USNA In my future.

SeanReynolds

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I am a Junior in high school and will be applying for the USNA, I am on the varsity football team at a nationally ranked (academically/athletically) high school. My father attended the USNA and went on to spend 20 years in the Navy before retiring. Does this help my chances?

p.s. Is their a minimum gpa requirement?
 
The fact a parent is/was in the military helps a little - the reason is that SAs believe that candidates who have been exposed to military life through their parent(s) are more likely to understand what it's all about and, accordingly, more likely to stay at the academy. In terms of admissions, you get a small boost, more or less equivalent to being an Eagle Scout, team captain, etc. It doesn't matter, BTW, what service your parent was in, whether he/she attended a SA, or whether he/she was officer or enlisted -- it all counts.

There is no minimum GPA, as GPA itself is somewhat meaningless. USNA prefers class rank to GPA, because that demonstates how you are doing in comparison to your peers. A 3.9 isn't as meaningful, if it still puts you in the bottom 25% of your class.

Equally important is your courseload. A student with a 3.9 who is taking AP English, AP Calculus, AP Physics, a 4th year of Chinese and World History will be looked on more favorably by a SA than a student of the same year who has a 3.9 in Music Theory, Art History, English, Algebra II, and first year French. Not saying anything is wrong with the latter courses in general, but they won't help you as much with a SA.
 
Re:USNA in your future

The best part of the info you've provided, is that your parent served for twenty years. This allows you to apply for a presidential appointment, traditionally the least competitive nomination and appointment source.

Keep doing what you're doing. Since the academy is a four year marathon, those things that you've done for a long time...and done well, play well at the admissions board.

Apply for the Naval Academy Summer Seminar via the USNA.edu website, as soon as applications open, usually about 15 Jan. This is a great opportunity to "try the academy on for size" for a week in June.

Good luck.

BGO, 20-year SWO, dad to USNA '07, brother to USMMA '83
 
Thanks

If I apply and I do not receive an appointment is the prep school hard to get into and if I do get in what are the chances of getting an appointment to the Academy?
 
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You don't apply to NAPS.

If your application is considered not quite good enough to be a fully qualified candidate - but something in your application shows you might be an extremely good leader, if your academic short-comings were fixed, then THEY will consider if you should be offered NAPS. If you go to NAPS, you enlist in the Navy Reserve to go to NAPS.

If you are offered NAPS, and you go, and you do well (here - it means getting a C average - 2.0) - then you are automatically entered into the next USNA class (unless there are some other problems that come up!). If you don't do well enough in NAPS to go to USNA, you are permitted to drop out of the Navy Reserve (unless you were already on Active Duty or in the Reserve, in which case, you continue to fulfill your previous obligation.)

Similarly, there are a certain number of Foundation Scholarships that are offered - but these don't come with a guarantee of entry into USNA.

Often, top athletes with good leadership potential but marginal academics are offered the NAPS or Foundation scholarships.
 
So say my father spent 20 years in the Navy, graduated from the Academy, and both my grandfathers were in the military, and I have an excellent reputation in the community but I'm short coming in my academics 3.0-3.5 are my chances good of going into the NAPS?
 
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