Do I have a shot as an international applicant?

S

sapper5446

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Joined
Sep 24, 2022
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64
Hello everyone. I'm from Mongolia and I am looking to join the class of 2028. I tried out for West Point last year and got waitlisted. Flat out rejected from Air Force Academy. I finished my mandatory service in 2022 and decided to join the military. I talked to a fellow Mongolian midshipman, and being able to train as a Marine and come back to my home country to lead soldiers would be an opportunity of a lifetime for me. I wasn't the best student in my first year of university and my GPA tanked to 2.2 but I was able to raise it to 3.0 in these last few semesters since I came back. I know these posts are overdone, but will I be a good candidate? Any feedback would be appreciated.
My stats:
SAT 1370, Maths 720, English 650
TOEFL 100
4.0 GPA in HS
Participated twice in Model United Nations
2 time gold medalist in the regional English olympiad and participated in the national stage
IELTS score 7.5
Intern at EducationUSA Mongolia, a U.S. State Department NetworkThe extracurricular activities I took were math club(also took AP), debate, boxing, and English club which I organized. I also did some volunteering, in which I was tasked with organizing the project. I was discharged as a private during my mandatory service. While serving, I was appointed as a squad commander and I earned the sharpshooters flag(similar to a sharpshooters badge), along with getting awards for recreational activities/competitions.
My CFA scores are as follows:
Basketball throw: 55-60ft
Pull-Ups: 14
Sit-Ups: 60
Push-Ups: 75
1-Mile Run: Around 7:30 (The testing grounds are slippery due to the snow where I live)
I genuinely want to be accepted into the academy, study hard, and return to my home country to serve as an officer. Any feedback and advice would be much appreciated. Thank you all!
 
Hey man, have you talked with the U.S. Embassy yet? I’m pretty sure you need to make contact first or something like that.
 
I can't say that I know anything about the application process for international students, but I do believe the application window for the class of 2028 has already closed. You can find some more information here.
 
blinkus said:
Hey man, have you talked with the U.S. Embassy yet? I’m pretty sure you need to make contact first or something like that.
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I have contacted them. The application process goes through the U.S. Embassy here. They conduct the CFA and act as a bridge between us and the academy.
 
MomToHopefuls said:
I can't say that I know anything about the application process for international students, but I do believe the application window for the class of 2028 has already closed. You can find some more information here.
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The timeline for internationals is bit different as it closes on March 1st. I have sent my applications and now I'm praying haha.
 
I'm a first time applicant, so please take what I say with a grain of salt as it can range from being correct, to being incorrect, to being flat out wrong!

Your CFA and EC's seems alright, and being a prior Enlisted might help. The good thing is that, well, you're from Mongolia. One nation up, or down, and your chances would be gone! I'm pretty sure the geopolitical relationship between America and Mongolia isn't as bad as it is with Russia or China, so politics shouldn't be an issue with your application.

For your GPA, a 3.0 isn't that bad or good. It's perfectly average! Your SAT is within the range that USNA has previously accepted from. Overall, your application looks fine. Maybe academically, your college GPA could be better. What courses are you currently taking? As always, please take what I say with a grain of salt. It's hard to gauge the chances of international candidates for SA's compared to regular civilian colleges.

I hope you can get in! Wishing you the best from NY,
blinkus
 
blinkus said:
Your CFA and EC's seems alright, and being a prior Enlisted might help.

For your GPA, a 3.0 isn't that bad or good. It's perfectly average! Your SAT is within the range that USNA has previously accepted from. Overall, your application looks fine. Maybe academically, your college GPA could be better. What courses are you currently taking?
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NOTE: International Applicants are NOT competing with US citizens and the evaluation criteria is not public knowledge.
At one point in the far distant past, I was a "certified" Foreign Training Officer for a Navy School where I was assigned for
shore duty. While this was in no way run alongside USNA, it is perhaps illustrative that many of the normal standards/credentials
that we expected of US Officers were different for our international students.
 
sapper5446 said:
Hello everyone. I'm from Mongolia and I am looking to join the class of 2028. I tried out for West Point last year and got waitlisted. Flat out rejected from Air Force Academy. I finished my mandatory service in 2022 and decided to join the military. I talked to a fellow Mongolian midshipman, and being able to train as a Marine and come back to my home country to lead soldiers would be an opportunity of a lifetime for me. I wasn't the best student in my first year of university and my GPA tanked to 2.2 but I was able to raise it to 3.0 in these last few semesters since I came back. I know these posts are overdone, but will I be a good candidate? Any feedback would be appreciated.
My stats:
SAT 1370, Maths 720, English 650
TOEFL 100
4.0 GPA in HS
Participated twice in Model United Nations
2 time gold medalist in the regional English olympiad and participated in the national stage
IELTS score 7.5
Intern at EducationUSA Mongolia, a U.S. State Department NetworkThe extracurricular activities I took were math club(also took AP), debate, boxing, and English club which I organized. I also did some volunteering, in which I was tasked with organizing the project. I was discharged as a private during my mandatory service. While serving, I was appointed as a squad commander and I earned the sharpshooters flag(similar to a sharpshooters badge), along with getting awards for recreational activities/competitions.
My CFA scores are as follows:
Basketball throw: 55-60ft
Pull-Ups: 14
Sit-Ups: 60
Push-Ups: 75
1-Mile Run: Around 7:30 (The testing grounds are slippery due to the snow where I live)
I genuinely want to be accepted into the academy, study hard, and return to my home country to serve as an officer. Any feedback and advice would be much appreciated. Thank you all!
Click to expand...
I think you'd make a great midshipman, Though something Ive seen at the academy is international students going to their home country's academy(if you have one) and being able to go to USNA all 4 years and still become an officer in your country's Navy.

An early step id suggest though is applying for US citizenship if haven't already because that is a requirement by July 1st and i hear it normally takes a while.

Take what i say as a grain of salt, im just a candidate for this year and reach out to one of the vets on here. Good Luck!!
 
blinkus said:
I'm a first time applicant, so please take what I say with a grain of salt as it can range from being correct, to being incorrect, to being flat out wrong!

Your CFA and EC's seems alright, and being a prior Enlisted might help. The good thing is that, well, you're from Mongolia. One nation up, or down, and your chances would be gone! I'm pretty sure the geopolitical relationship between America and Mongolia isn't as bad as it is with Russia or China, so politics shouldn't be an issue with your application.

For your GPA, a 3.0 isn't that bad or good. It's perfectly average! Your SAT is within the range that USNA has previously accepted from. Overall, your application looks fine. Maybe academically, your college GPA could be better. What courses are you currently taking? As always, please take what I say with a grain of salt. It's hard to gauge the chances of international candidates for SA's compared to regular civilian colleges.

I hope you can get in! Wishing you the best from NY,
blinkus
Click to expand...
Thank you for your kind words!
We Mongolians see America as a third neighbor and we strive to keep and improve our diplomatic ties despite out location.
Currently I am studying Web Designing, Database Studies, Engineering Drawing, and Ordinary Differential Equations. Calculus, Algebra etc were a core part of our High School curriculum.
I truly wish to see you on I-Day as well!
 
CJP said:
I think you'd make a great midshipman, Though something Ive seen at the academy is international students going to their home country's academy(if you have one) and being able to go to USNA all 4 years and still become an officer in your country's Navy.

An early step id suggest though is applying for US citizenship if haven't already because that is a requirement by July 1st and i hear it normally takes a while.

Take what i say as a grain of salt, im just a candidate for this year and reach out to one of the vets on here. Good Luck!!
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Thank you for your kind words!
One of the main conditions for internationals is returning to your home country and serving for 5 years.
It's a far fetcged conspiracy, but I have a feeling that me applying for a Green Card last year might've had something to do with my admissions result.
Godspeed to you as well. I hope we can meet on I-Day!
 
CJP said:
An early step id suggest though is applying for US citizenship if haven't already because that is a requirement by July 1st and i hear it normally takes a while.
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It is GREAT for you to try to be helpful but you're not helping here as you're giving out bad gouge.

International Candidates DO NOT need to apply for US Citizenship. They represent their own country and remain
citizens of that country.
 
@sapper5446 ,

Am offering you and your country much respect. You have a wealth of natural resources, two avaricious neighbors and a desire for independence.

I do have to ask a question which is bound to come up at some point: If you want to return home as a military officer, then why USNA? Why not USMA? Or even USAFA?

Mongolia is landlocked, has no riverine borders and no navigable river access to the sea.

Wish you much success!
 
Just want to recommend that you search youtube for the "USNA Class of 2023 Ship Selection Night" to reinforce there are Midshipmen from around the world and our ally countries who attend USNA for training before returning to serve as an officer from their country of origin/ citizenship I'd say look for the 2024 video, but because they used some copywritten songs in that event, that video was blocked.

Citizens of Mongolia have applied and attended both USNA and USMA in the past. (I don't know about USAFA) See the US Embassy official link for good reference details. As noted the standards are not broadly known to compare your stats against other international candidates so I recommend not comparing against US citizen requirements as that might be apples to oranges/ N/A as someone else nicely pointed out above.

Best of luck to you and with your prior service experience, I bet there is much you can contribute and learn with your class, if you are given this opportunity.
 
There are two types of international Mids at USNA, those like this candidate and others on exchange. Each class has about a dozen international Mids. They stay at USNA for 4 years and then return to their home countries to serve. How they are selected is up to USNA. NATO partnerships and the joint world are here to stay and this is part of that. They are extremely intelligent, the best of the best of their countries and some have massive commitments (10-20 years, each country has their own requirements). They wear USNA uniforms and do all things other Mids do. They arrive about a week early to acclimate to English full time, massive time changes in some cases, paperwork, etc. If you see someone sitting during the oath office on I Day, it’s usually one of these Mids. They take their oaths separately to their own countries. I was lucky to have several in our company and had a great time with them.

There are also exchange programs with a few countries where a Mid/Cadet comes for a semester (like USNA sends to other countries). They wear their own country’s uniforms. Usually you notice them during March ons and parades. Some have amazing dress uniforms!
 
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cb7893 said:
@sapper5446 ,

Am offering you and your country much respect. You have a wealth of natural resources, two avaricious neighbors and a desire for independence.

I do have to ask a question which is bound to come up at some point: If you want to return home as a military officer, then why USNA? Why not USMA? Or even USAFA?

Mongolia is landlocked, has no riverine borders and no navigable river access to the sea.

Wish you much success!
Click to expand...
I know it's ironic that someone from a landlocked country wants to go to a Naval Academy haha.
But the main reason for me is that for most of my life, I looked up to United States Marines. They are loyal and ferocious, much like our own military that even I was surprised about how alike we are. Both the Mongolian Army and the USMC have great lineages spanning centuries and will stop at nothing to uphold their duties.
I have contacted a 1st class Midshipmen from Mongolia, and he spoke about going through Leatherneck, training with the USMC and it got me excited.
The USMC was in during GWOT, in Afghanistan, a landlocked country and we Mongolians had the honor to serve with the US.
I personally wish to bring some of this expertise back to my home country and be a part of the long line of warriors who defend our nations sovereignty.
 
sapper5446 said:
I know it's ironic that someone from a landlocked country wants to go to a Naval Academy haha.
But the main reason for me is that for most of my life, I looked up to United States Marines. They are loyal and ferocious, much like our own military that even I was surprised about how alike we are. Both the Mongolian Army and the USMC have great lineages spanning centuries and will stop at nothing to uphold their duties.
I have contacted a 1st class Midshipmen from Mongolia, and he spoke about going through Leatherneck, training with the USMC and it got me excited.
The USMC was in during GWOT, in Afghanistan, a landlocked country and we Mongolians had the honor to serve with the US.
I personally wish to bring some of this expertise back to my home country and be a part of the long line of warriors who defend our nations sovereignty.
Click to expand...
Again I wish you the best of luck!

If you are as clever as your former President, it will serve you well.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1756818696700657935
 
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