Predicament

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Wannabe32

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Apr 13, 2016
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I will be a three time applicant for USNA now. Now that I will be entering my Sophomore year of college I have reached some crossroads. I can either A) retake my core classes (Calc 1,2,3, Diffy Q, Physics 1 and 2, Chemistry etc) in hopes of reaching higher grades or B) advance towards my upper division engineering courses.

The way I see it is if I retake courses I have already taken and am denied from USNA a third time, I wasted a lot of time and money to just be in the same spot "credits toward my major wise" as I am in now. However retaking courses could pay off and lead to an appointment.

Or I could advance towards my engineering degree and better myself as an engineering student (what I'd rather do), but I could do this and not earn an appointment due to my 3.0 gpa currently.


Does anyone have any input or advice?
 
Truck on as if you're going to finish your engineering degree and reapply if you so choose. Like you said, if you retake these courses and get rejected again you're stagnant in your major. The way I see it, if USNA doesn't work out then it would be best to finish your degree and look into other Officer Accession programs if you still have a desire to serve. Best of luck on reapplying, hope things work out in your favor
 
Move forward. Good luck, and if the third time is not the charm you can always commission through other channels.
 
Wannabe32 said:
I can either A) retake my core classes (Calc 1,2,3, Diffy Q, Physics 1 and 2, Chemistry etc) in hopes of reaching higher grades or B) advance towards my upper division engineering courses.

The way I see it is if I retake courses I have already taken and am denied from USNA a third time, I wasted a lot of time and money to just be in the same spot "credits toward my major wise" as I am in now. However retaking courses could pay off and lead to an appointment.

Or I could advance towards my engineering degree and better myself as an engineering student (what I'd rather do), but I could do this and not earn an appointment due to my 3.0 gpa currently.
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I admire your persistence. First question I have is; "in hopes of reaching higher grades" to what? Looks like your taking all the right STEM classes but what grades have you gotten that would put you in the possible position of re-taking them? Are we talking C's and D's?

Second, we're you able to find out what held you back the first two times...particularly as a collage re-applicant? Was it the grades, test scores, something else? I think that by examining the core issues here may bring you to a better place to make a thoughtful decision about your future. What if those grades. whatever they were, don't dramatically improve? Then what? IF your true desire is to serve as a Naval Officer, you're 1/4 of the way to that goal as there are numerous other ways besides USNA to get there.

You've invested time and money and I hope you're in a good place. Far be it for me to advise you but I would think this out very carefully.

I wish you the very best!
 
I've gotten a C+ and some B/B-'s. I'm in NROTC; however, my dream is to attend USNA and I will continue to apply until I either get in or am no longer allowed to apply anymore.
 
Will a college let you retake classes you already passed? There is no guarantee your grades will improve.

Need to think about long-term goals. Is your goal to be able to say you attended USNA or military service?
 
It requires a waiver to retake a past class... no guarantee there. My goal is a career of military service (I know I am too young to make that call but serving in the military is the only thing I want to do). If I was told ROTC or USNA would never work out I would enlist in a fraction of a second. Since I want a career of service, delaying my potential commissioning by a couple years is not an issue. For too many reasons to discuss on a forum I will continue to re-apply to USNA (I am not doing it for the ring).
 
I also applied 3 times and after 2 years of college got an appointment so it certainly can be done. However, you cannot continue on the same old path and expect different results to paraphrase Einstein, I think. Sydney C hit the nail on the head when he suggested you examine why you did not make the first 2 cuts and solve those problems before you go again. That would involve calling your RD and BGO and asking what you can do to make yourself a better candidate. You also have to show the admissions board you can hack the academics and military and right now you are unimpressive with B- and C grades. If that is the best you can do with little military pressure, and if most Mids drop a full letter grade their Plebe year (not always true), then why would the Board give an appointment to an average candidate? You forget that you are competing, not hitting minimums in order to go. Have you ever gotten an A in college? Hard isn't it? Plan on getting a lot them next semester in the hard engineering courses. Forget the GPA calculations, you simply need top grades in every math and science course you take. Your essay needs to point out the fact that your freshman year was spent bumping into trees but with maturity, goal setting, learning how to study, you are a new man and your sophomore grades are proof of it. Since you did not make top grades in the lower math/science courses which are the building blocks for the upper level courses, you need to have a good tutor in your corner from the first day of classes to make the impressive A's. Plan on 4 months of the most focused studying of your life and zero social life......sort of like Plebe Year. Those first semester grades will make or break you.

You did not mention if you had nominations in the past, let's assume you did and will not have a problem getting another. Anything else you were short in, like leadership opportunities? If so, between now and the summer will be the major time to get that experience before the fall semester. Were you short in sports or athletics? If so, some type of athletic endeavor needs to be cranked in there too. Sound overwhelming? It is, just like Plebe Year but you can do it.
 
For any of the BGO's out there do you know of the success rate for third time applicants? I have a good amount of leadership roles to add through NROTC (billets and NROTC clubs) and summer employment along with intramural sport participation to add to my app this time. Plus I am retaking the SAT and ACT again this summer.
 
I admire your drive to try again....but it seems clear that your grades are what's prohibiting you? A 3rd time reapplicant with all A's/B+ should get in next year....also, there are other path to the same destination, pls don't get stuck on one path, you might end up wasting time & $:) Study hard & best wishes!
 
My University does not allow its students to retake courses unless they failed the course entirely. So looks like I am going to keep on trucking forward. Hope the admissions board knows I am not neglecting their advice about retaking classes. I guess I'll mention this to my BGO next year?
 
Wannabe32 said:
I've gotten a C+ and some B/B-'s. I'm in NROTC...
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My guess is if you do not show any improvement, it will be extremely difficult. Put yourself in the shoes of the admissions board: with these scores, what are you bringing that they do not already have?
Work on improving your scores and write about your unique experience. Best of luck!
 
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