Admission Tours Questions

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sbservice

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Nov 27, 2016
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Hi,

I have been looking all over the Naval Academy site for the answer to this question... Do the tours require a prior appointment and such?

http://www.usnabsd.com/for-visitors/public-tours/
The website does not explicitly state the answer to this question, and I know that most colleges do require prior appointments so I am curious.

I don't wanna come to find out that the public tours require an appointment. Thank you in advance!
 
You've come to the right place. In fact, I just visited USNA this afternoon. Tours do not require appointment. They run every half an hour during the day (you can check exact hours on the website). They do cost $11 for adults, $9 for students. You have a tour guide that brings you around the major attractions (Halsey field house, Bancroft, Chapel, Herndon Monument, etc...)

We had a wonderful guide by the name of Bill Morris. What a great man with so much knowledge about Naval Academy history. Totally worth the 11 bucks and more- plus, all proceeds benefit the Brigade.

Today was the first day of classes, and it was amusing seeing the plebes all disoriented and "out-of-it". Our tour guide greeted a plebe, but turns out he was daydreaming, and didn't reply with the "good afternoon, sir" that we were expecting!
 
For clarification ... I suspect that hiliu00 is referring to paying for tours run out of the Visitors Center, not run by Admissions. The Visitor Center tours are informative, but are open to the general public and really aren't "Admissions Tours" that you see at "normal" colleges.

I know Candidate Guidance has an Open Q&A period during the week, but don't think they run "Admissions Tours" . There are a number of opportunities, like NASS an CVW to get an inside tour.

This is a good time to point out to all the new candidates that USNA is not necessarily like all the other colleges you may be applying to, so some of the services you come to expect, and terminology used by other schools, are not applicable here.
 
As Old Navy BGO says, public tours are available at the Visitors Center and are led by civilians, not students/mids. There is a nominal cost and no reservations are needed. The tours are geared to the general public and thus are more focused on how many people can be served dinner in King Hall at the same time than what life is like as a mid. It is still worth taking the tour if you visit the Yard, but is not really equivalent to a student-led campus tour at a civilian university.

The Admissions Office provides daily briefings (Monday thru Saturday, I think) about the general admissions process and also answers questions. Reservations are not needed for this either but you'll need to check on what time the briefing is held either on the website or by calling.

Well qualified candidates can request a Candidate Visitation Weekend. Search CVW on this site for detailed info but essentially you shadow a plebe for a couple of days. CVWs are held on certain weekends in the fall and spring and offered to juniors and seniors. It probably provides the greatest insight into life at USNA. There is also NASS for rising seniors.

Note that all of the above are provided for your benefit. There is no requirement to do any of them and more than a few successful candidates never set foot in Annapolis before showing up on I-Day. That said, if you can financially afford to visit USNA and participate in NASS and/or a CVW, it can be helpful in deciding whether USNA is right for you.
 
Thank you all for your replies! I really appreciate it. I'm doing the tour and admission briefing this Saturday and hopefully will try for a CVW later in junior year. Thanks again!
 
Hey! I went on the tour and attended an admissions briefing last week. The admissions session was very informative for my parent, who had known practically nothing about the academy beforehand, and it essentially strengthened my desire to want to attend the academy. The tour was led by a graduate of the Naval Academy who also happened to have been Brigade Commander at one point. On the day I went, it was very hot and the tour was mostly outdoors, so I'd suggest bringing water. The guide showed us many facilities and described the history of various monuments and buildings to us. All in all, including the admissions briefing and the tour, my experience at the Naval Academy was very enjoyable and informative. I hope this was useful to you in any way. Have fun!
 
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