I am only a Junior in high school so it will be harder to gauge my chances than If I had already taken the SAT and such... but assuming I drastically improve my grades the following two years --which is currently happening-- what will my chances be of getting into West Point?

Frosh/Soph: I had a collective GPA of around 2.9

Junior/Senior: (hopefully)I have a collective GPA from the first semester of senior year and both semesters of junior year of a 3.6 - 3.8

I am an Eagle Scout. I am part of the Cross Country and Track team and will have 4 seasons of X-country and 3 of track when I am applying for college. I am a member of Model UN, Young Republicans(gay ass club but whatever), and Current Events. I had lunch with a Lt. Colonel and could get a recommendation from him. I attend a prestigious, Jesuit high school(the oldest school in Los Angeles...that is if the quality of the school you are attending is considered at all). I am looking to attend SLS(Summer Leader Seminar) at West Point this coming summer.

What do you think my chances are for success and what do you think would be serious danger zone SAT/ACT scores? I know the higher the better but... besides getting a 2400, where could I feel assured that I have a relatively strong score for applying?(Please, don't say 2399.)

Anyway--off topic but relevant-- I wanted to ask whether I should join the Marine Corps. instead of going into the Army. I want to be a combat infantry officer and it increasingly seems to me like West Point is the best institution but the Marine Corps. is the most legitimate outfit(training, tasks, and importance wise). I'm just wondering if anyone could lay out the differences and give me a concrete answer on which outfit would be best for specific aspirations.

Thanks.

hmmm. eagle scouts VERY good. i'm about to get mine. it wont get you into WP, but it would be a deciding factor if it came down to you and two other people. An officer is an officer...from west point or from the ROTC.(just with some more bragging rights) By the way, i'd say go marines. You'd be promoted alot faster, alot quicker in Army, but in the marines, you'll deffinatley feel as if you've earned it better . (also, after finishing college/your ROTC program, you could always go back, and try to get into another officer program...or even a service academy...if your not 23 by that time...

Annapolis grads have the option of going Marine.

Sorry, don't know much about getting in (other than what Google can tell you).

There are 5 ways to go to become an Officer in the Army.

1. Direct Commission
2. Service Academy
3. JMC (Junior Military College)
4. OCS
5. ROTC

I listed them in order of difficulty in getting accepted and in.

From my experience (13 years) there is a difference in the quality of the choice.

ROTC is the easiest and they tend to have the least actual military experience. They become good Officers, but they still tend to be very "green" on military experience when then pin the "gold bar" on.

OCS Officers tend to be highly experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated. They care about their men and want to see the mission through with minimal causualties. They earn their "gold bar" through hard work and experience.

JMC (Junior Military Colleges), such as New Mexico Military Institute (my alma mater), Valley Forge, or The Citadel, are much harder to get into . . . and some use it as a stepping stone to West Point or Annapolis (Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys). You will find many outstanding Officers recieving their "gold bar" this way.

West Point is the hardest to get into and requires smarts and dedication. One downside is that the Point is primarily an engineering school. Still you will find outstanding Officer's in Combat Arms fields that graduated from the Point.

Finally, you have the direct commission . . . today this one is extremely rare, but I'm sure it can still happen. Basically it happens when you prove your leadership abilities on the battlefield and you're the logical choice to lead.

I never took the SAT . . . instead, I scored a 31 on the ACT. Turned down my commission after recieving my AA at NMMI to continue education, got my Bachelor's and took my commission.

I have a preference for Army . . . but Marines are good too.


Harder

Upon further thought . . .

OCS isn't a cake walk either.


Harder

West Point is looking for well rounded young men and women who are good students, good athletes, and good leaders. In the academic evaluation they look at EVERYTHING. Your class rank is the BEST predictor of your academic success at West Point as it measures your performance against your peers in your school environment. Yes, GPA and SATs/ACT count also, but class rank is the best predictor.

That is a right-click by the way. I have two friends that I grew up with ( twin brothers ) that both got in to West Point. A whole bunch of doors open for them now.

I'm probably the only person in this forum who has been enlisted and Commissioned, which I became through ROTC at the UW in Seattle. I imagine that no commissioning is easy, whether WP, ROTC, OCS or otherwise. All systems have+ and-. But I can claim here that once you have that gold bar, no one gives a rat's ass where you got that commission. From then on YOU count. No superior of you runs around with your folder under his/her arm to judge you. I didn't. You might be a OCS LT and have zero ideas, leadership, can't organize things and appear tired, but you may be good in math or military history and that doesn't help in the motor pool. Or a WP grad. with friends up high but can't read maps & get lost in the dark and the NCO has to get you on track. All that happens. We all have our strong and weak sides. So, don't worry much about your source of commission, it is YOUR performance, character and military talent that counts later.

quote:

Originally posted by Mastertanker:
I'm probably the only person in this forum who has been enlisted and Commissioned, which I became through ROTC at the UW in Seattle. I imagine that no commissioning is easy, whether WP, ROTC, OCS or otherwise. All systems have+ and-. But I can claim here that once you have that gold bar, no one gives a rat's ass where you got that commission. From then on YOU count. No superior of you runs around with your folder under his/her arm to judge you. I didn't. You might be a OCS LT and have zero ideas, leadership, can't organize things and appear tired, but you may be good in math or military history and that doesn't help in the motor pool. Or a WP grad. with friends up high but can't read maps & get lost in the dark and the NCO has to get you on track. All that happens. We all have our strong and weak sides. So, don't worry much about your source of commission, it is YOUR performance, character and military talent that counts later.

NOPE!!!

I was enlisted 11C before taking a commission as a Mech Infantry Officier (11C). My final MOS was General Infantry Officer (11A).

I can also tell you that you are judged by your enlisted, based on how you get your commission . . . as well as by some Senior Officers. I've heard 0-5's and 0-6's comment on WP's/ROTC/OCS and I knew one 0-5 that would automatically evaluate WP's lower on their OER's.


Harder

Just thought I'd throw this out there and answer one of the original questions. The average score for the SAT at West Point is a 1260 out of 1600 and the average ACT score is a 27 I believe. The SAT score I'm sure of the ACT I'm a little fuzzy on though. Also if you wanted to join the Marine Corps and go to West Point it is possible. There are a few cadets every year who graduate West Point and instead of accepting a commission in the army they accept a commission in the Marine Corps or the Navy. There is a process they have to go through but it does leave that option open if you want to take it.

Also I would highly recommend SLS as you will learn a lot about West Point life and the application process while there. One thing you will learn is that even a recommendation from a 2 star general is all well and good but it really doesn't matter in the application process. What I mean is that they have several required recommendations that you need and these recommendations should be from people who have closely observed you and who know you really well. If you can get someone like that to write you a recommendation that's fine they'll take it but they won't really look at it that much. They're more concerned with how well the person knows you then how important of a person you can get to write you a recommendation. That and West Point is so elite that even a Lt. Col wouldn't have much sway with a review board unless they had pretty strong ties to West Point, for example being on one of the review boards. Hope this answers some of your questions. If you have more questions specific to West Point feel free to ask them.