Advice

[lazycat890]

Hi
This is my first post and I don't really know at all what I'm doing.
I am a junior in High School and throughout HS, I have recently considered becoming an officer in the military, I would really like to go to a service academy, but besides maybe my SAT score, I am lacking in almost every other aspect. Until recently I was a slacker, never really doing much. I kinda just let the world go by and didn't do anything important, therefore I didn't do any athletics, have a pretty bad unweighted GPA, and have little leadership experience. I became interested in the service academies, especially the naval academy, I understand the application process and how the earlier I apply, the better my chances, but because it is so late in my junior year I have almost no time to do anything that could help add my resume. It would be almost no chance for me to get in, and although going to a state school and doing ROTC there was always an option, I definitely would prefer to go to a SA.

What do you think?
If I do ROTC should I go to a SMC? Somewhere else?
Should I attempt to try to improve my resume and try again next year? I have no idea how that would even work.



SAT score: 1300
GPA: ~3.2 unweighted

I am really studding to get my SAT score up and on practice tests I have gotten around the1400s+

Like I said I have almost no leadership experience aside from 100 service hours I am aiming for by the end of HS

 

[Hope2026]

Hello, OP. I would like to start off by first taking part with you in the collective sigh that is learning about SAs rather late in the HS game. I, too, learned of USNA during my junior year, and had almost nothing to discern myself from the crowd other than the type of HS I attended, participation in an unranked sport due to the nature of said HS, and some change in service hours. My grades were very competitive, but this also happened to be the year where AP Chemistry was haunting my nightmares, a subject that I would come to learn is part and parcel of a Naval Academy education (and it was certainly not going to get any easier!). Essentially, I was in exactly the same shoes as you are now, sans grades. No, my great brick wall was athleticism, yet another bread and butter aspect of military service, in general. Regardless, I felt incredibly confident that I could still get into the Academy right out of the gate. The TWE said otherwise . The following is quite a long story, but you can find and read it in the Third Attempt Club thread, if you so choose. It might be of encouragement to you.

With that all being said, here's my million-dollar question for you. Why do you want serve? It's a seemingly simple question, but it is one of the most serious and important questions any one of us can ask ourselves along our respective journeys. You may find that the answer fluctuates, changing as you grow with new experiences. However, my point is to get you to start learning about yourself, to help you start answering related questions, such as why you did not apply yourself to extracurriculars, why you have not taken leadership initiative, why your GPA is a 3.2, and why you appear to be a potentially adept test taker? Through much questioning, you'll end up painting a rough draft of a portrait of yourself, and it's entirely up to you to determine whether you like that picture or not. That, in my very personal experience, is the first step towards being worthy of an appointment to a SA.

So, my advice in this stage of the game? Leave nothing on the table this year. Start PTing as if your life depended upon it. Work relentlessly on your academics. Figure out who you are and what you're about at this point in your life. Answer the hard questions. FIND A BACKUP OPTION (think junior/senior military colleges or those with ROTC programs). Most importantly-and this is fortunately something you are already doing-, ask for help!!! No one, and I do mean no one, got to where they are now without help and support. All the drive and training in the world will not place a person at the finish line of a marathon without the food and water, event planning, supplies, and moral support provided by others. It does not matter what form it comes in or how you got it; you need the support of others to continue along your journey. I am living proof of that fact, and so is everyone else in this forum.

If you truly desire to go to a SA, there must be an aspect within you that wishes to be of service to others. Tap into that part. Fuel it in every way possible. Let it become you. Even if you do not attend a SA, you can still serve in a million other ways, be it through alternate routes to a commission, enlistment, first response, the medical community, community services, vocational practices, etc.

Above all else, do not give up on yourself.

 

[AROTC-dad]

It is very late to impact your GPA because you are almost done with HS. Getting your SAT higher is your best bet.

Follow your BGO's guidance to get your profile as strong as possible.

• Be clear eyed and understand that in your case, USNA or any SA is a long-shot. But you miss 100% of the shots you don't take!
• Apply to both SMC's and State Schools along with NROTC (and AROTC and AFROTC scholarship applications).
• Even if you don't get a scholarship or an SA, walk-on to an ROTC program.
  • Back in 2016, my DS was a walk-on and earned a campus based 3.5 year scholarship in 2016 (TWE from USNA and USMA and NROTC/MO, plus he did not apply for AROTC scholarship).
  • He attended a state school and taught snowboarding each winter for extra money.
  • He graduated debt free and commissioned active duty, earning his first choice of branch (armor).
  • He now commands an Abrams tank platoon and just bought his first house with no help from mom/dad.

 

[AN21]

Don't forget that NROTC is a great opportunity too! 2026 was my second year applying to USNA, and I'm very thankful for the year of growth I had.

 

[Huursoldaat]

You could take a longer range plan. Do your best to get your grades and SATs up and get into the best STEM based program you can, along with ROTC. Knock it out of the park and then apply to SA as a college applicant. I don't know if they look back at your high school record as a college applicant, but you could use it as the basis of your personal statement. Own your whole history. "I was a screw off for many years ....". At least admissions will know you are honest!

 

[Dr. Strange Love]

.
SAT is the great equalizer. Focus on getting your score above 1375 … above 1400 optimally.

With a lower than average entering class GPA, they can possibly decide to send you to NAPS to shore up your Math, Chem, and Physics skill sets.

Start running a lot too … and join the Cross Country team for fun and extra motivation.
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