I'm not 100% on this, but it is my understanding that the above posts regarding our "status" is correct. We are on par with a ROTC group. I believe this is also the case for those at senior military colleges (VMI, Citadel, etc, etc).
Personally I don't see a problem with that at all since we aren't funded by the DoD and most of our graduates do not go onto active duty. There really isn't any other "status" they could put us in. You're either active duty (USNA) or not. The reason USNA grads likely get a "priority" in that regards is that they have to go active duty.
As to requiring a GPA to go active duty. Can't really comment here, but I know the Army and Air Force at times have required a certain GPA for an active duty commission upon graduation. At times of drawdowns is when this usually comes into play. I would guess though that if someone wanted to go SWO, they'd probably take them.
If someone is truly interested in going active duty there is always the option of a lateral transfer once you have graduated. I know the latest lateral transfer board was looking for MMR officers to go SWO and a few other positions. All it takes is talking to an officer recruiter. At that point GPA would probably be less of an issue.