got an loa, and they dont stop calling. so im pretty much in. i just have to do turn in my pae which im doing next week and know i'll pass. i also have a 3.96 gpa, 7 aps, ec's, student gov... so i'm definetely academically competitive. its just i didnt do any of the actual research of contacting the admin office or visiting and still got sent a questionarre and got called. it was after that i got recruited as an athlete. my director probably change like you said. </p>
<p>i'm not saying not to take the advice to heart, it's just i didnt do most of what has been mentioned, but i'm getting accepted (probably). i'm just giving people hope in case they think its too late.</p>
<p>"ummm, i already turned in all my stuff, got a pres and cong nom, got an loa, and they dont stop calling. so im pretty much in"</p>
<p>There are very strict rules about how many times and in what ways a div 1 coach can make contact with a recruited athlete---what exactly does "and they don't stop calling" mean? Also "I'm pretty much in" doesn't mean a lot till you are "in". Good Luck on the PAE. Don't just try to pass, it's important that you do well (not because you won't get in but because you are gonna run into a lot tougher stuff than that pae when you get into the academy.)</p>
<p>yes i understand about the pae. it is the army...no piece of cake. i should probably clear up the whole "they dont stop calling" thing. around oct i got called about 3 times from the school admin office regarding why i should i apply and they even told me they "reserved" a spot for me in the class. i was a little suspicious about the whole "reserving" thing, and the army has a tendency to say certain things to recruit students (as does any school). then around jan i got about three more calls from the tennis coaches regarding my interest and scheduling a visit. sorry if i made it seem like they're calling every day...it just seemed more to me than the average applicant. and i know i'm not "in" until i'm "in", but you must admit i have a pretty good chance.</p>
<p>i know i'll pass the pae because i've done 2 practice ones already and did really well, except for those pushups, but i'm working on them. thanks for the advice though. i'm really looking forward to visiting in two weeks. does anyone know what i can expect as far as the campus, city, etc...i've been told a lot about the student life already, but i dont know much about the campus itself.</p>
<p>the campus is beautiful, sits right on the hudson river. the buildings are very historic. The first time you see west point for your self, it's truley breath taking. THe town itself is called west point, right next to a small town called highland falls (or something like that) very small town. However it shouldn't really matter becasue cadets are only allowed to leave twice a semester for weekened leave (except for holidays or if you earn off campus privilages).</p>
<p>i've seen the air force academy campus (pictures of it anyway) and it looked pretty boring. but one of my friends who applied and got accepted last year said it was beautiful. cant wait to see it for myself.</p>
<p>Although the AFA prides it's self as being the rising star in the academy ranks, as you stated, yes it is kinda boring. </p>
<p>to get to the actaul AFA you have to drive through the mountains. While WP is at least next to a small town. AFA is literally in the middle of nowhere. On the contrary to most people believe, the AFA is not in colorado springs. It is in USAFA, CO (original name huh?) </p>
<p>Colorado srpings however is a city, and is less then 15 minutes or so from the AFA. while WP you have about a 45min-1hr drive to NYC. </p>
<p>Unlike WP the AFA campus has no character. If the distinguishing 'cadet chappel' wasn't in the heart of the academy, people would think it was an office complex. however the view from the AFA is stunning, w/ eagle's peak + pikes peak</p>
<p>well since we're talking about the differences between AFA and WP, here's my personal break down</p>
<p>AFA- although not as historic as WP, and the campus isn't as captivating, the dorms are 10X better than wp. shower stalls, student lounges w/ TV vending machines etc. class room are alot nicer, + they have more technologically advanced equipment. the sheleves beds and actaulyl everything about the rooms are alot better than WPs. and not even a little better, like ALOT better</p>
<p>WP- the dorms are morel ike barricks, bare necessities. the desk and beds are rickity. The showers are communal (not shower stalls like AFA). however the buildings have alot more character. The class rooms (mostley thayer hall) used to be where the WP cadets learned horse riding, so I guess the class rooms aren't as nice as they could be. However the food at Washington hall (WP) is alot better than the food at micheal hall(AFA) even though the living conditions aren't as nice as the AFA, the cadets at WP seem alot more happy than the cadets at AF</p>
<p>I live about 15 minutes from WP and I've been there often, plus I was able to spend a week on each campus through the Summer seminar programs. so I've lived on the AFA campus for a week (night and day, took classes there, slept in the dorms etc), and the same goes for WP. Plus w/ WP I've been there on numerous occasions to watch plays, parades, I had a chance to do official tour there etc.</p>