I watched a USNA Admissions live stream and they said that the earlier you submit your application, the earlier the board will review it. What does this mean and how does the process work? If this is the case why do they take so long to deliver appointments?
Though it’s impossible to know exactly what happens “behind the green curtain” (think Oz), a few factors pertain:
- First and foremost, every application deserves thoughtful and conscientious scrutiny, regardless of when submitted. There are many applications to wade through, and they pass through many reviews of various kinds. The various teams at Admissions do a careful and painstaking job of reviewing records.
- Secondly, the process of racking and stacking, as well as comparing apps from a non-ranked slate, and later, managing the national pool and all the nom categories, is complex.
- App deadline is 31 Jan, and I believe elected officials’ deadline to get their slates in is the same - no offer of appointment to anyone without a nom. You will see some appointments go out earlier to those with Presidentials and other service-related noms, or a ROTC nom, but the bell curve starts climbing in earnest after the first of the year. Several hundred people qualify for the Presidential nom each year, but only 100 appointments are charged to that category. It would not be prudent to burn through that category before all apps were in.
- College applicants need to get their first semester grades in.
- NAPSters and sponsored prepster offers happen later on the bell curve, when their prep success is a sure thing.
- There might be superb packages with the requisite nom, but a medical waiver process is holding them up. If you were one of those, and your waiver process was edging into April, do you want the appointments to stop flowing well before that?
- I am quite sure for the majority of applications, it is not one look and let’s offer an appointment. That might be the case for a few.
- There is a process, it is time-consuming and thorough, and it is performed by teams of conscientious professionals who want to build the best class they can that meets Navy and Marine Corps needs.
- Two pieces of advice are often repeated here on SAF: (1) Submit your BEST package as EARLY as you can. (2) Don’t invest energy in things you can’t control.