High School Senior

[NavalBaygel]

Hello from Tennessee! The Volunteer State!

I have been following this forum ever since I was young but it was just recently that I created an account (as you can tell). So, here is my formal introduction to the United States Service Academy Forums.

I'll be applying to the USNA and the USMMA co 2028, along with an NROTC Scholarship.

Here are some of my stats if you guys wanna check 'em out:

DoDMERB, CFA, and application packets complete

Academics
-GPA: 3.75 UW/4.36 W. Class rank DNE. As many AP's taken as possible, including (but not limited to) AP Physics 1 and C, AP Calculus AB, AP Psychology (the human mind is very intriguing), and every AP history course possible. DE Composition. Honors classes include three years of engineering, math, science, English, two years Spanish, etc.
-ACT - 30 super (31 M 32 S 34 E 24 R)
-HARDSHIP: COVID-19---being in and out of zoom classes for two years (including my freshman year) and online courses had a negative toll on my growth as a student.

Athletics
-Lacrosse: 5 years, 2 years varsity, one year lettered, Team Captain
-Hockey: 8 years, 3 years lettered

Community Service
-200+ volunteer hours
-Volunteer @ local Fire Department
-Small group leader at local church for annual events like VBS
-Volunteered for a campaign trail

Employment
-Publix - Cashier - late 2022- early 2023
-Walmart - Garden Center Lead - early 2023 - summer 2023
-Congressional Internship - summer 2023

Extra-Curriculars
-National Honors Society, Science National Honors Society, Mu Alpha Theta (VP)
-As VP of Mu Alpha Theta, established a study group that allows qualified students to serve as tutors to their peers that struggle in math.
-Founded a discovery club at my school for the local Fire Department - Offers volunteer hours and CPR Certification -Classes (so far), with a final goal of recruiting future firefighters and raising donations.
-Founding member of an out-of-school bible study group
-Technology Students Association chapter representative.
-Licensed Open-Water Scuba Diver
-EMS Certified

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[baes]

Didn't know they had high school hockey in Tenessee lol

 

[Small Team Bacsi]

IMO I’d drop the reference to Covid having taken a negative toll on you as a student. True as it maybe it’s something everyone went thru. Highlighting that it took a specific negative toll on you IMO will not be helpful.

id pick a different example

 

[NavalBaygel]

IMO I’d drop the reference to Covid having taken a negative toll on you as a student. True as it maybe it’s something everyone went thru. Highlighting that it took a specific negative toll on you IMO will not be helpful.

id pick a different example

As you pointed out, COVID has had a broad impact on people of all ages, but its effects have differed across various age groups. In my case, our class faced significant challenges during our 8th, 9th, and 10th-grade years, which are critical for personal development. It’s difficult to fathom how current third graders are coping, considering that some elementary school teachers I know have mentioned that many of them are struggling with fundamental skills like spelling their names.

During my freshman year, I had to attend my first semester online, which meant I couldn’t participate in sports or clubs, and most importantly, I couldn’t engage in social activities as we normally would. The isolation during the pandemic hindered my personal growth, and its impact lingered throughout these years. I managed to overcome this barrier by actively engaging with my community and peers, and it was at that point that I excelled in my education.

 

[99Gold]

As you pointed out, COVID has had a broad impact on people of all ages, but its effects have differed across various age groups. In my case, our class faced significant challenges during our 8th, 9th, and 10th-grade years, which are critical for personal development. It’s difficult to fathom how current third graders are coping, considering that some elementary school teachers I know have mentioned that many of them are struggling with fundamental skills like spelling their names.

During my freshman year, I had to attend my first semester online, which meant I couldn’t participate in sports or clubs, and most importantly, I couldn’t engage in social activities as we normally would. The isolation during the pandemic hindered my personal growth, and its impact lingered throughout these years. I managed to overcome this barrier by actively engaging with my community and peers, and it was at that point that I excelled in my education.

While I understand your point, just remember that most of the applicants are also high school seniors and were the same age as you were during the pandemic. The rest (college applicants, prior enlisted, etc.) will be slightly older but were still in high school during that time.

 

[Capt MJ]

The service academies are looking for unique factors in terms of hardship that may have played a role in your “story,” and record of achievements. COVID was unique - but it happened to all of us in one way or another. Your fellow applicants dealt with a similar range of difficulties. The SAs have adjusted for that. They know and have seen the impact in the classes of applicants during that period and afterward.

For hardship, you might see things like an applicant who looked after younger siblings because a single parent worked two jobs, which impacted ability to participate in sports or lead ECAs, but still managed to be president of the debate club. Or a “ranch kid” in a remote area who home-schooled and had no opportunity to do typical school-based activities but happened to have a PPL and fly the crop-duster for neighboring ranches. Or someone who lost the wage-earning parent to cancer in high school and had to take on a part-time job after school and on weekends to help with family finances, limiting ability to do certain activities. Or someone whose parent was active duty military and moved 6 times in 8 years, causing transition challenges and disrupting academic, sports and leadership activities.

You had the same opportunities - or lack of - that your peer applicants did.

If you have something else that you dealt with that wasn’t shared by everyone else, I would use it. This does not discount that COVID was indeed a hardship which severely impacted students.

If this is the the prompt you are referring to, or something similar, let’s dissect it, using the ATFQ method, “answer the full prompt.”

"Have you had a unique life experience of which we should be aware?"

Is the experience unique? As discussed above, it was unique to an entire human population, and certainly impacted students. Unique to you, in that it happened differently to others? Debatable.

“Of which we should be aware.” USNA, USMMA and NROTC are aware. In the hardship examples I cited above (by the way, the USNA “ranch kid” mid got in, excelled as a helo pilot, got out of the Navy, and flies as a firefighter pilot for the Forest Service, with a M.S. in her field), that bit of personal context would help the SA understand why certain things might be missing from the typical candidate resume. That is not the case with COVID. The SA is aware and expects to see impact.

 

[justdoit19]

Also, trying to make your experience with a global pandemic more impactful than someone else’s just doesn’t read well. It puts you in a ‘my hardship was harder than yours’ kind of story. Which never goes well.

Do what you want, but everyone experienced Covid educational struggles. And your audience could be a panel who suffered more than you did….which creates a reaction. Negative or positive, idk, but imo, it’s a point to avoid. Like politics.

If I was interviewing you, and you told me Covid was hard for you? My mind goes to ‘yea, well my kid missed xxx. And other kid had xxx. And I lost my father, the ultimate sacrifice’ Covid was hard for everyone.

I would advise to find something else, personally.

 

[Holden100]

As you pointed out, COVID has had a broad impact on people of all ages, but its effects have differed across various age groups. In my case, our class faced significant challenges during our 8th, 9th, and 10th-grade years, which are critical for personal development. It’s difficult to fathom how current third graders are coping, considering that some elementary school teachers I know have mentioned that many of them are struggling with fundamental skills like spelling their names.

During my freshman year, I had to attend my first semester online, which meant I couldn’t participate in sports or clubs, and most importantly, I couldn’t engage in social activities as we normally would. The isolation during the pandemic hindered my personal growth, and its impact lingered throughout these years. I managed to overcome this barrier by actively engaging with my community and peers, and it was at that point that I excelled in my education.

Fine to mention it, but focus on that last sentence you wrote. How did you engage with your peers and excel in school? What did that look like and what did you learn/how did you grow from that? And good luck to you, Tennessee!!

 

[Heatherg21]

using the ATFQ method, “answer the full prompt.”

My mind fills in the acronym blanks. Funny.

But to your point, I cannot tell you how many times, when grading tests did I have students only answer one part of a two or three part question. So frustrating. I even showed them how to 'call out' each part of the question by numbering each component so they would be able to clearly see that they had answered each and every one.

 

[NavalBaygel]

The service academies are looking for unique factors in terms of hardship that may have played a role in your “story,” and record of achievements. COVID was unique - but it happened to all of us in one way or another. Your fellow applicants dealt with a similar range of difficulties. The SAs have adjusted for that. They know and have seen the impact in the classes of applicants during that period and afterward.

For hardship, you might see things like an applicant who looked after younger siblings because a single parent worked two jobs, which impacted ability to participate in sports or lead ECAs, but still managed to be president of the debate club. Or a “ranch kid” in a remote area who home-schooled and had no opportunity to do typical school-based activities but happened to have a PPL and fly the crop-duster for neighboring ranches. Or someone who lost the wage-earning parent to cancer in high school and had to take on a part-time job after school and on weekends to help with family finances, limiting ability to do certain activities. Or someone whose parent was active duty military and moved 6 times in 8 years, causing transition challenges and disrupting academic, sports and leadership activities.

You had the same opportunities - or lack of - that your peer applicants did.

If you have something else that you dealt with that wasn’t shared by everyone else, I would use it. This does not discount that COVID was indeed a hardship which severely impacted students.

If this is the the prompt you are referring to, or something similar, let’s dissect it, using the ATFQ method, “answer the full prompt.”

"Have you had a unique life experience of which we should be aware?"

Is the experience unique? As discussed above, it was unique to an entire human population, and certainly impacted students. Unique to you, in that it happened differently to others? Debatable.

“Of which we should be aware.” USNA, USMMA and NROTC are aware. In the hardship examples I cited above (by the way, the USNA “ranch kid” mid got in, excelled as a helo pilot, got out of the Navy, and flies as a firefighter pilot for the Forest Service, with a M.S. in her field), that bit of personal context would help the SA understand why certain things might be missing from the typical candidate resume. That is not the case with COVID. The SA is aware and expects to see impact.

Given these circumstances and the fact that my application has already been submitted, am I at risk of coming across as arrogant? I didn't delve into this aspect extensively in my essays or during the BGO interview; I simply mentioned that COVID presented a hardship during my freshman year when prompted to mention hardships. Should I be concerned about how this might reflect on me? While I cannot make any changes at this point, I can only hope that the Academy doesn't perceive it as arrogance and that it doesn't negatively impact my application. Ultimately, the decision lies with the Academy, and I can only hope for the best.

 

[NavalBaygel]

Also, trying to make your experience with a global pandemic more impactful than someone else’s just doesn’t read well. It puts you in a ‘my hardship was harder than yours’ kind of story. Which never goes well.

Do what you want, but everyone experienced Covid educational struggles. And your audience could be a panel who suffered more than you did….which creates a reaction. Negative or positive, idk, but imo, it’s a point to avoid. Like politics.

If I was interviewing you, and you told me Covid was hard for you? My mind goes to ‘yea, well my kid missed xxx. And other kid had xxx. And I lost my father, the ultimate sacrifice’ Covid was hard for everyone.

I would advise to find something else, personally.

I didn't intentionally try to make it sound impactful; I simply mentioned it as a hardship when prompted. I didn't aim to win the hearts of the admissions officers by stating, "During my freshman year of high school, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted my ability to thrive as a student." The reality is that it did affect me, and I hope admissions doesn't interpret this as an attempt to claim I had it worse when my entire community was affected as well. In my essays and during the BGO interview, I didn't delve further into this topic; I merely presented it as a statistical fact.

 

[Capt MJ]

Given these circumstances and the fact that my application has already been submitted, am I at risk of coming across as arrogant? I didn't delve into this aspect extensively in my essays or during the BGO interview; I simply mentioned that COVID presented a hardship during my freshman year when prompted to mention hardships. Should I be concerned about how this might reflect on me? While I cannot make any changes at this point, I can only hope that the Academy doesn't perceive it as arrogance and that it doesn't negatively impact my application. Ultimately, the decision lies with the Academy, and I can only hope for the best.

There is nothing you can do about it now; it is out of your hands. It was an honest expression of what you felt. Look forward and press on.

After reading the feedback here, your takeaway should be “hmm, next time, think more in a 360-degree way, take apart the prompt and strategize a direct answer to all parts, think about why the question was asked, etc.” They know you are likely a teenager in high school, not yet accustomed to thinking with fully mature depth and breadth, the kind life experience brings you as log more years on the planet.

Don’t spend any time or energy on it. It’s done. Admissions will probably say, not unkindly, “Ah, COVID was used for the hardship prompt, nothing in the unique and unusual life situation category, no need to think too much about this response, let’s take a look at other elements in the application.”