<p>DT-
Olympic Team A-you will be invited back for the final round if you can run sub 9.9 sec (3/30)= 10%
Olympic Team B- you will be invited back for the final round if you can run sub 9.9 sec and are nominated (3/12)= 25%
Olympic Team C-you will be invited back for the final round if you can run sub 9.9 sec are nominated and have no medical condition (3/4)=75%</p>
<p>with each additional criterion, the selectivity changes</p>
<p>You have to look at it in steps. Each step has a higher % chance of making the next cut, but each step becomes more competitive. So while 14,000 people may start, you are more likely to be trimmed down to the 4000 nominees based on who has the best overall records. so while overall 10% receive an appointment, statistically speaking, when done in steps it is not as competitive as it really looks. While you still need to be very impressive in all areas to even get to the highest point of admissions, you really will have a 75% chance once you get to the top of the ladder.</p>
<p>Also, i regards to the Coast Guard Academy, I wouldn't call it's incoming class Statistically "inferior." It is among the most competitive schools in the country. It's mission, like the other federal service academies, is not to take only the 1500 SAT 4.0 GPA's, but the most well rounded. Academically superior but with practical work, athletic, and leadership expierience. Not all geniuses can be leaders. It is much smaller, and one thing to note is that the USCGA gets between 4000-7000 applications per year, though I think last year was less. of those, only 400 people will get appointed. However, one thing to note, is that the USCGA does not require any nomination source. Therefore you will find that overall the incoming class more qualified than say West Point. Because while appointees from my district have 1400+ SAT scores and go to some of the competitive high schools in the country where alot is offered to us, appointees from less competitive states in the midwest where senators have more nominations than applications and the appointees are typically around 1200 SAT's and top 25% of small high schools classes. The coast guard takes whoever they want, and thus it comes as no surprise that an overwhelming majority of appointees come from the Northeast, the West Coast, and alot from the Eastern seaboard, but the midwest and deep south are almost not represented at all.</p>
<p>It's really all in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p>I think you are making an unsubstantiated leap by assuming that the incoming class at West Point is "less qualified" than at the Coast Guard Academy. Even if someone from a small "mid-western state" were to garner a principal appointment to West Point or Annapolis they are not guaranteed admission. They still must be triple Q'ed. In fact one might argue that the nomination process makes it even HARDER to gain admission to West Point or Annapolis. Each academy has its mission and admissions process that is unique. I don't see how anyone could even try to intelligently argue that one is easier or harder to get into---easier for who? harder for who? everyone? I doubt it.</p>
<p>First of all I would say that West Point is the easiest of all the academies to gain acceptance to. Secondly, most of the people who got appointments to the USCGA applied to the other academies as backups and most have multiple appointments. Gaining admission to USCGA is far more difficult than gaining admission to West Point or Annapolis. Getting triple qualified and a nomination is not a difficult task, it means that those academies must take applicants from all states to fill quotas so naturally less competitive regions will yield weaker applicants. The CGA is not required to match any quotas whatsoever, they take the best based on individual merit.</p>
<p>The USCGA application process was much more involved and required a more in depth look at the candidate. I put more effort and time into my Coast Guard application then I did with my 3 nomination applications and my other service academy applications COMBINED. The other service academies required the applicant to fill in some bubbles and write a poorly prompted essay. Furthermore, the physical qualifications that one needs for Coast Guard far outstrip those needed for the other academies and the PFE is more rigerous than the PAE. So one still needs to be triple qualified for USCGA, and the process is more difficult.</p>
<p>SEAL6</p>
<p>I agree with you 100%.</p>
<p>Gosh I almost forgot to mention that once a candidate is triple qualified with a nomination at any other service academy then they have about a 75 to 80 percent chance of getting the appointment, this is not true with the CGA as triple qualified candidates face a very small appointment percentage.</p>
<p>I would have to say that it is a bit of a sretch to say that it is harder to get into USCGA than West Point. Last year, West Point WAS the hardest school to get into in the country as ranked by the Princeton Review. Also, how can one make the assumption that the physical standards are harder in the Coast Guard than they are in the Army? The majority of West Point grads will be serving as officers in the infantry where physical strength and stamina are a must. The PAE is only a diagnostic test and does not represent the Army PFT in any way.</p>
<p>shogun,</p>
<p>I was not suggesting that USCGA is all that much easier to get an appointment to. In many regards, all the federal service academies have very similar incoming classes in terms of SAT scores, GPA's, and EC's. (With the USNA being just slightly higher and the USMMA being just slightly lower).</p>
<p>However, what I do defend is that statistically it is more difficult for ME to get into ANY DoD service academy than USCGA. because while I am well qualified and was nominated, my Northern Virginia area (which is close to the Pentagon and has a high military interest) is amongst the most competitive in the country in the country to receive an appointment. Where do you think that West Point gets it 1280 average SAT last year or Navy's 1310? It is not that everyone has that score. It is that people from my area have a 1550 and people from Idaho come in with 1200's. Honestly, I don't mind the regional admissions process. It gives the military representation across several states and helps out those that naturally go to smaller, less competitive schools with fewer overall opportunities to perform. If you come from my area, the academy's EXPECT you to perform because there are so many opportunites to do so. All that means is that while it is significantly harder for ME to get into West Point or Navy, it is almost too easy in some areas, like the midwest, where there are more senators than representatives.</p>
<p>However, the Coast Guard takes everbody based on their merit, so overall you are more likely to find a class that taken as a whole is more qualified. There won't be as many people failing their first semester because in their Nebraska public school an 85 or above was an A and you didn't have to do any work to be the Valedictorian. The coast Guard academy takes whoever it wants, so not suprisingly, most come from competitive areas.</p>
<p>Again, West Point is not "easier" to get into, for me it is more difficult.</p>
<p>SEAL6, you are totally correct. Of the 5000 some applications received every year at the USCGA, the computer washes out anybody under 1150 total SAT and not in the top 25% of the class. Then those are boiled down to 1500-1800 "finalists" 100 of those will typically be elminated for not passing the difficult PFE and being medically disqualified for random, unforseen reasons. these 1500 are the equivalent of being triple Q'd at the USCGA. only 400 appointments are offerd. that is less than a 30% chance.</p>
<p>Adam, West Point is not more difficult. For many people West Point is harder, but it is forced to sell itself out by giving out appointments regionally to many people who are not more qualified than others, but happen to live in a state or region that is not competitive for admission. Again, for me, West Point is HARDER to get into, but it is mostly due to the regional admissions quotas.</p>
<p>West Point is the hardest to get into? Please. You cannot be serious. The answer to the saying "what do West Point cadets and cadets/midshipman at all of the other service academies have in common?" is pretty much true......they all got appointments to West Point.</p>
<p>As I said before, last year West Point was the hardest service academy to gain admission into as stated by the Princeton Review.</p>
<p>SEAL6, I hate to break from my roots, but I would agree that for most people West Point is difficult to get into, but it is not just their admissions standards, but the nomination process and regional competition. this issue did not arise out of West Point being less competitive, but out of someone saying that the USCGA is less competitive than West Point. It's a funny irony that if everyone accepted to West Point applied to the USCGA (assuming there were the same amount of slots at both schools) a large minority (my guess is about 30-35%) would not get accepted. And if everyone accepted to USCGA applied to west point, probobly about 30-35% of them would not get in.</p>
<p>It's comparing apples to oranges saying West Point is more difficult to get into than USCGA, as well as saying USCGA is more difficult. On the contrary, I would say they are both very competitive, but are looking for different things. The USCGA is looking for the best period. The other federal service academies are looking for the best in their given region. Again, you can't really compare.</p>
<p>Adam, are you sure that is correct? I know as a fact that last year the USNA accepted the fewest number of applicants (1400 out of more than 14000). I had read West Point received just over 10000 for 1500 admissions offers. I could be wrong, but it's not really the issue.</p>
<p>There is no way. I looked through the Princeton Reviews college rankings numerous times while building up my application. I did not see anything that would have me believe that West Point is the hardest service academy to gain admission to.</p>
<p>Snipes</p>
<p>But how would you compare West Point's selectivity with USAFA, and USNA?</p>
<p>West Point is without a doubt in my mind less competitive than USAFA and USNA. this based solely on the merit (SAT, class rank, EC's) and number of applicants for the class of 2008 to those schools. Again, many of the comparisons are minute. There is no "easy" academy to get into. If you can't get into one of them, your chanes at all of them are probobly a bit low (with the exception of the USCGA due to no nominations)</p>
<p>Snipes-</p>
<p>I would agree that all the academies are tough to get into and comparisons are tough to make, yet to say that West Point is the toughest.....well nevermind.</p>
<p>If you check the rankings for last year I can guarantee to you that West Point was the toughest to get into.</p>
<p>SEAL6, I agree with you. From what I read and what I have observed, I would say West Point is not the toughest to get into.</p>
<p>I just went to <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com%5B/url%5D">www.princetonreview.com</a> and looked up all of the selectivity ratings from last year, here they are:</p>
<p>on a scale of 60-99 (class of 2008)
MIT, Princeton, Harvard are all 99
SELECTIVITY TOP 10% AVG SAT
USAFA - 98 57% 1292
USNA - 97 54% 1313
USMA - 97 50% 1268<br>
USCGA - 97 56% 1270<br>
USMMA - 96 26% 1210</p>
<p>so as you can see, according to this, West Point is NOT the most competitive, but they are all basically way up in the rankings in terms of difficulty of gaining admission. AGAIN, THIS IS STRAIGHT OFF OF <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com%5B/url%5D">www.princetonreview.com</a></p>
<p>I have a copy right here and West Point is beneath Navy which is beneath Coast Guard</p>
<p>I am talking about last year which would mean admission for the West Point Class of 2008. This can no longer be found on the Princeton Review's website because it is updated every year. If you were to look under the thread entitled "Toughest to get into" West Point was number one. This is for a variety of reasons: First, because the number of soldiers deployed overseas was so high, the size of the corps had to decrease. Also, too many LOA's were sent out for the class of 2007 and almost none were turned down.</p>