Acceptence into the Naval Academy

Armand1694

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
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Apr 13, 2009
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Hi, I'm Freshmen at McLean High School and I would like to know my chances of being accepted into the Naval Academy. I am a Iranian-Kurd, fluent in Farsi and can speak a little Kurdish, I have a 3.5 GPA I am in one honors classes, I am also in my school's crew team and involved in some clubs. I am planning to raise my GPA to at least a 3.6 and I am going to get a college credit for taking a leadership course in counter-intelligence, and I am going to get a year ahead in math. Please respond to this message.
 
Well honestly, as with most colleges/universities, your freshman year doesn't really matter too much unless it's really really bad. Everything sounds good. Just aim for the best grades you can possibly get and take hard classes. the academy wants to see that you challenge your self. Work on getting leadership positions in those clubs and in your crew team. If you're worried that you're Iranian Kurdish descent will hurt your chances, do not. Even if you're not an American citizen yet you can still get into the academy. You'll just have to jump through a couple more hoops in the application process but your chances will not be affected. and honestly if this war in the middle east continues your skills in Farsi will actually probably count in your favor. Good luck on getting in.

'13!!!!!!

Go Navy Beat Army!!
 
thanks, I was born in this country, I just want to continue what my family has been doing for generations
 
Why settle for the 3.6? You sound like a smart kid; go for the 4.0. Take the hard classes, challenge yourself. If you're serious about USNA, I would definitely say shoot high. The math sounds great. So, that would put you in...Alg2? Trig? I don't know as my school does it a little differently than others.

I got in with taking the common honors math track at my high school. Just don't slack, keep up the work. Also, if you are involved in clubs, do your best to learn leadership and rise to leadership positions (Boy Scouts, NHS, Tri-M, Varsity and JV Captains, things like that are very helpful); they will help, especially during the nomination stage -- especially from the DC metro area (I live in MoCo in MD).

Good luck!
 
yeah sorry about that, i wasnt sure by your phrasing, but i do agree that you should shoot for a 4.0 just constantly try to make your application better. also while these forums are good you should also go to the USNA website. there is a lot of good info there.
 
armand1694....my daughter decided on 9-11-01 when she was in 8th grade that she was going to go into the military. Knowing her dad went USNA - we waited to see what SHE wanted to do...but knew her dream was a possibility.

Turned out she MEANT IT!! We mapped out a 5 year plan with her - starting with summer school between 8th grade and high school.

We had a huge head start being our girl was the baby of our 5 and by this time we knew every sport and every honors class option at our very large high school. (We had lots of AP and International Baccaleurate classes available, and she took all the hardest ones....finally finished with 11 AP classes, if I recall accurately.)

She was already on a swim club team ....so we kept that going. She herself looked for leadership opportunities and chose Civil Air Patrol. There are so many ways to 'fill in these blanks' on your USNA application.

She found out who the BGO was for her school and starting in freshman year began an email correspondance with him. At the end of freshman and sophomore years she sent him a short bio of all her grades/activities, etc.

She never wavered from her goal of USNA acceptance - but it took a ton of dedicated hard work - lots of 'no's' to friends in the junior and senior years of high school when they wanted to hang out on weekends late, and she had to get up for a swim meet, or take SAT's or train for Civil Air Patrol, etc. Getting by on 5 hours sleep was the norm.

So if you are serious - I'd encourage you to talk with your parents so they are onboard with this major committment and focus of your life. Talk to a local USNA family, and hopefully a local BGO. Map out your own reasonable '4 year plan' - and ask anything you need to from us on this forum.

My girl is now a Second Class - living in Amman, Jordan for the entire semester. She is an Arabic major, plans to go Marine and is having the opportunity to be culturally immersed in ways that should help our future Officers to better understand the challenges of the Middle East.

May God go with your heart's desire to serve your country!
 
"but it took a ton of dedicated hard work - lots of 'no's' to friends in the junior and senior years of high school when they wanted to hang out on weekends late"
Peskemom, I guess this is a recurrence among most Academy candidates and appointees :)... my friends bug me about it everyday but I know it was for the best :) Congratulations to your daughter- and to you!
 
Just to chime in from someone who took a different approach from Peskemom's daughter . . . I didn't decide that I wanted to attend USNA until Memorial Day WE of my junior year. Of course, that was a long time ago, the college-admissions world was different and, luckily, I had strong academic prep from a very strong high school which undoubtedly helped my cause.

For those of you out there who didn't start prepping for USNA in 8th grade, or 9th or even 10th, don't think that your chances are shot. Lots of young people aren't sure until later in their h.s. careers -- or even later -- that a SA and/or the military is right for them. I've worked with many successful USNA candidates over the years who fall into this group.

Every student who desires to attend college should do his/her best to score well on the SATs/ACTs, take challenging h.s. courses, do well in them, participate in extra-curricular activities, participate in sports, etc. That strong "core" will serve you well regardless of your college plans.
 
usnahopeful...thanks for your kind words. The hard part for me as the mom was to watch how arduous the road was for my 'baby' girl. She really did all the work. But I also knew that if she was going to have problems managing her time, or balancing all her committments, or getting out of control mentally/emotionally on such little sleep, or tanking in her grades with all her outside events....the time to know this was in high school when she was still at home, and still able to make changes to her life's path that don't result in huge emotional issues like separation from a Service Academy. Since she did find a way to keep everything together at home - the transistion to the stress of Plebe year at least was do-able for her, since she knew she had done alot of the mental/physical/emotional/intellectual preparation in high school.

usna1985 - my hubby USNA 1972 - didn't decide until the end of junior year to consider USNA. It was suggested to this rural, pastor's son - by a friend who was also a BGO....on the idea that it would be a top notch education and a way to help pay for his own education ( 7 kids in the family) Hubby had one interview with a congressman and it seemed 'effortlessly' got his Appointment. Now this was the Vietnam era - so maybe the draw was lower - but I suspect today's numbers from competitive areas make your and his experiences unusual.
 
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For those of you out there who didn't start prepping for USNA in 8th grade, or 9th or even 10th, don't think that your chances are shot.

usna1985 - my hubby USNA 1972 - didn't decide until the end of junior year to consider USNA.

I only started to consider it because:
a) my friend had just returned from USNA SS that summer and urged me to do it;
b) I had to work on the application that early to do it;
it kind of grew on me and I discovered that's what I wanted...right after SS last summer!
 
I was wonder that being Iranian and knowing Farsi will give me a advantage.
 
Being a minority will definitely help you.
Knowing several different language will give you an advantage.
 
I only started to consider it because:
a) my friend had just returned from USNA SS that summer and urged me to do it;

That, BTW, is the purpose of NASS -- to encourage people to apply to USNA who otherwise might not do so.

I realize that college admissions are different today than in my day. However, over the years I've worked with quite a few candidates who have come to their decisions late. IF you have a strong academic background (have taken challenging courses, including math and science, and done well in them), have played h.s. varsity sports (as a general rule), and have been active in ECAs in or outside of school, you have an excellent shot at USNA.

The SAs recognize that not everyone has the desire to attend from an early age. Some of the recruiting is specifically targeted at students who might not have heard about USNA or might not have considered it an option for them.

Bottome line: if you know from day 1 that you want to attend a SA, there are things you can do to improve your chances. However, if you come to the decision late, and have generally prepared yourself for college, you will still likely be in good shape.
 
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