Here's one shot at responses:
1. I believe about a third receive and accept appointments ... around 600 as I recall
2. None know for sure. Some say VERY important, others say not much. I'd err on the side of the former. Point being don't worry about it. Do your best to be a good candidate and one that will be seen and evaluated as such.
3. That could be generally true since the Acad only receives funding for a specific # of Mids. Thus it could be a bit lower.
4. While ours did not interact with any coaches while there, several did make contact. It is possible, and it is not "scheduled," i.e. NASSies don't get a pep talk from Coach Johnson or others.
You're asking good questions, some of which you'll discover are wasted wonderings (examples: #2, 3). But it's good to ask anyway. Shows you're genuinely interested. Generally, worry about those things in YOUR control including:
1. Academic schedule ... take all the toughest courses you can, and work at them.
2. Academic outcomes, especially math and math standardized tests. While two of many elements going into your whole person score, class rank and math SAT/ACT are purportedly the heaviest in weight. See pages 13-14 of
http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/BGO/briefs/2002 Master Admissions Brief.ppt. It's 5 years dated but still pretty close from what we understand.
3. SAT/ACT scheduling, preparation, and rescheduling until you are confident you've done your best.
4. Getting your application done ASAP and all the DoDMERB stuff and follow-up. Writing and rewriting.
5. Getting and staying in good physical condition
6. Initiating your contact and communication with your BGO
7. Getting your alternate plans B, C, etc. online
8. Following instructions and orders to the letter
9. Not doing stupid things ... getting tattooed and body piercings, speeding tix or other legal impingements, caught drinking/using or just caught WITH those doing this kind of stuff.
10. Identifying your weak areas and working on them.
11. Reading all you can about the Academy, its mission, etc. Reading books about the Navy, etc. Lots of suggestions on threads in this CC
12. Busting your hump to get it all done well and right ASAP. Remember ... it's rolling admissions and as I preach, there are way more spaces available to you in October than there are in April. WAY MORE. So you want to be at the front of the line.
13. Get your teachers and references lined up right now, before they and you all "get away" for the summer.
14. One special note: Follow up with your counselor and references to make sure they receive the Academy emails. For 3 years running, our school has not "allowed" USNA email into its system. This was a major pain. We finally used personal email accounts rather than the school designated accounts.
15. Save and copy often from your computer work. It can and does get "lost" in cyberspace and that can be extraordinarily frustrating.
16. When you get your DoDMERB stuff, hop on it right away. Get your appointments and make them priority.
17. Write, put aside, and rewrite your essays. Then rewrite them again. These can be important, very. So start now. And make the responses yours.
18. Work at being a good shipmate at NASS. Work at learning what that means. Stay in touch with your leader there.
19. Get your nomination applications and questions moving. Let your rep and senators know they're going to be hearing from you.
These and many more points forthcoming from the helpful cadre on this CC forum are all within YOUR CONTROL. Only the retaking, possible SAT/ACT prep costs anything, and compared to the value of the potential return or the alternative cost of college, it's pocket change. Those are the things you should focus on and work to get done well in a timely way.
lege of meeting her Squad Leader he told us "your child is different....usually kids from jRTOC or C.A.P. ( our daughter was a CAP Officer and Cadet Commander of a Squadron ) are arrogant, but she wasn't." At the time I thought it was an interesting comment, but clearly he had been briefed just like my daughter has been.