There's a few. A select group of mids compete every year for Rhodes, Marshall, and other named scholarships. Others do IGEP, in which you attend the civilian institution of your choosing for grad school (up to 2 years) immediately following graduation. I think some people might go to NPS as well but I'm not sure. Why you'd go to NPS when you could go pretty much anywhere is beyond me.
What you're talking about is VGEP. There are typically between 20-25 VGEP spots per year. VGEP selection happens before 1/C year...it can be a little tricky because you have to either validate enough or take enough extra courses to have your second semester completely open. If you don't get selected for VGEP, you still have to fill all that space with the required 15 credits.
Pros:
-Get your master's done right away!
-Its very selective
Cons:
-Delay heading off to your first school/unit (not a big deal since it only really delays you by a few months. The last guys from my class who did VGEP are at TBS now)
-Very limited: only certain programs are covered and obviously only at certain schools
-If you don't get selected you have to fill up that spot in your schedule
-Pretty sure you pay for it (but not 100%)
This might turn into a bit of a rant, but...
To candidates: it's great you're all thinking of these awesome opportunities available at USNA. But the truth is that these grad school opportunities end up going to, in total, probably the top 5% of your class. Maybe less. No matter how good you think you are, it's just basic math that you will likely NOT be in the top 5%. Everyone comes in with big plans about getting VGEP/IGEP/Rhodes/whatever and the overwhelming majority walk out the door with a plain ol' BS and a commission. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that and it doesn't mark you as lesser or a failure: at the end of the day the commission and desire to get out there and lead Sailors and Marines is what matters, not getting to play civilian at Georgetown for a semester. And, FYI, I'm not saying this because I'm bitter or something (because I'm not, and got to take advantage of some other awesome opportunities in my major).
I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from being aware that these programs exist or setting them as a goal, but there needs to be some expectation management for kids going in.
