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Service Academies-Lessons Learned


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Back in the spring, I mentioned that I would post "lessons learned" on the Service Academy process, based on my DS's experience. Now that DS has completed BCT(Basic Cadet Training) and has begun his academic year at USAFA, I am ready to do this! :) Hopefully this might be helpful to those of you out there who have children with Service Academy aspirations. As a point of reference, my DS applied to USNA and USAFA and received appointments to both.

DS also mentored several young people who were also interested in the Service Academies during his last semester of high school. He compiled some thoughts in writing and was willing to let me share these with you all. So, I will list these items by topic, first sharing DS's thoughts, then adding mine as a parent.

1. Academics
DS-Grades, GPA (weighted and unweighted), class rank and especially SAT/ACT scores are of extreme importance to USNA and USAFA. A large percentage of your "Whole Candidate Score" is based on these standardized exams. Definitely start taking these tests early in high school. I took the SAT three times in high school, starting in 9th grade, and I improved my scores each time. Also, take the hardest courses you can (Dual Enrollment-DE, IB, AP, Honors) and get the best grades you can in all of them. Do your best to earn straight A's! While not necessarily mandatory, it really helps.

Mom-Keep academics your number one priority. Period. DS owned this priority. If he had conflicting activities, all of which were good ones for USAAFA/USNA, the question he always asked was, will this compromise my academic performance? Schoolwork always came first. (It does at USAFA, too).

According to a USAFA Admissions counselor I spoke with a week ago, USAFA does not even look at the composition part of the SAT. However, the essay(s) that are part of the application process are scrutinized as representative writing samples. They also superscore--take the best scores from each section of the SAT across the tests you took. They also do like to see a recent SAT- within one year of application time. For homeschooled students, they really want to see DE classes. While AP classes may help boost your GPA equally, the DE performance also shows the ability to succeed in the classroom environment more than an online AP class. One of the things I remember my son fretting about is that he did not have a class rank. While we are registered with a national umbrella school (PM me if you want details) that issues transcripts and diplomas, there is no class ranking system. So if you have a class rank, great. But my DS didn't have one and in the end, with his other qualifications, it didn't matter.

2.Athletics
DS-USNA and USAFA want all applicants to be strong, fit athletes. If you are in a school, participate in multiple sports teams and try for leadership roles (captain, etc.) Individual sports can be great too - in fact, none of the sports I did involved formal "teams." Besides actual sports, work out on your own. Especially focus on the activities that are part of the Candidate Fitness Assessment (an important part of your application). These include running, pushups, pullups, situps, shuttle run, and basketball throw. Look online for specific instructions on how to do each of these according to CFA standards. For example, the basketball throw must be done from a kneeling position. You can find very specific guidelines for each activity, as well as the benchmarks to aim for. Train throughout high school.

Mom-Being super fit really, really helps going into Basic Cadet Training (BCT). DS took his independent training very seriously. He learned a lot about how much he could push himself and what he was capable of doing on his own...while making sure he rested enough to avoid injury. This skill transferred well into BCT. He was used to pushing himself long before cadre ever got their hands on him! He went out to CO two weeks before BCT so that he could train at high altitude and adjust some before beginning BCT (we are at sea level). This was a marvelous decision on his part. He was not sick from the altitude like many other basics who hadn't allowed that time...even ones who came from mid-altitude regions. We saw them retching on the Tzo ("If you're going to be sick, go over to the grass!" was the cadre mantra. :) )DS has shared (with all humility) that he was surprised to find out that other basics had decreased their training after receiving their appointment. Those basics had a much harder time in BCT.  Yes, there is a balance. DS was cognizant every day of not doing ANYTHING purposefully that might medically disqualify him between the time he received his appointments and I-Day (inprocessing).

Furthermore (yes, this is still Mom), if you aren't involved in team sports, choose sports that would be seen as an advantage in the military...specifically, the martial arts. Taekwondo, kickboxing, krav maga (hand-to-hand combat), judo. Even if you can get a year or two of training... that shows strategic effort, provides great all-over-body conditioning, develops speed, balance, flexibility, power/explosiveness, and offers opportunities for leadership (you usually teach as you move through the ranks). Best would be to achieve at a high level in one or more. DS is at an elite level in one martial art and an intermediate level in another. He also has teaching experience in both disciplines.

3. Leadership/Communication
DS-Stuff like Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is great! Promote as fast as you can and get on staff as soon as you can. CAPalso offers many opportunities to rack up lots of volunteer hours. Try to be a leader in as many different activities as you can, without compromising grades. Student tutoring, sports coaching, summer camp leadership, and martial arts teaching are all activities I participated in. Also, apply for the summer seminar programs at the service academies you are interested in. These won't necessarily give you application points, but they will familiarize you with the academies so you can get a first hand look. Contact your ALO or BGO early, just to establish a rapport. I had early conversations with both of these individuals; it was a year before I applied, but I established that brief first contact. When you call, ask
intelligent questions, not ones that you can easily find the answers to with a simple google search. Take Public Speaking at the college level if possible. This will help you in your interviews! Also look for other opportunities to speak in front of various groups. While you're doing all these things, also work if you can manage it. My work also gave me great real life experience, and leadership as well.

Mom-Plan out your leadership activities for the last two years of high school. Even if it isn't completely specific, at least you have a general roadmap. For example, DS knew he wanted to be a math tutor, but we weren't sure how that would flush out. As his DE coursework progressed, he found out about opportunities to tutor in the math lab on campus and wound up pursuing that route. Regarding Public Speaking...I was talking to DS on the phone the other night and he said that was one of the smartest moves we made for him from a practical academic standpoint. He and the other freshman cadets are giving oral presentations that they have to research, plan and deliver to 30-50 people multiple times per week. This is not part of their academics! This is an additional part of what the students have to do.

Try to have a credential that really sets you apart and represents a lot of work and a high level of achievement. DS's foreign language was that special credential for him. His USAFA evaluator placed him at third year college level which means that he will be able to minor in it (which is what he wanted). I think only one other incoming freshman was evaluated at the same level proficiency of that same language and he is also in DS's third year class. So it turned out to be a pretty unique credential, which was what he was hoping for all along.

4. Parents' role
You need to be cheerleader, #1 fan, counselor/advisor, listener, and parent...but you cannot be the driver of the process. During the interviews for nominations and ALO/B&G officers, questions were asked to ascertain parental involvement. They don't want young people whose parents have pushed them; it needs to be the young person's goal. This means stepping back and letting your student navigate the nomination and application process themselves. You can be counselor, but not the director.

If and when your student gets overwhelmed, one of the most important things is to ask them again to numerate their goals and priorities. Ask them if the things they are overwhelmed about are on their priority list or if they are stressed about stuff that really isn't on the list. With my children and in my work with other high school students, 11th and 12th grades are really the time to ask them these questions often(whether or not they are interested in a service academy), so that you are teaching them how to prioritize for themselves and to remain calm while doing so. What is cool is to see that process internalized.

5. Work, sacrifice and fun
Mom-Getting into a service academy is within the reach of many young people, but it is a unique journey that requires maturity, commitment and sacrifice. DS's athletics, leadership, work and volunteer activities became the source of his friendships and fun. His weekends and evenings were focused on these. His goal was never far from his mind, and he was constantly re-evaluating daily activities to make sure they were aligned with his priorities...another skill he says is very transferrable to the academic year he recently began at USAFA. We had a lot of fun together, and he had a lot of fun with friends...but it wasn't the stereotypical "go out on Saturday night" high school experience. Perhaps some can do this and still receive appointments, but DS had specific academic goals he wanted to achieve before graduating and
those required a lot of time. Looking back now, he has absolutely no regrets regarding his choices.

6. Medical stuff
Mom-The medical reviews are very thorough, time-consuming and painstaking. Do not take your cadet wanna-be to the doctor unless you think it is absolutely necessary, because every doctors' visit will need to be documented, explained, and cleared. Depending on what you took them in for, you may need to go to additional specialists to obtain clearance.... I am trying to summarize a complex screening process in one sentence and that's the best I can do!

Well, that's it for now. Hope our thoughts/experiences may help someone out there. If you have any specific questions, feel free to pm me. I don't get on the boards daily, but I will try to check a couple of times per week. Cheers!

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I will add a couple thoughts.  I am a USNA graduate, a BGO and the parent of a candidate.

 

I very much agree with the idea of getting early SAT/ACT testing in.  I think test scores carry more weight for homeschoolers and other less traditional students who might not have a typical gpa or class rank.  Because the applications for summer seminar programs open up in Dec-Feb, it helps to have a competitive test score by Dec of JUNIOR year.  If this means starting with testing a few months earlier or doing PSAT in earlier years, then put that on your calendar.  Remember that there aren't SAT/ACT tests every single month.  We also found that there was a hard conflict with the June test date (during one of the summer programs) and that May was also a test heavy month with AP exams.  (In addition, if the student is doing SAT Subject tests that removes a test date.  And keep in mind that foreign language Subject tests aren't offered at every sitting; for example, Latin is only offered twice a year.)

 

Consider where teacher recommendations will come from.  One reason ds went to the CC for pre-calculus was to have an outside voice for a math recommendation.  I will end up doing the course descriptions, school profile, counselor letter and English teacher recommendation for him.  That is a lot of one point of view, even setting aside the issue of neutrality from a parent.  Don't be offended by requests for recommendations from non-family members.  Keep in mind that every year colleges see applications from students who are trying to get in based on connections rather than accomplishments.  

 

Consider how the student will answer questions about physical fitness and leadership.  These are areas that don't have a single right answer.  But every student needs to have a way that they answer it.  If the student hasn't looked at the requirements of the Candidate Fitness Assessment or the ROTC fitness test, they need to do so right away.  Note for women, it is far better to be able to do pull ups than not to be able to do them.  This can be learned over time.  Running is a big part of the summer plebe indoctrination.  Be ready for it so you can keep up and not get injured.

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I will add a couple of thoughts also.  (USMA grad, MALO, parent of USAFA grad and two USAFA cadets, 2 also accepted to USMA)

 

I can't emphasize the Summer Seminars enough.  The appointment rate for those accepted to the Summer Seminars is way higher than general applicants.  And the candidate gets a better idea of what he/she is getting into and whether they really want it.

 

The superscore concept means the candidate can take the SAT and ACT as many times as possible with no downside.  I have even had Admissions Officers tell me that repeatedly taking it to improve your score is seen as an indicator of how badly you want it (ie. grit - a key determiner of success at an academy).  I have also been told that they base the academic rating of homeschoolers ENTIRELY on the SAT/ACT score (ie. not mommy grades.  I assume they would take DE into account.)  The SAT, like everything else, can be practiced until it is perfect.  They should practice and retest until they have a score that is competitive for their area.

 

No one questioned our lack of DE (CC around here are useless) but we did have other sources of letters of recommendation: coaches, Boy Scout leader, employers, etc.  I did not write any letters of recommendation. They did read our course descriptions closely.  The USMA Admissions officer actually called to discuss it!

 

I had never heard that about martial arts.  Some sport is necessary, obviously, and non-schools sports (fencing, gymnastics, swimming, etc) count. EVERYBODY runs.  Daily in Beast and on PT tests for the rest of their career.  

 

The medical reviews can be time consuming.  The candidate has to get his part of the application done before they schedule a physical, so make sure this happens by August.  If he has to go see a specialist it can be 6-8 weeks to get an appointment.  And a few more weeks for them to decide to bless it, deny him or ask for more info (ie. another 6-8 weeks for an appointment).  The worst case scenario is that this process takes so long that he misses the deadline before it is finished.  Ds was close for USMA (for something USAFA waived, we had never heard of and the local dr said was a non-issue)  You want to have time to get through the process.

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I will add a couple of thoughts also.  (USMA grad, MALO, parent of USAFA grad and two USAFA cadets, 2 also accepted to USMA)

 

I can't emphasize the Summer Seminars enough.  The appointment rate for those accepted to the Summer Seminars is way higher than general applicants.  And the candidate gets a better idea of what he/she is getting into and whether they really want it.

 

 

 

I will admit to having mixed feelings about the summer seminars.  I think there is as much correlation (students who are accepted to seminars are often among those who are most competitive) as causation (student gets a "bump" because of going to seminar.  

 

I recommend all students apply because even an application that is turned down will serve as the preliminary application for an appointment.  I think it helps all students to see in Dec-Feb what sort of things are priorities for the academies.  But I don't think that students who are turned down for seminar should conclude that it means they aren't competitive candidates.  Sometimes geography figures into things.  Some one academy is more popular one year or has more applications for whatever reason.

 

The biggest choke point that I've observed is in finishing the application.  15-19k start an application.*  Around 5k finish the process.  About 3k are fully qualified and around 1k receive an offer of appointment.  There are many aspects that aren't in the candidate's control (race, gender, demand for their sport that year, competitiveness of the region, etc).  But most of the prep to being qualified and all of the steps to finishing the app are under their control.  So finish the app.

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I recommend all students apply because even an application that is turned down will serve as the preliminary application for an appointment. 

 

Ãep.  They can start the application in January, get letters of recommendation in the spring, get motivated to write essays by the Summer Seminar, and finish the whole thing before the Common App opens.

 

I don't know about correlation or causation either, but still think they're a good idea. I didn't intend to give the impression that the Summer Seminar was essential - just helpful.  Ds went to USMA's Summer Seminar (he didn't get into USAFA's because he applied too late) but ended up at USAFA so it's definitely not required.  

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Chiming in on the summer seminar topic...applying for these certainly can't hurt, but if you aren't accepted it isn't a bad thing, nor is it an indication that you won't get an appointment.

 

DS was not accepted to summer seminar. But it turns out if he had been, he would've had to choose going to summer seminar or spending two and a half weeks being a peer mentor in an immersion program for his foreign language (because the dates conflicted). He would've chosen the peer mentor slot, as hard as that would have been, because he had received input from ALOs that would result in more application points than summer seminar.

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I'm a HUGE fan of the summer seminars. My niece was SOLD on USNA and went to the summer seminar. While there she discovered it was not for her. She ended up a top tier college that is a perfect fit.  I'm glad she learned the academies weren't for her then instead of as a freshman. With the service academies (at least when I was there) there didn't seem to be any distinction between "leaving" and "quitting". It was pretty harsh. I'm glad she didn't have to face that (or worse - stay when she hated it). I highly recommend them for anyone considering an academy.

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