Annapolis Bound - Thank You to All Posters!

[USNAMid22]

This is my first time posting in this Forum.

I just want to say thank you to many of you for mentorship and guide, helping the Class of 2022 to complete their journey. Reading your posts really enhanced my judgement and direction. A special thank you to all the veteran posters here! You're awesome!

Some of us made it, some did not, some will, and some will in the near future. I applaud every candidates seeking entry into Academies and to ROTC Programs. Your decision to serve our country is above all most honorable. We are brothers and sisters in our service.

I will be a new Mid, a Plebe, at the US Naval Academy in June. I must say, I started my path not knowing I will be a Midshipman at Annapolis. My path to Annapolis is an example that you may end up where you didn't plan to be most of your childhood. The outcome can be different but it's another awesome outcome to embrace. I'm very excited to join the Class of 2022 at Annapolis.

I began my journey in 6th grade to become a West Point Cadet one day. I had tremendous support throughout my youth from my family, my dad's friends in the Military, the West Point Society, and my Scouting community that is part of the US Military community. My great grandfather is a retired flag officer in the Air Force, my grandfather was in the Army and a veteran in the Korean War, and I am joining the Navy. I will be the first in our family to go Navy.

Starting early in life, I felt that I did everything right and even feel that I did things beyond what Academies and colleges suggested to do and achieve to give myself a chance for an Appointment. To experience the service and to make the right choice, I attended West Point Summer Leader Experience and the Air Force Academy Summer Seminar. I attended Naval Academy's CVW and Coast Guard Academy's Academy Experience Program and was given a 5 hour flight training mission on UH60 with the Coast Guard. I felt that all these programs represented Academies in their best to candidates considering each schools. In November, after being awarded ROTC National Scholarships from AROTC, AFROTC with Type 1 in any major, NROTC Tier 3 in any major, I was invited by Yale, Harvard/MIT to experience ROTC Classes and Training on campus.

In the end, I received 1 Nomination from my MOCs. No matter how well I thought I was prepared in Scholarship, Leadership, Athletics, and Volunteer Service and with numerous National level awards, coming from a highly competitive district and state, it did not give me much choice. I had to pick ONLY ONE Academy. Wow what a bummer, after all the preparations to seek Appointment to Academies, I could only pick ONE Academy to qualify for ONE Nomination. With an LOA from the Naval Academy in September, I chose the Navy.

In the end, you only pick ONE academy or ONE college to accept your Appointment. On May 1, I wrote to the colleges and Academy that graciously offered me a seat in their class thanking them and informing them I am accepting my Appointment to Annapolis. West Point and Air Force Academy said that I would have been Appointed if I had a Nomination so I should reapply to the next class with a very high chance for an Appointment. I thanked them and informed them that I would like to attend as a visiting Midshipman in my Junior year. I wrote to Yale to inform them that I will no longer stay on their Wait List.

The decision to go Naval Academy has been such a tremendous lift, I feel very fortunate and exhilarated that I chose this path! Many of you who had similar experience may understand. The path you chose may not be the path you envisioned, but the new path is another extraordinary journey about to begin. I applaud my class for your achievements, commitment, and for demonstrating your best character throughout the admissions process and decisions.

I sincerely thank my dad," CrewDad," for being my mentor, my coach in life! My sincere best wishes to you all and I look forward to meeting some of you in the Class of 2022 at Annapolis!

Best Navy! Best Army! Two Teams, One Fight!

USNAMid22!

 

[SCMids]

This is my first time posting in this Forum.

I just want to say thank you to many of you for mentorship and guide, helping the Class of 2022 to complete their journey. Reading your posts really enhanced my judgement and direction. A special thank you to all the veteran posters here! You're awesome!

Some of us made it, some did not, some will, and some will in the near future. I applaud every candidates seeking entry into Academies and to ROTC Programs. Your decision to serve our country is above all most honorable. We are brothers and sisters in our service.

I will be a new Mid, a Plebe, at the US Naval Academy in June. I must say, I started my path not knowing I will be a Midshipman at Annapolis. My path to Annapolis is an example that you may end up where you didn't plan to be most of your childhood. The outcome can be different but it's another awesome outcome to embrace. I'm very excited to join the Class of 2022 at Annapolis.

I began my journey in 6th grade to become a West Point Cadet one day. I had tremendous support throughout my youth from my family, my dad's friends in the Military, the West Point Society, and my Scouting community that is part of the US Military community. My great grandfather is a retired flag officer in the Air Force, my grandfather was in the Army and a veteran in the Korean War, and I am joining the Navy. I will be the first in our family to go Navy.

Starting early in life, I felt that I did everything right and even feel that I did things beyond what Academies and colleges suggested to do and achieve to give myself a chance for an Appointment. To experience the service and to make the right choice, I attended West Point Summer Leader Experience and the Air Force Academy Summer Seminar. I attended Naval Academy's CVW and Coast Guard Academy's Academy Experience Program and was given a 5 hour flight training mission on UH60 with the Coast Guard. I felt that all these programs represented Academies in their best to candidates considering each schools. In November, after being awarded ROTC National Scholarships from AROTC, AFROTC with Type 1 in any major, NROTC Tier 3 in any major, I was invited by Yale, Harvard/MIT to experience ROTC Classes and Training on campus.

In the end, I received 1 Nomination from my MOCs. No matter how well I thought I was prepared in Scholarship, Leadership, Athletics, and Volunteer Service and with numerous National level awards, coming from a highly competitive district and state, it did not give me much choice. I had to pick ONLY ONE Academy. Wow what a bummer, after all the preparations to seek Appointment to Academies, I could only pick ONE Academy to qualify for ONE Nomination. With an LOA from the Naval Academy in September, I chose the Navy.

In the end, you only pick ONE academy or ONE college to accept your Appointment. On May 1, I wrote to the colleges and Academy that graciously offered me a seat in their class thanking them and informing them I am accepting my Appointment to Annapolis. West Point and Air Force Academy said that I would have been Appointed if I had a Nomination so I should reapply to the next class with a very high chance for an Appointment. I thanked them and informed them that I would like to attend as a visiting Midshipman in my Junior year. I wrote to Yale to inform them that I will no longer stay on their Wait List.

The decision to go Naval Academy has been such a tremendous lift, I feel very fortunate and exhilarated that I chose this path! Many of you who had similar experience may understand. The path you chose may not be the path you envisioned, but the new path is another extraordinary journey about to begin. I applaud my class for your achievements, commitment, and for demonstrating your best character throughout the admissions process and decisions.

I sincerely thank my dad," CrewDad," for being my mentor, my coach in life! My sincere best wishes to you all and I look forward to meeting some of you in the Class of 2022 at Annapolis!

Best Navy! Best Army! Two Teams, One Fight!

USNAMid22!

Congrats! Make us all proud!

 

[billyb]

Just curious.... if you would have had a LOA from USAFA and USMA along with the one from USNA, which academy would you have chosen for the nomination?

 

[ders_dad]

USNAMid22-

Good luck to you! I've found your dad's posts to be of great assistance to us on our journey. Here's hoping that DS joins you next year (maybe as fellow member of USNA's NESA).

 

[Old Navy BGO]

On May 1, I wrote to the colleges and Academy that graciously offered me a seat in their class thanking them and informing them I am accepting my Appointment to Annapolis.

> Very classy ...BZ !

coming from a highly competitive district and state, it did not give me much choice. I had to pick ONLY ONE Academy.

West Point and Air Force Academy said that I would have been Appointed if I had a Nomination so I should reapply to the next class with a very high chance for an Appointment

> Unfortunate. MOC should be picking the best candidates for their nominations, even if it means doubling up nominations. In talking to Congressional staffers in my area, they really don't understand how Noms and Appointments works. Sounds like you were a top candidate and earned the opportunity to make the choice with all things equal.

That being said, and while I am obviously biased, you have made a good choice. USNA has a lot of opportunities for someone like you ... If you want to lead troops on the ground, there is nothing better than USMC. Beyond that , you may learn that you have a passion for the sea (both over or under), or Aviation.

Best of luck to you...enjoy Annapolis. If I was 18, I'd want to to do it all over again !

 

[USNAMid22]

On May 1, I wrote to the colleges and Academy that graciously offered me a seat in their class thanking them and informing them I am accepting my Appointment to Annapolis.

> Very classy ...BZ !

coming from a highly competitive district and state, it did not give me much choice. I had to pick ONLY ONE Academy.

West Point and Air Force Academy said that I would have been Appointed if I had a Nomination so I should reapply to the next class with a very high chance for an Appointment

> Unfortunate. MOC should be picking the best candidates for their nominations, even if it means doubling up nominations. In talking to Congressional staffers in my area, they really don't understand how Noms and Appointments works. Sounds like you were a top candidate and earned the opportunity to make the choice with all things equal.

That being said, and while I am obviously biased, you have made a good choice. USNA has a lot of opportunities for someone like you ... If you want to lead troops on the ground, there is nothing better than USMC. Beyond that , you may learn that you have a passion for the sea (both over or under), or Aviation.

Best of luck to you...enjoy Annapolis. If I was 18, I'd want to to do it all over again !

Thank you very much Sir!

I am grateful for the journey given to me. Getting an Appointment to a world-class Naval Academy has been the goal. But the most precious of all is the experience and maturity I gained along the way. I learned better time management and I have grown very comfortable with academics even with new subjects. I Pushed my personal limit and worked with my family, my dad, my mentors, coaches, teachers, recommenders, my classmates, Army, Navy, Air Force officers and NCOs, Scoutmasters, and Scouts, they have all contributed in transforming me along the way. I have become a changed man. In few days, I will turn 18 and I feel I have earned my manhood! And I will not be who I am without some disappointment and minor failures along the way. I learned humility, gained fraternity, and have a stronger compass on my moral courage.

I am fully embracing Annapolis. Even though I live in New York, I visited the Academy 3 times in the past 9 months, while I visited West Point 5 times over 9 years. With each visits, I have grown to embrace the Academy as my own and my home. I am looking forward to the Academy culture, to learn seamanship and the new Navy language. I want to experience the large Navy community at Annapolis in Aviation, Surface Warfare, Cyber Space and Intelligence Warfare. I plan to focus on career direction after summer rotations. What ever career, I want to first take a platoon leadership line position with the Fleet or in Aviation. And pursue grad school and instructor role at my 4-6 year mark.

I plan to place out of many classes if I can so I have enough room to take STEM Core electives in Aerospace and Naval Engineering in my 1C. I plan to major in Cyber Operations and double minor in Applied Economics and History. I love social sciences. I really enjoyed taking AP Econ, Hist, Gov, Politics, and Psychology. I got straight A's in AP Calculus, Physics, and Computer Science, but I enjoy reading economics, behavioral science and politics even more. I actually did better in Verbal than Math on my tests. This is why I think Cyber Ops will be a good fit for me because it seems like it offers Applied Computer Science with Social Science discipline.

I am going to make my 4 years at the Naval Academy the best time of my life! I am going to start all over. I am going to be a follower before I learn to lead again. Keep my head down and learn before I can lead as a Midshipman. And yes, I will volunteer to step up whenever appropriate.

In May, my BGO will ceremoniously present my Appointment at my school on Awards Day! For now, I want to enjoy my time with the family and friends before the I-Day. I am going to welcome aboard BBQ in early June hosted by USNA Parents' Club. I am looking forward to it!

 

[USNAMid22]

USNAMid22-

Good luck to you! I've found your dad's posts to be of great assistance to us on our journey. Here's hoping that DS joins you next year (maybe as fellow member of USNA's NESA).

Thank you Sir! I will be cheering for your son!

 

[USNAMid22]

Just curious.... if you would have had a LOA from USAFA and USMA along with the one from USNA, which academy would you have chosen for the nomination?

Ah! Without hesitation, I would have requested a Nomination to West Point at the time. Only because I grew up with the Society all throughout my youth. I felt the strongest bond and loyalty to West Point. And I feel that I am most familiar with the Army Branch of Service. Since middle school, I did volunteer work and training and maneuvers with Army Infantry units, Army Security Forces, Military Intelligence Brigade, Signals Brigade, Honor Guard, Special Troops Battalion, Army Engineers, and Army Aviation. While Infantry took me to ranges, Army Aviation never took me on a flight, however. Ironically, it was the Coast Guard who took me on a 4 hour Aviation Training Mission on UH60. We flew from Cape Cod Joint Base to Boston. We hopped buildings around Boston and flew through Cape Cod Ocean front doing low level flight. I got to wave a lot to on lookers on the ground. Even did Auto Pilot Rotation maneuvers. That was awesome! I was the only candidate on that flight, so I had the 4 crew giving me a full undivided attention. The pilot was a female Lieutenant. She's an excellent Pilot. I really felt bad when I had to tell the Coast Guard I will not be accepting their Appointment. CG is an excellent service! Many say, that's the service and the service culture to be in for a long term career.

I had frequent contacts with the Air Force, going on airbases once a quarter for the past 10 years. I have been on USAFA's mailing list since 7th grade. I stayed in touch with USAFA admissions since then. AF sent me nice little presents every year to remind me they are still thinking of me. Kind of cute! I went to both WP SLE and AFASS last summer. I even got certification on Drone Piloting trained by Air Force Pilots.

I had zero contact with the Navy. So I knew very little of the Navy. Ironically, when I applied to NASS, Academy turned me down. I thought Annapolis would accept me to NASS given that I had very little exposure to the Navy. But I have the real deal now!