They are conservative estimates based on experience. They are not the official minimums because only the Academies know those and they keep them close to the vest.

Try joining club sports

@@richard38618 I do a few races here and there to try to boost my athletic section of my application, however I’m not sure how much that helps.

Hi, fellow homeschooler here. I'm applying to all the service academies and just received an LOA from West Point. I'm from FL so they let homeschoolers participate in HS sports here but I understand it may be different in VA. Sports are definitely important to show athletic and leadership potential. I'd recommend finding something athletic that interests you, whether that be martial arts, triathlons, or swimming, and finding a club/team for that open to everyone. The main thing is showing that you are an active person capable of handling military life. Sports are important to show leadership as well, but if you have to join club teams, it may be harder to show that leadership prowess. Definitely be involved with Church, and look for other community service opportunities or clubs in your community that you can show this in. If you're a Junior this year, I 1000% recommend applying for Boys/Girl State. I know for a fact that West Point gives you major points for this as do the other Service Academies. At the end of the day, the Academies look at the Whole Person Multiple scale. Athletics are important, but your test scores, classes, extracurriculars, interviews, and CFA also have weight to them. Focus on doing all of these the best you can and you'll have a great shot at any Academy you may apply to. If you have any other questions I'd be glad to help you, I understand the struggle being a homeschooler and applying to the Service Academies and would love to share anything I can.

Ideally, you focus on the CFA in prep for the CFA. Sometimes if you're on a sport, its unpreventable, because coaches require you to weightlift. But weightlifting usually doesn't help you with CFA - for example, doing bench press doesn't improve your pushups; it probably will hurt your score actually. Mimicking the CFA exercises is what helps you the most. But we find for most clients, they don't have a choice; they have to do both CFA prep and athletic team conditioning.

Yes, you are eligible for a Presidential nomination, and the details are in the applicant's portal. The form looks like this: www.academyadmissions.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/09_Reg_Military_Nom.pdf

Some Academies allow you to cradle it, and others do not. West Point and USAFA don't allow the cradle position, only the overhand. But USNA allows it, the last we heard. If this is incorrect, please let us know!

@@academyendeavors Yikes, well that's good to find out now as my daughter has a month to get this thing figured out before her USAFA CFA. Thanks for confirming.

That completely depends on how your college GPA looks and whether you took classes that mirror an Academy curriculum. Also depends on your SAT/ACT - standardized testing still matters in your case.

No, you need to 17 by July 1st of the year you would enter the Academy: www.whitehouse.gov/service-academy-nominations/steps/#:~:text=A%20citizen%20of%20the%20United,the%20year%20you%20would%20enter.

Yes, they do, but its a totally different process for non-US citizens: www.academyadmissions.com/prepare/international/#:~:text=International%20students%20cannot%20apply%20directly,in%20the%20home%20country's%20military.

It depends on your grade. When you're young, you can get involved in more activities, but as you progress, you should be sharpening your focus to a few leadership roles. Quantity and quality both matter.

Watch our CFA how to video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKTElYaNeLiomdE and our FREE CFA Workout Plan here: academyendeavors.com/cfa-workout-plan-download/

@@academyendeavors thanks

Yes, it would most likely lower your chances. We recommend getting involved in athletics, whether its a lower skill sport such as cross country or track, or even a non-school sport like martial arts. Athletic activities are scored separately from extracurricular activities, so having a low athletic activities score can lower your chances of an appointment. To take steps to compensate for these gaps, your leadership positions on non-athletic activities (student council, NHS, school clubs, robotics, etc) would need to be stronger than the average applicant, and the academics would also need to be stronger.

@@academyendeavors Thanks for the help.

Here's a few common questions that would get you started... 1. Why do you desire to attend a Service Academy? 2. What does integrity mean to you? 3. Tell me about a leadership role you had. 4. How do you manage your time? 5. Tell me about a time of adversity and what you learned.

Your feet are usually anchored by the administrator. The more secure the foot are anchored, the less effort the situps will be. The other option is if you can find a bleacher or hooks to put your feet under, but this is less common to find.

Yes, Raiders counts as a sport! Non-school competitive sports such as martial arts count too.

True, this was just changed. Now its only pullup videos that are required!

Lifeguard is usually not a manager or supervisor role; it's more of an individual contributor role. But don't get discouraged; there are usually more leadership roles through school clubs, sports, or community organizations than there is for work in the high school years.

For college students, it's essentially the same process. A few differences are as follows: they will ask for your college transcripts; you can also ask your college professors for a recommendation, as well as your ROTC commander if you are in ROTC; most likely you won't receive a LOA in the fall because your first semester college transcripts won't be finalized until much later, so you're notification window will most likely be in the spring (Mar/Apr). You still need to apply for a nomination, do the CFA, pass DODMERB, etc.

Does it matter which branch of ROTC I come from? And do you recommend I join a sports team at my university?

We are referring to your Congressional district. You can find out your Congressional district by going here: www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

If the Army JROTC unit was an honor unit with distinction, then yes, you could. If not, then no, you could only get a JROTC nom to West Point.

If you fail the CFA, most likely they will notify you and give you a deadline to submit a new score. If you submit a passing score before the deadline, then you would be qualified. Most Academies require the CFA to be submitted before Jan 31. If you fail the CFA and its still many months ahead of the deadline, then they usually give you a deadline of 30-90 days to submit a new score.

@@academyendeavors sounds good, thanks

@@academyendeavors So about that, it seems like the USAFA deadline is Nov. 30. It doesn't seem like they're extending the submission timeline for the fitness test. I'm not 100% sure though

Its certainly not too late to apply. The applications don't open until the summer of your rising Senior year.

Taking both tests (or working with a professional tutor who will give you a diagnostic) is the only way to know for sure which test you're better at. Either take both, or get a tutor who can guide you to the best test for you. Here's a good infographic on the differences between the tests: collegeprep.uworld.com/act-vs-sat/

Yes, Federal Title 10 regulations allow the Delegate in Congress from American Samoa to grant Congressional nominations to Service Academies.

Solid score! You should take it again if you feel like any of the scores weren't the max you're capable of, as USNA likes to see improvement and will allow multiple attempts. If you finish taking it and didn't improve, you can tell your administrator afterward to hold off on submitting until you take it again.

Those are really good numbers no?

@@ahmedalzubaidy2689Well its passing, but as he said I have a gap in my athletics so hopefully getting higher scores would compensate! I retook it and got even better scores and am 3Qd with a nomination for USNA as of yesterday!!

Yes, there will be a dropdown menu under "Activities" that allows you to choose between "JROTC Member", "JROTC Officer" and "JROTC Senior Leadership". You will also be able to select the years (9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th) that you participated at that activity.

Yes, Drill Team is included in the extracurricular dropdown menu of the USAFA application's athletic activities section.

A GPA alone is not enough information to assess competitiveness. The transcript has 4 critical components beyond merely GPA. 1) your performance compared to your peers (class rank), 2) the competitiveness of your high school, 3) the difficulty of your classes (AP/Hon/IB/DE), and 4) your performance in specific classes (Calc, PreCalc, Chem, Phys, Bio).

For homeschool families, the most likely option is to take what is available to you: spanish, french, etc. Those foreign languages still meet the requirement, even if they aren't considered "strategic" by the DoD.

The congressional district system isn't perfectly equitable, and there are some districts much more competitive than others. Moving to a different district isn't sometimes feasible for many families and includes a considerable amount of risk (some have other kids, or, what if your child's college preferences change after moving?). However, Title 10 federal law mandates that an Academy must offer at least one appointment per eligible district. In 2022-2023 for USNA, for example, all but 5 districts in the US had a qualified applicant. (Source: Institutional Effectiveness Assessment Report, USNA). It's not straightforward which districts those are and they can vary from year to year.

Are refrences from 2 congressmen, a senator, potentially Tim Scott, a retired Lt. Col, and a retired Master Sergeant enough? I'm genuinely curious

@@Arthur-Morgan6522 You want your recommendation letters to come from people who know you well and can credibly speak to your character and leadership. Choose relationship > rank.

In the Athletics section of the application, they do have a dropdown for "Drill Team" so you would get credit for Drill Team as an athletic. However, we would encourage you to consider doing more than just drill team to become more competitive.

Well done!!!!

Wow! How long did it take to drop that time?

@@NaveenSingh-sv6zr way to long. Like 4-5 months for me

Congrats to your son!!!!

Great work on earning those awards!! We do offer an Underclassman package where you will receive a 360 Assessment to evaluate your competitiveness compared to the typical admit, and a personalized gameplan to maximize your chances of acceptance. You can learn more about our Underclassman package at academyendeavors.com/underclassman-package/. Click the Apply Now button to schedule a FREE 1-on-1 consultation with our CEO if you're interested in discussing in more detail!

Our pleasure!!!!!