Anyone have a child attend the US Naval Academy?

[Soph the vet]

OK, laugh if you want to, my ds is only 8 but.....I really think he might end up going to a military college of some sort and probably Navy. It is all his idea, I'm not steering him in this direction and I am not discouraging it either.

So what does the Hive know about USNA? Anyone with experience?

[TeacherZee]

You might also want Sebastian (a lady) she is involved in the applications process.

[FriedClams]

Why in the world would anyone want to attend there when there is the United States Coast Guard Academy??

 

Really??

 

(Can you tell I am a biased grad, LOL!!!!!!!)

 

I would recommend looking into the academies early - as there are a lot of things your student can do to increase their exposure to the nomination sources. Most academies have little known programs available for high school students to do a week over the summer before their junior or senior year - so look into those also. (USCGA is different, but I had siblings graduation from some of the other, lesser, schools. LOL!)

 

Good luck - it was a great experience for me and my family (mostly - minus Physics, LOL!!!)

[Soph the vet]

Thank you so much for the info, Margaret and others! I am going to look into all this. He doesn't sleep with a jet under his pillow but thousands of Legos are currently tied in an 8 foot long aircraft carrier that he built from a picture.

Margaret, did you homeschool your dd at USNA the whole way through?

We are doing Little League and Scouts and he helps me with the Somalis and we go to a nursing home regularly so hopefully that will help our extracurricular activities.

[cathmom]

Just to say - at 8 my oldest ds wanted to go into the Navy. For years he wanted to go to USNA. Then, when he reached high school age, he just lost interest. It wasn't a good fit for him after all. He is now majoring in English and International Business.

[bettyandbob]

Not to be a downer, but be careful of promises made. I have a neighbor whose dream was to fly for the navy. She researched the Naval Academy on her own and from 7th grade on molded herself into the perfect candidate. Jr. ROTC in high school, multiple sports--earning a varsity letter as a freshman, great grades in honors/AP classes, ROTC camps, academy summer programs. There was not a box missed for this child as she build her resume. I always thought she wouldn't be able to fly. I suspected she might not get in at all. The girl is very short. I'd be surprised if she topped 5 feet when she graduated high school, but she got in and told us the navy had told her she could definitely be a candidate for flight school. After finishing 2 years at the Naval Academy she was finally told she'd never fly in the Navy because she was too short. She felt deceived and left the Academy. Her dad is retired Navy and he never saw this coming either.

[Mrs.MacGyver]

Is your son looking to fly for the Navy? I was just curious because the Army has a great Warrant Officer Aviation program. My husband switched over from the Navy to the Army in order to fly. I mention this for two reasons:

1) The irony of our switch is that not 3 or 4 months after we left the Navy, they launched a trial program similar to the Army's - I don't have the details, but we heard that it was going to open up the aviation avenue for more people to actually become aviators in the Navy. 2) We have quite a few friends who have gone through the academy systems, and many have said that it was very difficult to get the career path that you want. I am sure this is not always the case, but paths like aviation are hot ones. Also, I believe that the Navy is a bit different than the Army, but in the Army most pilots who are general Officers only get to fly (significant amounts of hours) for a few years until they must take a Command. Some don't even stay in Aviation their entire career. We have many friends who have switched over to the Warrant Officer side simply in order to keep flying.

 

I guess my convoluted point is that there are many routes to some of these goals. I think the Academies are fantastic, many universities have super ROTC programs (Texas A&M is the first one that pops into mind), and there are also other routes (the Army's High-School to Flight School program, Warrant Officer programs, etc.) So, yes, I say prepare for the Academy - then if he changes his mind, or can't get in - not a total loss, he can still achieve his goals, and he will be prepared for anything else he may want to do.

 

**My good friend who is standing across the room from me right now and attended West Point says that if you don't get in the first time, keep trying! She knows several people who got in on their 2nd or 3rd attempt!**

[sportymom]

My ds, 10, expresses a lot of interest in the Naval Academy, too. I know, we're a long way off, but it seems like there is some serious work for him to do in a few short years if he remains serious about this.

 

Post like these are good b/c I can point out his other options (Coast Guard, ROTC through college, etc). The interesting thing to me is that while he's serious about aircraft of any kind (he may not sleep w/one anymore, but they are always close by:001_smile:), but he doesn't neccessarily feel like flying is what he wants to do. He's a serious, type-A boy and I think a regimented, military life is very attractive to him.

[K-FL]

A little-known back door into naval aviation is the Merchant Marine Academy. Much easier to get into; they graduate with a 3rd Mate's license (big bucks!) and they can branch any service. We have a hired man that went MMA and he just found out he has a naval aviator slot! If he hadn't gotten it, he would have served his 5 years in the Reserve and not gone active duty. However, MMA does have some tuition payments as they are Reserve not active duty. They spend a full year at sea by the time they graduate.

 

 

My dh knows a retired AF General & he commented that in general, MMA grads make better pilots because they understand navigation better than the average academy grad.