Any discussion is anecdotal. While data points help satisfy curiosity, it doesn’t necessarily apply in all cases.
My son had an loa (thank God we didn’t know what an loa was before he got it) and a nomination before he scheduled his medical exam late. He was dq’d when they got his results in late December. Waiver process started right away. He got his waiver end of January. The waiver took about one month. The colorblind waiver has to be signed off by superintendent.
There were 15 colorblind waivers for his class. My son remarked to me that the other colorblind midshipmen were all very smart.
He has been happy his whole time at USNA.
He signed an agreement that he would accept where they put him, including marines.
He was a chemistry major his plebe year, but switched before his second year to aerospace engineering (switching majors before your third semester is complete needs approval). He sought out the communities he could select, including intelligence, amdo, seabees, supply, and marines.
He was recently told he would he was going seabees, but right now we aren’t sure if that will be where he ends up going.
There are great opportunities outside the unrestricted line. You have four years and incredible resources and billets to find your passion. He found his. And he looks forward to his career in the navy.