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Getting accepted to the Academy after one or more years of college

DSL1990

VMI Cadet 4/c, MIDN 4/c
I read a statistic somewhere on the Internet that 30% of new students at the Naval Academy have already completed one or more years of college or preparatory school.

For those of you that are in that boat, can I ask you a question? What do you feel was the secret of your success the 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) time around?

Some possibilities I've been thinking about are participation in NROTC with good aptitude scores, getting better grades in college than in high school, another chance to take the SAT's and improve your scores, having more sports activities in college than in high school, more leadership opportunities to pad the application, etc. It can't be NASS, because if you are out of highschool, you can't go to NASS.

The thing is, if you are applying to USNA just one year out of high school, your application already has to go in before you've even had a semester worth of grades in college. Maybe you can get 1st quarter grades, if you are lucky.

I've also seen some ads for preparatory schools. For example, Northwestern Preparatory Academy ( http://www.northwesternprep.com/ ). But why would a preparatory school make you a better applicant for the USNA a year out of high school, then for example going to the Virginia Military Institute and kicking some butt there and getting good grades?

Maybe a BGO could address this question also? When someone who is out of high school for more than a year applies to the USNA and succeeds (when they had failed in their application from high school), what is their typical secret?

(Maybe a book could be written about this topic! :D)

About me: I didn't even apply for the USNA because I thought my GPA and SAT scores were too low to get accepted and get nominations with, especially since I live in THE MOST competitive congressional district near the nation's capital. I think I will try to apply anyways next year no matter what college I end up in (VMI and Embry-Riddle are at the top of my list right now among places I am already accepted to), but I may have to change my residency though to get any nominations :icon_lol:)
 

Rubiks06

Registered User
pilot
Im thinking if you can get into VMI and Embry-Riddle you would have at least gotten looked at by the academy. They will sometimes offer you a slot in one of their prep schools. Rule number one it never hurts to ask....and the worst thing they can say is no. Both of those schools have some sort of ROTC program. The Academy is not the end all beat all, it got me to where I am but there are many different ways, if being an officer is what you really want appy to all of the programs that you are eligible for. Good Luck~!
 

villanelle

Nihongo dame desu
Contributor
Husband is on a boat right now or I would have him respond. He went to a private prep school in Malibu (which I believe is now closed) after high school. He got into West Point and AF but really wanted USNA. From what I understand, mostly what prep school did was help him raise his SAT scores.

Do keep in mind that if you do a year at ERAU (or anywhere else) and then transfer, you will still have to do 4 years at the Academy.
 

JFoga97862

Registered User
I applied to the Academy 3 times, got in on my third try.

There is no secret. I was never offered prep school. I had 1400 SATs and was 3rd in my HS class. I was student body president, and I was a 4 year varsity letter winner in 2 sports. By the time I put in my third application I had two years of college with a 3.9 GPA.

The only explaination I ever recieved is that there were others like me in my congressional district. They had applied twice and USNA wanted to take them. As a result I had to either wait and reapply, or seek other employment. I don't know if this was good gouge, but that's all I had at the time.

If you "seek other employment" via another ROTC program or VMI, etc.. that may be a reason for the Academy to write you off completely as you are already in an officer pipeline. I dunno, anybody out there know dudes who got in from NROTC or another paramilitary school ? ;)

As for prep school vs. college. Unless you are severely deficient in SAT scores or academics then you probably want to go straight to college. Perform well at college in academics, athletics, and leadership roles. Be well rounded and show no obvious weakness in any of these categories. Easy right?
 

cfam

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
If you "seek other employment" via another ROTC program or VMI, etc.. that may be a reason for the Academy to write you off completely as you are already in an officer pipeline. I dunno, anybody out there know dudes who got in from NROTC or another paramilitary school ?


I don't know about getting into USNA once you're at VMI or the Citadel, but I have a buddy here who did marine option NROTC at NC State before coming here. As far as coming in from a regular college, it happens all the time. A lot of my friends here did at least a year of college, in some cases two. In fact, typically, the kids that did a year of college do pretty well here. They've seen the party scene at a normal school, so they have it out of their system, and are able to focus entirely on their performance here. Bottom line, if getting into USNA really means that much to you, apply, and keep applying until you get in. If you want the BGO's perspective, I know that Wink is currently one, so I'm sure he can help. Good Luck!
 

BlackBearHockey

go blue...
I dunno, anybody out there know dudes who got in from NROTC or another paramilitary school ? ;)

I applied to the Academy after a semester of NROTC. I didn't have anywhere close to the grades (high school and SAT were good, but college...), but some athletic opportunities and a hefty LOR. When you're coming from an NROTC unit, they have (and this is what I experienced, but it could be different, so if anyone has a 100% inside track knowledge, please correct) an additional nomination that the CO of your unit can give you. Something to the effect of they'll admit qualified applicants regardless of NROTC or HS or what have you, then take a look at the bubble applicants, starting with the NROTC students given a nomination from their CO.

I somewhat half-heartily applied, sort of throwing it against the wall to see what stuck, to be honest, so I wish I could give you more concrete information.

P.S., if you're 100% sure you really want to go to the Academy, by all means, tactfully start the process with your 4/C advisor, but don't go in day 1 and treat it as just a stepping stone to somewhere else. You won't make friends.
 
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