Reapplying to USNA (after a turndown)

I would consider what part of the application that needs to be worked on as well as the information given that a 4-year college year is more favorable. In my DD case she had everything but good act/sat scores. She self prepped at a program that specialized in increasing those scores. She did increase her scores and was offered an appointment the following year.
My DS is re-applying to USNA after receiving a TWE in 2017. Maxed CFA & was 3 Qed & in NWL, then. Currently has 3.5 GPA with 2 years of college at Ivy level. Would have 3 years of college by July nextyear. Any comments or feedback in this, as to his chances of receiving the appointment, this time? Much appreciated in advance.

From anxious dad......lol..
 
For sure shows tenacity! DS’s summer seminar instructor entered USNA as late as allowed, and boy did that have an impact on DS’s desire to attend!! Your DS must really want it. That will count for something! I never chance people BC the answer is always “it depends” on sooooo many unknown factors. But your DS made it to the NWL last time. That’s impressive!!

Curious: did he apply last year? And what has driven him to “start over” as a freshman? Cant imagine doing that after 3 years of school already. Probably some great essay material in that answer. Will be watching for him. Best wishes!
 
My DS is re-applying to USNA after receiving a TWE in 2017. Maxed CFA & was 3 Qed & in NWL, then. Currently has 3.5 GPA with 2 years of college at Ivy level. Would have 3 years of college by July nextyear

First, he should ask himself if he really wants to "start over" at USNA or seek a commission through OCS. Not trying to discourage him but 7 years of undergraduate work is a LONG time. He must be prepared to discuss that with his BGO and MOC nom folks.

Second, having a 3.5 is terrific (seriously) but what courses has he taken? If he's doing STEM and has As/Bs, that will help. If his courses are mostly arts and humanities, not so much. What else does he do in college? ECAs, sports? How has he spent his summers?

Bottom line, the fact he has a 3.5 with 2 years of Ivy League college is a data point. It alone won't get him into USNA. In combination with other things, it might make him a very attractive candidate. Or not.
 
For sure shows tenacity! DS’s summer seminar instructor entered USNA as late as allowed, and boy did that have an impact on DS’s desire to attend!! Your DS must really want it. That will count for something! I never chance people BC the answer is always “it depends” on sooooo many unknown factors. But your DS made it to the NWL last time. That’s impressive!!

Curious: did he apply last year? And what has driven him to “start over” as a freshman? Cant imagine doing that after 3 years of school already. Probably some great essay material in that answer. Will be watching for him. Best wishes!

Thanks for your message, justdoit19.

DS applied 2 years ago in 2017 for the class of 2021. DS says he wants to try until he gets it. DS should have re-applied last year but DS wasn't sure of who he was & what he wanted. If DS does not get it this time, DS is prepared to go through OCS.
 
First, he should ask himself if he really wants to "start over" at USNA or seek a commission through OCS. Not trying to discourage him but 7 years of undergraduate work is a LONG time. He must be prepared to discuss that with his BGO and MOC nom folks.

Second, having a 3.5 is terrific (seriously) but what courses has he taken? If he's doing STEM and has As/Bs, that will help. If his courses are mostly arts and humanities, not so much. What else does he do in college? ECAs, sports? How has he spent his summers?

Bottom line, the fact he has a 3.5 with 2 years of Ivy League college is a data point. It alone won't get him into USNA. In combination with other things, it might make him a very attractive candidate. Or not.
His courses were Arts, some STEM combined as his major is pre-law.

He trained with a European Professional Soccer team whole summer this year before returning to School. He was offered to play with them but decided to go back to school to reapply to USNA.
 
OCS is just as competitive in its own way, not an easy go-to if other tracks don’t pan out. It is the “adjustment valve” for line officer intakes, with class size and numbers of classes/FY varying with intakes from USNA, NROTC, enlisted commissioning programs, some other pipelines such as NUPOC. There is a target range in the manpower models each year, governed by law, for how many officers in each paygrade. Attrition and other factors help determine the OCS intake each year. If they hit that goal, they reduce intake accordingly.

The Navy cherry-picks exactly who it needs to fill various recruiting goals. Of course, the Navy loves high-performing STEM majors witha B.S. from well-regarded universities. The competition is the NUPOC who successfully completed his/her college program and is allotted a seat, or the top-performing enlisted sailor who got his/her college degree after-hours or through another funded program, earned their CO’s highest recommendation. The officer recruiters who visit colleges are looking for those academic performers who are well-rounded, and if they happen to meet diversity goals at the same time as delivering top quality in other desired attributes, this is how the Navy finds OCs from all over the country, perhaps finding those who had not considered Navy service.

Even though your DS is gearing up for another shot at USNA, I recommend him seeking out the officer recruiter for his area, and having a candid conversation on a strategy for OCS.

Officer recruiters are not found in the local strip mall office; those recruiters are focused on enlisted recruiting. Officer recruiters travel and work out of Navy Recruiting Districts. Calling and asking to speak to an officer recruiter who covers OCS is how you find them.
https://www.navycs.com/districts.html


He should also be able to articulate his cogent reasons for taking a year off from applying, as well as ruling out NROTC as a path to service. There is no one “correct” way to a commission, he just needs to be able to answer the obvious questions.

If he is pre-law, is he interested in serving as a Navy JAG after, presumably, attending law school? The Navy gets most of its JAGs from civilian colleges, and sends them through a direct commission program, ODS, after law school. That is a fine way to go, if he wants to serve. That’s another topic with the officer recruiter noted above.

https://www.jag.navy.mil/careers_/careers/opportunities_sp.html#lq1
 
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+1 @Capt MJ

Your DS taking "Pre Law" classes with the basic entry level STEM courses may not get it done for any academy. If he is 3/4 of the way thru undergrad he should give consideration to finishing his BA, see what if any options for ROTC covering Law School are, get his Law Degree and either commission via ROTC or Direct Commission into JAG (IF he wants to be a JAG). I understand AROTC offers a program where you can commission into the Guard or Reserve and go directly to Law School (abet on your dime), then get AD upon completion of Law School and entry into JAG. Maybe there is a possibility of using ROTC Scholarship for grad school, that would be something to ask his recruiter, or the Cadre at his current school.

Caveat: IF he ends up at USNA, he will need to really prepare for the STEM load, and likely will NOT be able to go to Law School until making senior O-2 or O-3. If your son wants Law, finish up his undergrad, and try to get into the Navy as a JAG. If he wants to serve in the NAVY and attend the Academy, then he needs to likely go over ALL his options, and then make an informed decision.
 
Agree fully with Impulsive. First, if your DS doesn't have STEM courses, it's going to be an uphill battle for USNA. Not insurmountable but difficult (I had a criminal justice major with 2 years of college be accepted to USNA do can be done. Also agree that OCS is also super competitive, but it may be a better option for someone with 3+ years of college.

Finally, DS needs to decide whether he wants to be a lawyer and, if so, whether he wants to do it right out of college. My personal view (from experience) is that those who spend several (or more) years doing something else before entering law school are generally happier and more satisfied as attorneys. It's not a detriment to "start late" as a lawyer and that extra experience (if well placed) can really help. Thus, what I'm trying to say is that, even if DS wants to be an attorney, he could be a Naval officer for a number of years -- even 20 -- and then pursue law school.
 
I have a question regarding how the academies view college grades. I did read all of the above and noticed that they definitely take them seriously as they show a student's ability at college level. How do they view kids currently enrolled in high school who are taking dual credits? I ask simply because our DS is applying to 4 SA's and did complete 19 dual college credits last school year as a junior. He did submit his college transcripts to the academies. Thanks in advance. And I am curious to see the decision your kiddo makes @lionking1964
 
I have a question regarding how the academies view college grades. I did read all of the above and noticed that they definitely take them seriously as they show a student's ability at college level. How do they view kids currently enrolled in high school who are taking dual credits? I ask simply because our DS is applying to 4 SA's and did complete 19 dual college credits last school year as a junior. He did submit his college transcripts to the academies. Thanks in advance. And I am curious to see the decision your kiddo makes @lionking1964

I can only speak to personal experience. College level classes taken in HS have almost become the "norm" (with the exception of recruited athletes who cannot manage the advanced class load with the rigors of the sports requirements). IMHO, will taking DE courses in HS make the difference....probably not, since so many applicants do just that nowadays. Does it look good, of course, but unless it is on a full time undergrad collegiate level it falls short of comparing to a "college re-applicant" and their grades. Most of the posters here speaking of "college" grades are in the category of college re-applicants or college applicants, who have graduated HS, entered college full time and often live away from home and have greater responsibilities and develop more life and coping skills than a HS student. It is a lot different getting excellent grades in HS, no matter the level of classes, than it is in college full time without parents or supervision. Those applicants are definitely looked at differently, especially if they take a STEM or Plebe like schedule.

So the difference is YES, I think admissions does consider DE/AP/IB Classes, but since so many applicants take the most rigorous classes available, it likely is not usually going to make the difference in appointment or no appointment. But as far as credit for those classes....sorry.....the Academies start at first semester freshman year with no incoming college credits. There are posters here that are juniors and seniors in college re-applying knowing they will lose maybe 90 college credits, and they are willing to do that to attain their dream.
 
I have a question regarding how the academies view college grades. I did read all of the above and noticed that they definitely take them seriously as they show a student's ability at college level. How do they view kids currently enrolled in high school who are taking dual credits? I ask simply because our DS is applying to 4 SA's and did complete 19 dual college credits last school year as a junior. He did submit his college transcripts to the academies. Thanks in advance. And I am curious to see the decision your kiddo makes @lionking1964

I can only speak to personal experience. College level classes taken in HS have almost become the "norm" (with the exception of recruited athletes who cannot manage the advanced class load with the rigors of the sports requirements). IMHO, will taking DE courses in HS make the difference....probably not, since so many applicants do just that nowadays. Does it look good, of course, but unless it is on a full time undergrad collegiate level it falls short of comparing to a "college re-applicant" and their grades. Most of the posters here speaking of "college" grades are in the category of college re-applicants or college applicants, who have graduated HS, entered college full time and often live away from home and have greater responsibilities and develop more life and coping skills than a HS student. It is a lot different getting excellent grades in HS, no matter the level of classes, than it is in college full time without parents or supervision. Those applicants are definitely looked at differently, especially if they take a STEM or Plebe like schedule.

So the difference is YES, I think admissions does consider DE/AP/IB Classes, but since so many applicants take the most rigorous classes available, it likely is not usually going to make the difference in appointment or no appointment. But as far as credit for those classes....sorry.....the Academies start at first semester freshman year with no incoming college credits. There are posters here that are juniors and seniors in college re-applying knowing they will lose maybe 90 college credits, and they are willing to do that to attain their dream.
Thanks for the insight. I kind of felt that might be the case. At least it speaks to taking on a heavy workload, and the GPA earned might be helpful if it were good (our DS earned 4.0 for those credits). Just keep plugging along and see how it goes. Have a great week
 
My son is taking a plebe like course load at Madison- Naval Science with NROTC, History, Calc, Chem, and English. He just spoke with his Advisor and if he doesn't get into USNA again then he doesn't need to take Chem for his computer science major but he does need physics. Would it be bad for reapp if he switched from chem to physics this semester? He has until the end of day today to make the switch.
 
My son is taking a plebe like course load at Madison- Naval Science with NROTC, History, Calc, Chem, and English. He just spoke with his Advisor and if he doesn't get into USNA again then he doesn't need to take Chem for his computer science major but he does need physics. Would it be bad for reapp if he switched from chem to physics this semester? He has until the end of day today to make the switch.

@militarylife What did your DS end up doing? Has he heard anything yet ?
 
@militarylife What did your DS end up doing? Has he heard anything yet ?
He is waiting to hear! He ended up dropping Chem. He is in NROTC and reapplied. He has two noms. There are 7 NROTC students in his unit re applying to USNA so they didnt write recommendations or nominate any of them to keep it "fair". We will see. He was wait listed last year. How about you? Have you heard anything?
 
He is waiting to hear! He ended up dropping Chem. He is in NROTC and reapplied. He has two noms. There are 7 NROTC students in his unit re applying to USNA so they didnt write recommendations or nominate any of them to keep it "fair". We will see. He was wait listed last year. How about you? Have you heard anything?
good luck!!!!
 
Hello all! I have spent the past few months reading through this forum as my son was working for an appointment for the the Class of 2024. What wonderful information you all have provided. He recently received a rejection, but is adamant about trying again. If anyone could give him advice on the following two questions, he would appreciate it.

First, he has 2 choices for the next year, both regional 4 year universities. One, he would live away from home and hopefully be part of the College Program of the NROTC unit. The second, and more affordable, is within driving distance so he could live at home, but there isn't a NROTC program. He is planning to take Plebe-like classes at either school.

Secondly, how many nominations can the typically NROTC unit give out? The NROTC unit he is applying to represents three colleges, so I can imagine there will be a number of students in his same situation. He has already spoken to his regional admissions counselor. Thank you for help!
 
As to #1, DS should select the school HE most wants to attend. He should assume he'll be there for 4 years -- either because he ends up loving it and doesn't want to be anywhere else (happens more often than you'd think) or reapplication to USNA is unsuccessful. Also, it's a year of his young life -- he should enjoy it!

Doing ROTC can be a good thing for all sorts of reasons, but it is NOT required for successful admission to USNA. I personally think there are some benefits in living away from home. That said, it can present a greater financial burden for a family and some schools may offer better financial aid packages than others. USNA knows that so they don't take a position on what school you attend or where it is other than that they recommend a 4-year college.

I don't know the answer to your second question, so will defer to someone who does.
 
Hello all! I have spent the past few months reading through this forum as my son was working for an appointment for the the Class of 2024. What wonderful information you all have provided. He recently received a rejection, but is adamant about trying again. If anyone could give him advice on the following two questions, he would appreciate it.

First, he has 2 choices for the next year, both regional 4 year universities. One, he would live away from home and hopefully be part of the College Program of the NROTC unit. The second, and more affordable, is within driving distance so he could live at home, but there isn't a NROTC program. He is planning to take Plebe-like classes at either school.

Secondly, how many nominations can the typically NROTC unit give out? The NROTC unit he is applying to represents three colleges, so I can imagine there will be a number of students in his same situation. He has already spoken to his regional admissions counselor. Thank you for help!

Answer to question #2 is on USNA.edu in the Nominations section, 3:

 
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