Son got Foundation.

ProudDad2022

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He was disappointed at first to find out that he won't be going straight to Academy but he got over that quickly and is looking forward to his year at Kiski. I guess I will need to change my account name from ProudDad2022 to ProudDad2023 :)

Anyone else get a foundation offer and does anyone have any insight about Kiski?
 
He was disappointed at first to find out that he won't be going straight to Academy but he got over that quickly and is looking forward to his year at Kiski. I guess I will need to change my account name from ProudDad2022 to ProudDad2023 :)

Anyone else get a foundation offer and does anyone have any insight about Kiski?

Sorry, but could you explain what the Foundation is and what it does?
 
He was disappointed at first to find out that he won't be going straight to Academy but he got over that quickly and is looking forward to his year at Kiski. I guess I will need to change my account name from ProudDad2022 to ProudDad2023 :)

Anyone else get a foundation offer and does anyone have any insight about Kiski?

Congratulations! When did you find out? Did your DS have a nomination?
 
My son did have a nomination and I don't know why he didn't get a direct appointment. Not sure if we ever find out why. If I had to guess, I would say his SAT scores were a little low (600 math, 610 english). His GPA and leadership qualifications were there (3.9 - 4.2 depending on how you calculate) and he was varsity sports captain and and officer in his NJROTC program.

My son found out about his offer by email on 1/12.

The USNA Foundation program is offered to about 60 applicants each year. They are offered a spot in 1 of 19 different prep schools (my son chose Kiski) and, provided they keep their head above water (A's and B's) and stay medically healthy during their prep year, they are given a spot at USNA the following year. While it's not a "guarantee', it's about as close as you can get. They have a spot that is theirs to lose. Most of the information I got about the academy came from searching "Foundation" on this site and from Capt. Wallace when he called.

From research that I have done, it gives them a chance to get better academically and prepare for plebe year in the academy.
 
My son did have a nomination and I don't know why he didn't get a direct appointment. Not sure if we ever find out why. If I had to guess, I would say his SAT scores were a little low (600 math, 610 english). His GPA and leadership qualifications were there (3.9 - 4.2 depending on how you calculate) and he was varsity sports captain and and officer in his NJROTC program.

My son found out about his offer by email on 1/12.

The USNA Foundation program is offered to about 60 applicants each year. They are offered a spot in 1 of 19 different prep schools (my son chose Kiski) and, provided they keep their head above water (A's and B's) and stay medically healthy during their prep year, they are given a spot at USNA the following year. While it's not a "guarantee', it's about as close as you can get. They have a spot that is theirs to lose. Most of the information I got about the academy came from searching "Foundation" on this site and from Capt. Wallace when he called.

From research that I have done, it gives them a chance to get better academically and prepare for plebe year in the academy.

Good to see.

I am fairly sure he will need a new nom. They don’t carry over. Depending on when he starts at Kiski, he should get himself organized for that process again.
 
Congratulations ProudDad, Foundation Sponsorship has been referred to as the "golden ticket". My DS was a Foundation Sponsored Prep and the program was well organized. He was assigned a Foundation BGO (Capt Wallace) during his prep year, and we were kept updated on his progress, re-application requirements, etc. During his prep year he had to re-apply to all nomination sources he was eligible for. I sent you a PM.
 
All sponsored candidates will need to compete next year for all available nominations. They are usually eligible for an ROTC nomination to ensure they get one but they need to apply to their MOCs.

If they do there part it is a 99.9% chance they get an offer next year. If they do not win a nomination slate, they get charged as an Additional Appointee.
 
Foundation students are typically NOT eligible for an ROTC nomination b/c they typically are not participating in ROTC. This is due to the fact they are attending prep schools, not colleges (I believe Greystone is an exception to this as it is affiliated with a college but don't know if it has ROTC). Unlike NAPSters, Foundation folks are not in the military.

Foundation students must apply for MOC noms (from their home state/district) and Presidential (if applicable). If they don't receive a nom, they will still be offered an appointment and charged to SecNav.

Foundation is more about academic prep (and the benefits of living away from home, being independent, having roommates, etc.). Some Foundation schools are "military" in nature (e.g., NMMI) and may provide some insight into a military lifestyle. But it's really not the same as NAPS in that regard.

The other difference is that Foundation is privately supported. Typically the school itself offers a discount, parents must contribute based on their ability to pay, the USNA Foundation pays the remainder as a "scholarship" from privately-raised funds. NAPS is federally funded.
 
I know this question is tacky, but please confirm that Foundation is NOT for full cost, correct? Family still pays part of the tuition/ room & board?
 
Parents are required to contribute to the cost of a Foundation school based on their ability to pay. Families who have the means may be asked contribute almost all of the cost (Foundation pays very little, though the prep school itself typically reduces the total cost). Other families may not have sufficient funds to contribute much, if anything, and in such cases the Foundation will pay a lot more. Much of the time, the costs ends up being divided roughly in thirds -- 1/3 is a concession in tuition made by the school, 1/3 is paid by the parents and 1/3 is paid by Foundation. But it is obviously very much an individualized determination.

The ability of parent(s) to pay is NOT considered in the decision whether to offer Foundation. The Foundation looks at the parents' ability to pay only after the candidate has accepted a Foundation offer.
 
In the case of my DS, Kiski offered a very generous scholarship to all USNA foundation members and then the Foundation covered a portion of the tuition/room/board. Our portion came out to almost exactly 1/3 of the cost.
 
What are the criteria for the Foundation school offers? And how is that different from those for NAPS? If I understand correctly from this thread and other research, both generally are for promising candidates who might benefit from a year of maturity in any number of ways, whether academic, athletic, or general ability to adapt to and therefore succeed in the challenging SA environment. I know a lot of recruited athletes are placed in these programs. It seems that the overwhelming majority will receive appointments the following year, assuming no academic, disciplinary or medical issues, and general progress about as expected. But, are the spots essentially "consolation prizes" for nominees who just fall a little short on their MOC slate and then in the national pool and therefore who are qualified in all ways, but for whom there is no spot in the entering class? In 0ther words, is this group (other than the recruited athletes, who perhaps are their own category), simply the "next [fill in the number]", like the [fill in the number] college hoops teams that just miss being selected for the NCAA tournament under the "objective" criteria, so go to the NIT tournament? Or, is there more to it, something subjective that the admissions people see in that candidate that do merit a year's look --with the apparent presumption of appointment to the following class--but not immediate appointment? I suspect at least some of the latter, given that people are being offered these spots now, as opposed at the very end of the selection process in late March/early April, when it would be simpler to pick the "next [whatever number]". Obviously, like so many other parents of nominees, I am wondering if my DS fits into the NAPS and/or Foundation profile if he is not offered a spot in the 2022 class.Any insight into this? Thanks!
 
But, are the spots essentially "consolation prizes" for nominees who just fall a little short on their MOC slate and then in the national pool and therefore who are qualified in all ways, but for whom there is no spot in the entering class?

Absolutely not.. aside from the recruited athlete, NAPS /Foundation is for the strong candidate that is missing something...usually academic preparation..to making them fully qualified for Admission at that time, not the runner up on the MOC slate. As an aside, the original intent for NAPS was prepare exceptional enlisted personnel for admission to USNA.
 
But, are the spots essentially "consolation prizes" for nominees who just fall a little short on their MOC slate and then in the national pool and therefore who are qualified in all ways, but for whom there is no spot in the entering class? . . . Or, is there more to it, something subjective that the admissions people see in that candidate that do merit a year's look --with the apparent presumption of appointment to the following class--but not immediate appointment?

It's not a one-size-fits all process and it's definitely the latter vs. the former. But as to why candidate A gets NAPS/Foundation and candidate B does not . . . not sure anyone outside Admissions can tell you other than the general parameters laid out in various posts about the subject. I know of a situation where one sibling was sent to Foundation and the other sibling was given a direct appointment. Knowing both, can't begin to tell you why the difference.
 
If I had to guess why my DS got foundation, I would say because he has an outstanding GPA (3.9 - 4.2 depending on how you read it), fantastic CFA numbers (max pushups, just under max situps, 5:30 mile, 8 pullups), good leadership qualities (captain, community service, etc.), but subjectively low SAT scores (1210). So, in trying to read the minds of the admission panel, I would say that they were thinking he did as good as he could at the school he was going to and maybe a year of "better" education would get him where we want him to be.

Of course, that's all just speculation because I have no concrete idea how he got selected nor do I know why he was selected so early for foundation.
 
Thanks for the responses.

Old Navy BGO--Perhaps "consolation prizes" wasn't the best term. I would certainly be happy if DS were offered a NAPS or Foundation spot.

USNA 1985--I suppose it comes down to some factor, perhaps an intangible, that leads Admissions to believe that candidate A would ultimately make a better officer than B, even if, say, A's grades or SATs aren't as good as B's, B is qualified and would likely do fine at the Academy and beyond, but A has that perceived "certain something" that shows more potential than B. Admissions however needs to make sure A can "handle" all aspects of the Academy. Leading a Marine rifle platoon, for example, isn't a calculus test, but you still need to pass calc to receive an Academy degree, or something like that.
 
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