Enlisting Then Applying?

[FaiM13]

I have read a few articles that have shown enlisting and then applying to USMA as another option for admission. Do people frequently do this? And is this an option where a person is less likely to be appointed? Also, if anyone could give me an idea of how that process works, that’d be great. While there have been articles stating that this is a way to be admitted, most did not elaborate on how this happens.

 

[kinnem]

Generally speaking, if you want to be an officer this is not a good idea. You will need endorsements from your chain of command and that won't happen until well after initial training and you have served under their eye for a fair period of time, demonstrating outstanding leadership skills along the way.

This might be a way to go after exhausting all other paths. Also, enlisting will not make an application look better regardless of what a recruiter might tell you.

 

[FaiM13]

Generally speaking, if you want to be an officer this is not a good idea. You will need endorsements from your chain of command and that won't happen until well after initial training and you have served under their eye for a fair period of time, demonstrating outstanding leadership skills along the way.

This might be a way to go after exhausting all other paths. Also, enlisting will not make an application look better regardless of what a recruiter might tell you.

Thank you for the reply. What do you recommend a person should do if they are not appointed and plan to apply again the following year, but will not be attending college? Would getting a job or being a volunteer firefighter be a productive way to spend one’s time until the next year the application is open?

 

[Capt MJ]

If your weak spot is academics, and you don’t attend college and take rigorous USMA-Plebe-like courses, then you will have to bring extraordinary and unusual achievements in every other aspect of your application. Someone who is re-applying should show growth, challenge and continued achievement in scholastic, athletic and leadership areas. That’s what other re-applicants will be doing.

We don’t need details on your circumstances, but attending community college and doing cross-town participation at the host school AROTC unit is a lower-cost way to go. If you aren’t applying for AROTC scholarships, you should consider, if the goal is to serve as an Army Officer.

 

[USMA 1994]

Enlisting and reapplying is the path that you have the least control over. As @kinnem said, you have to spend time with your chain of command before you can get a recommendation and their are many things outside of your control when you hit the Big Army.

I do not think there is a good answer for you without attending college and re-applying. The odds of an appointment would be extremely slim without a successful semester of college. If going to college next year is completely out of the question, enlisting may be your best option with the knowledge that you may be an enlisted soldier for the entire time of your contract.

 

[FaiM13]

If your weak spot is academics, and you don’t attend college and take rigorous USMA-Plebe-like courses, then you will have to bring extraordinary and unusual achievements in every other aspect of your application. Someone who is re-applying should show growth, challenge and continued achievement in scholastic, athletic and leadership areas. That’s what other re-applicants will be doing.

We don’t need details on your circumstances, but attending community college and doing cross-town participation at the host school AROTC unit is a lower-cost way to go. If you aren’t applying for AROTC scholarships, you shoukd consider, if the goal is to serve as an Army Officer.

So if I went to a local community college, took challenging classes, and participated in other activities I could still be competitive?

 

[UHBlackhawk]

Generally speaking, if you want to be an officer this is not a good idea. You will need endorsements from your chain of command and that won't happen until well after initial training and you have served under their eye for a fair period of time, demonstrating outstanding leadership skills along the way.

This might be a way to go after exhausting all other paths. Also, enlisting will not make an application look better regardless of what a recruiter might tell you.

This is not quite true. Yes, being enlisted does help on an application. But... you still need to be 3Q and be recommended by your chain-of-command, although you can still get a congressional nomination without their help. And there is no guarantee. So enlist assuming you will fulfill your enlistment contract.
But, West Point is actively seeking qualified enlisted soldiers. They are even bringing enlisted soldiers up to West Point for home football games to encourage them to apply or bring the word back to their units that soldiers can apply. This past weekend soldiers from the 82nd were brought to West Point and paired up with prior service Cadets for the weekend.
Having said that, I again must emphasize the part about being "3Q". If you can take even a semester of college prior to enlisting and show some academic ability at the college level that is very helpful. Also, take the ACT's/SAT's prior to enlisting. Study for them. Take practice questions, then more practice questions. The service academies count your "super score", meaning they take the highest score from each section and drop all the lower scores. I've seen applicants raise a score from a 25 to a 32 just through practice questions alone.
MAPS (Military Academy Prep School) at West Point is another option available to soldiers who are maybe a little weak on the ACT or maybe need a little more academics.

 

[Impulsive]

One point to remember here, is being an outstanding enlisted soldier does help with the nomination process, NOT the Application. As UHBlackhawk mentions, you still need the 3Q, plus chain of command recommendations, and a nomination. Enlisted to Academy requires a Presidential Nomination, the number of which granted each year is directly governed by 10 USC as to the number of nominations appointed. So there is not an EASY path by going enlisted, just different, and possibly even more competitive than the traditional way. A possibly better route is (if you were 3Q with a nom) is to find out from your RC or FFR where your WCS was lacking and work to improve those areas directly. While it may be too late to sign up for college courses, check with your local college or university and see if you can at least take a "part time" load entering late, and take, Calculus, English Comp, and Physics on a college level to show the adacemy you can do college level academics. This is JMHO, but if I was serious about an academy, I would strive to re-apply and get appointed next year. Good Luck with whichever route you take. Enlisted is not so bad, especially now, with more and more responsibility, and respect being directed towards enlisted members, and a lot of training is top notch allowing for high paying civilian careers post AD.

 

[FaiM13]

One point to remember here, is being an outstanding enlisted soldier does help with the nomination process, NOT the Application. As UHBlackhawk mentions, you still need the 3Q, plus chain of command recommendations, and a nomination. Enlisted to Academy requires a Presidential Nomination, the number of which granted each year is directly governed by 10 USC as to the number of nominations appointed. So there is not an EASY path by going enlisted, just different, and possibly even more competitive than the traditional way. A possibly better route is (if you were 3Q with a nom) is to find out from your RC or FFR where your WCS was lacking and work to improve those areas directly. While it may be too late to sign up for college courses, check with your local college or university and see if you can at least take a "part time" load entering late, and take, Calculus, English Comp, and Physics on a college level to show the adacemy you can do college level academics. This is JMHO, but if I was serious about an academy, I would strive to re-apply and get appointed next year. Good Luck with whichever route you take. Enlisted is not so bad, especially now, with more and more responsibility, and respect being directed towards enlisted members, and a lot of training is top notch allowing for high paying civilian careers post AD.

Thank you, I will keep all of these good points in mind.

 

[UHBlackhawk]

The application process is the same for all applicants and the Enlisted nomination is just another nomination source. The service academies generally do NOT have enough qualified enlisted candidates which is why at least West Point is actively recruiting potential enlisted applicants. According to US Code Title 10 4342, 85 active duty and 85 reservists may be appointed. The class of 2023 has a total of 72 enlisted, so less than half the authorized number.
Once a nomination is received and an applicant is deemed to be “3Q” their application goes before a board that views the applicant as a whole. Now what goes on behind the closed doors of the admission board is closely held. Anyone sitting on the board probably won’t post on this forum about it. But I can guarantee that prior service is a consideration of most if not all board members. In addition, as I pointed out, a prior service applicant who might be academically marginal might be given a spot at MAPS that they might not otherwise be offered as a normal applicant.
Having written all of this do not discount what has been written above by others. Going enlisted is NOT a sure path to a service academy. It is a path, but there are no guarantees.

 

[OldRetSWO]

Enlisted to Academy requires a Presidential Nomination.

Not Correct. The Presidential Nomination is for the children of career service people, Active and Reserve. The pertinent
Nomination category for Enlisted servicemembers is Secretary of the Army/Navy Nominations.

 

[Jcleppe]

I have read a few articles that have shown enlisting and then applying to USMA as another option for admission. Do people frequently do this? And is this an option where a person is less likely to be appointed? Also, if anyone could give me an idea of how that process works, that’d be great. While there have been articles stating that this is a way to be admitted, most did not elaborate on how this happens.

I'm going to make the assumption that since you are looking at completing the application for West Point, that you have the stats needed to be competitive. If you indeed have these stats then you should also be applying for the AROTC Scholarship. If you are not given an appointment to WP the first go around you may still be awarded the AROTC Scholarship. You could then attend a university, participate in AROTC your freshman year, and then reapply to WP if you decide you still want to. This would allow you to take college courses that are in line with a first year cadet at WP and you could use the ROTC benefits in your reapplication. The other plus to this option is that you may decide after your first year of AROTC that you want to stay with it and commission in 3 more years rather then start over at WP. In any event, this would give you more options in what should be your main goal, becoming an officer in the Army.

 

[UHBlackhawk]

Not Correct. The Presidential Nomination is for the children of career service people, Active and Reserve. The pertinent
Nomination category for Enlisted servicemembers is Secretary of the Army/Navy Nominations.

Thanks for the correction. Several of those who I know who got the Sec Army nomination and also got Presidental Nominations and I was not thinking when typing.

 

[Humey]

What is the saying, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Enlisting is a detour if you want to join an academy. Not saying that it wont work for some people or that its a bad way to go, but it isnt the direct way

 

[USMA 1994]

We seem to be confusing nominations, qualifications, slates and appointments.

Nominations: All applicants are eligible for each local MOC, two state senators and the Vice President. Active Duty/Reserve/National Guard soldiers and ROTC members are eligible for a service connected nomination and children of career service soldiers are eligible for a Presidential Nominations. Each nomination source has its own process and requirements. The VP nomination is an online from, Presidential nominations are granted through admissions with supporting documentation. Each MOC established their own process but it is basically an application packet to each office and maybe interview. The Service Connected nominations are the most difficult to complete as it is completed by your unit's chain of command. Most Commanders will take some time before deciding to complete the paperwork for the service connected nomination and timing of the process is critical. Maybe you get to your unit in November and your CO wants to wait six months to evaluate your performance. You just missed this year's window. Maybe there is a deployment and change of command thrown in there and it could be two years before the nomination is complete. You are completely dependent on someone else for the service connected nominations.

Qualifications. All applicants who hope to gain an appointment must meet the minimum qualifications. While the minimum requirements are not published, you can get a pretty good idea what you need to be competitive from the annual class profile. You also need to pass the CFA and the Medical Evaluation, hence 3Q. If you look at the National Averages, you have a 50/50 shot if your are 3Q with a nomination.

Slates: Each nomination authority has the number of appointments charged mandates by the current US Code. Each MOC and the VP has 1 or sometimes 2 each year. Presidential and Service Connected nominations are each capped at 100. By the raw numbers , competition for the MOC and Presidential nominations are similar at around 7 candidates to each opening nationally. The Service connected nominations are not as competitive by the raw numbers. As stated above, the service connected slots typically do not all get used.

Appointments: After the application period is complete, the slates are then reviewed at the top candidates are identified for an offer. After all the slates are resolved, individuals with nominations that do not win the slate compete as Qualified Alternates and Additional Appointees.

So with all that said:

• Apply to all eligible nominations sources
• The application is a funnel affect that reduces the candidate pool at each step and happen in parallel
  • Academically and ECA Qualification
  • Medical
  • CFA
  • Nomination
• Do your best to put forth the strongest application possible
• Competition at the National Level for MOC and Presidential sources are on average 1 opening per 7 applicants
• Applicants that complete the entire process are around 50-50 to get an offer.
• For the OPs original question, enlisting in the Army gives you the less competitive slate to compete for an appointment but also is the hardest to navigate and has limits any other plans if you are not successful.

 

[MemberLG]

Enlisting and applying to West Point do increase an applicant’s chance of earning an appointment. West Point can accept up to 85 active and 85 reserve/national guard soldiers. They never do as there are never enough qualified, mostly academically, soldier applicants. I have seen soldier applicant getting endorsement from their basic or advance individual training company commander. Also heard an urban legend that the company commander not giving the endorsement because the soldier was not Ranger qualified (the soldier applicant was supposedly in a Ranger Company). So the reward is an increased chance of getting an appointment but a possible downside is not getting in and serving as an enlisted soldier. But there is nothing wrong with serving as an enlisted soldier. Ultimately going to West Point should be about serving the country. If someone is only willing to serve in the Army as a commissioned officer, he or she might want to think about why.

 

[Impulsive]

The actual numbers for the individual academies (except USMMA and USCGA) are contained in 10 USC. It appears uniform between the academies. For reference the Air Force was taken, there appears no difference in USMA or USNA.

1. 65 from the children of members of the services (or civilians so designated) who are deceased or missing in action, and children of those who are permanently disabled by the VA from Service Connected injuries or illnesses.
2. 5 Vice Presidential
3. 560 from MOC's and Territories
4. 100 Presidential (Children of AD, with 8 yrs of service, or retired)
5. 85 by the Secretary (enlisted members)
6. 85 by the Secretary (active reserves)
7. 20 by The Secretary (ROTC/JROTC)
8. 150 From the Secretary from the "Wait List"
9. Unlimited, by The president from children of Medal of Honor Awardees)
10. 50 by The Superintendent

Basically 1120 annual appointments. I just don't know the number of possible "Nominations" that are available each year.

As everyone else here has stressed....APPLY TO EVERY ONE POSSIBLE!