Welcome to the 1st of 3 Academy Information Meetings we have for candidates in the Greater Houston Area.

In this Academy Information Meeting you will learn what you need to do to become a “Competitive Candidate” for admission to West Point and achieve the intermediate goal of getting a Second Step Kit which is an expansion of your portal access which enables you to input more information into your file.

For sure, this is a lot of work…if you do it.  You are in effect competing for a scholarship that exceeds $450,000 scholarship, so some work on your part is expected.  While the work is yours to do, you do not have to make the journey alone. 

You have at your disposal, a Field Force made up of alumni, veterans, proud parents of cadets, and today… cadets home on leave.  All these folks are a resource for you on how to negotiate this process. 

Today we have Cadets, Parents, and Field Force Members who are here to answer your questions after the formal presentation.

You have found our Houston Field Force website.  In addition to this Summer AIM, there are videos pertaining to the CFA (how to make a video, how to do each event correctly).

For the Moms who invariably take notes, listed under the Sidebar is a document entitled, “The Road to West Point” which lays out when things should be done in the admissions process.

The sky is no longer the limit for graduates of West Point. 

Here we have a picture of West Point taken from the International Space Station. 

In this case  one of our graduates, Col. Bill McArthur, took this picture of West Point while in command of the International Space Station in 2005.

This slide gives a clearer view of what area the Houston Field Forcde covers. 

13 Congressional Districts; 7 are totally in our AO, parts of 6 others are in our AO

USMA recognizes 517 High Schools in our AO

All Service Academies love Boys State / Girls State!

This is an American Legion Program designed to teach civics to high school students.

Let your high school counselor know that you want the school to nominate you for this program.

Additionally, if you look at the brochures you will see that West Point tracks those in the Scouting Programs as well as who have attained Eagle Rank or Gold Award.

Boys State / Girls State is a program that all Service Academies value.  It is an American Legion Program that occurs in June of your Junior year.  Students from across the state come together for a week and learn about how a government operates by working together on mock elections and campaigns.

If you really want to make your file stand out, take and pass the Candidate Fitness Assessment before 1 October of your Senior year.

Here is how West Point evaluates candidates.  From your Freshman year on through to your Junior year, you should be;

Learning how to learn because in High School you are taught in a very orderly progression, class-homework-test.  In West Point you are given homework, given a test or quiz, then given a class so you are working to teach yourself.

Develop your leadership through BOTH sports and extracurricular activities

Develop yourself physically, START working on the Candidate Fitness Assessment, a six event physical training test.

Basketball Throw, on your knees

Cadence Pull-Ups, note: Females have the option of doing a Flexed Arm Hang but will score better doing just one pull-up

Shuttle Run, 30 foot course, down and back and down and back

Modified Sit-ups

Push-ups

One Mile Run

Contrary to what you see, swimming is not part of the Candidate Fitness Assessment.  HOWEVER, you will be given a swim test once you get to West Point.  Those that can’t swim will be taught to swim.

At its’ heart, West Point is an Engineering School, which is how it got started.

If your school includes a course in PreCalculus and Calculus in its curriculum, and a basic computing course, these courses will be helpful in preparing you for your first year at West Point.

With respect to Laboratory Science, West Point is looking for a Physics or Chemistry teacher to be a School Official Evaluator (SOE).  Any other science will require you to explain why you can’t or couldn’t take Physics or Chemistry.

How Many SAT test or ACT with optional writing do I need in my file before the end of my Junior Year?

What is the minimum number of nominations a candidate can apply for?

Is it possible to go to medical school after graduation from West Point?

How are my AP Courses used to evaluate my placement in courses?

How many cadets are typically in a classroom?

Short answer 12 – 18 cadets in a classroom. 

The picture in the upper right depicts West Point winning the Cyber Defense Exercise for the seventh time in the last 14 years. 

The pictures in the upper left and lower left were taken from the time when “Old Grads” were young Cadets.

The point here is that classes are small, the good news is that you will not be lost in the crowd, the bad news is that if you do not do your homework you will have a “Bad Day”.

NCAA Sports Teams - Contact Coaches

There are other ways to contact West Point with respect to becoming a Recruited Athlete.  Under the Admissions tab you can go to Contact Admissions, scroll down to “Recruited Athletes” and you will be on a page that begins with these words.  Another way is to go to the Athletics Tab and navigate to the Staff Directory, but you should first fill out the Coach’s Questionnaire.

Back Story.  The United States ran out of Blue Indigo dye as a result of the British Blockade during the War of 1812.  Blue Indigo dye came from India and even after the war was very expensive.

The longer answer is that the British Blockade of the United States prevented the import of many items to include Blue Indigo Dye which was used in the manufacture of U.S. uniforms.  When the uniform manufacturers ran out of blue dye, all they had to offer was gray.  The U.S. bought the uniforms nonetheless and some were shipped to BG Winfield Scott’s Brigade in time to be worn for the Battle of Chippewa, July 5, 1814.  Chippewa is located about five miles south of Niagara Falls…on the Canadian side.  On this day, a small American Army, led by General Winfield Scott wearing gray, decisively defeated the British at the Battle of Chippewa.  Where is Chippewa?  A couple of miles south of Niagara Falls…on the Canadian side.

As a result of the victory at Chippewa, gray uniforms at once became badges of honor and the Academy decided to utilize the color gray in memory of Scott's victory. In 1816, the Secretary of War formally approved the use of gray uniforms for the Military Academy in recognition of General Scott and his gallant troops. There are few uniforms the world over so renowned as "cadet gray.“

There is an entire section on this web site dedicated to the Medical Exam with lots of details.

This could be you!

If you do not get anything else out of this afternoon, remember that admission to West Point is a competition.  You are competing for a scholarship that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service values  in excess of $214,000, so some work is expected.

The work will be yours to do, the credit for being admitted will be yours.  However, you have “The Road to West Point” to guide you with the details along with Parents and Field Force Members to help you on this journey.

This concludes the formal portion of the Academy Information Meeting and at this time you are encouraged to get some refreshments and ask questions of the Cadets, Parents, and Field Force Members here today.

Thank you!