Reapplying to USNA

Hello everyone, today I got the news that I did not receive an appointment to the Academy... I did not have a strong run the first time around (being a US citizen in Canada complicates things), but I am hell-bent on reapplying next year as I follow my Plan B.

My question concerns majors, but first, some background. Originally, the plan was that I go to Norwich to study nursing on a NROTC scholarship. Then last minute, this became my Plan B as I hastily applied to the Academy September 2010 (got all the required docs, medically qualified, with a nom from the state I moved from). I applied to the Naval Academy because, 1, it's THE Naval Academy, and also the fact that I had been contacted out of the blue by a BGO who said I should apply. And I was also very interested in studying mechanical engineering (my two passions in life, science and helping people, but with my majors, it's one or the other). Now, mechanical engineering is in a very different sort of pond from nursing, and I wanted to ask: If I study nursing my first year at Norwich, can I reapply to the Academy to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering?

I ask this because I had read from other articles on the internet that if you reapply as a college student, that your current studies should reflect the major you are interested in.

If you have taken the time to read my very very specific quarry, thank you. If you have any information at all pertaining to this subject, I, and many others with the same question, would appreciate it

Check the stickies on reapplying. USNA wants college students reapplying to take and do well in plebe courses.

jtoye said:

Check the stickies on reapplying. USNA wants college students reapplying to take and do well in plebe courses.

Click to expand...

Hahaha, thanks for the reply. Before I posted, I took a quick glance at the stickies (key term being "quick glance"), and didn't see it at first.

Cheers!

If reapplying to USNA, you're better off studying Mech E in college. If your goal is to be a nurse, then you should study nursing and pursue that goal. You can't become a nurse out of USNA so, if they see a major/course load that reflects nursing, USNA may not be convinced that USNA and the USN (non-Nurse Corps) is really where you want to be and what you want to do in life.

However, if nursing is your passion/desire, go for it. You can become a Navy nurse, just not from USNA.

Just being honest.

usna1985 said:

If reapplying to USNA, you're better off studying Mech E in college. If your goal is to be a nurse, then you should study nursing and pursue that goal. You can't become a nurse out of USNA so, if they see a major/course load that reflects nursing, USNA may not be convinced that USNA and the USN (non-Nurse Corps) is really where you want to be and what you want to do in life.

However, if nursing is your passion/desire, go for it. You can become a Navy nurse, just not from USNA.

Just being honest.

Click to expand...

The thing is that when I applied for NROTC over a year ago, I did not know exactly what I wanted to do, so I signed up for nursing. But throughout that period of time, I found that mechanical engineering suited me. I would study mechanical in college, but I'm not sure if I can switch from a nursing to engineering major...I knew that USNA did not have a major in nursing, that's why I'm a bit worried about reapplying. I don't want to drop a full ride scholarship, but at the same time, I want to follow what I really want to do...

Thank you for your honesty

Nursing to Academy

I was originally on an Army ROTC Nursing scholarship. I applied this year and received an appointment. The advice that you have to major in engineering is terribly wrong. I simply got A's in all my nursing courses and that was good enough. Our situations are very, very similar. My advice? Take the nursing scholarship, do well, and i will see you at the academy next year.

First, congrats on your appointment.

You are proof that there are many variable in the decision to offer an appointment. I worked with a college candidate who had taken no plebe courses in 2 yrs of college other than Calc. Still made it and did VERY well at USNA.

So there is no magic formula. I understood the OP to be asking to choose b/t nursing and Mech E. Given that choice, in a vacuum, I still recommend Mech E for any number of reasons.

If it would be hard to switch AND you can still get all/most of the plebe courses in a nursing major, it may be a viable option. However, with things getting more & more competitive, I recommend doing everything that will help and, all things being equal (which they rarely are), demonstrated success in an engineering track may well trump success in a nursing track. But, as noted, things are rarely equal.

AND, I would make clear to your BGO your situation -- why you chose nursing, your scholarship, the difficulty in changing majors, etc. If he/she is any good, he/she can pass that on to USNA admissions. A good write up/explanation by your BGO could help you.