Will I be a Competitive Applicant?

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

<p>I am a junior interested in West Point from New York wondering if my stats and extracurriculars will give me a good chance of getting into West Point.</p>

<p>93-94 average</p>

<p>Currently taking 4 AP's (Language and Composition, Chem, US History, Psychology)
Took AP Euro sophomore year and got a 5</p>

<p>I am attending a competitive public high school in the Rochester area that does not rank</p>

<p>took the ACT in September for the first time and got a 32, I will probably retake it again
I got a 770 on SAT II for world history</p>

<p>Took the PSAT in October but don't know the results yet</p>

<p>ECs
Will be a member of the JV/Varsity XC team all 4 years, but unfortunately was not named a captain (our junior class is absolutely stacked)</p>

<p>Member of the JV Nordic Ski Team in 8th grade and Varsity in 9th</p>

<p>JV/Varsity Indoor Track 10th-12th (hopefully be named captain)
JV/Varsity Outdoor Track 9-12th (hopefully be named captain)</p>

<p>Sophomore Year- Co-VP of Model UN
Junior Year- Secretary of Model UN
Attending a Model UN conference (THIMUN) in the Hague this January for 2 weeks</p>

<p>member of LitMag staff sophomore year
Co-Editor of the LitMag Junior Year</p>

<p>Member of town youth court junior year (it was founded that year)
most likely will be named an adviser a sa senior</p>

<p>Participated in an Internship at Rochester General Hospital in the Neurology Department over the summer</p>

<p>Will probably do another internship this summer, but I'm not sure which field</p>

<p>I want to attend the Summer seminar, but they fall during/the week before exam week</p>

2

<p>Your AP exams will probably take place in mid-May. Find out how many classes will also administer a final a few weeks later. You could be surprised.</p>

<p>Consider applying for the 2nd week of SLS rather than the first. In any event, if you are offered a spot in SLS talk to your faculty/administration and see what can be done. My daughter had the same problem and she was allowed to take a couple test early.</p>

<p>Your profile looks competitive. Keep up the good work. And if you go to SLS, practice for the CFA so that you can pass it during the seminar. It will remove a lot of stress during senior year if something is already done.</p>

3

<p>I’ll definitely consider applying to the second section of SLS, I am just worried it might be overly stressful not having a single ‘normal’ set of exams seeing as I am missing my midterms as well for the THIMUN conference</p>

<p>Two questions ON SLS</p>

<p>If I apply to the second section and get in, I have to go, correct?</p>

<p>Is SLS more of a program to get me to understand the nature of the Military Academy or does it also help the admissions office to decide who is actually motivated; in other words, will going improve my chances?</p>

4

<p>When my son did SLS this year, he didn’t have to apply to a specific session - only Navy’s asked that up front. WP and AF you simply applied and it was first come, first served as far as sessions. </p>

<p>Applying to SLS does NOT require you to go. The acceptance packet simply asked you to accept or decline the invitation so that they could offer it to others. Not accepting would not be held against you. </p>

<p>For the most part, SLS does not have a big impact on the admissions process. However, you ARE evaluated by your squad leader while you are there. Many areas of the country do not have liaison officers available (MALO’s), and for those, they would use your SL interview in place of a MALO interview. Other than that, unless you did terribly at SLS (ie refused to participate or got in big trouble), I don’t think it makes much difference. It does give you a bit of a jump on the admissions process, and my son knew several people from SLS who got LOA’s just based on their SLS application (before they’d even started their official application or before it was open to the public). </p>

<p>SLS is really more of a sales pitch/PR/recruiting tool - ie. a chance to sell WP to you, not you to WP. But it’s also a great way to make sure you really are interested in what WP offers and getting a better understanding of that, behind the scenes a bit! I would definitely go if you can, no matter what you have to juggle!</p>

5

<p>So, how do I apply??</p>

6

<p>The application for SLS does’t open until mid December. You should check this page for more information: [USMA</a> Admissions: More Info: Summer Program](<a href=“http://admissions.usma.edu/moreInfo/summer.cfm]USMA”>http://admissions.usma.edu/moreInfo/summer.cfm)</p>

7

<p>SLS is bull****. all it does is give you a jumpstart in your application. i got into west point last year with 28 act, no sls, similar extra curriculars and wasnt a recruited athlete. sls isnt a big deal. it doesnt make or break you. im now a plebe almost done with 1st semester and hating every minute of it. </p>

<p>out.</p>

8

<p>First, I think you are a pretty competitive applicant. However, many WP applicants are from NY, so obtaining a nomination may be difficult.</p>

<p>Second, I attended SLS this past summer and had an amazing time at it. I definitely encourage you to apply and work with your school so that you can attend. Like marciemi said, SLS is more about learning about WP and life as a cadet than it is WP learning about you. By the end of SLS, you will definitely know whether you want to attend WP, do ROTC, or not serve in the military at all. Peoples’ experiences at SLS do differ though, based on who your squad leader is and how serious and strict he/she is. In my opinion, the best squad leaders are the ones who provide you with the most realistic glimpse into what life as a cadet is like, not the ones that give you the easiest time.</p>

9

<p>If you are really interested in WP, then go to SLS regardless of when your exams are.</p>