Academy Dreams
Aerial view of West Point on the Hudson River

USMA · High school roadmap

Junior year: U.S. Military Academy11th grade · The launch year

Your 11th grade checklist for USMA, built from the official pages we track.

West Point and the Hudson River from the air, 2013. Photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Why this year matters

Junior year is when the academies' application windows open and the summer programs fill. Current juniors are applying for the Class of 2032. That cycle's exact dates are not yet published, so the timing below uses each academy's general "junior year" guidance plus the summer-2027 program dates that are posted.

Checklist for junior year

SAT / ACT

  • Test policies differ:
    • West Point and USAFA superscore the SAT, ACT, or CLT23.
  • Score-send codes: USNA SAT 5809 / ACT 17424; USAFA SAT 4830 / ACT 05303; USCGA SAT 5807 / ACT 06005; USMMA SAT 2923 / ACT 29746. West Point's codes are not listed on the pages we reviewed.

Summer programs (apply during junior year, attend summer 2027)

  • Summer programs are not required for admission. USAFA calls Summer Seminar "NOT" a prerequisite and "NOT" a preselection program8. West Point says SLE "has no bearing on West Point admissions decisions"7.
  • Applying to a summer program can also start your admissions file:
    • West Point: the SLE application opens a file7.
  • Program eligibility differs. Examples: USAFA requires a GPA of 3.0 or higher and no food allergies8; SLE requires age 16 by July 17; AIM requires ages 16–189.

Nominations: start in spring of junior year

  • Apply to every source you qualify for: both U.S. Senators, your U.S. Representative, and the Vice President, plus any service-connected categories1011. You don't need to know the official personally11.
  • Vice Presidential nomination (USNA, West Point, and USAFA only): apply online between March 1 and January 31 before your entry year12.
  • Every congressional office sets its own deadline and process (essays, recommendations, interviews). Find yours at house.gov and senate.gov13.

Fitness in junior year

  • Benchmarks worth knowing:
    • USNA and West Point publish maximum scores1415.
    • No academy publishes a CFA "passing" score. Treat the averages as a target, not a minimum.

Medical prep (junior year)

  • No exam yet, but get ready:
    • Keep your medical records organized. DoDMERB looks for actual doctor's notes, and parents may need to request records for students under 1816.
    • Plan to finish orthodontic treatment before entry1718.

Key deadlines

When the academies' applications open (published pattern)

West Point1

  • Opens: Feb. 15 of junior year (application and Summer Leaders Experience application open together)

Summer programs (apply during junior year, attend summer 2027)

West Point Summer Leaders Experience (SLE)7

  • Application window: Feb. 15 – Apr. 15, 2027; priority review by Mar. 15
  • 2027 sessions: May 29–June 2, June 4–8, June 10–14, 2027
  • Cost: $495, no application fee, need-based scholarships

Dates change. Always confirm on the official USMA admissions site and your congressional offices’ pages.

USMA-specific notes

  • West Point suggests you "begin training for Candidate Fitness Assessment" in the spring of junior year1.

West Point19; 20

  • Local representatives: Field Force, including MALOs (Army Reserve officers) and volunteers
  • How to connect: Your Regional Admissions Team is your main contact

Eligibility basics2

  • Age: 17–22 on July 1
  • Other basics: U.S. citizen; unmarried; no legal obligation to support children

Sources

  1. West Point Timeline (westpoint.edu)
  2. West Point Steps (westpoint.edu)
  3. USAFA Grades 11–12 (usafa.edu)
  4. USNA Apply (usna.edu)
  5. USCGA Requirements (uscga.edu)
  6. USMMA 8 Steps (usmma.edu)
  7. West Point SLE (westpoint.edu)
  8. USAFA Summer Seminar (usafa.edu)
  9. USCGA Apply to AIM (uscga.edu)
  10. West Point Nomination Planning (westpoint.edu)
  11. USNA Nomination Sources (usna.edu)
  12. White House (whitehouse.gov)
  13. USAFA Nominations (usafa.edu)
  14. USNA CFA (usna.edu)
  15. West Point CFA (westpoint.edu)
  16. DHA: DoDMERB (dha.mil)
  17. USAFA Requirements (usafa.edu)
  18. USCGA Disqualifying Conditions (uscga.edu)
  19. West Point Volunteer Opportunities (westpoint.edu)
  20. West Point Admissions Team (westpoint.edu)

Keep every USMA date on your calendar.

Coming soon: reminder emails before applications open, nomination deadlines close and summer program windows shut.

Reminders coming soonAll deadlines