Is it better to attend NAPS (Naval Academy Prep School) or go to a university, attend NROTC, and be successful in your classes?

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ahmoon

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Hello! I have a question:

I am currently a high school senior. I had a BGO interview two weeks ago. My interviewer asked me if I wanted to attend the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS) if I did not make it into Naval Academy. I said yes. Then, someone told me it was a better idea to attend a four-year university, do Navy ROTC there, and excel in your classes academically. Is this statement true or not? Will it increase my chances for an appointment at the Naval Academy next year?
 
NAPS and all official prep schools are designed for individuals who do not have a solid academic foundation and need a year of intense prep. The academy sees something else about you that they really want. You have to be disqualified academically to get an offer to prep. If you are academically qualified, going to college and doing well in a challenging schedule will make you more competitive the second time if you reapply. You may also be eligible for a NROTC nomination.
 
If you’re offered a spot at the prep school, conventional wisdom says take it! As mentioned above, it’s virtually a golden ticket.

If you don’t get either direct appointment or prep school, go to another college, take a plebe-like schedule, join ROTC, excel at both and apply again. If appointed, great. If not, you’re still one step closer to commission via ROTC. And the commission is the ultimate prize, right?
 
If you are offered NAPS, USNA is essentially saving you a seat in the Class of 2025. They like you, but feel you need polishing in some areas. If you successfully complete NAPS and remain qualified in all areas, you will in all likelihood be offered an appointment. You still have to get a nom next year.

And - you have the chance to handle a year away from home and mature a bit, learn military stuff (marching! bedmaking! shoe-shining! jargon!) that will stand you in good stead at USNA, develop a solid academic foundation, plus have a ready-made set of friends going with you to I-Day.

If USNA is your goal, and you are offered NAPS or a Foundation Scholarship at a prep school, grab that and don’t look back.

As noted above, the NROTC route is a great plan for those not offered prep.
 
USMA 1994 said:
NAPS and all official prep schools are designed for individuals who do not have a solid academic foundation and need a year of intense prep. The academy sees something else about you that they really want. You have to be disqualified academically to get an offer to prep. If you are academically qualified, going to college and doing well in a challenging schedule will make you more competitive the second time if you reapply. You may also be eligible for a NROTC nomination.
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You do not have to be academically DQ’d to be offered prep school. There are many different reasons it may be offered with some reasons more common than others.
It may be true at USNA, but USAFA it’s definitely not the case.
Anyone wishing to attend an SA and is offered prep school should accept the offer.
 
ahmoon said:
I am currently a high school senior. I had a BGO interview two weeks ago. My interviewer asked me if I wanted to attend the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS) if I did not make it into Naval Academy.
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First, Candidates should not consider this question from a BGO to be an indication that the BGO does not consider you competitive for direct Admission, or that the BGO is going to recommend that you got to NAPS. One of the "blocks" we check on the BGO evaluation form is whether we discussed NAPS and Foundation with the Candidate.

Second, OP's answer to BGO was good. You are not committing to attend NAPS or Foundation, just stating that you would be interested. As to the question or whether you would go to NAPS or opt to go to Plan B/NROTC ..you can make that decision when the time comes. There are a lot of threads here that discuss the pros and cons, but I have made it clear that I am unequivocally in favor of attending NAPS if you want to attend USNA.


USMA 1994 said:
You have to be disqualified academically to get an offer to prep.
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This statement keeps getting repeated here, and while it may apply to USMA, it is not true for USNA. From observation over the years, the NAPS appointee is not "Admissions Board" qualified (as opposed to "academically disqualified") but this disqualification can be for any number of reasons, not just academic. (Although academic preparation is probably the most common reason).
 
Our son has had the opportunity to chat with Mids at forums and STEM, he met several who were NAPS and were happy about it. They felt it prepared them for their Plebe year and that it actually gave them a leg up on those who were not Prep school. His BGO asked the same question. If he were presented with NAPS as an option he would take it in a heartbeat over his NROTC 4 year scholarship.
 
I think we are splitting hairs and may be giving individuals false hope in the process. Technically I agree with your comment, you have to be disqualified by the admissions board to be considered for the prep school. Your academic and extracurricular/leadership background is what the admission board is evaluating. While technically you could be qualified academically and not have enough leadership or extracurricular activities to be deemed qualified in that area, the chances of that individual even being brought in front of the board is slim. All applicants are not brought in front of the board. The mission of the prep schools are to take the groups classified as "leaders" or "athletes" who lack the educational foundation and help bring them up to a level where they can be successful academically. 99 out of every 100 prep school appointees fall in this category.
 
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Back to the OP, your BGO is asking you because it is required in the interview.

The question comes up every year and the answer is always it depends on you. IF you have good test scores and IF you have a strong educational foundation and IF you are mature enough to do well as a Freshman taking a challenging course load, a four year college is the best option.

Now

IF you did not attend a rigorous high school that prepared you well for college level studies or IF you lack the maturity to be successful on your own or IF your time management skills are not that strong, a year at a prep school may be what you need.

Sponsored prep is a completely different animal. If you are offered sponsored prep, you should take it regardless of the items I listed above. It is the golden ticket in next year's admission cycle as long as you do your part.
 
Lots of different concepts here. To summarize . . .

BGOs are required to ask if a candidate would consider NAPS/Foundation Prep. We are told to ask everyone. The fact that you, as a candidate, are asked the question means absolutely nothing about whether you being -- or will be -- considered for either.

People are offered NAPS/Foundation for all sorts of reasons. Typically, it's the need for additional academic prep, but that's not the only reason.

If you are offered NAPS/Foundation and want to attend USNA, you should accept the "sponsored" prep program. The reason is that, if you successfully complete the prep program, your odds of being appointed are 100%. If you do NROTC, who knows?

If you are considering SELF-prep vs. NROTC/civilian college, USNA recommends civilian college unless you believe you really need help with the items mentioned in the post above. NROTC is NOT required to be a successful reapplicant, though many candidates do it for all sorts of reasons.
 
Agree with many of the above, except some of the detours...
1. This question is required by BGOs. How a candidate answers this question does not affect a candidate's chances of receiving an appointment.
2. To the OP, rest assured, your response was logical and prudent; keeping all options open is always a wise strategy.
3. Now get busy getting that NROTC application submitted and see what cards you are dealt.
4. Don't give up the ship.
 
This is coming from a plebe who did NOT attend naps, but is roommates with two napsters.

Whether or not you should take NAPS over going the NROTC route is totally dependent on an individual basis. If the Naval Academy is the dream, by all means go to NAPS because it is essentially a golden ticket for the Academy. If your goal is to commission as a Naval/ Marine Corps Officer, then keep NAPS in mind but don't put aside the NROTC route. From the words of my NAPS roommates, NAP's life is tough. There is no sugar coating that it is a tough place and is at times.. well... depressing. That being said, napsters are the most prepared when they come to the academy and often are more successful here. I am speaking very broad here and life is what you make it but that extra year of development and maturity does go a long way, but it comes at a cost.

In my limited time here, one of the many lessons I've learned here is that nothing is free. On paper, attending USNA is free but there is a lot of sacrifice in attending. The same thing goes for NAPS.

If anyone is interested, I can get you in contact with plebes that are napsters that have more credibility on the topic that would love to talk to anyone with questions.
 
ahmoon said:
Then, someone told me it was a better idea to........
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One thing you will find about applying to any of the SA's is that well-meaning friends/relatives/neighbors or even the mailman will offer all sorts of advice even when they have NO idea what they are talking about. Make sure to get reliable/accurate/current information from those who actually know what they are talking about.
 
if you are asking which option will give you a better chance of getting an appointment to USNA, the answer is NAPS
If you attend NAPS, and meet the minimum requirements to complete the year, you have a nearly 100% chance of getting an appointment.

If you are asking which option will allow to you commission as an officer most quickly, then college/NROTC is the answer.

If you attend college, and join an ROTC unit as a college programmer, take all the right courses, excel in ROTC, and get something like a 3.6-4.0 GPA, you have a good shot at USNA, but you are still in a competition, and MANY MANY very qualified candidates will not get an appointment.

I'm assuming you are not choosing between an NROTC scholarship and NAPS, because if you are chosen for NAPS you are not likely to be chosen for the scholarship, though I'm sure there have been exceptions.
 
ahmoon said:
Hello! I have a question:

I am currently a high school senior. I had a BGO interview two weeks ago. My interviewer asked me if I wanted to attend the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS) if I did not make it into Naval Academy. I said yes. Then, someone told me it was a better idea to attend a four-year university, do Navy ROTC there, and excel in your classes academically. Is this statement true or not? Will it increase my chances for an appointment at the Naval Academy next year?
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I think the esteemed members have answered this question sufficiently. I just wanted to offer a dose of reality, don't count on NAPS or a Foundation Scholarship if you do not get accepted to USNA. It is akin to a second competition, often more difficult and restrictive than your USNA application do to the sheer numbers you are dealing with. If you get NAPS or a Foundation Scholarship GRAB IT!, but don't be surprised if you don't get either one, especially if you are strong academically and come from from a school that offers AP/IB Classes, you may be lacking in one of the other areas, and don't get offered a Prep Program. Be prepared, make sure your Plan B and Pan C are up and running and you are prepared to go that route. Good Luck!
 
My daughter accepted NAPS. Best thing that could have happened. An immediate wake up call, “You’re not in Kansas anymore”. They’re not fooling around. She is now in her Plebe year class of 2023. You can’t request this so if offered, GRAB IT & Run. One final note, although you do have to request nominations from all your eligible for, you DON’T necessarily have to receive another nomination from your Congressman or Senator because you will receive one from Sec Nav.
 
USMA 1994 said:
NAPS and all official prep schools are designed for individuals who do not have a solid academic foundation and need a year of intense prep. The academy sees something else about you that they really want. You have to be disqualified academically to get an offer to prep. If you are academically qualified, going to college and doing well in a challenging schedule will make you more competitive the second time if you reapply. You may also be eligible for a NROTC nomination.
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Actually, there are a number of folks at NAPS each year who are academically qualified. Have a friend whose kid had a really good academic record. Was denied. A week or so later offered NAPS. He’s doing well at USNA now.
 
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