Enlisted to the Academy

[Hashbrowns and eggs]

Hello All,

I am a senior in high school, and I am applying to the USNA.

As I have started to evaluate my Plan B options, I have considered going the enlisted route before entering an officer program. Specifically, I am looking at the Nuclear Engineering programming the Navy offers.

If I went to that school, then attempted to transfer to the academy, would I be required to become an officer in nuclear engineering? Or could I choose my career?

 

[FMHS-79]

Hello All,

I am a senior in high school, and I am applying to the USNA.

As I have started to evaluate my Plan B options, I have considered going the enlisted route before entering an officer program. Specifically, I am looking at the Nuclear Engineering programming the Navy offers.

If I went to that school, then attempted to transfer to the academy, would I be required to become an officer in nuclear engineering? Or could I choose my career?

One does not transfer to the academy -- if you re-apply and get selected for an appointment, then you will have a fresh start with all of the other midshipmen in your class. As such, you will be able to select any of majors that the USNA has to offer. Good luck.

 

[usna1985]

There are quite a few threadS discussing the pros and cons of trying to get into USNA via the enlisted ranks. If you search this forum using the term “enlisted,” they should show up and may answer many of your questions.

 

[OldRetSWO]

If I went to that school, then attempted to transfer to the academy, would I be required to become an officer in nuclear engineering? Or could I choose my career?

A prior enlisted nuke does NOT have to go back into the nuke world. They have the same access to the variety of warfare communities as the rest of their classmates.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

Concur with OldRetSWO -- I had several NAPS classmates who were "nukes" and went into other communities, including USMC.

While certainly not the typical Plan B (or C), enlisted Nuke is a good post-HS option as long as you would be happy serving your entire enlistment. As USNA1985 points out, there are a lot of discussions about the Enlisted to USNA track -- each year several (I've never seen a number, but suspect less than 5-10% of a class), come up from the enlisted ranks, and based upon my experience (30+ years ago), many of those come in through the nuclear power program and go through NAPS. That being said, if you look at the total number of people enlisting vs. those that get in, getting into USNA from enlisted is a long shot --- you need to stand out, and be at or near the top of your class in everything from Boot Camp through Nuke School.

 

[NavyHoops]

Definitely check some of the older threads and concur with everything said. Nuke is probably the best path if one was looking to enlist and reapply to USNA. I say that because they actively look for candidates while in nuke school. Other schools do not and you have to wait to get to the fleet. As mentioned by Old Navy... you still have to stand out amongst your peers. Being middle of the pack won’t help. You need to excel at boot camp and nuke school in every capacity to be noticed and given this opportunity. If you enlist you need to be prepared to serve your entire enlistment because you never know what will happen.

 

[shock-n-awe]

It is also important for reapplicants who choose to enlist and then reapply to an SA the following year to realize they do not have much time to prove themselves in the enlisted ranks to become a standout. By standout, that means accomplishments, training/military schools completion, being promoted, having served in leadership positions, etc.. Enough accomplishments to impress your chain of command to recommend you. That all takes time!
If enlisting to increase ones chance of being accepted to an SA is the thought/plan, be prepared to fulfill your enlisted obligation, as well as possible deployment.
I don’t have anything but observations to back up my claim, but most prior service SA appointees enlisted to serve enlisted. They probably never even considered an SA, but wanted to serve. They went on and proved themselves for at least a couple of years, were possibly deployed, and were later pointed to an SA by their chain of command because of their outstanding performance and leadership/leadership potential.