USNA Fact Sheet - Read & Compare

parkhurst89

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
141
THE UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY
READ AND COMPARE

EDUCATION
There are 22 major fields of study, each fully accredited: 16 science, engineering, and math, and six humanities. All graduates receive a Bachelor’s of Science degree.

The Naval Academy employs an equal mix of civilian/military faculty on the teaching staff. The civilian faculty have Doctorate degrees, and the military faculty have Master’s degrees, at a minimum. The professors themselves, not student aides, teach all classes. There is a midshipman/instructor student ratio of 8 to 1 at the Naval Academy; therefore, classes are small, allowing for individual attention.

Every midshipman is issued a computer as a freshman (Plebe). Every student is connected to the internet and the USNA intranet; computer proficiency is stressed in every academic setting.

Academic guidance during Plebe Summer and succeeding academic years is highly personalized - students are much more than random faces in the crowd. Each student is assigned an academic advisor to assist in academic endeavors and track progress.

Help is available. The Academic Center is staffed by professors and is there to assist in all facets of academic life. Services include individual tutoring, study skills classes, and individual study skills sessions. Extra Instruction, from the student’s own instructor, is available day or night, during the academic year.

There are opportunities for post graduate education, both while as a midshipman and immediately after graduation. Midshipmen who complete academic requirements early may start on a graduate degree at any of the local universities in the Washington/Baltimore area through the Voluntary Graduate Education Program (VGEP). Various programs also exist for graduate education after graduation from the Academy. A limited number of graduates are allowed to enter medical or dental school upon graduation (up to 15 per class).

Undergraduate research work is encouraged and financed through several programs and funds. Since there are no graduate students, all academic, laboratory and library facilities are for the sole use of the undergraduates.
A four-year leadership laboratory stresses both theory and practice throughout the four years at the Naval Academy. Upperclass midshipmen are the ones responsible for the training of the plebes, both during Plebe Summer and during the year.

Some of the top-notch academic facilities available for hands-on training to complement the theoretical side of study are:
  • Propulsion lab
  • Wind tunnels, both subsonic and supersonic
  • 120-foot and 380-foot towing tanks
  • Coastal Engineering Basin
  • Environmental chamber facilities
  • Sub-critical Nuclear Reactor
  • Oceanographic Research Vessel, Field Laboratory and Weather Station
  • 10-inch Cassegrain reflector telescope
  • 12-meter satellite earth static
The Naval Academy draws upon the vast political, technical, and educational resources of the metropolitan areas of Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC, in curriculum preparation.

FINANCIAL BENEFITS
The Naval Academy is a federally funded institution. This means that the education of all midshipmen is fully funded by the government. The estimated value of your four-year education is over $350,000. Complete medical and dental coverage is provided as well.

The Navy will pay you a salary of $864 per month while you are a midshipman, a percentage of which is used to pay for monthly personal services, which include the cost of books and uniforms. You qualify for a life insurance policy worth $400,000 for only $29.00/ month as a midshipman and officer.

Juniors may apply for a Career Starter Loan of $30,000 (amount for 2007) at a very low interest rate.
As a member of the military, you are eligible for military base privileges (commissary, gas station, golf course, exchange, Navy Lodges, BOQ, Officers’ Club, etc.) throughout the country and military flights overseas. While on leave, midshipmen qualify for available military fares on air, bus or train travels.

The Naval Academy has an extensive financial counseling program for midshipmen.

GENERAL
As a midshipman, you have the option of being paired with a “sponsor family” from the local area who agree to host you through your four years to provide a “home away from home” while in Annapolis.

You will have the privilege of serving your country while getting leadership experience and management responsibilities at a young age.

Your career will provide you the opportunity to do a wide variety of jobs under many different circumstances in exciting locations. As a midshipman, you will have the opportunity for extensive world travel on summer training cruises.
You will be associated with a select group of men and women and will make friends for life.

There are 31 intercollegiate (18 men/9 women/4 co-ed), 16 club, and 31 intramural sports available to you. All midshipmen are required to participate in one of these activities.

Academy graduates are active in the space program as astronauts - more than any other institution in the country.

There are many extracurricular activities available to midshipmen including:
  • Musical Groups, Gospel Choir, Glee Clubs
  • The Masqueraders (Theater group)
  • Drum and Bugle Corps
  • Language Clubs
  • Midshipmen Radio Station
  • Trident Magazine
  • Scuba Club
  • Lucky Bag (Yearbook)
  • Sailing Squadron
  • Flying Club
  • Midshipman Action Group
  • Triathlon Club
  • Black Studies Club
  • Latin American Studies Club
You will be educated and trained by the same organization (Navy/Marine Corps) which you join upon graduation, so your schooling is relevant. All graduates are required to serve a minimum of 5 years of active duty service as a commissioned officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. Job security following graduation is a good thing.
 
Bill you didn't mention the outstanding campus in there, or the great town of Annapolis.
:wink:
 
Does USNA still have a flying club? I thought it was shut down due to lack of funding.:confused:
 
Judging from that link, looks like it was shut down because they were crashing MiGs.
 
Amplification on Career Starter Loan

Beat AF, and thank you to Parkhurst 89 for some great gouge. Just a comment on the "Juniors may apply for a Career Starter Loan of $30,000 (amount for 2007) at a very low interest rate." You may want to make clear in your next edition of the gouge that this is not a government loan or an entitlement, but a customary offering from USAA and NFCU, commercial entities, both of whom usually have this loan available to midshipmen 2/C. Amounts and interest rates have varied up and down over the last several years, depending on the market. It's still a great deal to get unsecured money at a very low rate of interest during 2/C year, with payments starting after commissioning. Of interest, USAA offers an unsecured, signature loan to juniors at all 5 federal Academies, as well as ROTC, OCS, OTS, direct commission and other commissioning programs. NFCU got back into the CSL market about 3 years ago, and I think at the present time they offer it at USNA, USCGA and USMMA, where they have on-base offices. In the interests of full disclosure, I am with USAA Military Affairs in the Annapolis office. Thanks for your BGO work.
 
My how times have changed. My loan was only $13K.

Of course, we also used to have to stand in line outside of the steamy little phone booths for eternity during study hours and hope we could call our drags before taps.

"How long have I been in the Navy? All me bloomin' life!"
 
Back
Top