Want to get accepted in West Point (Advice??)

Hello everyone!
I am a junior in a college prepatory highschool (one of the best) in Florida. But i am worried i wont get accepted into West Point because of my terrible HS performance. My goal is to comission in the army as an officer through The Academy, as it is where my heart is at. I have a terrible gpa due to personal issues that ive had, but am very confident in getting a high test scores and excell in other areas. Its not that i was incompetent in any way, its just simply i felt like i had no direction until now. Junior year something happened to me relationship-wise that caused me to be very somber, and most likely this year will be the worst academically. Its not excuse and i have learned to stay strong and try to endure.But I really am serious about this as i have ambitious goals in life, and that includes becoming an officer in the army.

In your opinion…What would be my best/suitable option to get into the academy, or if not, just become an officer??

1.Enlist in National Guard and do community college in my state, so i can get a high college GPA (3.5+) and apply to west point (multiple times if necessary)
2.Go to The citadel/VMI, do rotc there and perform well, and try to apply to west point, or just finish ROTC to commission as an officer.
3.Go to community college directly after highschool, and apply to west point (multiple times) concentrating on proving myself academically.

HS performance

  1. 2.3 gpa weighted (not good at all)
    2.200 community hours in library, church, hospital ect…
    3.Nearly perfect SAT/ACT scores (1550/32)
    4.been to clubs such as FBLA, Japanese culture club, and chess club.
    5.Have taken honors classes throughout my Highschool along with one/two AP Classes.
    6.sports is not my strong area either, but i do work out and am physcially fit, along with Swimming and playing Tennis
    7.I have leadership potential, with business/History/Politics as my favorite subjects.
    8.i can get reccomendations from teachers and try to write an essay regarding my potential.

Hello. I’m an eighth grader, but West Point is a huge goal for me and I have done extensive research on the admissions process and requirements.

First of all, on a scale of 600 to 2400, 1550 is not nearly perfect, not even close. Nearly perfect is within 200 points of 2400, I would say. A 32 is a good score for the ACT, but certainly not nearly perfect. The average West Point GPA is around 3.75, so your GPA is a major weakness, especially since you are an upperclassman and it can’t change majorly. Additionally, West Point recommends taking classes such as calculus, economics, and government, and having a strong background in math and science especially. This means you should see if you can be transferred into more advanced classes. Essentially, your academics are very much on the weak side when you consider the valedictorians that you will be up against. The majority of cadets are in the top 25th to 10th percentile academically, in difficult and advanced classes. Also, West Point considers your academics more heavily than leadership and physical skills.

90 percent of West Point cadets had varsity letters in high school, and a majority had two. It’s good that you are strong and could probably pass the CFA (candidate fitness assessment), but it’s good to do sports on the varsity level. For example, it’s my goal to have letters in both volleyball and track or cross country, and to be near a black belt or have one by the time I enter the academy, if I am granted acceptance. You should try to score very high on the CFA in order to compensate for your lack of varsity letters.

Where leadership is concerned, your volunteer hours are great, and so are your extracurriculars. Try to obtain leadership roles in them, such as club captain or president.

Essentially, your chances of getting in straight from high school are basically none, but you seem to have accepted this. If I were you, I would apply anyway. All though you most likely won’t be accepted, West Point values those who try again later, as this shows determination. If I were you, I would apply from VMI, as the Citadel is also quite difficult to get in and your scores might not cut it, though VMI would also be hard to get in for you. You could also apply to Texas A&M if you want to go the military school route. A less prestigious college, or community college, might be better for you before you apply. You could try applying while still in college, additionally. If you enlist in some other military career, like the National Guard, it might be harder for you to get in then if you went to a college prior to your second try.

Good luck!

@usmambition The now SAT is out of 1600, not 2400 so a 1550 is a great score. You are correct that 32 is not outstanding but it’s not bad either and would not rule OP out.

@YDiaz19 Your GPA is simply too low. Even if accepted, I think you would struggle academically to catch up. Research ROTC programs and they don’t have to be VMI, Citadel, etc. You are not competitive for a four year scholarship but maybe you can excel as a freshman in academics and ROTC and get a three year offer. Talk to an ROTC program recruiter for most accurate details.

@Sportsman88
Thank you for reminding me about the SAT score. IN that case, 1550 is certainly a very high score. My bad, sorry about that.