Extra Curricular Activities to get into a Service Academy

Boeingaircraft787 said:
Thanks for the response. I agree completely. All of the clubs/activities I have joined I have stuck with and have had the opportunity to lead the club activity. Would the USNA count Debate as a sport? We have tournaments, state, nationals.
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No, debate is not a sport...although many debates are about sports.
 
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Old Navy BGO said:
Look at the USNA Class Profiles...this is a good summary of traits that USNA looks on favorably.
As others have noted, its not about participating ..but rather contributing and leading.
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At the same time, items on the class profile are a Correlation but not necessarily a CAUSATION.
I'll bet that well over 90% of the admitted class had candles on their birthday cakes but that did not help them get into USNA.
Earlier in this thread the point was made about the large percentage of the class with community service. I believe that to be
a function of the many high schools that now require Community Service as well as the Community Service aspects of some
common ECAs like Scouts or National Honor Society as opposed to it being something that USNA looks for. I've been
attending BGO training and training updates since the early 90's and Community Service has never been on the list of
things admissions wants aspiring candidates to focus on.
Those things are:

Academics
Hard Courses, especially the recommended STEM subject areas
Good Grades
Superior Test Scores

Fitness

Athletics
Preference for Leadership Roles

Extracurricular Activities - including school, church, community, etc and can INCLUDE Community Service
Preference for Leadership Roles
 
OldRetSWO said:
At the same time, items on the class profile are a Correlation but not necessarily a CAUSATION.
I'll bet that well over 90% of the admitted class had candles on their birthday cakes but that did not help them get into USNA.
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Agree 100% (and with your list of important traits ). The Class Profile was never intended to be a "checklist" for Admission, but rather examples of what type of activities the "typical" successful applicant has. No doubt there are many Candidates who have checked off every block and not gotten in, and others who have none of those blocks checked and have gotten in. Admission is an extremely competitive process, and perhaps the most important attribute is demonstrated success and leadership across the spectrum of academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities.
 
^^^ THIS! ^^^

Unfortunately, in SAF we see many examples of candidates in “check off the boxes” mode. This can result in someone being a mile wide and an inch deep. USNA seeks candidates who are committed, dedicated and have made a meaningful impact. That most often comes from devoting yourself to a few things rather than a lot.

An example of not needing to check off every box: DD was never a member of a club, much less president of one. She played two sports (and was team captain) but one of those was for a high-level club team that didn’t count as varsity. She wasn’t a member of National Honor Society because her school doesn’t offer it. And she didn’t do Girls State because it’s not her cup of tea. So she didn’t check off all those boxes, but otherwise showed her academic and athletic and leadership chops.
 
MidCakePa said:
^^^ THIS! ^^^

"Unfortunately, in SAF we see many examples of candidates in “check off the boxes” mode. This can result in someone being a mile wide and an inch deep. USNA seeks candidates who are committed, dedicated and have made a meaningful impact. That most often comes from devoting yourself to a few things rather than a lot."
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Great point and well said by @MidCakePa.
 
MidCakePa said:
^^^ THIS! ^^^

Unfortunately, in SAF we see many examples of candidates in “check off the boxes” mode. This can result in someone being a mile wide and an inch deep. USNA seeks candidates who are committed, dedicated and have made a meaningful impact. That most often comes from devoting yourself to a few things rather than a lot.

An example of not needing to check off every box: DD was never a member of a club, much less president of one. She played two sports (and was team captain) but one of those was for a high-level club team that didn’t count as varsity. She wasn’t a member of National Honor Society because her school doesn’t offer it. And she didn’t do Girls State because it’s not her cup of tea. So she didn’t check off all those boxes, but otherwise showed her academic and athletic and leadership chops.
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You know I am not in "Check off mode" you know. I do 2 sports, Tennis for spring and mountaineering for summer. For Clubs I do Debate, and I also participate in search and rescue. Violin is for a school orchestra. Those are all things that I commit too during different parts of the year. I cannot play tennis in the winter obviously. I cannot do mountaineering in the winter. All of my activities I take time for and aren't just in it for a little.
 
Boeingaircraft787 said:
You know I am not in "Check off mode" you know. I do 2 sports, Tennis for spring and mountaineering for summer. For Clubs I do Debate, and I also participate in search and rescue. Violin is for a school orchestra. Those are all things that I commit too during different parts of the year. I cannot play tennis in the winter obviously. I cannot do mountaineering in the winter. All of my activities I take time for and aren't just in it for a little.
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Those are only really 4 things.
 
Boeingaircraft787 said:
I am looking into applying to the USNA, and I would like to know if I am doing enough Extra Curricular Activities. I do not participate in a Varsity Sport, although I do play JV tennis. I do mountaineering, I have climbed Mt. Baker (10,800 feet) and will go on a 7 day long mountaineering trip this summer. Next year I plan on summiting Mt. Rainier. I also ski. I do Open Debate (Open Debate is the equivalent of Varsity with other activities), and have played violin for the last 9 years. Finally, I participate in my local Search and Rescue Group with Ham Radio. Should I focus more on a varsity sport or am I doing enough? Thanks.
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Football, captain (or co-captain).
Boxing, with a fully healed but roguishly masculine broken nose.
Hockey, again as captain, with a tooth or two missing and scars.
 
Boeingaircraft787 said:
I am looking into applying to the USNA, and I would like to know if I am doing enough Extra Curricular Activities. I do not participate in a Varsity Sport, although I do play JV tennis. I do mountaineering, I have climbed Mt. Baker (10,800 feet) and will go on a 7 day long mountaineering trip this summer. Next year I plan on summiting Mt. Rainier. I also ski. I do Open Debate (Open Debate is the equivalent of Varsity with other activities), and have played violin for the last 9 years. Finally, I participate in my local Search and Rescue Group with Ham Radio. Should I focus more on a varsity sport or am I doing enough? Thanks.
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There are plenty of people I know at the Naval Academy who do not do varsity sports because it is so competitive at their previous high schools. You could participate in as many clubs and teams as you want, you just need to secure a leadership role in them. For example, going into my senior year I go to a pretty small school. I’m a five sport varsity athlete and a captain for three of those teams, I created the first STEM camp for my school’s elementary, and I am a volunteer head coach for my schools youth sports association. Those all have some form of leadership role attached. You could work your way to showing leadership on your tennis team by being a hard worker and encouraging others around you to be the same in a positive way.
I have a selfless leadership style, and that’s what the Naval Academy looks for. A good step to show that type of leadership is to get into NASS(even if you don’t your coaches/teachers can put that in their letters of rec. and if you don’t get accepted to NASS that doesn’t determine your spot at the Academy.) Over my time at NASS, I went in with the mentality that there were going to be people there who would be more physically fit and others who needed more encouragement. I knew I was mentally strong, so I decided to work my hardest and support everyone around me along the way.
My squad leaders eventually picked up on this and nominated me for a Blue and Gold nomination during Blue and Gold night. Then the next day at awards I was declared as the 2022 Overall Outstanding Candidate.
Even though I didn’t max out on everything during the CFA or not drop during death by push ups, I did well in all categories, and that’s the type of candidate they are looking for. Someone who is respectful to their leaders, someone who can lead while following, encourage others, and be a source of positivity for others. Your squad leaders will have to make an evaluation on your performance after summer seminar is over, and their evaluation only matters to your application if you give all your effort and put in a genuine effort to do your best in all areas, but their evaluations can also hurt you if you decide to be disrespectful, or act in a way that is not acceptable.

I would focus on developing a selfless leadership style and see how you can gain a leadership role in your community through serving. The Academy is looking for strong leaders who can be great officers upon graduation.

I wish you the best of luck, and I hope my information helps you!
 
Boeingaircraft787 said:
You know I am not in "Check off mode" you know. I do 2 sports, Tennis for spring and mountaineering for summer. For Clubs I do Debate, and I also participate in search and rescue. Violin is for a school orchestra. Those are all things that I commit too during different parts of the year. I cannot play tennis in the winter obviously. I cannot do mountaineering in the winter. All of my activities I take time for and aren't just in it for a little.
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I think what they were trying to tell you is, anyone can be apart of a lot of clubs, but it doesn’t mean anything if there is nothing to back it up. You can be on a Varsity team, but never see the court and do nothing to contribute leadership wise to a team. The things you are involved in are incredible, but you need to make sure you have a leadership role in all of them. If you dont it will look like an application filler, and not necessarily you making an impact on the club/sport itself. They were only trying to give you some helpful advice, and to get to the Academy you are going to need the help of your BGO and nomination sources. Without them, your application means nothing. If you have the attitude of “I’m already doing all of this year round and I have no time for anything else”, you need to press the reset button because BGOs frown upon that. There is plenty of time to do everything and be involved in whatever you can handle. It is never too late or there is never not enough time to pick up another service opportunity, or try to make an impact in your community. But based off of what you have, personally I think you need more service extracurriculars.
 
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