Has anyone joined the Navy after being rejected, and then reapplied to USNA and got in?

Infiniduck

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I thought I wanted to do cybersecurity/computer engineering, and I still do but if I go to Virginia tech I'll be almost 200k in debt and I didnt apply to ROTC soon enough. So now I pretty much have to decide between 200k in debt, ~60k in debt and doing my last 3 years at Virginia tech in ROTC, or joining the Navy and reapplying to the Naval Academy.
 
I don't understand your logic. Why not go to an instate school with NROTC and major in computer engineering? Do well freshman year and earn a 3 year scholarship. That should set you back $20k and keep you on the path you want.
 
I thought I wanted to do cybersecurity/computer engineering, and I still do but if I go to Virginia tech I'll be almost 200k in debt and I didnt apply to ROTC soon enough. So now I pretty much have to decide between 200k in debt, ~60k in debt and doing my last 3 years at Virginia tech in ROTC, or joining the Navy and reapplying to the Naval Academy.

Just go to community college for a year that you can pay for out of pocket. Then go to the Naval Academy.
 
To answer your question, sounds like something that's happened at some point over the past hundred years. But agree with the others: there are better, more-direct routes to go.
 
I don't understand your logic. Why not go to an instate school with NROTC and major in computer engineering? Do well freshman year and earn a 3 year scholarship. That should set you back $20k and keep you on the path you want.
Because I already accepted Virginia tech and it's too late to go somewhere else
 
Because I already accepted Virginia tech and it's too late to go somewhere else

It is rarely if ever too late to sign up for classes at a community college.

As a financial planner, I do NOT recommend going into $200K in debt just because you missed a deadline!!!

Four years ago, my DS was nominated to USMA and USNA but did not get in. He also failed to receive an NROTC/MO scholarship. He could have taken on major debt and attended an out-of-state SMC that accepted him, or attend a local state university and switch to Army ROTC as a "walk-on" cadet. He chose the latter.

He ended up earning a three year campus-based AROTC scholarship which was extended to 3.5 years.

Two weeks ago, he commissioned active duty and reports to Armored BOLC in January.

He is also debt free with money in the bank.
 
Because I already accepted Virginia tech and it's too late to go somewhere else

Many colleges accept late applications. Look at their websites or call Admissions. The suggestions to go in-state or community are excellent. If they don’t have NROTC, check for cross-town school affiliations with a school that does. Even if you do a year at community, you can still try for a USNA and 4-year school and NROTC next year.

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/applying-101/late-applications

If you’ve accepted Va Tech, then decline, have you determined what you lose? Your deposit? Probably a lot less than six figures.

There are lots of ways to go here, and being wary of massive debt is a good thing.

Whatever you do, be sure and take the most plebe-like schedule you can, and ace it.

As a boss of mine used to say, “unless Moses carried it down from a mountain top written on a stone tablet, everything can be changed.”
 
What follows is just my opinion:

Joining the military to pay for college is not bad, if you actually want to be in the military. Joining the military solely as a means to avoid college debt shouldn't be the primary factor here, unless you just like being debt-free and don't really care about doing what you want to do, or (more importantly) what you don't want to do, for several years.
 
As a boss of mine used to say, “unless Moses carried it down from a mountain top written on a stone tablet, everything can be changed.”

A gut-busting scene from the 20th Century comedy classic "Mel Brooks' History of the World": Moses comes down from the mountain, struggling to carry three large stone tablets. Says he, "I bring from God these fifteen..." -- suddenly his perilous hold on the tablets fails and he drops one of them -- "...TEN commandments!"
 
Four years ago, my DS was nominated to USMA and USNA but did not get in. He also failed to receive an NROTC/MO scholarship. He could have taken on major debt and attended an out-of-state SMC that accepted him, or attend a local state university and switch to Army ROTC as a "walk-on" cadet. He chose the latter.

He ended up earning a three year campus-based AROTC scholarship which was extended to 3.5 years.

Two weeks ago, he commissioned active duty and reports to Armored BOLC in January.

He is also debt free with money in the bank.
And as the USNA superintendent said Friday at graduation, “Nobody will care where you went to college.”
 
Two separate issues. One is paying for college. The other is joining the USN as an enlisted and reapplying to USNA.

In terms of paying for college, fully agree that you should not attend VT just because you said you would and/or put down a deposit. You might try contacting them, telling them that upon further review you can't make that sort of financial commitment and see if they'll let you out. My guess is that they will b/c there are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of folks on their wait list who would love to be able to attend.

You can sign up for CC for this year probably until classes start in August and then consider your options, including ROTC, for next year.

As for the military, there are many threads about applying to USNA from the enlisted ranks. Just do some quick searching. Bottom line is that enlisting is not the best or easiest way to get into USNA. You're better off doing that from college, even a CC.
 
Also make sure you seem like a good candidate before you change everything to apply to USNA
 
Coincidentally, VPI is offering over 1500 incoming freshmen financial incentives to delay starting for a year or at least a semester. Three programs are available to include VT paying for community college and one that pays 1000 scholarship for four years if the student delays starting a year. Apparently more students accepted admission than anticipated.
 
Isn’t this taken out of context from Supe’s speech

The Supe was telling the Class of 2019 that they would be in the Fleet with newly-commissioned officers from ROTC and OCS who are also highly qualified and ready to excel. Thus, it would be their performance -- not the college they attended -- that would count going forward.
 
Not USNA, but USMA.
DD was a first time non select. We talked her into plan B, going to college on a D1 athletic scholarship. She reapplied to USMA, but came home at Christmas and told us she dropped out, walked away from her scholarship, wrote the senator who gave her a nomination politely declining it, and enlisted in the Army.
She reapplied to USMA later was accepted and is excelling.
It’s not a route for everyone. Understand that there are no guarantees. Only go this route if you are prepared to fulfill your enlistment contract.
On the flip side sometimes people just need a break from school and that’s what our DD needed. She just needed to go blow stuff up, jump out of airplanes and shoot things... ya know... mature a little.
 
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The Supe was telling the Class of 2019 that they would be in the Fleet with newly-commissioned officers from ROTC and OCS who are also highly qualified and ready to excel. Thus, it would be their performance -- not the college they attended -- that would count going forward.
In the context of military service that is largely true. But I can tell you that in the world of business it can have a large impact.
 
The Supe was telling the Class of 2019 that they would be in the Fleet with newly-commissioned officers from ROTC and OCS who are also highly qualified and ready to excel. Thus, it would be their performance -- not the college they attended -- that would count going forward.
In the context of military service that is largely true. But I can tell you that in the world of business it can have a large impact.

Very true (though I've had many, many people disagree with me on this thru the years). As somebody who served in the USAF and has been "the boss" in business for the past 30+ years, I can assure you that WHERE you go to college CAN have a huge (and sometimes unfair), impact on your future business career/earnings/promotions/etc. Many schools have local/regional/national "networks" that facilitate an individuals' business career success. For whatever reason, some colleges have brand recognition as well and that can often help to get you in the door. On the positive side however, usually if you bust your butt, you can distinguish yourself wherever you went to college.
 
IMHO, the college you attended doesn’t have as much of an impact as the graduate school you attended (in professions where this is required). There are exceptions. College/grad school affiliation CAN open doors. In the end, if you don’t perform, it won’t much matter where you went to school.
 
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