Service academy experts - a question

[Miss Marple]

I've been reading the thread about varsity sports and service academies. I'm in an odd position in that we have no experience AT ALL with the military but my youngest has just recently started talking about the naval academy (and being a SEAL). He has been receiving emails daily from the various service academies and I think that has prompted him to action. Up until the past few weeks he has been ambivalent to the whole college search process and has only been interested in his body building/fitness workouts.

 

Yesterday he received an email for the USNA Summer program for high school juniors. He decided that would be a nice way to see if it would be a good fit. The deadline to apply is April 1. We sent in an application yesterday. I really doubt he will get in, but his scores are decent, he is working on his Eagle project, and has had some leadership experience with BSA. But it was a little disconcerting to keep marking those squares "no" when asked about various activities. And listing his class rank as 1 in a class size of 1 was somewhat humorous. I'm looking at this summer thing as a door to walk through if it opens up. If it doesn't open, it's an indication that he needs to expand his college ideas.

 

But regarding the varsity sports thing...ds has been on a fitness "binge" for a couple of years now. He is quite a brute esp. when compared with the rest of his brothers. He follows some online fitness regimens and since he works at the rec center as a life guard, he spends quite a bit of time weekly working out there. He has done some martial arts (orange belt?) but quit that because in our small town the only option was a club with lots of little kids and he felt he wasn't moving through as quickly as he wanted. He is approached weekly by the army recruiter who also works out in the gym and asks if he is ready to enlist. This boy has an excellent academic mind, but at this point in time cannot see beyond being 16 or 17.

 

Is it too late to try for a service academy with his lack of varsity sports? Would it be worthwhile to get him into another martial arts club? What about a swim team (he has been approached about being on the swim team but he has little interest although he is a great swimmer)? He is doing concurrent courses as a junior and we plan to finish his senior year in the same manner. With his job and college courses, I'm not sure he'll have a lot of extra time to spare to a team sport.

 

I really don't want him to lament that he was unable to attend a service academy because he was homeschooled, but it looks like we should have been planning for this for quite a while. I'm afraid he has found his interest too late. Any advice?

[In The Great White North]

It's not too late. Homeschooling is not a hindrance to getting an appointment. In fact, the application process is easier than some schools. The Academies do not require any additional testing, portfolio, etc from homeschoolers. There are several dc from these boards at various academies.

 

The summer programs, at least when ds applied, seemed to be somewhat "first come first served" and USAFAs was totally full in late Jan that year. I would be surprised if USNAs wasn't already full also. Fortunately, getting into an academy is not at all dependent on going to the summer program.

 

Eagle Scout, varsity sports, team captains, etc all help but none are explicitly required. If he has other activities that demonstrate what they are looking for (leadership, dedication, discipline, the ability to handle stress, etc) he can be missing some specific activities. Physical fitness will be demonstrated on the PT test, whether or not he has a varsity sport.

 

I'd recommend that he go through their website thoroughly, and plan his next year or two around their academic requirements. He should also email admissions and ask for the contact info for his Blue & Gold Officer, who will be able to answer specific questions and help him navigate the process.

 

Good Luck

 

PS. Sebastian is a Blue & Gold Officer

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I've been reading the thread about varsity sports and service academies. I'm in an odd position in that we have no experience AT ALL with the military but my youngest has just recently started talking about the naval academy (and being a SEAL). He has been receiving emails daily from the various service academies and I think that has prompted him to action. Up until the past few weeks he has been ambivalent to the whole college search process and has only been interested in his body building/fitness workouts.

 

Yesterday he received an email for the USNA Summer program for high school juniors. He decided that would be a nice way to see if it would be a good fit. The deadline to apply is April 1. We sent in an application yesterday. I really doubt he will get in, but his scores are decent, he is working on his Eagle project, and has had some leadership experience with BSA. But it was a little disconcerting to keep marking those squares "no" when asked about various activities. And listing his class rank as 1 in a class size of 1 was somewhat humorous. I'm looking at this summer thing as a door to walk through if it opens up. If it doesn't open, it's an indication that he needs to expand his college ideas.

 

But regarding the varsity sports thing...ds has been on a fitness "binge" for a couple of years now. He is quite a brute esp. when compared with the rest of his brothers. He follows some online fitness regimens and since he works at the rec center as a life guard, he spends quite a bit of time weekly working out there. He has done some martial arts (orange belt?) but quit that because in our small town the only option was a club with lots of little kids and he felt he wasn't moving through as quickly as he wanted. He is approached weekly by the army recruiter who also works out in the gym and asks if he is ready to enlist. This boy has an excellent academic mind, but at this point in time cannot see beyond being 16 or 17.

 

Is it too late to try for a service academy with his lack of varsity sports? Would it be worthwhile to get him into another martial arts club? What about a swim team (he has been approached about being on the swim team but he has little interest although he is a great swimmer)? He is doing concurrent courses as a junior and we plan to finish his senior year in the same manner. With his job and college courses, I'm not sure he'll have a lot of extra time to spare to a team sport.

 

I really don't want him to lament that he was unable to attend a service academy because he was homeschooled, but it looks like we should have been planning for this for quite a while. I'm afraid he has found his interest too late. Any advice?

 

 

Great White North gave you some good info. The application for NASS opened in Jan/Feb and has had rolling admissions. So as GWN mentioned, there may not be many slots available. There is also weight given to applicants who are less likely/able to visit the academy on their own. So if you are within driving distance of USNA it is harder to get accepted to the summer programs.

 

Not being accepted to NASS is NOT an indication that the actual application for USNA would be rejected.

 

Sports are used as a means of indicating fitness, trainability, teamwork and leadership. If your son is not in a sport, then he would need to make sure his application emphasized the other areas of his life that demonstrate these abilities. Jobs can be a good stand in for sports in some of these areas. He would also want to take a look at the requirements for the Candidate Fitness Assessment and do very well on this test.

 

If he has not yet taken the SAT or ACT, I would put this on the top of his priority list. It is a major sorting item for deciding if someone is able to be designated as an official candiate. Grades and class rank are the other two factors weighed and for homeschoolers they are less available. So the test scores grow in importance.

 

He can go through the steps to admissions on the Admissions page of usna.edu This outlines the process, including nominations. He should start looking into the nominations sources that he is eligible for (at least his congressional rep and senators). Take particular note of the deadlines for application. Many offices will close their applications in early fall (ie, September). Late applications for nominations are usually not considered at all.

 

I would also recommend that he take some time to look at the most recent class portrait (on admissions page) which will show the middle 50% for test scores and other factors such as activities. The USNA catalog is also available at the admissions page. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that he read through parts of the catalog, especially the sections that discuss applying, midshipman life, and military career options. (I can tell when I'm interviewing a student who has taken time to familiarize himself with the academy. There is a wealth of info right there online. A lot of the promotions budget is being cut, so don't expect to get tons of hard copy mailers.) There are nice Facebook feeds available from United States Naval Academy and Naval Academy Admissions.

 

It is not too early or inappropriate to contact the local Blue and Gold Officer. I personally LOVE IT when a student contacts me with questions. It helps me get to know them early on in the application and see that they are actively involved in seeking out information and problem solving. There are often college nights or other events at which BGOs make presentations that your ds could attend. The contact info for state/regional area coordinators is in the Online Catalog. He can send an email to the AC and ask for contact info for the local BGO (he should mention that he is homeschooled and also indicate which high school he would attend if in school, so that the AC can assign him to the correct BGO).

 

If you tag the post with "service academies", "USNA", "military academies" you should find several other threads that are on topic.

 

Let me know if you or he have other questions. There are several here with kids who have recently gone through the application process.

[Miss Marple]

Thank you both! I'll have my son work through the recommendations you've given. He has taken the ACT/PSAT/ and SAT so we were able to put scores down. I haven't seen the average student profile so I don't know where he would fit. A friend of his was just accepted into the USAF academy and according to my son, he had much lower ACT scores than my son had. Also he is pulling a 4.0 GPA on his concurrent course work (18 hours so far).

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank you both! I'll have my son work through the recommendations you've given. He has taken the ACT/PSAT/ and SAT so we were able to put scores down. I haven't seen the average student profile so I don't know where he would fit. A friend of his was just accepted into the USAF academy and according to my son, he had much lower ACT scores than my son had. Also he is pulling a 4.0 GPA on his concurrent course work (18 hours so far).

 

2016 Class Portrait

 

Remember that any academy or ROTC scholarship application is a selective process. They aren't only looking for students who meet a minimum, but for the best qualified candidates. USNA has enough qualified candidates each year to fill the class multiple times. ROTC is another good option that your ds should investigate. But it is also highly competitive, not a fall back option.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

BTW, since you mentioned ACT. USNA converts ACT scores to equivalent SAT scores. They also take the highest score in each section, regardless of sitting.

[Miss Marple]

 

2016 Class Portrait

 

Remember that any academy or ROTC scholarship application is a selective process. They aren't only looking for students who meet a minimum, but for the best qualified candidates. USNA has enough qualified candidates each year to fill the class multiple times. ROTC is another good option that your ds should investigate. But it is also highly competitive, not a fall back option.

 

The PSAT he took in the fall placed him in the 93 percentile of juniors. He will be taking the ACT next month. The other SAT and ACT scores were from 10th grade.

 

I noticed that the application for the summer program was also the preliminary application. Is it best to have the new ACT scores sent directly to the academy or would he just update the admissions department? The summer application said that any changes needed to go through admissions, but if the change were to impact the preliminary application more, would that still be the method?

[TechWife]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I do want to bring the Senior Military Colleges to your attention. All of these colleges offer outstanding ROTC programs. One of the differences between a service academy and an SMC is that cadets that attend an SMC are obligated to join the service only if they accept an ROTC scholarship. There are several who do ROTC without the scholarship and go on to join one of the services as an officer. They can also choose to take a commission in a Reserve unit.

 

I attended NGC as a civilian student & highly recommend it. Although it's ROTC program is Army, we did always have a few graduates who selected other services.

 

These colleges are a great option for students and each of them is very unique in their offerings.

 

This website explains the role of Senior Military Colleges well.

[NancyNellen]

My son is also a rising junior who is very interested in the USNA. He applied early for the Summer STEM program and was accepted! I just wanted to encourage you that he does not play competitive sports currently and still got in. He definitely shows those necessary skills in other areas, though, such as Young Marines, volunteering at church, and running. We are about to move to CO and he hopes to enter into a few races there and eventually aim for a 1/2 marathon.

 

A big, huge thanks to Sebastian and Margaret in CO for posting so much info. on your experiences and expertise regarding the USNA. If you only knew how much I virtually stalk you on the WTM boards, you would probably be disturbed :-)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

The PSAT he took in the fall placed him in the 93 percentile of juniors. He will be taking the ACT next month. The other SAT and ACT scores were from 10th grade.

 

I noticed that the application for the summer program was also the preliminary application. Is it best to have the new ACT scores sent directly to the academy or would he just update the admissions department? The summer application said that any changes needed to go through admissions, but if the change were to impact the preliminary application more, would that still be the method?

 

Yes, the Naval Academy Summer Seminar (NASS) application also serves as a preliminary application. Sometime before school lets out, students will be informed if they were designated as official candidates and receive log in information for the the rest of the application.

 

It looks like the next ACT date is April 13. My hunch is that all of the decisions about NASS will be made shortly after the final application deadline of April 15. So most likely any April ACT scores would not be used for consideration for NASS. But the scores would definitely be used for the USNA application. So I would have official scores sent to USNA (I'm not familiar with ACT, but I assume you put down codes for a certain number of colleges and then pay for additional reports, similar to how College Board does SAT.)

 

Your ds would also want to check if any of his nomination sources need ACT/SAT scores.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Another route to look at is the Merchant Marine Academy. It's way easier to get into (they have no SS to try it out though). www.usmma.edu We have a hired hand that did have the math scores to even be looked at for USNA but he squeaked into MMA and then squeaked into the aviation program. He's quite happily flying the same helo that dd is.

 

I think relative ease of acceptance varies by area. The former SPL of our troop is still waiting on word from MMA. But this is a very competitive area.

 

(He didn't get called for interviews from either senator. The form letter from one office mentioned that there had been 700 requests for nomination.)

 

Back in my day, the area I grew up in was very Navy centered. I knew several strong candidates who were a couple years ahead of me in high school that were turned down. Fortunately, for me, I moved to Texas for senior year. That was a hotbed of Army and Air Force dreams with nary a thought for the sea services. I have no doubt that helped my application.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I do want to bring the Senior Military Colleges to your attention. All of these colleges offer outstanding ROTC programs. One of the differences between a service academy and an SMC is that cadets that attend an SMC are obligated to join the service only if they accept an ROTC scholarship. There are several who do ROTC without the scholarship and go on to join one of the services as an officer. They can also choose to take a commission in a Reserve unit.

 

I attended NGC as a civilian student & highly recommend it. Although it's ROTC program is Army, we did always have a few graduates who selected other services.

 

These colleges are a great option for students and each of them is very unique in their offerings.

 

This website explains the role of Senior Military Colleges well.

 

Not a hijack at all. Students interested in a military commission, should definitely apply for ROTC scholarships from any service they are considering. High school participation in JROTC is not related to College ROTC program acceptance (other than in the way that it demonstrates leadership, like many other activities).

 

ROTC scholarships are more competitive than they were a couple decades ago. Many years they are as selective or more selective than academy applications. It is also increasingly difficult to get a scholarship after freshman year, although students can get advanced standing and a contract for a commission.

[JuanitaL]

 

A big, huge thanks to Sebastian and Margaret in CO for posting so much info. on your experiences and expertise regarding the USNA. If you only knew how much I virtually stalk you on the WTM boards, you would probably be disturbed :-)

HA! I did the same thing! And ... it worked.

[NancyNellen]

HA! I did the same thing! And ... it worked.

 

Very glad to hear that! Congratulations!!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

HA! I did the same thing! And ... it worked.

 

It's great to hear that some of the posts could point you in the right direction. But it is much more about the kid and years of hard work being recognized than any secret info.

 

There are ways a candidate can make an application harder or impossible (mostly through bad timeline awareness). But nothing I say will change courses taken or test scores or willingness to work hard at activities.

[In The Great White North]

(He didn't get called for interviews from either senator. The form letter from one office mentioned that there had been 700 requests for nomination.)

 

700!!!

 

You really should move up here. :)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

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700!!!

 

You really should move up here. :)

 

 

Trust me I've thought about it. I worked hard over the years to maintain my VA state residency, because there are several very good state universities. But the day I changed my voting to Northern Virginia, I also knew that I was potentially making life harder for my kids.

 

I remind myself that they will probably turn out well and have good lives that I cannot begin to envision now. But I also look around at the scale and level of competition locally and can only shake my head.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Reviving an old thread. The application window for the Naval Academy summer programs is open (STEM Camp) or is opening this week (Naval Academy Summer Seminar).

I think that the other academies have had their summer application programs open for several weeks.

 

I decided to add to this thread, because there were so many good links and so much good counsel in it.

 

Best of luck to any applicants for the various Classes of 2019.