Incentive for completing app early?

[bigbody]

Good Morning! I know the main bulk of the application was just released a couple of days ago, and I was wondering if there is an incentive for completing the application early?

 

[cbasalt1]

It does say in the email that "The Naval Academy uses a rolling Admissions Board process; therefore, it is to your advantage to submit your documents promptly."

In other words I assume this means that earlier applicants are reviewed first, and therefore, have the most slots to compete for.

 

[Huursoldaat]

I can't imagine there is much advantage before Oct 1 or even Nov 1. You do start medical when you are 100% done so that is helpful to get started as soon as possible. But then you also need a nomination and those processes mostly don't start (from the MOC / Senator) until Nov 1 or even later. One of DS's Senators was scrambling end of January to interview and make nominations. You'll have to understand the specifics of your Nom sources to know what timeline you are on.

If you look at the Self-Maintained appt threads you can see the vast majority of appts are Feb-Mar-Apr. There are trickles before and after. I assume the early appointees are total rock stars and are slam dunks, or highly recruited athletes or some other really unique qualifier. If you are in that boot, great, get it done. But if not, I would target somewhere in the fall.

What you should do now however, is line up your English and Math teacher evaluations (part of the app) and anybody who will write letters of recommendation for your Nomination sources. Get those started over the summer.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

It is not a race...and getting the application in early isn't going to make a weak application stronger.

That said, getting the application completed in a timely manner demonstrates organization, interest and motivation, so there is some benefit.
More importantly, Admissions isn't submitting your name to DODMERB until the application is complete (or nearly so in some cases), so getting it done promptly gives you time to address remedials, etc.

In other words I assume this means that earlier applicants are reviewed first, and therefore, have the most slots to compete for.

THis is incorrect. Yes, the early application might get reviewed by the Admissions Board first , but for most candidates, this is a two step process where the Admissions Board determines whether you are qualified, then Noms and Appointments has to determine who on the MOC slates is most qualified and gets the offer. Noms and Appointments can't do this until all Nominations are in, and Applications complete. That is why most Candidates won't know until Februrary and March, regardless of when you complete the application.

Bottom line, don't rush to be the first one done -- but submit the best application you can , in a timely manner, then be prepared to wait.... and wait...and wait. It is not just about a single candidate, but how that candidates stacks up against other candidates in their MOC pool. Yes, I have seen a candidates not even start his application until he received his nomination , interviewed last week of January, and accepted.

PS. I am reluctant to even mention this, because no one really knows what triggers and LOA or not, but the extraordinarially strong candidate might also get an LOA...but it appears to me that LOA's can get issues whenever.

Note, was typing this when Huursoldat posted...says essentially the same thing.

 

[Huursoldaat]

Note, was typing this when Huursoldat posted...says essentially the same thing.

But one of us has much more credibility. I'll show myself out

 

[SA2026hopeful]

It does say in the email that "The Naval Academy uses a rolling Admissions Board process; therefore, it is to your advantage to submit your documents promptly."

In other words I assume this means that earlier applicants are reviewed first, and therefore, have the most slots to compete for.

This is true to an extent, but you have to remember your competing against other candidates on your slate. If they aren’t starting/ finishing their application until later in the cycle, then you will have to wait for them to be reviewed by admissions before the slate is settled.

 

[Banshee Mom]

DD was not interviewed by the congressional panel until December and received her nomination in late January , days before the application deadline . I would recommend training for the CFA if you want to get a head start on anything .

 

[Capt MJ]

Standard advice around here - your best quality application as early as it makes sense.

There are applicants who got theirs in by early fall and still waited until late spring.

 

[OldRetSWO]

I can't imagine there is much advantage before Oct 1 or even Nov 1.

1. There are nominations outside of Congressional/Senatorial such as Presidential which are available to some candidates.
2. Potential for early LOA.

FWIW, when my son applied, he completed his app right at the beginning ended up with Presidential, MOC and Senatorial noms. He got his acceptance from USNA in early Dec which was before the MOC and Senatorial slates were even submitted but admissions knew that they
could use the Presidential nom if need be since they "control" those.

 

[OldRetSWO]

DD was not interviewed by the congressional panel until December and received her nomination in late January , days before the application deadline . I would recommend training for the CFA if you want to get a head start on anything .

FWIW, we discussed training for the CFA at my last area-wide BGO Dinner and it turned out that none of the alum BGOs had trained for their CFA, at most a run-thru or two so that there would be no surprises. I know that my son had not trained for it either. Now there are some important exceptions and the issue of female candidates and Pull-ups could certainly call for significant prep and the other is for any non-athletes. All of the folks who I discussed this with had been high school athletes.

FWIW, what prompted this discussion was that the parent of a local candidate that one of the BGOs had who was a three sport athlete had hired a trainer for the purpose of getting his son prepared for the CFA and the BGO was quite surprised.

 

[2025 hopeful]

I'll just add it's also helpful to begin the whole process during the summer when you are not juggling school and other activities.

If you have a strong package and don't expect things to change much, there is also not a reason to delay. If you expect things to change some, there are still things you could be doing to prepare and use your time wisely over the summer.

Get everything in order, DD started with making a resume, as it was an easy place to list everything and then used that to fill out the application and had the resume for any future needs. Also look at those essay questions and begin writing and editing over the summer. Getting the recommendations or having teacher fill out evaluations, also can take some time with logistics that are out of your control.

DD did need to practice that basketball throw for the CFA, those tiny hands and getting the technique down can take a little time. As well as practiced the whole CFA in order a couple of times to ensure she was hitting all the marks. Nothing crazy, but again just a little planning to ensure she was submitting her best scores. If you are an athlete, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Of course, submit the best application you can, but be proactive in your planning either way.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

FWIW, we discussed training for the CFA at my last area-wide BGO Dinner and it turned out that none of the alum BGOs had trained for their CFA, at most a run-thru or two so that there would be no surprises.

^ This ! I don't think USNA really ever has revealed how much weight the CFA is given -- it is officially Pass/Fail , and passing is not that difficult if you are in reasonably good shape. There have been some anecdotal stories where the CFA goes beyond pass /fail..... I attended a BGO training session probably 6-7 years ago now where the Officer providing the training made a comment about how Noms and Appointments went back to look at CFA scores to distinguish between two virtually indistinguishable candidates, but that circumstance is the exception. Think about it, between academics, athletics, teacher evaluations, and BGO write ups, there are plenty of better ways to select a candidate than how many pullups they did.,

I've said before --SAF seems to overemphasize the importance of the CFA. Perhaps West Point gives it more weight, but at USNA . Do you best ..and PASS, but don't think that a stellar CFA is going to overcome an other weak application, or vice versa.

 

[Banshee Mom]

DD is a three varsity sport athlete and has been recruited to swim for college . When she first started training for the CFA , she could do two pull-ups and about 30 proper push-ups . We installed a pull up bar and every time I walked into her bedroom , she was doing push-ups . When she took her CFA , she performed 6 pull-ups and 49 push-ups . She also was able to get her mile time down into the 6 minute range . She applied to both USMA and is on the waitlist for USNA . TWE for USMA in late April and still on waitlist for USNA .

 

[RJB1690]

One potential benefit of an early application to any of the SAs is the potential for a similarly early referral to start the DoDMERB process which, for some people, can be long and complex, depending upon a candidate's medical history. Obvioulsy, being ready for the CFA and having your best package trumps that, but it's something to keep in mind. Getting the medical clearance out of the way leaves one less thing to stress about.

 

[LA rockymnt hi]

One thing that really helped my DD was a spreadsheet of all the items needed, who needed to do them and when they were due. It especially came in handy with nomination applications. She had to reach out a few times to those she asked for letters of recommendation to make sure they had been submitted in plenty of time. She was smart and asked them to have them completed about 3 weeks before the deadline. The built in buffer was needed.
By having an organized spreadsheet, it kept her stress level in check because she was able to easily see what had been completed and what she needed to still focus on.