What is the Candidate Fitness Assessment for West Point?

1. What the CFA is and why West Point uses it

West Point frames the CFA as a standardized measure of a candidate’s “potential to successfully” handle the physical demands of Academy life: it assesses stamina, power, coordination, and endurance across multiple, distinct tasks rather than a single fitness metric ^{[3] [6]}. The Academy presents the CFA as an admissions requirement and as part of the broader Whole Candidate Score that helps signal discipline, perseverance and readiness for military training ^{[2] [5]}.

2. The six events every candidate faces

The CFA battery contains six events: the basketball throw, pull‑ups (men and women) with a flexed‑arm hang option for women who cannot do a pull‑up, a shuttle run, modified sit‑ups, push‑ups, and a one‑mile run. West Point urges candidates to begin practicing early and highlights that the test is harder than many expect ^{[2] [7]}.

3. How testing is administered and reported

Candidates enter a test administrator’s contact information via the candidate portal; that tester receives an email with a link to record the candidate’s activity results, so official scores are transmitted through West Point’s system rather than informal reporting ^[1]. Detailed instructions and official CFA score cards are provided in the Academy’s instruction packet and preparation guide ^{[3] [4]}.

4. Scoring, weight and competitive context

The CFA is integrated into admissions scoring systems used by service academies; third‑party advisors and calculators interpret event results into percentiles and overall readiness scores, noting the CFA’s role in the Whole Candidate Score and admissions competitiveness ^{[5] [8]}. West Point and other academies convert individual event performances into standardized scores so committees can compare candidates across cohorts ^[5].

5. Preparation guidance and logistics

West Point recommends 20–30 minutes of active warm‑up on test day and offers a CFA Preparation Guide and training plans targeted at each event ^{[3] [4]}. The official admissions blog and guidance materials tell applicants to begin training well before their scheduled test and treat the CFA as an opportunity to demonstrate grit and physical readiness ^[7].

6. Recent administrative changes and confusion in reporting

Some external observers reported changes to submission requirements — for example, a 2025 claim that West Point removed the requirement to upload pull‑up videos and previously removed push‑up videos — but that reporting comes from an outside blog (Academician) and should be weighed against official West Point guidance; available West Point documents in the current reporting do not explicitly confirm those video‑upload policy changes ^{[9] [1]}. Separate fitness tests that cadets take once admitted are distinct from the CFA used in admissions; some coaches and consultants stress that the CFA itself remains unchanged even as in‑academy fitness protocols evolve ^[10].

7. What sources emphasize and where reporting is thin

West Point’s official pages and instruction PDFs supply the clearest descriptions of events, administration, warm‑ups and intent ^{[1] [3] [4]}. Independent guides, calculators and admission consultants add percentile conversions, competitive strategy and training regimens but may apply their own scoring tables ^{[8] [5]}. Available sources do not mention precise event cutoffs or the exact scoring formula West Point uses in admissions in the documents provided here; those numeric thresholds are not detailed in the materials cited (not found in current reporting).

8. What candidates should do next

Follow West Point’s official CFA instructions and portal procedures for scheduling and reporting tests, practice all six events with progressive training plans, and consult the Academy’s preparation guide for warm‑up and technique advice ^{[3] [4]}. Use third‑party calculators and coaching only as supplemental tools while relying on West Point’s admissions pages for authoritative procedural directions ^{[5] [1]}.

Limitations: this article relies solely on the supplied West Point pages, instruction PDFs and third‑party guides; specific scoring tables and any recent procedural changes (e.g., video submission rules) are inconsistently reported outside official materials and are not confirmed in the official documents provided here ^{[9] [1]}.