About Bill Taylor Expertise I can answer questions about admissions to West Point; about the history of West Point; about how to travel to West Point, where to eat, where to stay, etc.; and about West Point`s alumni organization, the West Point Association of Graduates.
Experience I am a 1970 Graduate of West Point. I served six years on active duty and another 8 years in the active reserve. I have been actively involved as a Field Admissions Representative for over 15 years and have participated on my Congressman's Academy Selection Panel for over 20 years. I am actively involved in West Point Alumni affairs, serving in roles both with the West Point Association of Graduates and the local alumni chapter in Annapolis, MD. I also have two sons who graduated from West Point in 1995 and 2001. Both are veterans of the Iraq war and continue to serve on Active Duty in the Army.
Question I am a senior at an EXTREMELY academically focused high school and I live far away from it as well, so I haven't been able to do any school athletics. I am very active with my NJROTC unit including the PT team, but I have heard that the vast majority of admitted candidates are varsity athletes, so I was wondering how much will my lack of school sports harm my chances of getting admitted? Thanks for taking the time to answer this and I do apologize if this question has already been asked.
Answer Hi, Dustin, it's good to hear from you. Thanks for your interest in West Point. I apologize for the delayed response as I have been slammed with work.
As you obviously know, West Point is looking for well rounded young men and women who are good students, good athletes and good leaders. Having a balance in all three areas is important to be competitive for admission.
The most common (but not necessarily the BEST) metric for measuring athletic accomplishments is participation in high school varsity level athletics and earning a varsity letter. Statistically almost 90% of those coming in to a new West Point class have indeed earned that varsity letter. Understand though, that the complement of that statistic is that just over 10% have not earned that letter, for a variety of reasons.
Given that you are a senior you don't have much time if even the opportunity to earn that varsity letter, you have two approaches to being competitive for admission. The first is to simply demonstrate that you excel in the other two areas sufficiently that it makes up for the varsity letter. An alternative approach is to attempt to earn equivalent credit for your participation in NJROTC and the PT team. Lots of candidates who participate in sports outside of school get the equivalent credit for a varsity letter by getting their coach to write a letter to admissions explaining the situation and verifying that the candidate's performance in the sport outside of school is equivalent to earning a varsity letter in a school sport.
I would contact admissions tomorrow at 845-938-4041. Navigate the interactive voice response system to connect with the Regional Commander for your area. Explain to them your situation and ask for their best advice as to how you can be a competitive candidate. Specifically ask them if your PT team participation in NJROTC can be verified to the level of equivalency to a varsity letter. Their role is to help candidates make their best case for admission, so they will definitely help you to the extent they can. The performance part is surely up to you, but they will provide good advice as to how to maximize your competitiveness.
