How tough/competitive is it to get into SLE at West Point? Also, are there certain AP classes that West Point likes to see?
@ryanalexander116: SLE is only competitive due to the number of slots. Attending SLE has no bearing on the admissions process and is not considered in the WCS (Whole Candidiate Score) used to rank applicants for appointments. SLE is useful to get a feel for the campus, take a CFA (optional), and get questions answered by cadets and admissions. It does NOT represent, in any way, what it is really like to attend the academy.
West Point does not consider AP courses or scores but does hope that you have a very strong background in math (preferably calculus), chemistry, and physics, so take the strongest courses in those subjects available to you (which may not be APs). At the end of Beast, you will be able to take WP assessments in each of these areas to determine whether or not your subject mastery is sufficient to validate any of the Plebe courses.
@ChoatieMom My friend who graduated last year, who is at WP now, told me he took CP in everything and rarely AP or Honors and got accepted. He has a guy in his company who also graduated with a 2.5 GPA. What if I don’t want a major in one of these subjects?
Which subjects? All WP cadets graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree, most in some form of engineering field, but there are many majors:
http://www.westpoint.edu/curriculum/SitePages/Home.aspx
What is your concern exactly?
In something STEM related, because I plan on majoring in business or environmental/human geography if I go there. Sorry for getting off topic there, but my grades aren’t the best in the world this year. Last year was all A’s, this year is a ton of B’s, 1 A, and one D, which is coming up though. I hope to compensate for my grades right now by taking 2 or 3 APs next year and getting high grades in them (APUSH, APES, AP Chem), and bringing my grades up to A’s and B’s by Christmas. @ChoatieMom
Grades are only part of the picture, @ryanalexander116. You want to do well academically, but you also need to work on being competitive physically and showing strong leadership. Your ACT/SAT scores will hold significant weight as will your participation in sports. Take a look at the parents brief from the class of 2020 (pay attention to slide 35):
None of this will matter, though, until you have a nomination from one of the nominating sources. So, get your grades up, do well on the standardized tests and retake them if necessary (USMA superstores), and get that nomination! Good luck to you.
@ChoatieMom Thank you. For leadership, I have Student Council, tons of volunteering including roadside cleanups and helping build houses for the homeless, NJROTC, and my senior year I will be co-captain of Cross Country team. I am on 3 teams (Orienteering, Raiders, and Cross Country). I have taken a practice ACT in October (I’m a sophomore) and I scored a 21, but I am getting a tutor soon and I have some practice books as well.