Weathergirl12
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What exactly does it mean that you’re an official candidate after being to NASS? Does that bypass some of the requirements for the application process? Thanks so much!
Question about candidacy after NASS
- Thread starter Weathergirl12
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Navybound'19
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Not really sure what you mean here but I’ll try. For someone to become an official candidate (applicant) they need to submit a preliminary application, then later in the year (May) they receive their official candidate number to which they’ll use to login to the online portal. The portal is where you will see what needs to be done for your application, what you submit, and your status (Require documents, CPR (complete pending review), etc.). The candidate numbers will be given out to all who submit the preliminary application. There is no major difference between someone who submitted a regular preliminary application, and who attended NASS, except that at the summer seminar you will take the CFA. Other than that, NASS doesn’t do much for the application process itself.
I mean people say there is no correlation between being accepted into summer seminar and the academy, and there may not be, but the fact of the matter is there is hardly anyone who goes to NASS and then finishes out the USNA application process who doesn't get an appointment. The acceptance rate for those who attended summer seminar is around 40-50 percent, and I would guess that the only reason a summer seminar attendee would not get an appointment is if they decided on another college or are in a super competitive district and could not secure a nom. I definitely think acceptance to summer seminar puts you on the fast track for an appointment.
If I am wrong please correct me but this is the information I have gathered about NASS and summer seminar generally.
Hi Weathergirl,
I’ve also been accepted to and will be attending NASS. The application for NASS functions as a preliminary application, and acceptance means you are considered an official candidate. On the first day they will give us a packet including our Official Candidate Number so we can officially begin and complete our applications for the actual academy.
Hope this helps
I’ve also been accepted to and will be attending NASS. The application for NASS functions as a preliminary application, and acceptance means you are considered an official candidate. On the first day they will give us a packet including our Official Candidate Number so we can officially begin and complete our applications for the actual academy.
Hope this helps
This is a falsehood. NASS is meaningless with regard to admissions. There is no "fast track"
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This is false.thk24 said:
This is also false. Well, at least I think it is. I have never seen or heard of any published data creating a relationship between these two.thk24 said:
And your guess would be wrong.thk24 said:
Nope.thk24 said:
It doesn't mean that at all. Filling out an application for NASS starts your preliminary application. You are then an "Applicant", not a "Candidate". If and when USNA finds that you meet the minimum qualifications to become a Candidate, they send you the ECandidate Packet Letter - which contains your official Candidate number - among other things.Weathergirl12 said:
Applicants tend to fall into the trick bag of grasping at straws, hoping that this new thing that happened is some sort of indicator that they passed a milestone, and are closer to their goal. The fact of the matter is that this application process is a long one. It will take many of you nine (9) to ten (10) months to get through it. It is a marathon. At this point, you haven't even reached the starting line. Last year, the ECandidate Packet Letters went out on May 9th. That is when the marathon begins, and there will be months of doing nothing but waiting. Patience is the key to this process.
We can offer guidance and support along the way, but overthinking and/or worrying about every little nuance of the process (and putting stock in rumors and unsubstantiated heresay) will eat you up. Don't do it.
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NASS does not automatically qualify anyone for an appointment. It does not even add points to your WCS. It is not a fast track to anything. It’s the same application for everyone. The only thing that could help is they knock out the CFA at NASS. The rate for those who attend NASS and receive an appointment is not 40-50% it’s lower than that, hopefully another BGO can chime in, but I want to say of an admitted class to USNA, approximately 30% attended NASS. 30% of a class is around 400ish. Not sure how many attend NASS each year. It’s a long haul. Don’t read into things and prepare yourself to wait until April 15th for an answer.
boatsfordays
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I think it’s important to go into this application process with a healthy dose of confidence and realistic expectations. There are exhaustive threads in this board about the correlation between NASS acceptance and USNA acceptance. In my opinion it would be cruel to let my kid believe that they had a better chance of acceptance because they attend NASS. There are amazing kids every year who are accepted to NASS and receive a TWE. Just as there are amazing kids who were declined and go on to receive an appointment. Don’t hang too much false hope in a NASS acceptance. This is more about your kid getting to spend some time on the yard and experience a taste of what plebe summer is like. Those lucky to be chosen for Nass should soak it all in and see if they want to begin their careers as naval officers in Annapolis.
Thanks to everyone for clarifying, sorry my information was misleading. Obviously there is no fast track but I meant that if you were accepted to summer seminar admissions liked what they saw and will probably want to offer you if you can get your application done. Obviously nothing is guaranteed in this process
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That is still not the case. Getting accepted to NASS has nothing to do with Admissions. There is nothing for the Admissions staff to "see", so no way to "like what they saw". As @NavyHoops writes above, doing the CFA at NASS does get that requirement checked off on your application (as long as you do well on the CFA), so that's a good thing.
@THParent Thank you. I did not wish to mislead anyone and should have looked at my information and phrasing more closely. Sadly, of all the BGO's and admissions officers I have spoken too, the tongue in cheek truth of NASS seems to be that it is a great step towards being appointed, and a much higher percentage of NASS attendees are appointed to the academy as opposed to those who do not attend NASS. NASS is definitely not a prerequisite for admission and obviously does not give you points on your application, but admissions still reviews your file to be accepted into NASS, as it is used also as the preliminary application to USNA. This is why you become an actual candidate for the academy if you are accepted into NASS.
Agreed. Nobody really understands the correlation, one just has to keep trying their hardest and hope for the best when application time comes around.
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PLEASE do not put out information as fact, unless you are from admissions. It’s misleading and potentially very harmful to people reading here and applying. It’s opinion.
Additionally, if you are an applicant, it’s imperative to realize anyone can be responding here. Saying anything they want, fact or not.
There are several seasoned forum vets on the forums who are very reliable. But even they aren’t the authority. USNA admissions are. The only factual information is on USNA official websites.
Everything stated here is not factual. And should not be held out or presented as fact. It’s opinion. And generally believed to be incorrect.
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Not necessarily. It’s a recruiting tool. As in, bringing in someone who will go back home and spread the word and create interest. Underrepresented areas, to increase awareness. It doesn’t mean they are ‘inviting you Bc they are interested in you’. It COULD, but that’s not their main focus.
Of my Mids NASS class (of all the NASS kids he met), he knows of only one other person offered an appointment. ONE.
In my (now) Mids class, there are a handful he knows of that attended NASS.
Those two things above directly contradict your statement. And are first hand knowledge, not what someone “thinks”.
Old Navy BGO
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The simply answer to the OP, after eliminating all of the chaff and misinformation, is that your NASS Application serves as your Pre-Application to USNA, and by acceptance to NASS you have prequalified. Prequalification simply means that you are an "Official Candidate," and have the ability to submit the full application. No one really knows what the threshold for "Official Candidate" is, and frankly my observations is that the bar can be pretty low. Being an Official Candidate merely means you are in the game, and those that are not Official Candidates (identified to BGO's as "Contact and Counsel") really aren't competitive anyway.
As to THK's "stats", the official word is that there is no correlation between admission to NASS and Appointments. There are numerous threads on this forum that describe the perception that NASS is beneficial, including it looks good with the MOC panels and the benefit of getting the CFA done early. The bottom line is there are probably some benefits to attending, but for the many good candidates that either don't get into NASS , or are selected and don't attend, it really doesn't affect their chances.
As to THK's "stats", the official word is that there is no correlation between admission to NASS and Appointments. There are numerous threads on this forum that describe the perception that NASS is beneficial, including it looks good with the MOC panels and the benefit of getting the CFA done early. The bottom line is there are probably some benefits to attending, but for the many good candidates that either don't get into NASS , or are selected and don't attend, it really doesn't affect their chances.
shock-n-awe
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Ok, let me add to the pile that previous posters said about NASS having NOTHING to do with USNA acceptance.
DS attended CVW and NASS.
Had a fantastic BGO interview.
Had a Senator NOM to USNA.
Received Principal NOM to USMA.
Was offered a Falcon Foundation Scholarship to USAFA.
4yrar AROTC Scholarship- First Board
On and on....he was a competitive candidate.
Ultimately rejected to USNA.
NASS is great, and there are many good reasons to attend as mentioned before, if you’re selected. Being selected does indicate the person is competitive, but that is it!
No one reading this should get any false hope that if they are selected to attend NASS that their odds of gaining an appointment are better than anyone not selected!
Bottom line to all applicants, always continue working on improving ALL areas of your application until the deadline. You never know where you stack up against your completion, and every point counts, except NASS......
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thk - you keep saying you don't want to mislead anyone, yet you keep putting out misleading information.
The correlation is actually well understood. But it's a correlation WITHOUT CAUSATION. The selection rate of NASS attendees is a bit higher than the selection rate of ALL applicants , but that is misleading because a large majority of applicants never finish the application.
Here are some facts from the last cycle:
NASS applications - 7469
NASS acceptance - 2558
Quote from admissions "the majority of appointees DID NOT attend NASS".
There were 1373 offers of appointment made. Even if 49% (which is the minority) of them attended NASS, that would be 672, which is only 26% of NASS attendees.
In actuality, the number is closer to 30% of appointees attended NASS, which is 411, which is only 16% of NASS attendees.
But that includes NASS attendees who never complete the app. It's fair to assume that candidates that are motivated enough to attend NASS will be much more likely to complete the app than someone who only filled out the initial application. About 37% of initial applicants actually complete the app overall (6000 out of 16000). If you double that, and assume that about 70% of NASS attendees will complete the app, then you get something like 1790 NASS attendees that complete the app. If 411 of them are appointed (30% of all appointees), that means that roughly 23% of NASS attendees WHO COMPLETE THE APP will get an appointment.
The larger picture is:
16,086 applications resulting in 1373 offers - 8.5%. But the majority of those applicants do not even finish the process
Out of that 16,086, there are about 6000 completed applications that are reviewed by the Board, for 1373 offers - about 23%
So, you could say that the likelihood of a NASS attendee, who completed the app, of receiving an appointment is about EQUAL to the likelihood of a non-NASS attendee, who completed the app.
This is completely consistent with official guidance from Admissions. Being selected for NASS does not increase one's likelihood of obtaining an appointment. And conversely, not being selected for NASS is NOT an indication that one is less competitive.
The fact is that NASS is officially an Outreach Program, and is intended to increase awareness of USNA and attract candidates, and is especially focused on underrepresented schools and/or areas. Superior candidates who apply to NASS from school/areas that routinely produce applicants will often get rejected. At the same time, marginal candidates who apply from a school that has never had an applicant before are often accepted. There is no relationship between being accepted to NASS and being offered an appointment.
The correlation is actually well understood. But it's a correlation WITHOUT CAUSATION. The selection rate of NASS attendees is a bit higher than the selection rate of ALL applicants , but that is misleading because a large majority of applicants never finish the application.
Here are some facts from the last cycle:
NASS applications - 7469
NASS acceptance - 2558
Quote from admissions "the majority of appointees DID NOT attend NASS".
There were 1373 offers of appointment made. Even if 49% (which is the minority) of them attended NASS, that would be 672, which is only 26% of NASS attendees.
In actuality, the number is closer to 30% of appointees attended NASS, which is 411, which is only 16% of NASS attendees.
But that includes NASS attendees who never complete the app. It's fair to assume that candidates that are motivated enough to attend NASS will be much more likely to complete the app than someone who only filled out the initial application. About 37% of initial applicants actually complete the app overall (6000 out of 16000). If you double that, and assume that about 70% of NASS attendees will complete the app, then you get something like 1790 NASS attendees that complete the app. If 411 of them are appointed (30% of all appointees), that means that roughly 23% of NASS attendees WHO COMPLETE THE APP will get an appointment.
The larger picture is:
16,086 applications resulting in 1373 offers - 8.5%. But the majority of those applicants do not even finish the process
Out of that 16,086, there are about 6000 completed applications that are reviewed by the Board, for 1373 offers - about 23%
So, you could say that the likelihood of a NASS attendee, who completed the app, of receiving an appointment is about EQUAL to the likelihood of a non-NASS attendee, who completed the app.
This is completely consistent with official guidance from Admissions. Being selected for NASS does not increase one's likelihood of obtaining an appointment. And conversely, not being selected for NASS is NOT an indication that one is less competitive.
The fact is that NASS is officially an Outreach Program, and is intended to increase awareness of USNA and attract candidates, and is especially focused on underrepresented schools and/or areas. Superior candidates who apply to NASS from school/areas that routinely produce applicants will often get rejected. At the same time, marginal candidates who apply from a school that has never had an applicant before are often accepted. There is no relationship between being accepted to NASS and being offered an appointment.
Old Navy BGO
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Thanks A6E --that's about as comprehensive an analysis and best explanation I've seen here. This should be preserved ...the issue comes up so often,
^^ agreed. My apologies for speaking when I didn’t need too. I wanted the best answer for the thread and saying something controversial often motivates people to answer your question with the best information possible, like A6E in this case. Thank you for the help, I will try to not make statements like this again.