Reapplying to USNA (after a turndown)

[Capt MJ]

USNA no doubt has all of those stats, but they are not visible externally. Class composition remains fluid, but still meeting various objectives. The class portraits go back many years.

I do not believe there is a “pool of re-applicants.” Re-applicants compete in their nomination categories, whether they are in high school, college re-applicants, first-time college applicants, applicants from the enlisted ranks, etc. The competitiveness of those nom categories can vary each year. Re-applicants can and do “win their slate” of Sen or Rep noms.

There are many women who are not recruited athletes. Anecdotally, over the 30+ years we have sponsored mids, the majority of the women in the family have not been varsity athletes. In HS, yes, but not at USNA. You could labor through the press releases and rosters for each women’s varsity team, where they often list the names of plebes on the team, allowing a bit of wiggle room for walk-ons, and estimate how many plebe women are on varsity teams. Only a tiny handful would be blue-chipped, of course, essentially guaranteed admission if found fully qualified.

There are re-applicants in every class, as well as re-re and sometimes re-re-re-applicants. College re-applicants perhaps have excelled in NROTC and earned an ROTC nom in addition to other noms. They have done well in plebe-like college courses. Their essays reflect newfound maturity and insights. The act of re-application demonstrates perseverance and commitment to naval service via USNA.

It all depends whether your DD wants, first of all, to become a Navy or a Marine officer. If that is the long pole in her tent, she plans her path accordingly. There are several. If she still wants to try for USNA, then she gets right back on the horse. Her DoDMERB is good for 2 years. Here’s the road map:

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Previous Candidates and College Candidates page for Admissions at USNA.edu. Updated Tue Apr 09 05:23:10 EDT 2024.

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If she wants it, she tries again. If she doesn’t or desire wanes along the way, that is okay too. If she has given it her best shot, she has learned a great deal and can move on.

 

[BillyGo]

Thank you for your response, it was very helpful. It is unfortunate that USNA isn’t more transparent with enrollment data. If you add up all the women’s sports rosters, there are approximately 400 female athletes rostered. Let’s assume an equal distribution among the the classes, thus 100 athletes for the incoming class. While acknowledging some athletes walk on, if each of those women is considered a recruit then is it fair to say that on average one third of an incoming female class is made of recruited athletes, leaving non-recruited female athletes to compete for approximately 250 appointments?

 

[OldRetSWO]

Thank you for your response, it was very helpful. It is unfortunate that USNA isn’t more transparent with enrollment data. If you add up all the women’s sports rosters, there are approximately 400 female athletes rostered. Let’s assume an equal distribution among the the classes, thus 100 athletes for the incoming class. While acknowledging some athletes walk on, if each of those women is considered a recruit then is it fair to say that on average one third of an incoming female class is made of recruited athletes, leaving non-recruited female athletes to compete for approximately 250 appointments?

No
My son and I were varsity athletes at USNA and were not recruited.

By the way, being a recruited athlete does not mean that someone gets in. This was seen in one of my BGO interviewees
who was a recruited athlete and was recently turned down.

 

[A1Janitor]

Non recruited women aren’t competing against other non recruited female applicants for a set number of slots.

They are also competing against recruited and non recruited men on their slates too.

 

[hopefulhockeymom]

Over the past year, I’ve read numerous posts about the Naval Academy “building the class.” Unfortunately, I do not believe USNA published the Class Profile for last year’s class so we are all in the dark about what that class looked like. This mysterious and illusive plan to create the perfect class leaves me wondering whether it makes sense for my DD to reapply. As all the applicants who have been posting, she had exceptional grades, scores, leadership, athleticism, etc. - she was not a recruited athlete, however. I have two questions: (1) Given that women comprise roughly 27% of the past few classes, how many appointments are typically made to women who are NOT recruited athletes?
(2) Additionally, what are the historical numbers for appointments of those who reapply? For example, are there usually 100 appointments made from the pool of reapplications - or 50? Obviously those who attend NAPS or Foundation Prep should be excluded as they have a different path.

Having this information would allow my DD to make an informed analysis of her chances, should she decide to reapply. It was a long and arduous process to go through. If she decides to try again, I would like her to know what she is facing.

I'm curious about the recruited athlete part too. We actually tried to math that out last night, and DD somehow estimated that it is about 18% of each class is a D1 athlete (not sure how accurate that is, hard to really know). She had five kids from her small school apply to USNA this year (highly unusual, typically they don't have anyone applying to any of the service academies, and per the college office there are no rising seniors looking to apply next year). The two students who got in were both recruited athletes and both were young women (and on her MOC slate). Although DD is a high level athlete, her sport is club level at USNA and that has less sway.

 

[butterfly]

My son got his twe today. I guess the reason is before he finished his USNA application, another girl was already accepted by USNA (not athlete) in his high school. He didn't know that. He had no chance.

He has 1520 SAT, 4.69 GPA (wt), 4 years NJROTC, 4 years ROTC cyber security team (captain last years), 2 years wrestling, volunteer work, etc.. He is not an athletic type person, but fitted. He dropped 25 pounds before he went to NJROTC 4 years ago.

He decides to re-apply USNA. Any suggestions what he should improve for his re-apply.

 

[Capt MJ]

My son got his twe today. I guess the reason is before he finished his USNA application, another girl was already accepted by USNA (not athlete) in his high school. He didn't know that. He had no chance.

He has 1520 SAT, 4.69 GPA (wt), 4 years NJROTC, 4 years ROTC cyber security team (captain last years), 2 years wrestling, volunteer work, etc.. He is not an athletic type person, but fitted. He dropped 25 pounds before he went to NJROTC 4 years ago.

He decides to re-apply USNA. Any suggestions what he should improve for his re-apply.

The other person in his HS may have gotten her appointment charged to another nom source.

USNA may offer appointments to other fully qualified candidates on a Senator’s or Representative’s slate, and charge those to a nom authority they control. You may want to read the pinned post at the top of the Nominations Forum.

“Fully qualified” is key. CFA and DoDMERB are obvious. The third element, scholastic-academic, includes all the other evaluated elements. USNA usually does not tell a candidate if they are qualified in this area. Your son may want to follow up with Admissions to see how he can improve.

More than 1 appointee is often taken from the same school or District.

Previous Candidates & College Candidates

Previous Candidates and College Candidates page for Admissions at USNA.edu. Updated Tue Apr 09 05:23:10 EDT 2024.

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Browse recent posts for reapplicant advice.

 

[usna1985]

Folks, I know that turndowns are disappointing. Disappointing for parents who know how outstanding their child is. Disappointing for candidates who worked so hard and may never before have tasted significant disappointment.

However, want to dispel some misinformation. First, admissions are gender blind and have been for nearly 30 years. So men and women compete equally for the available slots. The reason there are fewer women admitted is that, as a percentage, fewer apply. Thus, taking the best overall results in fewer women admitted.

Second, there are athletes, recruited athletes, and blue chip athletes. Only the last category gets any real bump in admissions. Even then, the number is limited and also sport-dependent. IOW, varsity golf won’t have as many blue chip opportunities as football. Also, if a blue chip isn’t really well qualified, that person will likely be sent to a prep school, so not competing against the direct admits.

Third, while candidates do compete against their slate, there are always other nom options if USNA really wants you. That’s why there can be multiple appointments from the same school (I had 5 from a school one year). There are usually multiple sets of twins at USNA each year. Same state, same district, same school, same house!

The unfortunate fact is that, every year, there are more super candidates than there are spots in the incoming class. It’s a good “problem” for USNA but obviously crushing for hopeful candidates.

 

[hopefulhockeymom]

Has anyone run across any data related to how (in general) how many applicants in any given year are second-time (or more) applicants? I’ve seen numbers for the number of students *admitted* who have some college-level experience, but haven’t found that number for applicants. Thanks for any info you might have!

 

[MidCakePa]

Of course, he should get involved in a sport his first semester to improve his competitiveness.

Picking up a sport in the first term of college after only doing sports as a high-school freshman will likely not do much. The point of high-school sports is to develop teamwork,’leadership, discipline, perseverance, determination, grit, time management. One term of college participation (intramurals?) isn’t going to alleviate any reservations about that.

Instead, do what the 10% of mids who didn’t play varsity sports managed to do: Convince USNA that you developed those traits and characteristics through other means. On top of the other good advice given above.

 

[wnsham96]

Has anyone run across any data related to how (in general) how many applicants in any given year are second-time (or more) applicants? I’ve seen numbers for the number of students *admitted* who have some college-level experience, but haven’t found that number for applicants. Thanks for any info you might have!

Thanks for posting this question. I was just wondering this yesterday. What percentage of all applicants are reapplicants, and what percentage of those reapplicants are offered an appointment?

 

[Old Navy BGO]

Unfortunately, I do not believe USNA published the Class Profile for last year’s class so we are all in the dark about what that class looked like. This mysterious and illusive plan to create the perfect class leaves me wondering whether it makes sense for my DD to reapply.

It is unfortunate that USNA isn’t more transparent with enrollment data.

I don't know what happened to last years Class profile, but it is typically published every year, and really doesn't change much year. There really isn't any secret what USNA is looking for. However, it is a competitive process, and there are a lot of outstanding young men and women applying each year.

Nobody can tell whether a reapplicant will be successful. We can say that Admissions looks favorably on reapplications, as they demonstrate desire, grit and successful reapplicants show that they can succeed in the college academic environment. That said, nobody can predict what any given application slate looks like next year -- while the reapplicant may have a slight benefit , the competition changes every year .

 

[navy/airforce-hopeful man]

Does anyone know what time is best to reach out to Admissions to ask about what part of my application package can be improved?

 

[Wishingwhale123]

Does anyone know what time is best to reach out to Admissions to ask about what part of my application package can be improved?

I already did and we set up a time to talk

 

[dnguyen0619]

The other person in his HS may have gotten her appointment charged to another nom source.

USNA may offer appointments to other fully qualified candidates on a Senator’s or Representative’s slate, and charge those to a nom authority they control. You may want to read the pinned post at the top of the Nominations Forum.

“Fully qualified” is key. CFA and DoDMERB are obvious. The third element, scholastic-academic, includes all the other evaluated elements. USNA usually does not tell a candidate if they are qualified in this area. Your son may want to follow up with Admissions to see how he can improve.

More than 1 appointee is often taken from the same school or District.

Previous Candidates & College Candidates

Previous Candidates and College Candidates page for Admissions at USNA.edu. Updated Tue Apr 09 05:23:10 EDT 2024.

www.usna.edu

Browse recent posts for reapplicant advice.

how do we follow up with admissions to see how we can improve?

 

[Capt MJ]

how do we follow up with admissions to see how we can improve?

Call them. Ask how to schedule a time.

 

[dnguyen0619]

Call them. Ask how to schedule a time.

will do, thanks!

 

[RAI923]

My son got his twe today. I guess the reason is before he finished his USNA application, another girl was already accepted by USNA (not athlete) in his high school. He didn't know that. He had no chance.

He has 1520 SAT, 4.69 GPA (wt), 4 years NJROTC, 4 years ROTC cyber security team (captain last years), 2 years wrestling, volunteer work, etc.. He is not an athletic type person, but fitted. He dropped 25 pounds before he went to NJROTC 4 years ago.

He decides to re-apply USNA. Any suggestions what he should improve for his re-apply.

I just posted some tips for reapplying in the other thread in response to Apollo 8. My son still says that USNA knows what they are doing, even though his turndown stung…ALOT! On paper, how could they not get in? But the year of experience at college was a gift in his life, experience, friends, maturation, self sufficiency, soul searching, triumphing over poor exam and sprained ankle (April, think of making that call home!). A month from Commissioning he still says the first turndown was the best thing that ever happened. From a mom’s perspective, his wisdom was gained through a heartache and defeat like he had never known and taught by USNA like I never could. All the best to your son In the year ahead.

 

[Kentucky9]

Thoughts….DS currently can’t take calc since all classes are currently full or conflict with his engineering schedule. He currently has 17hours, which include Chem I, 2 ROTC classes, upper level Early American History, a bs university class, and two physics based engineering classes. Any idea how punitive it will be if he can’t get into a section of calc or pre calc?

 

[severn]

Thoughts….DS currently can’t take calc since allss classes are currently full or conflict with his engineering schedule. He currently has 17hours, which include Chem I, 2 ROTC classes, upper level Early American History, a bs university class, and two physics based engineering classes. Any idea how punitive it will be if he can’t get into a section of calc or pre calc?

Ok, I'm assuming this is a USNA reapplication.
Here's a risk analysis.
What's risk? It's the gap between mission and resources.

Mission: Successfully receiving a USNA appointment.

Resources: Completion of Stem Courses specifically Calculus.

High Risk (low probability of an appointment): Missing Calculus in college transcripts.

Low Risk (high probability of an appointment): Completion of Calculus with an above average grade.

Risk Mitigation (lower the risk or shorten the gap between mission and resources):
1. Take Calculus in a different college (community college?)
2. Take Calculus online.
3. Request a meeting with (a) academic advisor and (b) Calculus Instructor. BE brutally honest that you're a USNA reapplicant and you need Calculus to have a chance of receiving an appointment.
*** Main objective of lowering risk is to show Calculus in your college transcripts.