You will not receive “admission “ to an SA without a Nom, unless you’re referring to an LOA.
This statement is confusing . For clarification - The LOA is not "admission" , it is a Conditional Offer of Appointment , and as indicated in the name, is an offer of appointment "with conditions." The conditions often includes 1) obtaining a Nomination and 2) Medical Qualification.
You will not automatically be considered if you don’t get an offer of appointment to an SA
.
USNA automatically considers all applicants for NAPS and Foundation. This is done as part of the Admissions Board review (one of the 3 "Q'"s), which occurs before even being considered for an Appointment. (Admissions is actually a two -step process, once a candidate is 3Q, Noms and Appointments reviews the MOC slates/available nominations and issues Offers of Appointment).
There are many 3Q candidates who don't win their MOC slate (and thus don't get an Offer of Appointment) that don't get considered for NAPS/FOUNDATION. Keep in mind the purpose for NAPS and Foundation is not to serve as an avenue for the "runner up" to get admitted. They exist to provide outstanding candidates who are missing "something" in their application profile (it is often academic preparation, but not always) and opportunity to prepare for USNA.
I believe this is the "textbook answer." I am sure someone will post their story about fully qualified candidates attending NAPS/Foundation. No one (except Admissions) really knows why one candidate goes to NAPs and the other goes to Plan B ., and as always , there can be exceptions to every rule.