My son is a junior in high school. He has talked about going to USNA since he was 12. I came across this forum accidentally when I was searching for the answer to a question he had for us (his parents). There was so much information that is already in the materials on the USNA site, (and yes, he read through the info and so did we) but then there are those questions that are not directly answered. DODMERB questions, especially. And all the conflicting information from folks who upon learning that he wants to go to USNA offer all kinds of conflicting information. It has been great to get real answers from people who have already been through the process, from parents who have already guided their student and from the students themselves.
Funny thing is, yesterday morning, I was feeling like I was looking at this site a bit too often - I look at it at work (my boss is fine with it) but we don't have internet access at home. I was feeling as though I was becoming too excited about the whole process and maybe giving my son more information than he was wanting each night. But then I saw this thread and read through the comments.
My son is 16 years old. He is being approached from some Ivy League schools for football and by his football coach and his baseball coach is wanting a list of at least 25 schools he is interested in. He is looking at baseball showcase info, being invited to football camps at colleges, etc. He is being told by teachers that he has so many choices. It is a lot for him to sort through. One thing has remained - his desire to attend USNA. Now he wants to talk to graduates who are out there working in the Navy - what are their jobs, what are the opportunities, where do they serve, what are their days like, etc.
Someone on here said that their child was busy doing what they do at this point--same here. He is at football once a week at 5:45 in the morning, school starts at 7:30 until 2:45. Then he has baseball everyday. Saturday mornings there is baseball training. After that he is either volunteering with a kids group or working at his part time job, or doing trig homework, chores at home, etc. He works with a drama team, plays an instrument in a band, etc. (All the stuff he should be enjoying at this point). And, we don't have internet at home.
Thankfully, the process has begun. He has talked with several graduates (on his own), set appointments with them (on his own). Submitted his NASS application (on his own), keeps his own calendar. However, I am thankful that he still includes us in what is going on each night at the dinner table and my husband and I are happy to tell him something new we read on this forum. And, we regularly remind him that this is on him. It has to be, don't you think? He is the one who has to walk the walk. Not us. I am humbled that there are 12,000 wonderful young men and women who are willing to walk that walk each year - the ones who put themselves out there to possibly become Navy officers. The ones who are willing to protect this nation.