This is not necessarily true. NAPS is not specifically for persons who are academically unqualified. It is another way for persons who did not receive a nomination to gain admittance to the academy
With all due respect, obtaining a "nomination" to USAFA or USMA does not equate to being academically qualified for Admission to USNA (or any other Service Academy). The official position is that NAPS/Foundation is automatically considered if a person is found not Qualified (the Admissions Board "Q"), and is independent of whether a candidate has a nomination.
My daughter received a nomination to West Point & Air Force but Navy was already taken. She was then offered NAPS & is currently there.
Non-sequitor; there are many, many variables involved, including number and quality of applicants applying for each Service Academy. Did DS receive an Offer of Appointment to USMA or USAFA ? Even qualification at USMA or USAFA does not necessarily equal qualification at USNA.
Can NAPS be used to park an athlete a year, or get around the nomination process for someone that Admissions really wants to get in ...sure,
but I am sure that no one at Admissions says it publicly. I have seen many parents here try to justify why DS/DD went to NAPS/Foundation, and certainly get that all parents think their kid is perfect...but in almost all cases there is something that caused Admissions to think that this candidate could use another year of preparation. It's nothing to be ashamed of....in fact, it really is a blessing in disguise.
And before someone thinks I am being critical...full disclosure, I went through NAPS, I got my a$$ kicked in calculus at NAPS, almost failed out. I learned how to study and manage time. I will admit, I was disappointed when I didn't get in first time, but look back now at it and recognize it as the best thing that ever happened to me. A true sea story .... sitting in the Wardroom on my First Class cruise, I told the Skipper that I had gone to NAPS "because I was too stupid to get in the first time..." He looked at me with a deadpan stare, and told me his son was at NAPs.... Oops ! I smoothed it out when I explained to him what a great program it was and how it had helped me, and that I was in the top 10% of my class.