Triple Qualified and NAPS

BillT

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Can a candidate get selected to NAPS after being 3 Qualified with a normination.
 
Typically, no. NAPS is offered to those who are not considered academically qualified for a direct appointment. Thus, if you are qualified for a direct appointment, there is no reason to attend NAPS. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if there have been exceptions.
 
I can only speak from what has happened with my son. His ACT comp score was lower than what it should be and he was offered NAPS.... but then I have heard of people with his ACT score who went direct admit.....
 
there was an awesome long post about this topic somewhere on the forum. i.e. talking about reasons why it would be pointless for a 3 Q to go to NAPS when the reason for NAPS is to strengthen a strong candidate with one lower academic aspect. It would be a waste of tax payer money. The 3Q nominated unappointed candidate should go to a civilian college and excel there and apply again if desired. that pretty much sums up the argument on a post from a couple years back.
 
I can only speak from what has happened with my son. His ACT comp score was lower than what it should be and he was offered NAPS.... but then I have heard of people with his ACT score who went direct admit.....

The main reason folks are offered NAPS/Foundation is high GPA/class rank coupled with low test scores or high test scores coupled with low GPA/class rank. In both cases, there is strong evidence the person has what it takes to succeed but also some evidence that additional prep would be useful. In the situation above, those with the same ACT score may have had higher GPA/class rank. Or there could have been other factors, such as tougher h.s. courses, more competitive high school, etc.

I should point out that the converse of the OP's question -- are folks who are offered/accept NAPS/Foundation likely to be offered a direct appointment -- is a definite "maybe." Sometimes, USNA has a change of heart and decides someone originally offered NAPS is strong enough for a direct appointment. Often, this is due to new test scores or add'l grades; it could be due to a reevaluation of an early candidate once more records are reviewed. It is rare but does happen. So, there's no disadvantage to accepting a NAPS/Foundation offer in that it won't preclude you from getting a direct appointment if you're later deemed qualified.
 
I guess my point was that there is no science to it!
 
Yes, I have seen it happen on several occasions, but more likely to happen with a Foundation offer. A big thing to keep in mind - the offer to either prep school program is driven by a recommendation from the Admissions Board, ie, the candidate has screened with a glitch which the board feels can be healed with a short detour. Bear in mind also that the pickup rate from the prep school programs is 90%+. Put another way, it is more certain than going to college for a year (although there may be instances where there is a lot of merit to the college route).
 
Ok maybe this has been answered in saying the 3Q'd nominated candidate who is not appointed should go to civilian college and then reapply if desired...but this doesn't make sense to me. If a candidate is triple qualified and good enough to get a nomination and thus NAPS is not needed, but this candidate doesn't receive an appointment, how does the Academy justify that? It would seem to me that those people would be shafted in a way since less qualified candidates are going to NAPS with the guarantee of appointment the following year? What am I missing here?
 
It would seem to me that those people would be shafted in a way since less qualified candidates are going to NAPS with the guarantee of appointment the following year? What am I missing here?

Some of those candidates may be less qualified ACADEMICALLY, but have better overall qualifications (sports, EC's, leadership, etc.) so that the academy would view them as more qualified overall, especially if they brought up the academic parts. And sometimes it may not be the candidate's fault - they may just be in a school district that doesn't offer calculus or AP classes or similar and it just kind of levels the playing field some.
 
It would seem to me that those people would be shafted in a way since less qualified candidates are going to NAPS with the guarantee of appointment the following year? What am I missing here?

In my personal opinion (this is not something USNA has ever said), this is a "glitch" in the system. Every year there are some candidates who are too well qualified academically to go to NAPS/Foundation and yet not quite strong enough to get an appointment. Or they're a triple Q'ed candidate who didn't get a nom. It's a numbers game. There are more qualified candidates than there are slots. However, it doesn't make sense to send those kids to NAPS/Foundation b/c they don't need add'l academic prep. They're strong academically but there are too many people stronger than they are.

Assume 2 candidates are basically equivalent in terms of athletics, ECAs and leadership and take the same courses in h.s. Candidate A is ranked 30/200 with a 3.7 GPA and 650/700 SATs. Candidate B is 45/200 with a 3.5 GPA and 600/650 SATs. Both are likely to be triple Q'ed, but A appears to be stronger academically than B. Sending B to NAPS/Foundation isn't necessary b/c B has a strong academic record -- just not as strong as A. And, when there are limited slots for appointment, A may end up getting an appointment and B doesn't.

I realize it may not sound fair but there are lots of things in the college admissions world that aren't fair. For example, if you're a kid from Texas applying to Bucknell (a PA school), I guarantee that you're going to have an easier time than a similarly qualified candidate from PA. And candidates from AK, WY, ND, SD, etc. are highly prized outside those states. Why? Most colleges strive for geographic diversity. Is it fair? It's reality.

Finally, my personal view is that candidates offered NAPS/Foundation have very strong ECAs, athletics, leadership, etc. but I wouldn't say they are necessarily stronger in those areas than the triple Q'ed candidates who don't get in. Some are, some aren't. And '88 (above) is correct in that many kids offered NAPS/Foundation come from backgrounds where they didn't have the same opportunities as other students in terms of the courses they could take, the tutoring/mentoring they could receive, the number of times they could afford to take ACTs/SATs, etc. Don't assume for a minute that USNA offers NAPS/Foundation to students who they believe were lazy and sat on their duffs for four years in high school -- rather, they are candidates that USNA strongly believes have the qualities to achieve academically but have not been given the right or necessary opportunities to do so.
 
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