<p>Good question! now i am wondering the same thing...</p>
<p>I would think not.</p>
<p>This was addressed to some extent- without my "notes", what I recall is that the admissions board looks to see what the candidate has accomplished in the arena they are in....
thus, if a HS offers x amount of AP or honors classes, has the candidate taken advantage of that, regardless if the number offered were 1 or 21.</p>
<p>The only thing that seemed to stand apart....where some allowance might be made....is in the academy's objective to increase minority enrollment to align with the percentages in the fleet. There is a definate focus on the recruitment of African Americans and Hispanic students - and the academy is looking to find them in "good schools" that reside in underserved areas....New York City is one area that has been targeted, along with several others.</p>
<p>I am not sure if this answers your question.</p>
<p>Just to clarify.... by "some allowance," the candidate must still demonstrate an aptitude to be successful at the academy. The admissions board is not looking to "qualify the interested," but "interest the qualified."</p>
<p>okay, that makes perfect sence thanks!</p>
<p>Would love to get an LOA, from USNA, but debating whether to complete application after some Sr. year first semester grades in hopes that they will produce some more A's. Jr. year was a B to B+ average year. ACT's composite 31 (math34).</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>It's rolling admissions...do it now...</p>
<p>Good counsel. THE single most critical factor ... in general ... early birds get more appointments. Why? Because they are available. Simple math ... would one rather be in the pool being considered when 1200 appointments are available in August? Or 120 in March? Or 12 in May?</p>
<p>Of course it's not this simple due to the appointment methodology and its being "spread" geographically, but the main point remains.</p>
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</p>
<p>Given two identical candidates, all things being equal including GPA and course load, generally speaking the candidate from the better high school will be graded more favorably. Factors which can affect this, as 2010 stated, could be if the poorer high school was in a targeted area. Also, which could possibly affect both candidates, but more likely the candidate from the better school, is that a candidate might be graded negatively if the board feels that they do not take the best advantage of courses offered (Example: Did not take available AP math and xcience courses. It would have no effect on the candidate from the poorer school who did not take AP Calculus because it was not offered but would for the candidate from the better high school who chose not to take it even though it was offered)</p>
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<p>The CGO wants applications submitted as early as possible for one simple reason, to mitigate the workload of the majority which arrive in and around December. To state that a more thorough review is received for those who apply early is to imply that those arriving during the crunch will not receive a professional and thorough review. Not true. The Admissions Office will simply be working longer hours to do their proper review. To think that the Board might provide a more favorable review before they reach their 'stride' bears no merit. The procedures are pretty much etched in concrete. Should one wish to believe this fallacy, they should also consider the distinct possibility that the board would be more critical early on.</p>
<p>The record goes before the Board. LOAs are mailed. Those who, without any shadow of a doubt, are qualified, will be scholastically qualified. The remainder will be placed on hold. As amplifying information is submitted and a more definitive cut-off point is made, additional scholastic qualifications will be determined. It will be February before all the nominations will be submitted and the 1st of March before candidate's packages are required to be submitted. Therefore, if a MOC submits a competitive nomination list as most do, the final determination cannot be made until everyone on the list who Admissions feels is competitive, has had an opportunity to submit his best and final package by March 1.</p>
<p>Therefore, do not rush your application hoping that it will cause you to be viewed more favorably. Be timely. Help the Admissions Dept to spread their workload. But more important, take the time necessary to do it correctly. Secondly, once it is submitted, update it religiously and punctually all the way up to the deadline.</p>
<p>Yes, I'm aware of the rolling admissions, but should I wait to get some stronger Sr. 1st semester grades then submitt the complete application?</p>
<p>^^^no.
I would take USNA69's advice on this one... get it in early, and update as necessary.</p>
<p>Want to also repeat that the admissions board will review each application thoroughly no matter when it is sent.... </p>
<p>there is, however, a small advantage in getting your application in early...when there is no "mean" for the class established....as the cycle moves forward, and the class starts to take shape, the competetion may increase.... thus, a candidate offered an appointment early in the cycle, may not make the cut if considered late in the same admission year.</p>
<p>So get it in as soon as you can. Make sure it is complete...check, recheck, and have someone else's eyes do a check. Update with any new information. </p>
<p>Just remember...if you have not maxed out the CFA, SATs, and ACTs, there is still room to improve!!! Along with grades, those are the things in your control, so take advantage of that!</p>
<p>HINT-HINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
for CFA.... concentrate on crunches, pushups and the one-mile run... those 3 will be looked at more closely than the shuttle run, pull-ups and Basketball throw.... so see if you can improve on those areas... especially the run!!! Which is not to say to blow off the others (you want to "pass" those components for sure)... but really prep and concentrate on the first 3!!!</p>
<p>how many pushups and situps shold a girl do to be a bit above the avrage? and what would a good mile run be?</p>
<p>Thanks, 2010....I see your son must be a LAX'er. Is he playing there? Did he get a LOA from the Coach? If not, what kind of pull do you think the coach had?</p>
<p>For the reported mean SAT scores for admitted candidates, are scores of candidates admitted from NAPS included?</p>
<p>you mentioned that high schools with successful mids are looked at more favorably. How about families with successful mids? Are siblings of successful mids given any favor especially when their "stats" are fairly similar.
Our second son is applying to USNA now. Our first son is a plebe now and mentioned in his last letter that he is 9th out of 48 in his platoon in some kind of rating. He seems to be thriving!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Thanks, 2010....I see your son must be a LAX'er. Is he playing there? Did he get a LOA from the Coach? If not, what kind of pull do you think the coach had?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I have posted quite a bit on recruits at the academy- with a little searching you will find them.</p>
<p>In a nutshell- </p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you play a varsity sport in HS, and are interested in continuing it at the academy (if offered) then put an athletic CV together and contact the coach</p></li>
<li><p>The coach may have a few "slots" for blue chip recruits.... and while they have some pull with the admissions boards, they can't work miracles. You need to give them the package to work with....so that comes down to Class rank, SATs, CFA, recommendations, etc, etc, etc..... </p></li>
<li><p>The coach does not give you an LOA.... only the admissions board can issue one. </p></li>
<li><p>Don't pick the academy for "sports." THey are the icing on the cake. but you have to like the cake it is on. Make sure you pick the academy because it is a good fit for your goals in life...not because you will get to play your sport. Just remember...you are one injury away from not being able to play.</p></li>
<li><p>Lastly- keep in mind that playing a varsity sport carries with it a huge committment of time- and that, in turn, carries with it it's own "opportunity costs." You may be the best player on the team, but if you are failing chem, or calc, you will have a tough choice to make- and it had better be academics. Being part of a team is great....but it takes you away from your real team, which is your company. When it comes time for ranking, some of your peers will understand....some will not. Some will admire your varsity status, while others will see the missed parades, missed company activities, etc, an "excuse"..... and will rank you accordingly. </p></li>
<li><p>Lacrosse...."The king of sports."
if you play, and you get to visit the academy, make sure to visit the lax hall of fame at the stadium- it is incredible!!!!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Contacting a coach can be a real double edged sword. First off, if you contact him, it will mean that you are not one of his prime prospects. He will become interested in you only when one or more of his prime candidates fail to come through. This will probably happen late in the selection process. When one becomes an athletic prospect, their package becomes the responsibility of that particular coach instead of the Admissions Office. While the Admissions Office is choosing those final qualified candidates to fill out the class, your package is sitting on the coaches desk and, at the very end, when he decides there is no room for you on the team, and your package is handed back to the CGO, there are no more openings available.</p>
<p>Therefore, my advice is to 'ride' your academics unless you are relatively certain that they alone will not obtain an appointment for you. Then, contact the coach.</p>
<p>Wow, the application sitting on the coach's desk till the end??? Never looked at it that way. Certainly, not a Blue Chip Prospect....so I will take your advice to heart. </p>
<p>How about a Walk on try out once at the Academy?</p>
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<p>Theoretical, yes. But in actuality, it will probably never happen. The candidate whose package is on the fence will probably not go before the board until later, after he has had a chance to submit all possible updates. And if it does go before the board, it will be placed in a 'hold' status for the same reason.</p>
<p>Make a thorough effort to submit the initial package and don't try to rush it. However, when you are convinced that it is the best you can do, submit it. After that, any future accomplishments should be submitted expeditiously so that perhaps, before the final deadline on March 1, your package will be deemed sufficient to go before the board for a Scholastic Qualification. </p>
<p>For those of you who have been following these boards for a couple of cycles, you realize that the majority only find out about their qualification in or after the Christmas time frame. It is not because they had just submitted their packages. It was because either the Board or the CGO was sitting on them.</p>
<p>I see both points being made here. My big question lies in that every admissions program that we attended, from those put on by the Admissions department to those sponsored by our states congressional delegation to just meeting with our BGO the common theme has been "the early bird gets the worm" The theme never changed during the current Mids admission cycle and as we undergo it a second time it is still being stated strongly. Why would admissions strongly encourage applicants to get the package in as soon as possible and then worry about updates and additions. Seems to me it adds more work for them to be constantly updating packages. Just curious...</p>
<p>The earlier the packages are submitted, the less the workload during the Jan-Feb crunch period. LOAs and early SQs are the 'Early Admissions' of the SAs. They want to identify these outstanding candidates as soon as possible and offer them a candidacy. Therefore, the real purpose is to capture the outstanding, not reward the mediocre. </p>
<p>Updates have to be made irregardless. To ensure that the most qualified candidate on a MOC's competitive list is, in fact, awarded the nomination, a final March 1 deadline points total must be tallied anyway. The initial perusal is the time consumer. A 40 pt add on a Math SAT only takes minutes.</p>