General Questions

[sbservice]

Hi, I am currently a sophomore in high school planning to apply for the Naval Academy. I have some general questions and would love advice if you have any.

Currently I have about a 4.2/4.3 weighted GPA and will most likely finish high school around there.
I've been preparing for the SAT as well, and will most likely get at least a 1500+/1600.
For extracurriculars: I am president of my class, I am on the varsity tennis team, and do several clubs like Model UN and so on.

1) I plan to major in something like computer science. How do majors exactly work at the Naval Academy? If i major in computer science, then what would my job in the navy be like?

2) Based on the info I've provided above, what do you think are areas I should improve upon to help my chances of making it into the academy?

3) Just out of curiosity, how is life after the military? I plan to serve and all that, but for after when I go back to a civilian lifestyle, would finding jobs be extremely difficult?

And if you have any other advice or tips that you'd like to share, please do!

 

[Capt MJ]

If you haven't read every page, link and drop down at USNA.edu/admissions, that's a good place to start to learn about career paths available out of USNA. You will get answers to many questions there.

In many cases, any major (you get a B.S. no matter what) works for any officer community. In some cases, such as cyber (this community has undergone many name changes recently), it's more likely you would have a computer science major or similar. Plebes (freshmen) get plenty of briefs on all major, programs and warfare communities.

To research further about Navy officer communities, look at the general officer recruiting site, selecting officer:
https://www.navy.com/joining/ways-to-join/career-comparison.html

Don't forget to research Marine Corps as well, as USNA produces Marine officers.

Browse the USNA forum here and look at "chance me" and "stats" to get a general feel for what adds up to a competitive package. Looks like you are building a solid foundation with academics, class leadership, varsity sport. You will be competing with thousands just like you, so you are smart to start researching the path early.

In the summer between junior and senior year in HS, there are week-long summer programs for interested candidates. At USNA, it's NASS.

Don't pass up the other 4 SAs - you never know what you might get excited about. They have similar admissions pages.

If you are set on an SA, you will see here repeated many times the advice to work on your Plans B and C as well, for college ROTC or a SMC.

Take notes and set up a timeline and To Do lists. You will need to be organized and attentive to detail to navigate a long path strewn with application-related tasks.

By now, you should be looking for the Acronyms stickie here at SAF...

Edit: as to finding jobs, employers will value you for your leadership experience not often found in civilian peers of the same age, resource management, work ethic, adaptivity to stress, ability to learn quickly, being drug-free and healthy, and a security clearance. Just a few of many things. Don't worry about that until it's time. You have no idea whether you are going to stay in or get out.

 

[sbservice]

If you haven't read every page, link and drop down at USNA.edu/admissions, that's a good place to start to learn about career paths available out of USNA. You will get answers to many questions there.

In many cases, any major (you get a B.S. no matter what) works for any officer community. In some cases, such as cyber (this community has undergone many name changes recently), it's more likely you would have a computer science major or similar. Plebes (freshmen) get plenty of briefs on all major, programs and warfare communities.

To research further about Navy officer communities, look at the general officer recruiting site, selecting officer:
https://www.navy.com/joining/ways-to-join/career-comparison.html

Don't forget to research Marine Corps as well, as USNA produces Marine officers.

Browse the USNA forum here and look at "chance me" and "stats" to get a general feel for what adds up to a competitive package. Looks like you are building a solid foundation with academics, class leadership, varsity sport. You will be competing with thousands just like you, so you are smart to start researching the path early.

In the summer between junior and senior year in HS, there are week-long summer programs for interested candidates. At USNA, it's NASS.

Don't pass up the other 4 SAs - you never know what you might get excited about. They have similar admissions pages.

If you are set on an SA, you will see here repeated many times the advice to work on your Plans B and C as well, for college ROTC or a SMC.

Take notes and set up a timeline and To Do lists. You will need to be organized and attentive to detail to navigate a long path strewn with application-related tasks.

By now, you should be looking for the Acronyms stickie here at SAF...

Edit: as to finding jobs, employers will value you for your leadership experience not often found in civilian peers of the same age, resource management, work ethic, adaptivity to stress, ability to learn quickly, being drug-free and healthy, and a security clearance. Just a few of many things. Don't worry about that until it's time. You have no idea whether you are going to stay in or get out.

Thank you so much for your input, its very helpful! I'll make sure to keep all those pointers in mind.