Rotc, usna, naps

62kumar62

5-Year Member
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As a senior in high school I have two priorities.
1. Go to College
2. Join the Navy

I applied to the USNA but may not get in due to an Admissions SNAFU and I applied for a NROTC scholarship. If the Academy (my number one choice) denies me and instead sends me to NAPS, would it be better to take the NROTC scholarship or go to NAPS given the fact that I will probably reapply to the Academy after my freshman year at college.

Essentially I don't know which one is a better choice and I would really appreciate any advice you can give
 
Do you have a NROTC scholarship already? The reason I ask is I would e surprised if you have a NROTC scholarship that you would be NAPS material. My DS has received both NROTC and AFROTC scholarships and is waiting on USNA or AFA. From what he has been told by his BGO, it would be pretty unlikely he would be offered a NAPS appointment considering he was competitive enough to receive a ROTC scholarship so if not appointed to the USNA he will most likely get the "Qualified, no vacancy letter" and not NAPS.
 
I concur with crair, the likelihood of getting NAPS and NROTC scholarship would not be common.

NAPS exists for academic foundation purposes, and NROTC scholarships typically go to stellar academic students, it would be opposing ends to have both.

There is no clear cut answer to your question. The fact is yr after yr every candidate that gets the QNS swears on their life they will be back next yr., but for now will take the scholarship. Typically what you see the next yr is maybe 25% re-apply. They move on with their life, find out they can get their dream career out of NROTC, and love the friendships they have made at college too much to uproot and do 1 more yr for the same goal...commissioning.

Yes, for many their real desire is that SA life and education. So, if that is your number 1 desire take NAPS if you get both. NAPS you will be as close to "IN" as you can get. Be realistic the Navy is not going to pay for NAPS if you have the same shot as an NROTC mid or a HS SR.
 
I think i might get the NAPS more due to average CFA scores and the drama surrounding my application. Or will I be flat out denied by the Academy because of this? I'm not unfit but no Matter how hard I work I will never be one of the fittest midshipmen.
 
My daughter received both a NAPS offer and NROTC Scholarship. She chose NAPS because her heart was set on USNA.
 
NAPS slot & ROTC Scholarship slot -very rare combo

That combination is very unusual. Typically, if you are academically qualified for an NROTC scholarship you would tend to be academically "over qualified" for NAPS. Glad she was offered an option which puts her on the most direct path to her goal of an academy appointment.
 
I received my NROTC scholarship, but I was recently received an e-mail from USNA asking for my senior year grades. I was under the understanding that USNA didn't look at senior year grades. Does anybody have any idea what this might mean?
 
They might be on the fence about your grades.

It could be a very good thing. Hopefully you did well this past semester.
 
SA's, typically ask every candidate for 7th semester grades (fall sr. yr).

ROTC and SA selection process are different with different criteria. This is not uncommon at all, and I would not read into it too much.
 
ROTC quicker than NAPS

My DD received a four-year NROTC scholarship in January, but today received her rejection letter from USNA; they did not consider NAPS for her either. Had NAPS been offered, she would have turned it down and continued with her plan to attend Purdue NROTC. ROTC is a faster path than NAPS.

In the end, the commission is one-in-the-same. All midshipman matriculate as Ensigns, and those from traditional universities graduate with more maturity and well-rounded. I can say this from serving nine-years active duty under both ring-knockers and rotc grads.
 
My DD received a four-year NROTC scholarship in January, but today received her rejection letter from USNA; they did not consider NAPS for her either. Had NAPS been offered, she would have turned it down and continued with her plan to attend Purdue NROTC. ROTC is a faster path than NAPS.

In the end, the commission is one-in-the-same. All midshipman matriculate as Ensigns, and those from traditional universities graduate with more maturity and well-rounded. I can say this from serving nine-years active duty under both ring-knockers and rotc grads.

Wouldn't that depend on the individual officer, not the source of commissioning?
 
Wouldn't that depend on the individual officer, not the source of commissioning?
Environment plays a pretty significant role in how a person matures, don't you think?

those from traditional universities graduate with more maturity and well-rounded. I can say this from serving nine-years active duty under both ring-knockers and rotc grads.
Interesting observation.

First, it is important to underscore the fact that this is your observation based on the officers you were exposed to, which is a limited set of data from which to draw a broad conclusion! (not that I doubt you).

Second, this is a fascinating topic. When an 18 yr. goes to college, I suppose there are three basic categories for a mid:

1) Live at home, go to college, participate in NROTC
2) Go OFF to college, participate in NROTC, separating the daily contact with parental authority, little formal structure and very few constraints on choices and behavior, and inviduating and self-governing.
3) Go OFF to USNA, replacing Parental Authority with Military Authority, with lots of structure and many constraints on choices and behavior, with less individuation and self-governing.

These three types of experiences will naturally affect maturity in the student in different ways.

I wonder if the third category, the USxA, doesn't aid is some areas of maturity, but ****** in others. By this I mean USNA will aid in the mature ability to follow direction, take joint responsibility for oneself AND those in one's formal group,, fully understand the link between actions and consequences, manage the scarce resource called TIME efficiently, learn to defer immediate gratification, etc.

On the other hand, there isn't a lot of freedom to explore some of the things the traditional college student can -- unusual academic curriculum, free hours, free weekends, partying in town, drug, drinking and fraternal societies, exposure to deadbeats, anti-country morons, drugheads, extremely self-serving people, etc.

So, for me your comment about maturity needs clarifying. What type of maturity? Does one emerge from NROTC at a traditional campus with any kind of understanding and ability to navigate among civilians better than one who emerges from the Naval Academy?

I suspect some forms of maturity are better developed at the Academy, and some at NROTC. Since they are such different environments, it isn't reasonable to assume these young mids would mature in the same way.

I think this discussion would sound very similar to one about very strict parenting vs. less strict parenting, and which ultimately leads to a more mature adult.
 
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Congratulations to your DD. Is she going Marine option or Navy?
 
I agree with Dunninla regarding this issue.

The environment plays a factor, as life experience. I think it comes down to the person and there is no way to place a blanket statement that X over Y or Z equates to a better officer.

Like Dunninla stated, it is equivalent to deciding strict or less strict parenting. My MIL told me @ 20 yrs ago, you have 5 fingers, and you love all of them, but treat them differently, same with your kids and people in your life, work or social.

A mature person, be it SA, ROTC or OCS gets that fact as a leader. Each path will try to instill it into their mids, but they(Navy) can't force them to change their personal mindset. That trait was there already and IMPO the commissioning path can't change it.
 
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