Medical Waivers

aspen
Mon, 18 Jul 2005 17:48:45 +0000

tridude:

Sounds like you have the kind of commitment the academies like to see. If you review some of the postings on nominations and appointments, you will find that the appointment from USNA is much harder to get than the nomination. Your goal should be to have the highest possible ranking within your congressional district.

My quick assessment of your profile is that you should focus on improving your SAT’s. I suggest you set a goal of 1300+. Treat scoring well on your SAT’s like training for cross country. If someone asked you how to improve their running times, I bet you would suggest more practice. If they said they weren’t willing to practice, you would probably question their commitment.

Likewise for SAT score improvement. For several weeks before the exam, do 30-50 practice questions everyday. Focus on the type of questions that give you the most problems. Get some SAT prep books and work through them. As a cross country runner, you should thrive on the mental pain. Similarly, like sports training, practice leads to improvement.

It may not be fair that so much emphasis is put on the SAT/AcT scores, but that’s the way it is. While our son loved the hours he spent running cross country, he hated the time spent preparing for the SAT’s. But he begrudgingly admits that the time spent was necessary to improve his SAT scores and essential to his getting a letter of assurance and the appointment he dreamed of. He is now a Class of 2009 Cadet at USMA.

Good luck with your pursuit.