Chance Me: US Naval Academy - GA resident [4.5 W, 4.0 UW, 1530 SAT]

I know this is quite the shift from my last thread about civil engineering, but I was considering naval architecture & marine engineering. No UMich, way too expensive lol

Demographics

  • US Citizen (dual citizenship in France)
  • GA resident
  • Public high school (~2.5k students, 739 for senior class)
  • Legacy from brother & dad at GT

Cost Constraints / Budget

  • US Naval Academy → full scholarship upon admission

Intended Major(s)

  • Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.5 (we have AP & IB classes that are weighted 110 on the 100 scale)
  • Class Rank: 2/739
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1530 SAT (730 reading, 790 math)

List your HS coursework

  • Took a total of 13 APs/IBs - doing IB Diploma Progamme right now
  • English: honors lit, AP Lang, IB English HL (year 1 & 2)
  • Math: Algebra 1&2, Geometry, Pre-Calc, AP Calc AB & BC, taking Georgia Tech Distance Math with Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra, also IB Math HL (Year 2) adding AP Statistics from last post
  • Science: Biology & Chemistry Honors, AP Physics 1, IB Physics SL (Year 1 & 2)
  • History and social studies: AP Human, AP World, IB History of the Americas HL (year 1 & 2)
  • Language other than English: took only French; French 1-4, AP French, IB French HL (Year 1 & 2)
  • Visual or performing arts: Visual Comp, Drawing & Painting I, Ceramics I, Sculpture I, IB Visual Arts SL (Year 1 & 2)
  • Other academic courses: IB Theory of Knowledge (Year 1 & 2)

Awards

  • Published twice in national art magazine
  • Dogwood Art Festival participant
  • Yale Book award
  • Georgia Certificate of Merit
  • AP Scholar (twice)
  • Fine Arts Diploma Seal (hopefully)
  • IB Diploma (hopefully)

Extracurriculars

  • President of National Art Honor Society (~80 members, member 1st year, secretary 2nd, president 3rd)
  • Founder/President of Board Game Club (2 years)
  • ~300 hours of tutoring (math, french, etc.) at non-profits
  • Weightlifting for 2.5 years if that matters

Essays/LORs/Other

  • LORs from AP Calc teacher (AB & BC, GT assistant as well), and IB Theory of Knowledge Teacher (personality) - probably will add my IB Physics teacher

Schools

United States Naval Academy

Please be as honest as you want, I am looking to truly see if this is feasible. For those asking about the intensity of being in the academy, I love a challenge and am prepared to suffer. Also, for a nomination I have an idea of who would be willing, but I still intend to apply to any possible options.

If you understand what it entails (during and after school), then you have a chance but you need a congressional nomination. I’m not sure if it’s late or not.

I can’t chance you but best of luck if that’s what you decide.

But make sure it’s what you want.

Not sure why Michigan is out but if it’s budget, there’s many fine inexpensive schools for kids with your stats. It’d be a bit tougher to match that major but I’m guessing you can get close.

If you truly want the military, I thank you and wish you well.

1 Like

USNA means that your job and career goal is officer in the US Navy or Marines. Has this been your interest for a while, and are you looking into ROTC at other schools?

Naval architecture as a specific major can also be found at the US CG and MM academies, ME and NY state maritime academies, University of Michigan, University of New Orleans, and Webb Institute. It may also exist as a subarea of mechanical engineering at some schools.

3 Likes

Paging @ChoatieMom who can provide some Service Academy perspectives

4 Likes

Your grades and SAT are great but the Naval academy also requires a nomination, physical fitness test, and medical exam. If you haven’t looked into a nomination from your senators or congressperson, do so asap! Also start getting in shape for the CFA. You don’t have team sports on your EC list. Not mandatory but 90+% of admits have varsity letters. So your CFA will be important. Also highlight leadership. While lots of regular schools look for spikes and hooks, the service academies are really looking for well rounded students. Lots of information on service academy forums.

Good luck

7 Likes

+100 to @JuliaJulia1 ’s reply above that came in while I was writing this tome. What she said is spot on, but I’ll elaborate a bit for this poster and others who may be curious about applying to a service academy.

Although our son chose Army, he received an appointment to Navy as well; the process is the same. I’ve posted my standard reply below, but to this poster, I’ll first ask:

  1. Why the Naval Academy?
  2. How deep is your commitment to service?

Honest answers to those questions must be clearly communicated at every step of the long application process. If service is not the driver, an academy might not be for you. If being a naval architect/marine engineer is your goal, there are easier paths with a more likely guarantee of actually doing those things upon graduation. Academic majors do not necessarily determine what you will be doing in the Navy during your service years as the needs of the Navy come first. Apply to the Naval Academy because you want to serve as an officer wherever the Navy needs you, not because the academy is less expensive than Michigan. Also, make sure you understand how long your commitment might be as it varies by sub-branch. Our son is currently about half-way through his nine-year commitment as a Cyber officer.

OK, so on to my standard response: Due to the intricacies of the nomination process and the rubric the service academies use to determine appointments, it is impossible to chance anyone. No one knows what the competition in the OP’s district will look like in the year they apply, and they are only competing against those in their own district for a nomination. Without one, USNA cannot offer an appointment. So, focus on doing well in the most challenging courses available to you (especially calculus, chemistry, and physics as you are doing), participate in team sports and earn a varsity letter, look for leadership opportunities, then put together the best application you can and let the chips fall where they may – that’s all you, or any candidate, can do.

Now, more specifically. The OP’s academics look strong, but academics aren’t weighed by service academies like they are by civilian colleges as only a portion of any service academy class is chosen for academic chops. Navy is similar to Army which selects only about 1/3rd of any incoming class for academic prowess which is why the academies do not shine as brightly, by average GPA and test scores, as the civilian colleges many consider their peers. The other 2/3rds are chosen for other equally shiny traits. The service academies value a combination of brains, brawn, and leadership somewhat equally–as they must; their missions differ greatly from civilian colleges.

The service academies are looking to produce capable officers for each branch of our armed forces. It takes a certain kind of kid to go this route, and those kids don’t always look like the applicants to the usual civilian suspects. The OP will need to dig deep to be able to explain clearly and genuinely to the nomination panels why they want to serve as an officer in our armed forces and also be prepared to answer their understanding of the consequences of that decision. Candidates for service academies have a specific drive and goals that differ from typical civilian college applicants. The OP’s application and interviews will need to demonstrate that difference. The OP may have a burning desire to become a Navy officer that isn’t offered in the post, but be aware, the nomination panels are expert at ferreting out motives and goals because they know that getting through a service academy and the years of service that follow take a gut commitment to something other than academics.

One red flag in the OP’s resume is the absence of team sports as even candidates selected as scholars are also athletes. Again, all of the academies are similar in this regard. Of a recent USMA class of 1302 appointees, for instance, 99% were varsity athletes:

This emphasis holds in similar percentages across academies year after year, and a recent USNA Class Profile shows that 90% of appointees were varsity athletes with 68% of them being team captain or co-captain. Weight-lifting may help the OP pass the fitness test but does not check the heavily-weighted team participation and team leadership boxes. So, make a concerted effort to be an impact athlete in a team sport. But, if you absolutely cannot participate in a team sport, it will be critical that your application emphasizes those traits that team sports confer such as cooperation, commitment, and leadership.

If you are really determined to go down this path to serve as an officer, I recommend you head over to serviceacademyforums.com (like CC but for SA applicants) to become educated on the intricacies of the process and get your questions answered by current and former military experts.

Best of luck to you, but you should know that our son’s parents were heartbroken he didn’t choose Michigan. :wink:

12 Likes

I am still in the process of fully grasping what it entails, yet I have a fundamental understanding at the moment. The Naval Academy is very alluring to me at the moment. Michigan was out of budget and due to its competitiveness out of state, I deemed it unfit despite its relevant major. Thanks for your response!

To be honest, I’ve always had the Navy on the back of my mind throughout high school. However, in alignment with influences by peers and family, I’ve prioritized other careers such as civil engineering, architecture, or even mechanical. Regardless, I still want to give the Naval Academy a shot because it genuinely interests me.

Thank you for the other school suggestions, I’ll look into them but I was originally focused on the USNA.

For the nomination, I have a neighbor who’s parents are part of my state’s congress, creating potential for a nomination. However, I am searching for more information in general before applying for all available nomination spots in Georgia. In terms of the CFA and sports, it is very true that I lack team sports or sports in general, however I do weightlifting as a hobby consistently. By consistent I mean that I do it three times a week minimum, dedicating time to researching and seeking improvements. Looking at the CFA, it is very feasible, especially if I shift my attention to its specific tasks for a month or so. Of course, I talk about improving performance in the CFA in surpassing the maximum score potential as a precaution.

I strongly agree with your statement of the USNA differing from regular colleges, leaving me with having to research further into it and having to modify my current mindset of having spikes.

Thanks for your reply!

US congress members can nominate, but state legislature members cannot. See

2 Likes

First off, thank you so much for all this information. This is insane

The Naval Academy simply because I see myself more at this academy then the other ones and due to the major of marine architecture/naval engineering. I understand that the major would honestly be second to duties as a member of the military, and that is something I am interested in: the sheer brutality and intensity of the military academies. It would mark a stark contrast to a sedentary lifestyle where I memorize information and regurgitate it, praying for high marks. Obviously this is a gross oversimplification, but the Naval Academy seems to satisfy my desires for challenges, not just academically, but physically and mentally. I seek to improve myself in every manner possible, steering away from the typical college.

For commitment to service, I find great honor in being able to serve a community. From experience of tutoring others academically or being able to help others in the gym when they are unfamiliar, I hold value in helping others. Commitment to service to me is like keeping myself in check. As a very competitive person, the Naval Academy clearly would push myself to unfound limits in desiring to surpass others in commitment. This is a shift in tone, but the Naval Academy has ultimately been on the backburner for years, being prioritized by other majors who’s interest was fostered by peers and family in opposition to the military pathway. As a result, my answers to those questions remain quite unrefined and necessitate further exploration.

I understand that I would have to serve after graduating from the academy, which ultimately varies as you stated. In terms of profile for the USNA, my academic profile is essentially at its limit for what is feasible at my high school. Academically, I have the most advanced courses available on my schedule, with the only room for improvement being my SAT score or class rank (yet I doubt it would strengthen my profile that much). I do realize that a lack of varsity sports or official athletic involvement heavily impacts my application. It’s at times like this that I regret not rebelling against my parents. Regardless, I have consistently done weightlifting for two years, with minimal breaks and going a minimum of three times per week to the gym, excluding home workouts. I will note that I could practically max out the fitness assessment with a month of dedicated training in addition to my current physical state. Seeing the limitations and time commitment of holding an extremely rigorous academic schedule, I would have to vote against the idea of playing a school sport. Two reasons being that doing it senior year seems like a last-minute effort and, secondly, I doubt that there is a sport where I could easily jump to the varsity level in a single season.

In terms of your breakdown of ‘admissions’ for the USNA, I essentially have to piggyback off my idea of commitment through community service or clubs, where I served the community and had positions of leadership. If one believes that I have a shot at the USNA despite my non-negligible holes in my application, then I will put forth a honest and well-cultivated statement for nomination.

Once again, thanks for your in-depth explanation. At this point, I doubt if its worth applying considering lack of collaboration through varsity sports or presence of JROTC (historically a very important factor at my school).

Note: I still have a list of schools I attend to apply to based on my previous ChanceMe thread, I just wanted to explore the possibility of another option that I had thought of for years.

Alternatively - you might check the Coast Guard Academy. It has the major with no congressional nomination required.

2 Likes

The US Merchant Marine Academy also has the major:
https://www.usmma.edu/academics
but requires a nomination:
https://www.usmma.edu/admissions/application/steps-admission

Civilian colleges with naval architecture / marine engineering and Naval ROTC include University of New Orleans, the ME and NY maritime academies, and University of Michigan. Webb Institute (whose only major is naval architecture and marine engineering and where all students get a full tuition scholarship) does not have any ROTC.

Please do not say this or any version of it in either your application or your interviews as it is not the correct response to why you are applying to the academy. You apply because you want to serve as an officer in the Navy leading others on ships, subs, and planes in the accomplishment of duty and mission. Commit the mission of USNA to heart to start re-training the tape that plays in your head as you craft your responses to the questions you will be asked on paper and in person:

To develop Midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

Memorization describes the core of Plebe year. As I posted in the Hazing is still an issue thread, our Plebe had to memorize Bugle Notes (the manual of plebe knowledge, a lengthy collection of traditions, songs, poems, anecdotes, and facts about USMA, the Army, the Old Corps, and the rivalry with Navy) as well as the week’s meal service to be able to perfectly repeat to any upperclassman on demand. At Navy, among many other things, you will memorize Reef Points:

Every midshipman is given a copy of Reef Points on I-Day. This book serves as a thorough introduction to the Navy and the Naval Academy, and includes its mission, history and traditions. Plebes will be required to memorize virtually all of the more than 1,000 facts that are outlined in this small, blue book of approximately 225 pages so that their transition into military life is comprehensive and complete.

I was turned off by all of the rote memorization (especially the week’s mess menu, what’s the point of that?) until our son explained that in times of war and under duress, an officer may see or hear an order only once and getting it exactly right may mean the difference between success and failure, even life and death. The academies do nothing by accident no matter how ridiculous some of it seems. Though you may end up in a desk job during peace time, the purpose of the academies is to prepare you to lead in a time of war, no glossing over that.

Who you know is completely irrelevant. Appointments are determined by panels specifically to avoid favoritism as the process is mandated to be egalitarian, equally accessible to all. Your congressperson and senators simply sign off on the recommendations. You will not see these people although some senators do make calls to congratulate winners. Our son received several nominations (you can get more than one), but did not receive any calls or meet any member of Congress. The nomination process is quite complex and you would do well to have an understanding of how it works. Everything you could want to know about it is described here: Nominations | United States of America Service Academy Forums.

The process of applying to a service academy is daunting. It’s meant to be; it’s part of the test.

5 Likes

I’m not a service academy parent, but we know several graduates of the naval academy. In all cases, service to their country was a first choice and any other college applications followed. IOW, applying to a service academy was not to save money…it was to actually serve as a leader in our armed forces.

5 Likes

@frenchclasher we have a friend who recently graduated from West Point, another who is started USNA this past month, and a female athlete who will be attending USNA next year.

All 3 students have planned, researched, dreamed and prepared about attending their chosen Academy for YEARS. They actively started in 9th grade, preparing for classes, leadership roles, community service and sports for the next 4 years. While only 1 is pursuing collegiate level sports, all 3 were varsity athletes, followed intense military-style training during high school. They did exactly what it takes to attempt to get an appointment. All 3 are diehard, off the charts, :us: proud citizens…ready to serve.

Just preparing you, getting an appointment won’t be easy. And not being at least an Eagle Scout, in JROTC or varsity letterman will hurt your chance (IMO).

3 Likes

The admissions process is a rubric at USNA. So you will not get the points for sports. You do have the advanced math and some science which is helpful. There is time to still get a nom but start now. The thing to think about is do you want a typical college experience? If so you will not get this at USNA. The classes are scheduled by periods, everyone has to play some kind of sport, your free time is planned and controlled. While this leads to discipline and character it may not be fun. Have you thought about USCG? still a service academy but a little more laid back with great academics.
Or ROTC?

3 Likes

I would second the suggestion of looking into the US coast guard academy.

4 Likes

Can’t emphasize the importance of this consideration enough. There are many routes to a commission, and ROTC and OCS produce the same rank as the academies. Once in the
military, there are no extra points for where or how you earned your commission regardless of what some will tell you. But, civilian college vs. service academy – one of these is definitely not like the other. Choose carefully.

Our son applied to USM/NA as an Eagle Scout (scouting since Tiger Cub in first grade) and a varsity rower. Though he never mentioned military service until the summer before his junior year, it was as if he’d been unconsciously preparing most of his young life. You don’t just wake up one day and decide to throw a service academy or two into your college mix because you want a challenge or a low-cost option.

The demands of being a competitive rower on the USMA team meant zero free time for our son. Any minute not allocated to class, sports, and military requirements and activities was spent doing homework and studying. You will wake up at O’dark thirty for formation and drills before you even get your 20 minutes for breakfast followed by a shower with 40 of your closest friends. Oh, and you will be wakened occasionally at, say, 3AM for random drug testing. Sleep has never been a priority for the military.

Also consider that you will not get summers off. The academic year is spent in the classroom and learning basic military discipline, but the summers are used for field exercises and acquiring the necessary military skills for your branch of service, in our son’s case learning to rappel out of helicopters, blow things up, and kill with precision (among other things, of course). He had two weeks “off” each summer, but never contiguously. We were lucky if he was able to come home at least one of those weeks.

OP, you definitely need to consider the type of college experience you’re looking for. You may get the suggestion to apply to Navy’s Summer Seminar (NASS) to get a feel for the academy, but I always warn that the seminar is just a camp that bears no resemblance to the actual life of a midshipman. It’s a great opportunity to see the post, get your questions answered by actual mids, and complete a CFA (if you choose), but its purpose is to reach out to those the Navy is interested in who might not consider a military stint otherwise. It’s a marketing tool designed to highlight “cool” and not scare off participants.

There are so many moving parts and considerations in this process. If you do decide that military service is your goal, continue the research, ask as many questions as you can think of, and give the application process everything you’ve got.

6 Likes

Academically you’re qualified but athletics are missing from your profile. Also, it depends on the competition for your cycle. Any given year you could be a shoo-in for a nomination but if there’s another home-run candidate in your area they could take your nomination. It happens. I know.

Maybe look at Canadian schools? I was in Newfoundland and remember a discussion about maritime programs.

3 Likes