Naval Academy? Looking for advice and experience. (Vanity)

04/26/05 | Hatteras

[Hatteras]

If I may, I would like to ask any Navy (current or vet) Freepers for some help.

My son, currently a high school junior has expressed interest in the Naval Academy and is currently working his way through the application process. I am looking for any advice, inside info, the good, the bad and the ugly, sources for nominations, etc... Any information or experience with the USNA that I can pass along would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Hatteras

[rabidralph]

Good advice. If he goes straight to the academy, the Navy Chiefs on board will whip his sorry butt into shape.

[Fierce Allegiance]

I think you are confusing the Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point, NY with the USCGA Academy in New London, CT. Good point in any case.

[NativeNewYorker]

lol...right, never met the peanut farmer

[hubbubhubbub]

My daughter (Sr in H.S.) has her choice of USMA and USNA. After taking trips to both she chose USNA. Starts plebe summer in 9 weeks. Factors:
1. USNA has civilian professors
2. USNA has an accredited chemistry major
3. Food was better
4. Once outside the gates Highland Falls is a dumpy river town while Annapolis is nice to walk around.

[cuz_it_aint_their_money]

First and foremost, make sure he can pass the physical.
30 years ago, I had all my paperwork done, 3 nominations under my belt and was on my way to Annapolis. All I had left was to pass the physical. As soon as the doctors saw my glasses, they failed me on the spot.
I'm not sure what the requirement now are, but back then you had to have a minimum eyesight of 20/60 correctable to 20/20.

[Magnum44]

Contact the Naval Academy itself, and get any information you can on your local 'Blue and Gold' officer. In addition, obviously check with each congressional and senate office you have for information on how to get into their nomination process. Finally, make sure your son is getting good grades, and a well rounded set of extracurricular activities. He doesn't have to be the football star, but any sports, scouts, team work, community service, and leadership type organizations will all highlight his ability to work as a team, lead peers, and in general be social. Take the SAT as many times as he can to get his scores up. If possible, get letters of recommendation from former military officers or service school graduates who know him.

I had a letter from a WWII Corsair pilot who was also a hunting buddy of my fathers. We all used to go deer hunting when I was young, and his endorsement, while it seemed embarrassing to me at the time (something about being chief camp bottle washer and privy digger), was honest, humorous, and exactly what you'd expect from a old navy vet who had really been there. The review boards have to look at hundreds of apps. If a former grad or career officer tells the board he thinks your son has what it takes to be molded into officer material, then thats more information than most board interviewers will be able to figure out on their own, and they value that.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

You are correct. It didn't sound right when I wrote it.
I was looking for a replacement skipper for the tanker service I managed about ten years ago and a candidate from the Merchant Marine Academy applied for the job. I was surprised to see the applicant was a young woman and I thought she would be great in the job. She ended up going to work as a captain for a casino boat for twice was I could offer. She had the 500 ton license, plus more endorsements than my retired captain had...

[Rokke]

I graduated from the Naval Academy in 1989. The Naval Academy will not admit your son if he isn't qualified. Once he gains admission, he will succeed or fail based on his desire to serve in the military. If he is seeking admission to the Naval Academy as part of a family tradition, parental desire, "it's free", etc, he will most likely fail, and the blame will rest entirely on his shoulders. Therefore, it is far better to never gain admission than to wash out. I was probably the last person they admitted into the class of 1989. I didn't excel at anything while I was there. But I graduated in the middle of my class while many other folks who were both smarter and more talented than me washed out. During those four years I learned more about myself and more about people than at any other time in my life. It was an incredibly challenging four years...and I would do it all over again without hesitation. 16 years later, I am still serving in the military (I cross commissioned into the USAF when I graduated) and to this day I still rely on the foundation I received at the Naval Academy.

[Hatteras]

You are all terrific and thank you all for your service to our country. Great info and I truly appreciate the input. Keep it coming.

[Wright Wing]

Check to find a Blue and Gold officer around your area. I got involved back in the eighties and went to meetings weekly. My officer wrote me a fantastic letter, and I did end up getting a nomination. Unfortunately I probably would have had to do a year of prep school, which to me, seemed like an eternity. I did not follow up, even though my chances of admittance were pretty good. If your son really wants it, Blue and Gold is the way to go.

[Retired COB]

The beauty of the Naval Academy is that you allow Uncle Sam pay the tuition!

My recommendation is that you try to steer him into engineering or aviation for a major. I would strongly resist any push from the school to steer him into nuclear power training. The nuclear power training limits assignments and still has a lot of the Rickover initiated quirks embedded within it.

I spent 26 years in the Navy - the first 17 years in the surface Navy (starting with the SeaBees and finishing up on an aircraft carrier) with the last 9 years in submarines (The COB in the tagline stands for Chief of the Boat). I agree with the other folks' observations about the quality of the education. Like most other schools, the education really starts when they graduate and some grizzled old chief takes him under his wing and gives him some "hands on" training.

By the way, if your son is considering a career in the Navy/Marine Corps, he needs to understand that the 4 years at Annapolis do not count towards his retirement. On the other hand, if you're going to make it a career, it gives you a leg up on the competition being an Academy grad at promotion time.

I wish you and your son well.

[rabidralph]

I was stationed there '94-'96 as an enlisted Sailor. I thoroughly enjoyed my tour. The Mids are the nicest, hardest-working college kids I've ever seen. Annapolis is a great town to hang out in and the people are very friendly. Everyone gripes about the regs and restrictions, but I"ve never met a Mid who regretted going there.

The USNA graduates more astronauts than any other institution. Summer cruises and leatherneck training give the Mids insight into life in the Fleet. Here's the main website. The school newspaper is the Trident. It is staffed by civilians and enlisted journalists, who write about the goings on at the academy. Plebes are assigned "host" families, who take the plebes out, during their precious weekend liberty, and give them some normalcy in all that a plebe has to put up with the first year. Congratulations, on raising such a wonderful child. I hope your son gets into the academy.

[Magnum44]

Your welcome and best of luck to your son in his pursuits. USNA 84'

[WildBillArthur]

I graduated in 99. It was probably the best thing I ever did outside of my family and church. I will say that he has to want to go for himself. At the end of the day, the guys that are only there because their parents want them to go there will have a tough time during the first year. It sounds like he wants to do it and it was his idea, so he is half way there already.

The application process is over-involved and a pain, I think its like a test or something. He needs to call, right now and get a pre-candidate questionare. Go to the website, you should be able to get one sent to you from the Admissions page. I believe the web address is www.usna.navy.mil.

After you do the first questionare, if he meets the minimum qualifications he will get a whole package to complete. Some things the teachers/guidance counselors fill out. You may have to weigh in as a parent to make them do it in a timely fashion. This process will go on until around new year's of his senior year if I rememer correctly. He should know something for sure by March, no later then May. It is a good idea to apply to the Air Farce academy and West point if he's interested in the Army and definatly the Coast Guard Acadmemy. Dont be upset if he doesnt get the CG Academy, they are super selective, they are so small. The Merchant Marine academy is good to I have a buddy that went there, but the name is not as recognized and they have a wierd military status that I dont even understand. I personally like the Naval Academy best, but maybe I am biased. ha ha.

Contrary to popular belief, you dont have to know anyone to go there. The congressmen and senators can all only have like 5 people in all the academys at any time that they sponsor. So the guys from your area will get together and make sure they sponsor as many folks as they can. My dad gave money to the Republicans a lot the same year the Democrat congressman sponsored me, so I feel that politics doesnt really play in this thing. The academy admissions folks will help you a lot. If you are active duty or retired, he is also eligable for a presidential nomination. They will give you sample letters to write, and the addresses to send them to. He will have to interview with the congressmen or their representatives and it is a good experiance. There is a ton of stuff he has to do, medical quals, physical fitness test done by the high school PE teacher and stuff like that, but he can do it if he just keeps working at it.

When he goes there, he will not have civilian cloths for the first two years. I mean, he will not own them, they will not be in his room, he mails home what was on his back when he gets there. All he needs to go is 2000 bucks to offset the uniforms and a pair of underwear. And a desire to do well. There is no TV or radio the first year. There is basically no liberty to amount to anything the first year either. He will make friends in that company that he will know for years after he graduates. As a senior he has to choose service assignment, Navy surface, subs, spec ops/war (only a few spots, he has to be a PT animal to get one of these) or pilot. Or USMC ground or air. Everything is competitive except for surface basically. I got USMC air, but ended up as a ground pounder due to the ringing in my ears. Unless he goes flight, he will do 5 years active duty in the service afterwards. It is a great experiance and I think they do a pretty good job of letting you see how it feels to be on the recieving end of orders. Most everyone I knew there was pretty well adjusted. Also, you get to hear some pretty neat speaches.

Also, you get to go to probably the most conservative college in the world. We booed Algore and Janet Reno. It was great. Not that any of us had any political leanings or anything (we dont do that as officers).

Anyways, I hope this helped. Tell him to not waste his time with poly sci, get an engineering degree.

[Hatteras]

"Annapolis is a great town to hang out in and the people are very friendly."

I've tied up at the city docks a few times in the past and participated in a few pub crawls myself. ;-)

Thanks.

[Mathews]

Your damn skippy! I never met a ring knocker straight out of school that I actually liked. It takes at least one Division Officer tour before the little sh*ts realize that the Chief is always right. All kidding aside... if your son has a shot at the USNA then I say do anything you can to get him there. The Academy will grant him an awesome education and once he gets to the fleet... some salt encrusted Chief will teach him to be a leader! Good luck!

[JCEccles]

I took my 15 year-old son (HS sophomore) on a tour of Annapolis last week. We'll be visiting Colorado Springs this week.

Annapolis is a beautiful campus and many buildings are freely accessible to the public. At Leahy House (which is where the admissions office is located) they offer about four briefings a day for potential students and their parents. Our briefer was a Marine captain, helicopter pilot, class of 98. Very sharp. Acceptance rate is about 10 percent; more than 90 percent of graduates get their first choice career assignment. They advise you to seek nominations from both senators as well as your representative (and a VP nomination if available). No member of Congress is allowed to have more than four (IIRC) students in attendance at any given time, and each is allowed to nominate up to 10 students for every opening. In the summer the naval Acadmey offers a two week dry-run for students between their junior and senior years in high school. Cost is $300, but places are limited; apply early and have strong recommendations.

Varsity sports activity in high school is highly desired. Students must not only have very high academic records (85 percent are in the top 5th of their classes), they must meet the physical fitness tests, which stress upper body strength.

[bert]

Query.... Was there an emphasis on previous team sports participation in the selection process?

[WildBillArthur]

Yes, however it is not a requirement. I had played no sports at all in high school. Eagle scout countered that for me I think. They are looking at the total package and if that package just sits around on the couch muching on ho-hos and paying nintendo, thats not exactly what they are looking for. You dont get to do that until you are a sophmore. ha ha.

[rabidralph]

LOL! Yeah, you're a chief! Thanks, for your continued service, shipmate!