Does doing no military-related ECAs in High School affect my chances of getting into USNA?

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SWO28

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My town/school doesn't have a big military environment or any ECAs and I just found out about a Sea Cadets program which was 30 mins away from me. The only sort of military camp I've done was Summer Seminar at USNA. Will this affect my chances?
 
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Not doing military-type things in high school won’t hurt your chances. Just as attending Summer Seminar won’t help your chances. Being a viable — or winning — candidate doesn’t require either.
 
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No. And a lot of ECs won’t help either. Quality over quantity. Our son listed three ECs on each of his college apps, none of them remotely military related, and was accepted to all.
 
Did the experience you had in those ECAs lead to change? Improvement? Were you able to leave an organization better than you found it?
 
In more than two decades as a BGO, I've seen zero evidence that participation in military ECAs makes any difference in an application. Many schools don't offer them. Even when they do, many students don't participate for all sorts of reasons.

Just like any other college, students at USNA bring all sorts of talents. Some are actors, singers or musicians. Some worked on their school newspaper or yearbook. Others were active in the science club or language club or service club. Some in Scouting. Others in church/religious activities. Some in Big Brother/Big Sister. Some volunteer for various charities. Some are active in political organizations or supporting political candidates. There is no "right" activity . . . and really no "wrong" activity (other than obvious ones).

Choose ECAs that appeal to you.
 
usna1985 said:
Choose ECAs that appeal to you.
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^ There is a direct correlation between participating in a sport or ECA that you are really into and success in that activity, ie. peforming and reaching leadership positions. Picking one or few ECA's , and making a difference in that ECA is better than spreading yourself thin and chasing resume builders . It also helps academic performance..all the ECA's in your school aren't going to help without academic performance.
 
The only thing participating in those sorts of things will provide is some fodder for your shipmates to make some good natured jokes about you in your JROTC uniform.
 
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