OP didn’t mention athletics, so will stay away from that topic.
Initial thoughts, nothing wrong with wanting USNA as your primary, but you mention your strong desire to be a Naval Officer. I would suggest you to apply for NROTC and here is why.
Initial thoughts, nothing wrong with wanting USNA as your primary, but you mention your strong desire to be a Naval Officer. I would suggest you to apply for NROTC and here is why.
- What if you don’t get in to USNA? Maybe you just don’t make the cut, don’t get a nom, maybe break your arm and need surgery and are not qualified.
- Even if you don’t need the money to do NROTC you should apply. This sets you on the path to commission as a Plan B. If you aren’t on scholarship then you compete for advanced standing. The needs of the Navy win here. It’s hard to predict what those will be in coming years, but some years those numbers are low. Why not apply for the path that would provide a ‘guarantee’ to commission instead of gambling and seeing how many spots the Navy needs. Advanced standing doesn’t happen over night. Read the recent thread about NROTC side loads and AS from this week. Many of these guys and gals have worked hard for 2 years and had to wait until nearly the start of their junior year to know if the Navy would be their future.
- You won’t get to do summer training until you get a scholarship or earn advanced standing. You might be saying that you will reapply to USNA and will have 4 years of training there. True, but what if? Why not take advantage of every opportunity out there. Why not lock up the path to your commission and take every training opportunity out there.
- You mentions your desire to be a Naval Officer, wonderful. So approach this like one. Plan for every scenario you can think of, have a back up to the back up. Weigh your pros and cons, risks, how do you mitigate them. Remember the 7 Ps... prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Why not pursue every path possible that gives you every advantage to achieving your dream... and notice I didn’t focus on the $ part. It’s not about that. It’s about opportunity and securing the path to your goal.