USNA Foundation Programs

WonderGirl1965

WonderGirl1965

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Messages
163
Hi... as the mom of a DD who's USNA application is "Complete Pending Review", it occurred to me that we know a lot about USNA and a good amount about NAPS but nothing about the Foundation schools. DD has been accepted to multiple Plan B schools and has her Fafsa squared away, she also has been offered Merit Scholarships, but she would take NAPS or a Foundation school offer in a minute if offered. My joke is she would take a street sweeping job in Annapolis if it led to an Academy appointment! So here are my questions...

What prep schools would you recommend from the list?
What is the approximate cost of attendance? Or average parent contribution?
Do the prep schools combine Foundation scholarships with Fafsa and parent contribution?
Do application/acceptance times align with the USNA offer? Or have apps for the fall already closed like most colleges?

Thanks in advance! ⚓
 
Any of the schools on the list are great. USNA has them because they are great and work as partners. Biggest difference is military vs non-military, location and cost. If you end up in this situation I would narrow down to 2-3 and visit them if you could. Their admissions depts are usually very accommodating and will answer tons of your questions. Northwestern is a great program and one of the few west coast schools. They are unique as it's a one semester program, but a long and successful tradition of SA partnerships. Others are pure east coast prep schools. Others are military junior colleges/prep schools. Don't believe you can use FAFSA as it's considered a prep year (but foundation could validate that). Foundation is normally needs based, some schools are more costly than others. I have heard of some families paying a few grand up to $10k (don't quote me on that). Foundation walks you all thru this. Don't worry about application timelines as a sponsored foundation selectee. These schools know they will get sponsored prepsters and work with them.
 
Hoops... in your opinion, if she would be flat out denied, would a self pay year at one of the listed Foundation programs be more advantageous than a typical college re-applicant?
 
This is a topic every year. I would suggest if she gets a TWE that she reaches out to her BGO and her admissions counselor to see what her weaknesses are. Depending on those, that would help drive what is best. There are lots of pros and cons to each. Lots of older threads on this and can I expand when I am not on my phone.
 
OP, DS was a Foundation sponsored prep. He was contacted in January of his application year and immediately accepted. We decided on a prep school that was recommended by Capt Wallace. The Foundation provided financial aid based on our household income and the prep school provided a scholarship so we ended up paying about $17k or around 30% of the cost which was tuition, room and board. Because we chose a prep school FAFSA did not apply.
 
Thanks THS.... we spent this afternoon looking at their websites and calling a few. It appears the northeast schools are the most expensive, quite a few are boys only, and one that we found so far can take Fafsa money. The Fafsa was only if you went there self pay and not sponsored by the Foundation. I just don't see a huge advantage to self pay if she gets the TWE. I think attending a regular college and joining ROTC would be more advantageous. I think - without getting confirmation yet from Hoops or OldNavyBGO - that self pay would only be slightly more advantageous than just being a college reapplicant with no military or PT component.
 
NavyHoops said:
This is a topic every year. I would suggest if she gets a TWE that she reaches out to her BGO and her admissions counselor to see what her weaknesses are. Depending on those, that would help drive what is best. There are lots of pros and cons to each. Lots of older threads on this and can I expand when I am not on my phone.
Click to expand...

Talking to your bgo or admissions contact is going to be key on this. An assessment of what your child's biggest weakness will go a long way toward pointing you in right direction. If the achilles heal is ACT or SAT and DD is strong in other areas, I would suggest looking into Northwestern Prep. It's small, there's individual attention, and DD will prep and take ACT and SAT several times. There's no questioning that a jump in ACT or SAT (if there is a jump to be had) gets admissions attention the second time around.
 
Yes jebdad, I liked the Northwestern program. Perhaps if she could then go to one of her Plan B schools in January. She would prefer not to come back here.

I found this from an old, old thread comparing number of candidates to number of appointments. It is from 2002 but I imagine it is a similar breakdown today with an increase in number of candidates...

Senators 890, 99
Reps 4000, 500
VP 10, 1
Presidential 440, 75
SEC/NAV 450, 170
Daughter/Son of DV/POW/MOH 10, 5
ROTC 150, 20
Sup 50, 30
Qualified Alternates Appts. 300
 
We bounced around these numbers recently on another thread. USNA, as do all SAs throw around alot of numbers. The key numbers are those who are 3Q with a Nom for a spot. Selection among those who are qualified with a Nom is roughly 40%. That number has held true for a long time. It is lower than many years ago, but not by a ton.

If you look at the prep option you really need to understand sponsored prep vs. non-sponsored prep numbers. Sponsored prep acceptance rates to a SA is very high, as it should be. This number is much lower for non-sponsored prep at schools. Some of these schools they can be also getting college credits while others are purely prep. It is important to talk to your admissions counselor about this path to see if its the right path. The majority of time it is recommended to go to a college and follow a plebe like schedule and knock it out of that park. If there was any doubt on how well a candidate can handle a rigorous STEM based education doing well with a matching schedule is the best way to prove to USNA you can handle it. Throw in some club activities and an intramural sport and you are showing even more. Prep options can be pricey also. So its possibly another year of education you could be paying. Also if you went the 4 year route it prevents another year of possibly moving again.
 
Would anyone please share experiences while attending either of the following Foundation schools: NMMI, Greystone Prep, MMI, or Valley Forge?

Thanks!
 
WonderGirl1965 said:
Yes jebdad, I liked the Northwestern program. Perhaps if she could then go to one of her Plan B schools in January. She would prefer not to come back here.

I found this from an old, old thread comparing number of candidates to number of appointments. It is from 2002 but I imagine it is a similar breakdown today with an increase in number of candidates...

Senators 890, 99
Reps 4000, 500
VP 10, 1
Presidential 440, 75
SEC/NAV 450, 170
Daughter/Son of DV/POW/MOH 10, 5
ROTC 150, 20
Sup 50, 30
Qualified Alternates Appts. 300
Click to expand...
My DD is going to NWP this fall as a USAFA falcon scholar. There is a thread ‘falcon foundation scholarship 2018’ where several NWP alumni (sponsored and self prep) shared their experiences.
 
NavyHoops said:
This is a topic every year. I would suggest if she gets a TWE that she reaches out to her BGO and her admissions counselor to see what her weaknesses are. Depending on those, that would help drive what is best. There are lots of pros and cons to each. Lots of older threads on this and can I expand when I am not on my phone.
Click to expand...
Questions: What is the next step after foundation scholarship notification? Are instructions coming from USNA admissions and/or foundation office? BGO notified DS that he was recommended for foundation scholarship. I
 
Banzaipipeline said:
Questions: What is the next step after foundation scholarship notification? Are instructions coming from USNA admissions and/or foundation office? BGO notified DS that he was recommended for foundation scholarship. I
Click to expand...
This is a two-year old thread but is still relevant.

Fingers crossed on the hopeful news of a possible USNA Foundation scholarship.

Your DS can do preliminary research at this link, then explore the Service Academy prep program and application process for all the partner schools at their websites. These schools are old hands at dealing with SA prepsters.

 
Concur 100% with Capt MJ on what you can do now. Until an official Foundation offer is made, that is the key thing you can do. There are also lots of old threads on here about the the various schools. If an offer is extended, the Foundation program works with those selected on the process, financial obligations, requirements, etc. The program is known for their communication and preparation with Candidates.
 
Concur with Capt MJ and Hoops. When you say that "BGO notified DS that he was recommended for foundation scholarship", it could have several different messages. If the BGO is saying that he/she recommended it, that is nice but the probability is not necessarily high as there are far more BGOs than there are slots with the Foundation. On the other hand if the BGO has somehow heard that USNA Admissions is recommending your son to the Foundation then that is a very different thing with a much more significant probability.
 
OldRetSWO said:
Concur with Capt MJ and Hoops. When you say that "BGO notified DS that he was recommended for foundation scholarship", it could have several different messages. If the BGO is saying that he/she recommended it, that is nice but the probability is not necessarily high as there are far more BGOs than there are slots with the Foundation. On the other hand if the BGO has somehow heard that USNA Admissions is recommending your son to the Foundation then that is a very different thing with a much more significant probability.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input. Here’s the message in quotations (less DS’s name):
“Just noticed (DS name) recommendation for USNA Foundation. These are a good deal and fairly rare from Hawaii - only had one go from Hawaii during the last decade.”
Click to expand...
 
Banzaipipeline said:
Thanks for the input. Here’s the message in quotations (less DS’s name):
Click to expand...
That's odd to me, I've been a BGO for 30 years and don't know where I'd even see something like that.
It does look more "official" than the BGO him/her self recommending it though.
 
NavyHoops said:
Any of the schools on the list are great. USNA has them because they are great and work as partners. Biggest difference is military vs non-military, location and cost. If you end up in this situation I would narrow down to 2-3 and visit them if you could. Their admissions depts are usually very accommodating and will answer tons of your questions. Northwestern is a great program and one of the few west coast schools. They are unique as it's a one semester program, but a long and successful tradition of SA partnerships. Others are pure east coast prep schools. Others are military junior colleges/prep schools. Don't believe you can use FAFSA as it's considered a prep year (but foundation could validate that). Foundation is normally needs based, some schools are more costly than others. I have heard of some families paying a few grand up to $10k (don't quote me on that). Foundation walks you all thru this. Don't worry about application timelines as a sponsored foundation selectee. These schools know they will get sponsored prepsters and work with them.
Click to expand...
DS received an email today from admissions office requesting to talk to him tomorrow about their decision. He was recommended for Foundation prep last 18Feb. I understand that a recommendation for prep will not preclude him from an appointment. I’m just overly thinking this that Admissions will offer the prep route in preparation for 2026 class.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top