Ethnicity and admission chances

A blue chip athlete excels in his or her sport to where they are actively being pursued for recruitment.... and more specifically to big Division 1 schools. My D/D is a Hispanic athlete.... 5 varsity sports per year.... but she doesn't want to play collegiate varsity sports, only intramural so we didn't go that route. If your D/D is sporty, you can send game video to the specific sport coaches at USNA. Girls seasons (volleyball, soccer, etc.) typically coincide with college seasons, so those coaches recruit from Club, coaching recommendations, and game film. They don't have a big recruiting staff like college football does.

Hope this helps!
 
This is getting away from the OP, but I would think the term 'Blue Chip' regarding SA's is reserved for recruited athletes that a coach is willing to go to bat for 'cash in one of their chits' to get this person. Each sport is allocated so many with the general consensus that football has the most (some sports may not have any). You will see a number of folks are 'recruited athletes' and the coach will tell them they would love to have them on the team, but the individual is going to have to get into the SA on their own.
 
Diversity plays a role, in as much as the admissions mandates it.
If it is decided any particular year; "We need more Martians", then being a Martian would give an otherwise qualified candidate an edge, up until "Ok, we have enough Martians".
 
As I recall in a previous thread on this subject, the SA's think about "Diversity" differently. They want candidates who, for example are from farming communities, raised in single-parent households, unable to do sports due to babysitting/working for their parents, etc.
 
My son has two friends, brothers, who both gained admission to USMA via prep. They were both told they were being put on that path due to being "under represented minorities".
 
Interesting that they were told that. Maybe USNA is different but my mid was a napster and none of them were ever told exactly why they were prepped. Many had ideas but never verified.
 
It's huge. The Navy has become a social experiment so the more diversity you have the better chance you have of admission. I don't care if you're white put black it will increase your chances by A TON. Race shouldn't matter either way (shouldn't even be known to admissions), but that's not the world we live in anymore so milk it if you can.
 
1337BeachedWhale1337 said:
If that were the case females would have to meet the same physical standards as males to gain an appointment, which is not the case.
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Which was my point. The same physical standards should apply across the board for all applicants. The last thing you want is for a soldier not being physically capable of pulling you out of danger in battle.
 
jbusn said:
It's huge. The Navy has become a social experiment so the more diversity you have the better chance you have of admission. I don't care if you're white put black it will increase your chances by A TON. Race shouldn't matter either way (shouldn't even be known to admissions), but that's not the world we live in anymore so milk it if you can.
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I was told by my MOC's office staff that the Navy is actively recruiting potential officers who represent the diverse backgrounds of the enlisted fleet. I have to agree with that forward thinking. Let me preface my next comment by saying these are not actual statistics but made-up to illustrate my point..... if the Navy is like 60% white men then having a command that is like 95% white men could lead to a breakdown in the system. I do know in other government agencies, having staff that is homogeneous with their constituency is very important.
 
As you are hopefully aware, the military doesn't work the same way as "other governmental agencies". Penalties for disobeying a lawful order (especially now during wartime) would be described best as severe, while in the Dept of XYZ, discipline for the same offense not so much. Doing some quick research, (Wikipedia) during WW II, approx. 12% of US Navy personnel were minorities & with what I will assume approx. 90% or so of white male officers, then by your statement you believe that if more minorities were present, the command might have broken down & we would have lost the war? Then we were just lucky that US Naval leadership, skill, & bravery, (along with the greatest industrial might in the world) won that war & the world war before that.
Bottom Line: Are our armed forces stronger with diversity? Yes. Would the command structure break down just due to the lack of it? No. Is the lack of diversity a challenge for leadership to meet & overcome? Yes. Lack of gender/skin color, in & of itself, will not cause a breakdown of command; ineffective leadership will. If you need ineffective leadership examples, read "The Caine Mutiny," "Mutiny on the Bounty," watch "Platoon" or "12 O'Clock High".
 
jllera1 said:
Can anyone tell me the difference between a Blue Chip athlete and just athlete? My DD is a Diversity Female...
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A "blue chip" athlete is a recruited athlete whom a coach has designated as such. They bypass several hoops in the admissions process. They may end up going to NAPS (and often do) - but that candidate is going to eventually get awarded an appointment if they are remotely qualified - and I do mean remotely. The coaches of the marquee sports (football, obviously) hold more "chips" than the coaches for other sports. In other words, the lacrosse coach has more blue chips than the squash coach. I'm not even sure the squash coach has any blue chips. This is where the designation of "athlete" comes in. A candidate can be designated as desirable (because of their athletic prowess in a particular sport) but they do not have the standing as a "blue chip" athlete. It does increase their chances, however. There are many successful candidates who are neither "blue chip" nor necessarily designated as a "desirable" athlete for any of the sports programs. Yet, well over 90% of the successful candidates will have participated in a varsity sport in high school. It still takes a degree of athleticism to survive the academy experience, even if it's simply getting through PEP during Plebe Summer or passing the the PRT (Physical Readiness Test) each semester.

Simply being an athlete is not going to help that much unless you are being actively recruited. Not being athletic can only hurt. Being athletic only puts you in play. Some candidates are so unathletic that it is revealed in the CFA (Candidate Fitness Assessment) during the admissions process.
 
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Wishful said:
As you are hopefully aware, the military doesn't work the same way as "other governmental agencies". Penalties for disobeying a lawful order (especially now during wartime) would be described best as severe, while in the Dept of XYZ, discipline for the same offense not so much. Doing some quick research, (Wikipedia) during WW II, approx. 12% of US Navy personnel were minorities & with what I will assume approx. 90% or so of white male officers, then by your statement you believe that if more minorities were present, the command might have broken down & we would have lost the war? Then we were just lucky that US Naval leadership, skill, & bravery, (along with the greatest industrial might in the world) won that war & the world war before that.
Bottom Line: Are our armed forces stronger with diversity? Yes. Would the command structure break down just due to the lack of it? No. Is the lack of diversity a challenge for leadership to meet & overcome? Yes. Lack of gender/skin color, in & of itself, will not cause a breakdown of command; ineffective leadership will. If you need ineffective leadership examples, read "The Caine Mutiny," "Mutiny on the Bounty," watch "Platoon" or "12 O'Clock High".
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Wishful, you wrote "then by your statement you believe....". I never said I believe anything. I was sharing what I was told by our MOC's staff and how I interpreted the intent of their statement based upon our entire conversation regarding the issue. I appreciate your response and the effort it took to write it. Thank you for recommendations on novels that illustrate ineffective leadership examples but I get enough of that at work. ;o)
 
WonderGirl1965 said:
Wishful, you wrote "then by your statement you believe....". I never said I believe anything.
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WonderGirl1965 said:
I was told by my MOC's office staff that the Navy is actively recruiting potential officers who represent the diverse backgrounds of the enlisted fleet. I have to agree with that forward thinking. Let me preface my next comment by saying these are not actual statistics but made-up to illustrate my point..... if the Navy is like 60% white men then having a command that is like 95% white men could lead to a breakdown in the system.
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jllera1 said:
Can anyone tell me the difference between a Blue Chip athlete and just athlete? My DD is a Diversity Female...
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Blue chips are athletes, particularly high school players, targeted for drafting or signing by teams at the college level. Collegiate players being scouted by professional franchises may also be referred to as blue chips.
 
jbusn said:
It's huge. The Navy has become a social experiment so the more diversity you have the better chance you have of admission. I don't care if you're white put black it will increase your chances by A TON. Race shouldn't matter either way (shouldn't even be known to admissions), but that's not the world we live in anymore so milk it if you can.
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NavyHoops said:
Please do not lie on your application. You will get caught and that is an automatic way to not be 3Q.
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The way that they ask which race someone is a part of today is by self identification, not necessarily ethnic ancestry. If a white kid who grew up in a black neighborhood or vice versa identifies as something else, that's perfectly allowable. Therefore, it is impossible to "lie" about your race on an application. Do your research if you don't believe that.
 
MMA19kid said:
The way that they ask which race someone is a part of today is by self identification, not necessarily ethnic ancestry. If a white kid who grew up in a black neighborhood or vice versa identifies as something else, that's perfectly allowable. Therefore, it is impossible to "lie" about your race on an application. Do your research if you don't believe that.
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Would you mind sharing the research you did to obtain this information?
 
River627 said:
Blue chips are athletes, particularly high school players, targeted for drafting or signing by teams at the college level. Collegiate players being scouted by professional franchises may also be referred to as blue chips.
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This may be the standard definition, but it not the SA's definition of 'blue chip'. The SA definition is closer to - will a coach cash in one of his tickets to get someone admitted vs being recruited and getting 'soft' support from the athletic department to get appointed.

For example Crew may not be authorized any tickets for recruits, but the coaches still recruit and provide some level of support for your candidacy

See Memphis9489's comment
 
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MMA19kid said:
The way that they ask which race someone is a part of today is by self identification, not necessarily ethnic ancestry. If a white kid who grew up in a black neighborhood or vice versa identifies as something else, that's perfectly allowable. Therefore, it is impossible to "lie" about your race on an application. Do your research if you don't believe that.
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If you check that you belong to a minority group because that is how you 'self identity' you could be committing fraud and if that turns into an appointment because of the diversity element which you accept, you have just defrauded someone of $500,000 which could equate to serious jail time.
 
Cerberi said:
If you check that you belong to a minority group because that is how you 'self identity' you could be committing fraud and if that turns into an appointment because of the diversity element which you accept, you have just defrauded someone of $500,000 which could equate to serious jail time.
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First of all, the figure isn't anywhere close to $500k. Serious jail time? There's no conceivable way that something like this would be a criminal case. That's complete bologna. You don't sound like an attorney, so don't spout off nonsense like that. Checking a box on a college application alone is not a basis for a claim of fraud, that's completely debunked. Second of all, nobody can factually prove the racial makeup of a person without scientific analysis. And taking steps to determine what the racial makeup of a person is is not something that big Navy would allow come to pass.

Is it morally wrong? Yeah, probably. That's why I selected the appropriate race on my applications. Notwithstanding, nobody here should be an arbiter of relative morality. People can make their own decisions, although one think here is certainly clear: If you identify as a hispanic, check that; if you identify as an african american, check that; if you identify as white (non-hispanic), check that. By all means check what you identify with, and don't fear some sort of big brother coming out of the framework and throwing you in prison or demanding $500k, because it's absolute nonsense, and nobody who is thoroughly educated on the subject would concur with that.
 
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