Anon2021, my DS was in a similar situation. He had been recruited (was told he was among the last two being considered for his position in his junior year, went to a recruits-only weekend), but ultimately the other player being considered got the offer at the end of junior year. That player decommitted and DS was encouraged to stay in touch and let the coach know how the admissions process was going. It was clear he was not a blue chip and he didn't consider himself a recruit at USNA, though he received other D-1 offers. He wanted the Academy with or without the sport he loved. DS received an appointment and walked on to the team during plebe summer and has had a good experience both athletically and academically.
My advice would be to assume you are not a recruit at this point and won't get assistance with the process, and do everything you can to continue to improve your application, *even if you've turned it in*. After he turned in his application, DS was named All-Met, All-Conference and All-State, joined a winter varsity sport for the first time, continued to lead his fall team in a significant service project, took the ACT one more time (finally got that score from a 32 to a 35) and kept Admissions and the MOC committees updated on every one of these things. All these accomplishments strengthened his package and 2 months after turning in his application he got an LOA and a nomination, and an appointment on Christmas Eve. The coach was as pleased and surprised as anyone that DS was appointed, and encouraged him to try to walk on.
While being a recruit certainly helps with admissions, it is possible for a strong student-athlete to get an appointment and walk on. You can't worry about the other candidates - it may seem unfair or counter-intuitive for students with less-impressive academic qualifications to get the admissions "boost" afforded a recruited athlete, but that's just part of life. Once they are in the academy, they have to stay academically satisfactory, and that is a struggle for many.
Good luck to you. Don't give up trying.
My advice would be to assume you are not a recruit at this point and won't get assistance with the process, and do everything you can to continue to improve your application, *even if you've turned it in*. After he turned in his application, DS was named All-Met, All-Conference and All-State, joined a winter varsity sport for the first time, continued to lead his fall team in a significant service project, took the ACT one more time (finally got that score from a 32 to a 35) and kept Admissions and the MOC committees updated on every one of these things. All these accomplishments strengthened his package and 2 months after turning in his application he got an LOA and a nomination, and an appointment on Christmas Eve. The coach was as pleased and surprised as anyone that DS was appointed, and encouraged him to try to walk on.
While being a recruit certainly helps with admissions, it is possible for a strong student-athlete to get an appointment and walk on. You can't worry about the other candidates - it may seem unfair or counter-intuitive for students with less-impressive academic qualifications to get the admissions "boost" afforded a recruited athlete, but that's just part of life. Once they are in the academy, they have to stay academically satisfactory, and that is a struggle for many.
Good luck to you. Don't give up trying.