NASS Question

[Usnavy2019]

I really appreciate the quick response and the insight!

To be honest... West Point is #1 in my heart, haha, and I very much looking forward to applying for SLE. But, despite being a West Point family, I have a draw to USNA and the Navy. I have no experience with any Navy life as my dad has been in the Army for all my life, and I am very curious about it so I think NASS would be a great experience for that. Thanks again!

Go Army, Beat Navy!

I would implore you to do some of your own research regarding USNA and the USN and USMC (USNA commissions into both since the USMC is part of the Dept. of the Navy). NASS is a recruiting/outreach tool. In other words, NASS is designed to show a particular picture of USNA, and to say you will get a dose of what life at USNA and in the Naval Service will be like is a stretch. You will have a career brief about the different post-graduation career options available to you, but a 30 min PowerPoint won't give you the full picture. NASS is a great program and it accomplishes its mission well... to get people to apply to USNA. However, its mission is not to teach people about what the USN/USMC is like. That happens when you are a MIDN to a degree, and more so when you commission.

Here are the general jobs available to you:
USN:
Surface (Conventional and Nuke... this refers to the ship's powerplant, not weapons)
Submarines
Pilot
NFO
SEAL
EOD

Other careers exist, but they are the exception to the rule

USMC:
Marine Pilot
Marine Ground (Final MOS determined post-commission via The Basic School)
Marine Cyber (Same as Ground, but you are guaranteed to go Cyber unless you give it up).

 

[blacknight5478]

Correct. You would reach out to your BGO or admissions counselor. It’s designed for competitive candidates who need exposure to see if USNA is a good fit. It’s not designed for students who have spent time on the Yard (read: y’all reading this, don’t bug your reps if this isn’t your situation), or are already all-in for USNA. And it has zero bearing on your application (you don’t get points for attending, for example).

But for somone who is a competitive candidate, and isn’t sure? Who has only been exposed to Army? And hasn’t completed any other on campus outreach? That’s a good prospect

Okay sounds good! I will have to reach out to my counselor for that.

 

[blacknight5478]

I would implore you to do some of your own research regarding USNA and the USN and USMC (USNA commissions into both since the USMC is part of the Dept. of the Navy). NASS is a recruiting/outreach tool. In other words, NASS is designed to show a particular picture of USNA, and to say you will get a dose of what life at USNA and in the Naval Service will be like is a stretch. You will have a career brief about the different post-graduation career options available to you, but a 30 min PowerPoint won't give you the full picture. NASS is a great program and it accomplishes its mission well... to get people to apply to USNA. However, its mission is not to teach people about what the USN/USMC is like. That happens when you are a MIDN to a degree, and more so when you commission.

Here are the general jobs available to you:
USN:
Surface (Conventional and Nuke... this refers to the ship's powerplant, not weapons)
Submarines
Pilot
NFO
SEAL
EOD

Other careers exist, but they are the exception to the rule

USMC:
Marine Pilot
Marine Ground (Final MOS determined post-commission via The Basic School)
Marine Cyber (Same as Ground, but you are guaranteed to go Cyber unless you give it up).

Thanks for that advice! I will have to do some more research on it. I understand the gist of the Navy but not at all to the extent that I do the Army. I'll just have to get in contact with someone, maybe a BGO would be good. Thanks!

 

[Usnavy2019]

Thanks for that advice! I will have to do some more research on it. I understand the gist of the Navy but not at all to the extent that I do the Army. I'll just have to get in contact with someone, maybe a BGO would be good. Thanks!

BGOs are a good resource, but also know that BGOs come from different walks of life. Some are prior-service, others have no connection to the military outside of being a Navy parent. Their experience runs the gambit. We have some awesome BGOs on SAF that are prior service, but they are constrained by their experiences. In other words, they can tell you about their careers, experiences, a lot of good USNA knowledge, and generic USN/USMC things, but you will be hard pressed to get a lot of info about let's say EOD from a Navy Pilot BGO.

I watched a lot of YouTube videos, read articles (Wikipedia and others), and researched the recruiting websites. A lot of info is out there, you just have to hunt for it.

 

[reagan9]

I applied to NASS last year, and a couple of weeks after I submitted my application, got an email inviting me to a CVW. I went and it was fantastic, and really convinced me that Annapolis and the Navy was the right place for me. Several weeks later, and I got the email telling me I didn't get into NASS. I was disappointed, but ended up doing AIM at USCGA, which was also a great experience. Fast forward a few months later, and I have an LOA from USNA with a nomination and all the boxes checked to fulfill the LOA. One thing that people told me at AIM who had also done NASS was that NASS seemed more like a way of recruiting people and encouraging them to come to USNA (what Usnavy2019 said), whereas AIM was more realistic when it came to what Swab Summer/Plebe Summer would be like. So, I would encourage anyone to apply to AIM as well, even if you don't think you'll end up at USCGA, because I felt that it did a good job demonstrating to me the pressure and difficulties that I'll end up facing during Plebe Summer.

 

[blacknight5478]

I applied to NASS last year, and a couple of weeks after I submitted my application, got an email inviting me to a CVW. I went and it was fantastic, and really convinced me that Annapolis and the Navy was the right place for me. Several weeks later, and I got the email telling me I didn't get into NASS. I was disappointed, but ended up doing AIM at USCGA, which was also a great experience. Fast forward a few months later, and I have an LOA from USNA with a nomination and all the boxes checked to fulfill the LOA. One thing that people told me at AIM who had also done NASS was that NASS seemed more like a way of recruiting people and encouraging them to come to USNA (what Usnavy2019 said), whereas AIM was more realistic when it came to what Swab Summer/Plebe Summer would be like. So, I would encourage anyone to apply to AIM as well, even if you don't think you'll end up at USCGA, because I felt that it did a good job demonstrating to me the pressure and difficulties that I'll end up facing during Plebe Summer.

That's actually great news then! On the personal statement section, I did make it known that part of the reason I want to go to NASS is because I have been part of an Army family for my whole life and am unsure about the Navy... so hopefully with that statement I will be considered for that. I am definitely applying for AIM, because again, I know nothing about USCGA or the Coast Guard in general and want my options to be open. I have heard its a very good program that gets you pretty exposed. Congrats on the LOA to USNA and the nom, that's really awesome! Thanks for the response!

 

[reagan9]

You're welcome! Just wanted to encourage you that even if NASS doesn't work out, it doesn't mean that they are not interested in you, in fact it could be just the opposite!