Sorry to hear about your admissions denial integer.
Its good to see you still motivated about trying again next year.
Refering back to bigs post about athletes, i my 2 cents about it.
I think the academy needs to look more at brains instead of sports.
In my opinion its an unfair advantage. Thats why i never applied to the USNA, i knew they were going to look more at super star athlethes than someone who was decent in them (i did 2 years of sports, 1 year of wrestling, then one of track)
I had clubs and had good grades.
But i knew they were going to be looking for the jock with the grades.
I know AF recuits football players, without nominations. A guy in my neighborhood, got accepted to the USAFA on a football billet.
Now im divided on this.
One instance... he didnt try for the nomination, so basically for a guy to try and get a nom and not get it, hes already been outsed, unless he has the sports back up.
But... he did try and apply to the air force.
Thats why i like the prep schools. If your a sports guy, but dont have the grades they give you a trial year at NAPs. This way if the sports guy flunks, they havent wasted a spot at the academy... But every academy has attrition, so some slots are going to be lost
Overall, i think people with sports deserve to go if they try and are willing to commit themselves. But at the rate most of the academies are going, i think they are a little too heavy on the sports recruitment.
Then again it also goes to the well rounded person. A super genius, or a jock, may not succeed in the military, thats why they look for a person who has dabbled a little in both sports and academics, ie the best bang for the buck.
Now for my stats, i would have been suprised if the Naval Academy would have taken me with these stats, plus a guy in my HS, who is a genius and a jock got in and our congressman only had 1 slot this year, so right now with my situation i consider myself blessed.
Grades: 3.6-3.7 throught high school.
SAT (i took that about 5 times, math never got above 600 until last try ) 670V 650M
Sports: As above Frosh: Wrestling, Soph: Track (i moved to Texas junior year)
Clubs: Aviation, German club (Vice President) and National Honors Society.
Junior year i was still looking at Navy, with a vague chance at the time.
Then i found the USMMA (
MY SAVIOR)
Smaller school and a Service academy. (even though i had never heard of it till my junior year)
I found i could get a commission in any service, or elect to serve with a US Merchant Company as my obligation time.
Plus my soph and junior years I could travel around the world aboard merchant vessels.
So middle of October rolls around (oops im a procrastinator, BAD BAD BAD) I convince my dad to let me visit the USMMA. I get back and im estatic. The ppl up there had about the same stats i had, of course there were always ppl heavy into the sports, but my host didnt even do sports in HS.
I had all the forms for the Congressman, just hadnt filled them out, so when i got back i filled those out and sent them in. Then at the same time i had been working on my USMMA app. I was able to throw all the pieces together about 5 days before the Early decision deadline (but i had started getting stuff together at the beginning of october, so it wasnt a complete last minute thing.) I FEDEXed my package out to Kings Point. and got it in the day before the deadline. Now comes the time for waiting.
My mom knows a customer at the bank she works at, who has a son who is a plebe this year at USMMA. He puts us in contact with the local admissions rep here for San Antonio. We meet the rep and after that he was behind me all the way.
Nov: Congressional Interview (not bad, could have been worse)
Nothing from the academy yet.
Dec: Nothing at all, no suprise though, it was a last minute thing for ED at the academy.
End of December rolls around, my congressional appointment arrives (1) check in the box, medical came back around the same time (2) checks in the box.
January: Finally get my PAE done, boy i was lazy getting that thing done. My package is now complete. All checks in the box. All i can do now is wait.(They send out Letters Of Assurance if you have the main stuff done, but you MUST get the other items done by the deadlines, a person i talked to from another high school got an LOA way back in December, and she is a principal candidate now.)
I took the SAT for the final time, its due by the 15th. The USMMA looks at your highest combined scores from SAT or ACT. Like i said, i took it 5 times.
I got my good verbal score in Oct, but still had a crappy 560 math.
Then i registered agan for january, and crammed the week before the test.
Ratios and Triangles, those seem to the the biggest thing on the math part of the test, and ratios used to kick my butt. My dad also helped me out, he told me "Monkey gets 25% right if he guesses" so any questions that i didnt have time for or couldnt figure out i guessed. we calculated that it was far better to guess than leave a blank, cause even with a wrong answer its only .25 of a point off, compared to no 1 large point at all. So i finally got a 650, without that score, i dont think i could have been competitive.
During this time i was constantly in contact with the Admissions Office at the academy and my rep here.
March: Begining" NOTHING!!! (i was starting to sweat, the whole month is an evaluatoin month so they are constantly sending out appointments.
On March 7th, all the local congressional offices hold an event where all the service academies come together and basically speak about their schools to juniors, cause the app process is going to be going again soon.
I went to it again to help out my local rep and talk to the Admissions Officer. I talked to the Admissions officer who covers Texas, i had spoken to him in October, but i wanted some more info on the academies. He tells me Texas is very competitive this year (AHHHHHHHHH). Texas had more applicants than New York did, where the academy is located. Plus he told me they were going to be evaluating much stricter this time, because last year they let too many people in and are over crowded. (AHHHHHHHHHHHHH)
Nothing for the next few weeks, i was really bugging out.
Then it came.
March 25th the day before my 18th birthday. A nice fat envelope. My letter had come! It came in a really nice folder, plus some other stuff. I am a Principal Candidate. I report July 9th. Im pretty friggin happy right now.
I didnt just breeze through this whole process. I pushed really hard and was dedicated to my school work (kinda happens when your a Navy Brat) I was in constant contact with my local rep here and the Admissions office.
So now i look forward to 4 years of hard work and dedication. I hope to obtain a comission as a Navy officer (hopefully going to flight school) or with a Merchant Mariner company, or I may apply to the other services (dont know about that).
I applied to other colleges here in town, but i dont know what i would have done with myself if i hadnt gotten in to the USMMA.
Integer in others good luck with your conquest of the Naval Academy Admissions boards,I want to see you guys get in, but it doesnt hurt to apply here to the USMMA, cause for me, its even better than the Naval Academy, for if my eyes go beyond the limits for flight school, at least i have a good paying job as a civilian(US Mariners coming outta the USMMA average around a 50k salary in their first year, thats what i heard from my host up there.)
All academies have their ups and downs and each one fits everyone differently, for me USMMA is a perfect fit.
If you have the determination, YOU WILL SUCCEED.
If anyone has any questions feel free to email me, or AIM me (MURdragon)
Integer, you were very deserving of the appointment, but like you said, kick ass for another year and im sure youll get it.
oh i was listening to a USNA midship, and he was saying that only about 30% of the ppl at the academy for each year come straight from HS.
well its time to go sleep, now that i have finished this insanely long post.