By senior year, as part of the application package, students are required to pass a Candidate Fitness test, meeting certain physical skills to the Academy standard. These include the basketball throw, pull-ups, shuttle run, crunches, push-ups, and a one-mile sprint:
USNA Candidate Fitness Requirements
If you’re on your way to a Summer Seminar (NASS) or done already, you’ve already had your first shot at passing.If you’re a junior next year with your eye on USNA, listen up. Get these out of the way as soon as possible.
This is different from what the book, Building a Midshipman, lists, so be sure to bookmark this blog. They’ve added a mile run and sit-ups (crunches) and deleted the standing long jump. More applicants than you’d expect have problems with this. Many try and fail several of the categories–even though she’s heavily involved in team sports and karate. My recommendation: Test yourself this summer. If you pass, retest occasionally. If you fail, set up a program to practice until you do pass.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she’s working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
USNA or Bust! 
[…] Read this post on the candidate fitness assessment, a requirement for all USNA candidates. You have until Senior Year–your official application–to accomplish them, though the summer before senior year, if you choose the Summer Seminar for interested applicants, you’ll have the opportunity to test out of this requirement. The point is, keep these six standards in your view screen. If you aren’t preparing for them, you’re hurting your chances of acceptance. […]
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By: Checklist: Physical Qualifications for USNA Acceptance « USNA or Bust! on 07/19/2009
at 18:32
[…] The formal application process will take months of rigorous work. And preparing yourself for the physical tests will exclude time you might spend on your music or your research—skills that could help you in […]
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By: USNA Makes the Short List « USNA or Bust! on 09/14/2009
at 23:54
I was notified I failed the CFA. The event I failed was the basketball throw, and I failed because I threw one foot short of the cut off. I can now throw past the cutoff and will be taking a new CFA in a few weeks. Will my fail be weighed as part of the application process, and if I fail does that make me less of a choice for nomination?
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By: Jacob on 11/22/2009
at 03:43
Hi Jacob
No. The CFA is pass-fail. You failed before and now you’ll pass. If anything, it shows the admissions board that you worked hard to overcome one of your shortfalls. They like persistence in the face of adversity.
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By: worddreams on 11/22/2009
at 16:28
How did you know what part of the CFA you failed?
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By: England on 01/04/2010
at 17:18
If you take it during Summer Seminar, they tell you. Failing one part fails the entire CFA, and they want you to pass, so there’s no secret. I’d recommend not taking the official CFA until you’re sure you’ll pass.
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By: worddreams on 01/04/2010
at 20:06
Good afternoon,
I am interested in buying a book to improve my grammar. I am wondering if there are any books/workbooks that you suggest?
Thanks
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By: John Guerra on 06/19/2011
at 00:58
The standard for good grammar continues to be Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. It’s a little thing, just over 100 pages, but packed with the basics of good grammar. I’d start there.
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By: Jacqui Murray on 06/19/2011
at 14:57
Does it mean you fail if you do not reach the maximums?
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By: maddy on 12/13/2012
at 02:06
Not at all. There’s a min for the collection of physical tests which you must pass. If you’re weak in one area, be strong in another.
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By: Jacqui Murray on 12/14/2012
at 02:41
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By: How to Manage Your Time (Critical Skill #2 for Future USNA Applicants) | USNA or Bust! on 04/28/2014
at 00:42
[…] Read this post on the candidate fitness assessment, a requirement for all USNA candidates. You have until Senior Year–your official application–to accomplish them, though the summer before senior year, if you choose the Summer Seminar for interested applicants, you’ll have the opportunity to test out of this requirement. The point is, keep these six standards in your view screen. If you aren’t preparing for them, you’re hurting your chances of acceptance. […]
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By: Checklist: Physical Qualifications for USNA Acceptance | USNA or Bust! on 09/15/2014
at 00:48
What happens if I cannot do any pull ups?
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By: Hannah on 11/28/2016
at 05:11
There is a minimum for pull-ups. You’ll have to do at least that. Keep working at it. Those are often the toughest part of the physical test for females.
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By: Jacqui Murray on 12/10/2016
at 22:17
What are the minimums for each test?
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By: arnsports on 12/06/2016
at 23:53
You can find those on USNA’s website. Besides a minimum for each test, there’s a minimum for the overall test–which means you won’t pass with a minimum in each category.
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By: Jacqui Murray on 12/10/2016
at 22:08
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at 02:36
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