Current Midshipman Q&A- Here to help!

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Treyaircraft

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Mar 3, 2022
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Hey everyone,

I am a current plebe (Class of 2026) at USNA and willing to try and answer any questions ranging from the application process to life at the academy.

As a little background reference, I am a reapplicant having been originally denied out of high school. I did a year of college where I was also a member of an NROTC Unit as a college programmer (not on scholarship) and reapplied; I was fortunate enough to have been appointed my second time around. In addition to this, I was required to go through the medical waiver process prior to accepting an appointment.

Feel free to drop anything you have and I will try to answer to the best of my ability or hopefully at least point you in the right direction. I know that these forums helped me out a lot during my own application and waiver so I’d like to assist in whatever way I can.

If any other Mids see this as well, don’t hesitate to pop in and leave your input; I hope to make this as active of a forum as possible.
 
Can you give any feedback on the reasons that you may have been declined your 1st time around? What do you think the catalyst was for readmission the 2nd time? Also, did you apply for the NROTC national scholarship when you were in high school? My DS is not really super interested in applying for the scholarship now, as he really wants to at least try to reapply to Annapolis if he does not get in the 1st time.
 
Treyaircraft said:
Hey everyone,

I am a current plebe (Class of 2026) at USNA and willing to try and answer any questions ranging from the application process to life at the academy.

As a little background reference, I am a reapplicant having been originally denied out of high school. I did a year of college where I was also a member of an NROTC Unit as a college programmer (not on scholarship) and reapplied; I was fortunate enough to have been appointed my second time around. In addition to this, I was required to go through the medical waiver process prior to accepting an appointment.

Feel free to drop anything you have and I will try to answer to the best of my ability or hopefully at least point you in the right direction. I know that these forums helped me out a lot during my own application and waiver so I’d like to assist in whatever way I can.

If any other Mids see this as well, don’t hesitate to pop in and leave your input; I hope to make this as active of a forum as possible.
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Did you apply to multiple academies or were you set on USNA?
 
What exercise regiment did you do to stay in shape?

What extracurricular activities/leadership roles did you participate in college?
 
USMC Crayons said:
Can you give any feedback on the reasons that you may have been declined your 1st time around? What do you think the catalyst was for readmission the 2nd time? Also, did you apply for the NROTC national scholarship when you were in high school? My DS is not really super interested in applying for the scholarship now, as he really wants to at least try to reapply to Annapolis if he does not get in the 1st time.
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Of course! After my first attempt, I contacted my admissions counselor and hopped on the phone with her in order to discuss areas in which I could improve. One mistake I made was waiting to take my CFA as I ended up injuring my knee during football my senior year of and required surgery. This meant that my application was not fully completed until close to the deadline and even then my scores were not as good as they probably could have been as I hadn’t worked out in awhile. Looking back at it my essay was also lackluster in meaning to what my current standards would be. I felt I was strong academically and had a good amount of ECs under my belt but from what it seems there is no way to accurately predict what the outcome will be until you officially hear back from admissions. There is always room for improvement; my best advice would be to just try and put together the best package possible for them to see.

In response to your second and third questions, being denied definitely sparked a new drive in me. It had always been my dream to go to USNA and I wasn’t ready to give it up. I did in fact apply for the NROTC scholarship out of high school but was not awarded with one. Instead, I continued with my plan and joined as a college programmer. I tried my best to continue to excel in academics in addition to being an active and well-rounded member of my NROTC unit. From how I see it, the reapplication process is a lot different from the initial application process in the sense that I found myself applying based upon what I have learned and how I have grown so far through my college and NROTC experience as opposed to what I did during my high school career. I also completely revamped my resume in a more professional and easy to read manner which I don’t think hurt. It seems the admissions office likes to see persistence; many high school applicants say they plan on reapplying but a very small percentage actually end up going through with the entire process again. NROTC is a great opportunity as well and I wholeheartedly enjoyed my time with my unit but if your son is really interested in coming to the academy, I definitely still recommend applying for the scholarship as (from what I understand) if you are on scholarship, you can use your NROTC unit as a nomination source. Since I was not on scholarship, I had to still seek one from my MOCs. If he does not get it, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to still join a unit as it shows dedication to service as that is the end goal in any situation. This would presumably be a plus to an admissions board.

I hope this helps a little!
 
A1Janitor said:
What exercise regiment did you do to stay in shape?

What extracurricular activities/leadership roles did you participate in college?
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During my senior year of high school, I played football, swam, and played golf. During college, my NROTC unit held multiple morning workouts a week. We also took the Navy’s PRT a couple times a semester. I also went on some runs and lifted on my own from time to time.

In terms of ECs and leadership roles, I tried to remain an active member of my unit and volunteer for as much as I could. As a 4/C in NROTC, there aren’t particularly many leadership roles per se that you can hold so you must look to stand out in other ways. I volunteered to join our units color guard and went to every morning workout, even if I didn’t have to due to validation. Be a leader amongst your peers without being controlling; effective peer leadership is a difficult but important thing to master. Outside of the unit, I volunteered at a local museum. I recommend finding something that interests you and that you don’t mind putting in time to be apart of. I love history so it was a perfect fit for me but there are plenty of great things you can do that would emit the same effect.
 
Hi! I'm currently re-applying to USNA. When did you hear back from USNA your second time around? Did you have a medical waiver requested before or after you were notified that you received an appointment?
 
gonavy27 said:
Hi! I'm currently re-applying to USNA. When did you hear back from USNA your second time around? Did you have a medical waiver requested before or after you were notified that you received an appointment?
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I remember getting an email that I was receiving a LOA (Letter of Assurance) in February. This meant that I was guaranteed a spot as long as the incomplete conditions were met which in my case was just waivers for medical disqualifications. After the LOA came in, my status changed to a “under waiver review” status. From then it was just a stressful waiting game until it finally updated in May and I found out my waivers were approved. From what I understand, the medical waiver process won’t officially kick off until you receive an LOA of some sort.
 
LST271 said:
Do you know if you'll have liberty or leave after the Herndon climb and before Commissioning?
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I believe we have liberty during that time from what I was told. I know that Herndon got moved this year to right after sea trials.
 
No questions from me, but chiming in to remind you to enjoy your time at the Academy as much as possible. While life is much better after graduation, it is also of course harder in many ways. And while I don’t miss MidRegs, parades or Forrestal Lectures, I now appreciate how well the Brigade is taken care of. People complained up the wazoo about lack of communication, Brigade Medical, berthing conditions, and King Hall food but you have it a lot better than a lot of sailors out here in the Fleet in those areas.

You also have hundreds of officers there, many post-command, plus many distinguished civilian professors, whose sole job is to be there for midshipmen. Take advantage of what they have to offer! Academy graduation is really the baby bird leaving the nest to fend for itself—Straight from having everything spoonfed to you (which gets frustrating after four years) to being on your own. It’s so much better but harder too—Like the difference between doing plebe summer as a plebe and then as a detailer.
 
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