USNA Class of 2027 Waiting and Speculating

NavyHoops said:
I know plenty of people who ‘quit’ USNA who are extremely successful. My ring dance date left USNA. Graduated Columbia and then Harvard, served in the reserves and is highly successful. He didn’t quit. He left for his reasons. BTW, none of our classmates had any issues with him leaving and many of us are still friends with him. It wasn’t the right fit for him.
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Reminds me of one of my company officers, my #1 in the Batt and #2 of 30 in the Brigade. He was at USAFA as a cadet, but left his second year because his girlfriend was pregnant, and he wanted to marry her and be a present father from the beginning. He completed his education as a Navy NUPOC, and went on to success as a submarine officer. He is now the COO for a cruise line. He made a considered choice consistent with his values.

The truth is, plebes, despite NASS, CVWs, talking to grads, other Yard visits, poring over usna.edu and watching videos and reading mid blogs, simply do not know what being a plebe and then a midshipman is like until they take the oath on I-Day and those big bronze doors close behind them. The system allows them 2 years to figure it (and themselves) out for free, recognizing some of them have to reconcile reality with whatever was in their head during the application process, and decide, knowing what they now know, to stay or go. They may apply for one set of reasons, but find themselves staying for another set.

I am sure all the SA Admissions teams keep years of data and analyze the heck out of the attrition stats. I recall an interesting study when I was on USNA staff, when it was shown a majority of attriting plebes over PS tested as introverts. They were not getting an occasional dose of quiet time to re-charge. PS routines were slightly adjusted. Attrition of introverts dropped. A large number of Navy senior and flag officers test as introverts, but they have no problem leading people, so USNA realized they were leaking potential talent. I am INTJ, and I had a rough time at OCS, not with the academics or military training, but because I never seemed to have a minute to myself without others around. That led to a great story about me getting fried, but I’ll save that for a dull day.

The litmus test for those voluntarily separating is “are you running to something or away from something?”

I do wish Admissions could somehow test for those who had the propensity to lie, cheat or commit other major misconduct or honor offenses. Guaranteed those candidates wrote the usual essays full of patriotic desire to serve, delivered crisp and impressive interview responses, earned glowing letters and evaluations, and racked up appropriate HS academic, sport and leadership stats - but you can’t tell who has the deep crack in character that can lead to some truly awful actions. Extreme case, Diane Zamora (USNA) and David Graham (USAFA), both incarcerated for capital murder. They were the cherished, high-performing son and daughter of proud and happy parents as they were launched at their respective academies, with no clue as to what they were capable of doing, and then concealing.

I went off on some tangents here, but the decision to leave USNA can range along a continuum as to the “why.” Admissions does a professional job of selecting applicants, but there is no Sorting Hat to identify those who realize they don’t have the grit factor required to get through a 4-year grind.
 
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Kentucky9 said:
“Winners never quit, and quitters never win”
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Really? What happened to the old adage, 'walk a mile in my shoes'? This whole SA experience isn't a cakewalk. Throw Covid into the mix and it was a s$it show. I am amazed anyone stayed. It made my son and his shipmates signing of their 2 for 7 that much more meaningful.

When DS commissions next May, he will be the 4th generation. But two other family members attended and didn't make it. One was dropped on request (mid -60's horrific hazing per the letters I have between USNA staff and my grandparents, and my dad and cousin's first-hand observations; two brothers and their first cousin attended simultaneously), and the other was in 1878 and pretty much was a crappy plebe. I have copies of the log books of his demerits, all in gorgeous calligraphy, he couldn't make a bed or show up for muster on time to save his life.

The first two years are designed to be a trial and a means to see if these young men and women want to step up, lead, and be responsible for other people's lives. That's not to be taken lightly. Nor should it be something that one does out of bravado, or a 'winners never quit' mentality.

This isn't a movie or a time for quips.

It has to be what is a good fit for them or they will do a tremendous disservice to others, and lives may be at stake.

I loved my Uncle, with all of my heart. He was my Yoda. But knowing what I do about him, his beliefs, his personality, his convictions, he would not have been a good leader in combat scenarios, and had he not dropped, he would have been thrust into the Vietnam War, in charge of young sailors. He made the right decision, and I respected him, and any other who makes that choice.

A wise SA contributor once said something along the lines of, "it's their merry-go-round, they get to choose to hop off or keep riding". They earned their spot, it IS theirs to walk away from.
 
Looping back around to the admissions live chat...we tried again today and it was available to login...so yay...but once we got into the session there were multiple other people with questions that has been asked and not answered. We asked our question and then no response. Someone else signed in after us and also got no response. So it looked like the chat was initiated but was not being manned by anyone from admissions. Kind of odd maybe?
 
This really aggravates me. When I went through my DOR process at the end of youngster year, I got the same speech from at least half a dozen of the senior officers on the yard I had to interview with as part of the exit process. To this day, I vividly remember the Chief Legal Officer telling me that I'd never amount to anything in life if I left. Not one of them took the time to have a real conversation with me about why I was making the decision and why I felt it was best for me.

40 years later, I'm the CEO of a NYSE traded company and have a wonderful wife and family. I think I've done OK.
 
Did you emphasize money, and the acquisition of it, in thesis of your Naval Academy personal statement?
 
Kentucky9 said:
Did you emphasize money, and the acquisition of it, in thesis of your Naval Academy personal statement?
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I am not sure we are moving forward with the spirit of this forum or thread.

I understand your feelings. My son was medically dq’d and I was equally frustrated until the waiver came. My son’s plan b was a state school bachelor degree in one year and law school. He would have graduated approximately the same time from law school as he will from USNA this May before he turned 22.

He applied to no other schools.

He had classmates leave the academy. Refusal to get the vax for some. Some got kicked out for honor offenses. Some got injured. Some didn’t make it academically. Some developed medical problems.

It is unfair to label the ones who won’t graduate. There are top candidates with unbelievable high school stats that didn’t get nominations or appointed. Failure to get an appointment in a highly competitive environment does not define success or failure. And neither does not graduating.

There are parents on this site of some of those students that won’t graduate.

I feel for them to read this stuff.
 
NavyBrazilUSA said:
My DS just got a email from MOC congratulating him on being accepted to USNA 27 !!! I am crying until now… the attached letter from USNA says tomorrow he‘ll see in the system. My grandpa was a general in the Brazilian Army, my uncle was a Brigadier General at Brazilian Air Force, Stanford Professor, and now my son will be an officer at the US Navy. I am forever grateful to this amazing Country. GO NAVY !!! BEAT ARMY !!!
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Parabéns!👏🏼
 
On the My Progress tab of the USNA Portal, just above the test scores...it keeps saying "Last updated" and follows with a date and time. I noticed it maybe on Tuesday, and it has updated at least twice since then. I would not think anybody is actually looking at the applications at 5am on a Sunday. So, anybody know what gives?
 
Navy2B said:
On the My Progress tab of the USNA Portal, just above the test scores...it keeps saying "Last updated" and follows with a date and time. I noticed it maybe on Tuesday, and it has updated at least twice since then. I would not think anybody is actually looking at the applications at 5am on a Sunday. So, anybody know what gives?
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Batch processing? No idea.
 
Navy2B said:
On the My Progress tab of the USNA Portal, just above the test scores...it keeps saying "Last updated" and follows with a date and time. I noticed it maybe on Tuesday, and it has updated at least twice since then. I would not think anybody is actually looking at the applications at 5am on a Sunday. So, anybody know what gives?
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Cross-system updates. Doesn’t mean anything in your file changed. The update is often “no change” for many.
 
Good Morning, waiting and speculating friends! On this day last year there were 86 reported appointments here on the SA forum and to date the Class of 2027 has reported 92 on the forum.

Like so many of you, our family is buckled up for the waiting and {hopeful} celebrating, while tending to plans B,C and D. Just 47 days to 4/15.

We got this!
 
ALW72 said:
Looping back around to the admissions live chat...we tried again today and it was available to login...so yay...but once we got into the session there were multiple other people with questions that has been asked and not answered. We asked our question and then no response. Someone else signed in after us and also got no response. So it looked like the chat was initiated but was not being manned by anyone from admissions. Kind of odd maybe?
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Did you get on there right at or close to noon est? The few times my son has been successful in chatting it has been right around 12:00. There are also numerous times that he has been on later and although it looked active, it clearly wasn't being actively manned. I am guessing that whichever admissions officer is assigned to the chat is doing multiple things and either gets pulled away or intentionally moves on to other things and doesn't fully log out of the chat.
 
Coffee22 said:
Good Morning, waiting and speculating friends! On this day last year there were 86 reported appointments here on the SA forum and to date the Class of 2027 has reported 92 on the forum.

Like so many of you, our family is buckled up for the waiting and {hopeful} celebrating, while tending to plans B,C and D. Just 47 days to 4/15.

We got this!
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My candidate is so laid back about it, not checking the portal, "just gonna wait till I get my letter the old fashioned way." Wish I could do that. But Dang I love that kid
 
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