<p>1) My class rank and GPA were scarred by a poor freshman year. I will probably end up in the top 30-35% of my class; however, I have been in mostly honors and AP classes. Considering that I have a good (competitive range) athletic and ECA record can a strong personal essay, math/english teacher recommendation, and BGO interview make up for a poor class rank?</p>
<p>2) I was looking at last year's class profile and I noticed that only about 4,000 of the 11,000 applicants had a nomination. Does this mean that if you get a nomination you are only competing with around 4,000 others for the 1,500 slots?</p>
<h1>1: anything is possible. It might be helpful to explain to your BGO (or in a personal essay to the USNA) as to why your freshman grades were lower than expected, especially if there is a legit reason for this. I am assuming your sophomore, junior and senior grades all demonstrated steady improvement, which might go a long way in making the freshman grades a bit less important.</h1>
<p>As for #2, you are basically correct. You will need a nomination to get in, and depending on where you are from and how competetive your area is. Just keep in mind that not all who get a nomination will get an offer of appointment- that seems to be a confusing issue for many. As for the number of "slots," offers will go out to achieve an admission class around 1240 in number....that may not equate to 1500 offers, but in the past it has fallen somewhere around that number. While the odds seem a bit better at that stage, please make sure to have a backup plan in place as it remains a very competetive process at every stage of the process.</p>
<p>Blowing your first year in HS is not a death sentence. I blew freshman AND sophomore year, and due to a serious effort (and results) during junior and senior year, I managed to get into NAPS. I was 6th out of 32 in my HS class.</p>
<p>One thing that you MUST demonstrate if you had a bad year or two is CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT afterwards. Without that, you're sunk.</p>
<p>Oof..... You're going to make me remember this, are ya? </p>
<p>IIRC, I had a 3.6 GPA overall. Bottom line is that I had several C's, a few D's, and one F between freshman and sophomore year. No sports or ECA's other than the Karate Club (which I didn't frequent anyway) and JROTC (where I didn't do much).</p>
<p>Junior and senior year I didn't get below a high B, and was on the Honor Roll 4 of the 6 trimesters (I got Honorable Mention the other 2). I lettered in Basketball and Softball, and played intramural football. I was involved in several ECA's, and was President of at least 3 of them (Computer, Spanish, and Chemistry).</p>
<p>Throw is some pretty impressive letters of recommendation (which couldn't have hurt, but I don't know how much they helped, if at all) and the strong recommendations of my teachers and Headmaster (those DEFINITELY help), and I wound up at NAPS. I'm sure the fact I only got my Congresscritter's "third alternate" nomination helped, too.</p>
<p>If you get into NAPS and graduate, you go to USNA. Period. :)</p>
<p>Then, of course, is when the REALLY hard part begins: Graduating from USNA. Makes getting in look like a cakewalk.</p>
<p>Any of the academies appreciates a student who has struggled, even failed, and has picked themselves up, dusted off and charged ahead to overcome thier obstacle. </p>
<p>That is what being a cadet/midi is all about. They know you WILL fail. They will even cause you to fail just to see your reaction and how you overcome it. </p>
<p>Case in point: our son flunked Algebra 2 his junior year and had to go to summer school. He made an A in summer school because a different teacher enabled a lightbulb to be turned on in our son's head. He went on to take Algebra 3 his senior year and made a 104, didn't even have to take his final. The interesting thing is that both the course he flunked and the one he sailed through were taught by the same teacher who wound up writing a letter of recommendation for him describing the journey. </p>
<p>That is life, and that is what the academies are looking for. They're not looking for perfect people who have never faultered before. Quite the contrary.</p>
<p>Great story and powerful, encouraging lessons for living. </p>
<p>And exceptional, not the rule. More generally, the USNA has a phenomenal group of consistent, spectacular young people , most of whom have learned how to win at an an even younger age and work like mad to keep on doing so. I suspect the intense, unrelenting training is in large part to learn about how these developing leaders handle personal defeat, many for the first real time.</p>
<p>I am not sure what cramming a bunch of ec's in junior year will do, other than distract you from what is really important, which are grades.</p>
<p>A better idea would be to pick one- or two- ec's that are meaningful to you, and make your presence there meaningful. Make an impact in one or two areas, rather than spreading yourself out so thin that you are meerly a passive member. Do something that excites you- that you can feel good about, even passionate- and give that activity your all. Make a difference. If you can demonstrate some leadership while you are at it, all the better. sure, it would be nice to demonstate some interest for all 4 years of your HS (and even longer if it applies...scouting comes immediately to mind)....but it is never too late to get involved with something, but again, make your presence known and pick something you can really sink your teeth into. There are so many opportunities...special olympics is a great program, and if you train to be a coach, it can also go a long way in helping you demonstrate some leadership abilities while doing some meaningful and rewarding work...just a suggestion (both our kids did just that and loved it....so much so that our daughter just signed up again to coach swimming and she has already graduated college!)</p>
<p>One thing I would suggest is to get yourself involved in some type of sport, if you are not already in one. Even on the intramural level, it will help- the academies value fitness and athletics, and most of the candidates that are offered admission will have some athletic background behind them....as many as 80% will have earned varsity letters in at least one sport, and many will have 2 or more...sports that is, not letters....some will come in with as many as a dozen varsity letters to their credit....along with other ec's. Here again, running at any level would be a terrific sport....and you can kill two birds with one stone, as it will also serve to get you in shape for plebe summer where you can bet there will be LOTS of running waiting for you....each and every morning before the sun even rises!!! ;)</p>
<p>Academics (i.e., grades and class standing) and SAT / ACT scores carry far more weight than a bunch of club memberships. If you try to "cram" a bunch of activities into your junior year, your tactic will be obvious to the Admissions Board. The Admissions Board is looking for consistency; for example, if you participate in Cross Country, make sure that you do it in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade.</p>
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I got letters in Lax and CC, and am in Student Government and NHS, but many other people seem like they have a thousand different clubs
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<p>don't waste your time worrying what others are bringing to the table....worry about what you will bring.</p>
<p>Others may list a dozen clubs and ec's....that doesn't mean they are active participants in any of them, or holding leadership positions or making a damm bit of difference with their presence.</p>
<p>My advice to you is to stick with what you have going- and do your best at each thing. If you have the time, then do one volunteer activity in your community- but not if it will cause your grades to go down.</p>
<p>Best of luck! BTW- the USNA loves lacrosse- so make that count! Play hard and well! Contact the coaches- they are terrific- if you have not gone to summer recruiting camps, get to some (Top 200 is best)....have to be invited to that one, so work hard. Consider the Navy Lacrosse camp that is offered each summer- the coaches will watch the last games, so make sure you work hard to get in those. Practice your running---- the CC coach and even the lax coaches appreciate speed!</p>