USMA West Point, USNA Annapolis, DODMERB WAIVER HELP!!

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

Hey everyone,

So I’m applying to USMA and USNA, just need CFA and DODMERB waiver as well as USNA’s MOC nom. I tore my ACL in late March, attended West Point’s SLE (I got accepted to NASS too but they told me not to come with my injury) and had surgery in early June, and will be cleared in Dec/Jan. DODMERB should receive my physical portion of the exam this week and let me know about the DQ in 2-6 wks apparently; they already received my eye exam. Then I wait up to 90-120 days for a waiver determination. I’m trying to take the CFA next month but I’m super out of shape because I haven’t been able to run/exercise since April. At this point I’m super paranoid that because of the long waiver process I may not get in, let alone my average SAT and whatnot. Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.92/4.00, 4.45/5.00
SAT: 1930 old (560 V, 690 M, 680 W), 1340 new (640 V, 700 M), 1300 new w/essay (680 M, 620 V, 24/24 essay)

Asian Female from MD

AP Courses:
9th: APUSH
10th: Govt, Calc AB
11th: Chem, Calc BC, Eng Lang., Psych.
12th: Eng Lit., Stats, C. Sci., Physics l, French

Rank 2/300 (estimate, school doesn’t rank)

Clubs:

  1. Mu Alpha Theta (4 yrs)
  2. Varsity Math Team (4 yrs)
  3. French NHS (3 yrs)
  4. NHS (3 yrs)
  5. SGA (4 yrs)
  6. Academic Challenge (4 yrs)
  7. Relay for Life (1 yr)
  8. Debate Team (2 yrs)
  9. County Student Gov’t (1 yr)

Leaderships:

  1. Concert Choir Alto Section Leader
  2. NHS President
  3. SGA Executive Board 1st VP
  4. Mu Alpha Theta President
  5. Varsity Math Team Capt. & Top Scorer
  6. Cross Country Team Capt.
  7. Academic Challenge- running for Capt.
  8. French NHS- running for office
  9. Running for VP for county student gov’t
  10. Unified Conditioning- most likely Capt.

Sports:
2 yrs Girls V Soccer
3 yrs Girls V Lacrosse
1 yr V Cross Country
2 yrs Unified Strength and Conditioning
Plan to try Outdoor Track

Misc.:
All-Shore Choir 4 yrs
sibling currently at USMA (does this help? They asked this on the app)
accepted to Girls State but could not attend due to ACL surgery
Questbridge Finalist
Senate Page from my district for MD General House Assembly

I’m super paranoid atm because even if I take the CFA in Dec I’m expecting to wait at least 3 months for the waiver grant and by March I’m afraid there won’t be many spots left to give out. My officer told me that Admissions won’t look at my app until I get the waiver too…
Also, do the academies look at SAT essay scores? It says on their page that they’re required but I wasn’t sure.
I have yet to receive a letter of encouragement and it’s worrying me. I’m not expecting an LOA or a 3Q’d letter because my ACL and average stats will eliminate me from that.

Really, ANY advice will help!

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Hi, I’m applying to USMA as well. If you are not already, I would start practicing for the CFA ASAP! Since the CFA is weighted 10% of your overall whole candidate score, your goal should be to max as many events as possible that way you can offset your “average” SAT scores. I passed the CFA in mid-October and maxed pullups, situps, and pushups. Since you haven’t been able to work out as much as you’d like, it’s important to do what you can. Even if you aren’t able to run, you should be able to do push-ups and sit-ups. Do them every day from now until your test. And don’t forget pull-ups. Even one pull up is worth more than max score for the arm hang. When I first started practicing for pull-ups, I couldn’t do one. By the time of the test I made it up to 7 ( I’m a female too) You can do it too if you practice everyday. Start with the flexed arm hang for as long as you can and do 4 sets two times a day. Then attempt to do pull-ups and pull yourself up as high as you can go. Also, try swimming and going to the gym to build muscle, especially arm muscle! Regarding the SAT essay scores, they’re required but I think it is just to make sure you have a decent score. I don’t think they are a huge deciding factor or anything. My Admissions Officer requested me to send in a copy of the actual essays I had written for the SAT along with the writing score. Definitely make sure you take the SAT WITH WRITING. Try not to worry about the waiver; just continue doing everything you can to make yourself competitive. At the end of it all, you don’t want to have any regrets and say “well if I had tried harder for this maybe I could have gotten in”. Try as hard as you can now and if everything doesn’t work out, you can always re-apply next year. It might turn out to be better that way since you won’t be coming a big injury like a torn ACL and would have more time to get in shape for beast. Anways, if you have any questions let me know and good luck!

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@Europa66 I’m practicing literally everything and anything at the moment haha. I just started timing my mile about 2 weeks ago and I’ve cut 30 seconds, so hopefully it’ll get under 8 min by testing. Thank you for your advice, it’s very much appreciated!

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@purpledog354 that’s the spirit! Keep working and good luck to you. :slight_smile: