Foundation 5th Year Assignment

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Aug 19, 2018
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Hi. My son just received an offer to go to a Naval Academy Foundation Prep school. There's a list of 18 schools. They gave him no additional information and we are stationed overseas, so he is having a hard time connecting with the person who tried to contact him from the Foundation. In the meantime, I was just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

How is the school the student goes to determined?
Any additional insight would be very helpful while we wait.
Thank you so much!
 
I am sure you will hear from them soon as they run a great program and generally communicate very well. You are right about the list. Essentially your DS can pick from it. With that being said, do the research. Each school varies. Some are military, some aren’t. Northwestern is actually a 1 semester program. Most are a year long. Location is all over. With you being overseas is one maybe closer to family for convenience. There are some older threads on this forum about Foundation and a few posters have chimed in about their various school experiences. Foundation will look at your family income, the school and provide what your family will pay. It can vary for each family. Foundation will walk you through this. Based upon your DSs goals (military or not, best academic program for areas he could really improve in, sports or not, location, financial needs). Foundation can probably recommend a few schools that meet these needs. Congrats! It’s a great program and early selection. Plenty of time to research and find the best school for you DS.
 
It's undoubtedly CAPT Ed Wallace who is trying to contact you. He's terrific. You and your DS determine the school. If your DS is heavily involved/recruited for a sport, he may want to attend a Foundation school where that sport is "big." O/w, folks choose schools for lots of reasons (geographic location, desire to attend a military or non-military prep school, desire for single gender school (for males), ability to spend part of that time at "regular" college, etc.).

Also understand that parents are expected to contribute to the cost of the school, based on their ability to pay. The school itself provides a significant discount off tuition, room & board and the remainder is covered by a combination of a Foundation scholarship and parents. If parents don't have the financial resources, the Foundation picks up the entire tab. Conversely, if the parents are extremely wealthy, they will be paying more/most of the cost. CAPT Wallace will explain.

Foundation is a terrific program. Foundation students have the highest graduation rate of any accession source and, for most, that extra year of education, independence and maturity is invaluable.

Feel free to PM me with questions.
 
The Foundation offer is an excellent opportunity. My DD was offered it last year and she did not hesitate to take it. Out of the schools on the list last year, she narrowed it down to three, we visited two, and selected the best that suited her goals. The school is FAR from us, but we've made it work. She's effectively half way thru the program and has completed her dues (nominations, passing Physical Readiness Test, and keeping up her academic grades). At this point, I have absolutely no complaints about either the school program or the Foundation.

Best of luck to your son!
 
It's undoubtedly CAPT Ed Wallace who is trying to contact you. He's terrific. You and your DS determine the school. If your DS is heavily involved/recruited for a sport, he may want to attend a Foundation school where that sport is "big." O/w, folks choose schools for lots of reasons (geographic location, desire to attend a military or non-military prep school, desire for single gender school (for males), ability to spend part of that time at "regular" college, etc.).

Also understand that parents are expected to contribute to the cost of the school, based on their ability to pay. The school itself provides a significant discount off tuition, room & board and the remainder is covered by a combination of a Foundation scholarship and parents. If parents don't have the financial resources, the Foundation picks up the entire tab. Conversely, if the parents are extremely wealthy, they will be paying more/most of the cost. CAPT Wallace will explain.

Foundation is a terrific program. Foundation students have the highest graduation rate of any accession source and, for most, that extra year of education, independence and maturity is invaluable.

Feel free to PM me with questions.

Thank you so much. This helps a lot.
 
The Foundation offer is an excellent opportunity. My DD was offered it last year and she did not hesitate to take it. Out of the schools on the list last year, she narrowed it down to three, we visited two, and selected the best that suited her goals. The school is FAR from us, but we've made it work. She's effectively half way thru the program and has completed her dues (nominations, passing Physical Readiness Test, and keeping up her academic grades). At this point, I have absolutely no complaints about either the school program or the Foundation.

Best of luck to your son!

Thank you so much. This helps a lot. So do they have to go through the Congressional/Presidential nomination process again?
 
Foundation students are required to apply to all noms for which they are eligible, including the 3 MOCs. However, if they don't obtain a nom, they will be given a SecNav nom (one you can receive but can't apply for). Bottom line: if you successfully complete Foundation, are o/w qualified (CFA, medical) and still want to attend USNA, you will receive an appointment.
 
My DS is currently in the foundation program and, while he thinks he should have gone straight to the academy, I truly believe this extra year of maturity is going to be of tremendous help to him going forward. If you have any questions regarding the program, please PM me.
 
while he thinks he should have gone straight to the academy

It's a common belief by kids and, occasionally, their parents. However, for whatever reason, USNA didn't share that view. The alternative was likely not a direct appointment but a turndown.

Sounds like you (the DDad) get it. I think that, come next year, your DS will better appreciate what this year has done for him. I would also say that more than a few grads who were direct appointees wish they'd had that extra year of prep. Didn't think they needed it at the time but later realized it would really have helped.
 
My DS is currently in the foundation program and, while he thinks he should have gone straight to the academy, I truly believe this extra year of maturity is going to be of tremendous help to him going forward. If you have any questions regarding the program, please PM me.

Sometimes prep school offers could be an Academy’s way of simply trying to secure a desired candidate for the next class when they don’t have enough direct admission slots available that year.
 
My DS is currently in the foundation program and, while he thinks he should have gone straight to the academy,

There is probably not any applicant that doesn't think he should get admitted directly. I remember being disappointed and thinking NAPS was a wasted year. Looking back 30+ years, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Sometimes prep school offers could be an Academy’s way of simply trying to secure a desired candidate for the next class when they don’t have enough direct admission slots available that year.

I have heard people repeat this here, and perhaps its true in very rare cases...but it is not the purpose of either NAPS or Foundation programs. In any event, it is certainly not the case when the Foundation offer comes in early December. Pure speculation, but OP says they are station overseas, so I would expect this is an otherwise outstanding candidate but Admissions has concerns about academic preparation at overseas schools.
 
My DS is currently in the foundation program and, while he thinks he should have gone straight to the academy,

There is probably not any applicant that doesn't think he should get admitted directly. I remember being disappointed and thinking NAPS was a wasted year. Looking back 30+ years, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Sometimes prep school offers could be an Academy’s way of simply trying to secure a desired candidate for the next class when they don’t have enough direct admission slots available that year.

I have heard people repeat this here, and perhaps its true in very rare cases...but it is not the purpose of either NAPS or Foundation programs. In any event, it is certainly not the case when the Foundation offer comes in early December. Pure speculation, but OP says they are station overseas, so I would expect this is an otherwise outstanding candidate but Admissions has concerns about academic preparation at overseas schools.
I agree with you and the overall intended purpose of the prep schools and foundation.
I only suggest that it seems like there have been offers made to a few candidates on here that don’t seem to fit the purpose of needing prep school to better prepare them academically as their stats seemed strong already, as was my DS case as well (seemingly).
Disclaimer, as of this posting, I have yet to see behind the curtain of admissions to know anything with certainty, only speculation......
 
Would any of you be willing to share your/your child's stats? I haven't been able to find any academic stats of people who ended up receiving the scholarship.
 
I would like to know this as well. Although I received a nomination from a highly competitive district, I doubt that I will be appointed directly now because someone has already been appointed off my congressman’s slate. I hope that a NAPs or Foundation offer will come through though.
 
Many foundation student stats will look pretty strong in many cases. And just because someone that is in your slate is appointed doesn’t mean someone else or many won’t. This happens in many competitive districts. I once lived in Northern VA. It wasn’t uncommon for 6-8 candidates on a slate get in. I had a classmate who was 1 of 6 from his highly competitor high school. Don’t count yourself out yet!
 
Update: We've gotten much more information now. He chose a school based on websites because we live in Asia (military) and visiting wasn't feasible. His grades and resume were strong. He was told that the reason he was offered a Foundation scholarship, rather than a direct appointment, is that we've been overseas for so long, they wanted to give him a chance to readjust to American life. We are not on a US base, we are attached to an embassy, so he goes to an International School and has very little interaction with Americans. He's very excited for this opportunity.
 
Would any of you be willing to share your/your child's stats? I haven't been able to find any academic stats of people who ended up receiving the scholarship.

DS was offered a Falcon Foundation scholarship. Do not base these stats on anything but face value. Every candidate has different local competition and other factors that are unknown to people outside of admissions. The class profiles posted by the Academy may be used for a general understanding of what an average Cadet looks like as well. Use those stats only as a reference and strive to be above them in any area possible to give yourself the best chance at an appointment. Having said that, don’t let the stats scare you. For every average score, there are people with lower scores who get in as well!
Here are a few:

3.9 unweighted
31 ACT
Eagle Scout
3 sport Varsity
NHS Officer
Boys State
Likes puppies
 
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Would any of you be willing to share your/your child's stats? I haven't been able to find any academic stats of people who ended up receiving the scholarship.

DS was offered a Falcon Foundation scholarship. Do not base these stats on anything but face value. Every candidate has different local competition and other factors that are unknown to people outside of admissions. The class profiles posted by the Academy may be used for a general understanding of what an average Cadet looks like as well. Use those stats only as a reference and strive to be above them in any area possible to give yourself the best chance at an appointment. Having said that, don’t let the stats scare you. For every average score, there are people with lower scores who get in as well!
Here are a few:

3.9 unweighted
31 ACT
Eagle Scout
3 sport Varsity
NHS Officer
Boys State
Likes puppies
Maybe the admissions board is full of cat people? All kidding aside, thank you. What do you think led them to being selected for a foundation scholarship and not a direct appointment?
 
He had no nomination to USAFA. Only guessing they wanted him and that was one way to do it?
 
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