Also, just to paint a clearer picture, my DS attended a silver medal high school ranked 7 in the state, took Chem, Physics, pre-Calc, and 3 AP classes with mostly A's. Pretty sure that's why he got an LOA for a direct to USNA in the first place. My humble opinion is that it was just one of those extremely rare situations and since he was young enough to send to NAPS it freed up a spot for a primary nom. Lets face it folks, we won't ever know the reasons behind the admission choices as we aren't sitting in on the board discussions. But we should be aware that any thing can and will happen.
From a parent perspective, I think they all think their DS/DD is very bright. And I'm sure they are. But the
fact of the matter is that the academy has a far more sophisticated method of determining their academic qualifications.
If the academy really wants a candidate to be admitted and, for some reason, there is no room - there are
other ways to get the candidate into the Naval Academy other than sending an extremely bright candidate to NAPS. That's just a waste. The academy, on occasion, will let a candidate know that if they
reapply, the outcome will likely be different. If there is no room, there is no room. If the academy is intent on delaying the candidate's admission for a single year, it's actually a waste of a NAPS spot to send somebody there who is completely academically qualified for direct admission. Somebody who actually
needed that extra academic exposure could've used that spot.
There is a tendency for NAPS parents to be a little defensive. On one hand, they are happy that their son/daughter is virtually guaranteed an appointment (after completing NAPS) but, on the other hand, they hold some resentment that their son/daughter was determined to be lacking when compared to the academic credentials of those who were directly admitted (without attending NAPS).
Some people accept that reality gracefully whereas others tend to be in denial about
why their son/daughter was sent to a preparatory school.
Some NAPS grads continue on to the Naval Academy and do quite well academically. Some continue with their struggles. Some end up taking less-than-challenging courses commensurate with their academic abilities. Believe me, the difference in majoring in Political Science and Aerospace Engineering is so stark, it's as if they are attending two completely different academic institutions. They don't even take the same technical core/professional courses. For instance,
everybody must be exposed to some electrical engineering - even if you're an English major. The English majors take a lighter, less intense version of electrical engineering whereas the Mechanical Engineering students, for instance, have to take the
same courses as the Electrical Engineering majors. The same is true with Thermodynamics.