What does the star on top of the anchor on the SDB mean?

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ABCDE_2026

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I saw that some Midshipmen had a star on top of their anchors on the SDB. Is this some sort of position or award?
 
Superintendent’s List. Mids who earn their way on the list for a combo or academic, conduct, physical and performance grades can wear them.
 
ABCDE_2026 said:
I saw that some Midshipmen had a star on top of their anchors on the SDB. Is this some sort of position or award?
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www.usna.edu

Honor-Lists

Honor-Lists page for Academics at USNA.edu. Updated Wed Aug 16 15:37:55 EDT 2023.
www.usna.edu

Supe's list = gold star
Dean's list = bronze star

On the web site there is no mention of silver star for Dant's list, but last year it was a silver star. If you dig into the web site, the hierarchy is Sup's list, then Dant's list and then Dean's list.
 
In our day, well less than 10% of the brigade made Supe's list. Now, based on lists from last year, it's closer to 35%. The main difference is that, today average GPA of the brigade is much higher, so a lot easier to hit that 3.4 GPA element of making the list.
 
It was pretty rare when I went through. And even those who made the list not many wore the stars who earned them. Also, only Supt’s list could be worn except in working blues where Dean’s list could be worn on the pocket with all the other pins. There wasn’t anything for Dant’s list.
 
usna1985 said:
In our day, well less than 10% of the brigade made Supe's list. Now, based on lists from last year, it's closer to 35%. The main difference is that, today average GPA of the brigade is much higher, so a lot easier to hit that 3.4 GPA element of making the list.
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Was there a published Supe's list? I have only been able to find the Dant's list. Thanks! BTW - I think the Mids are being "encouraged" to wear them now, although the feel I get is a many still do not. As proud parents DW and I ask DD to wear it. She is indifferent.
 
Sentiment expressed by NavyHoops, experienced by Gabe, still feels very prevalent today among the overwhelming majority of my "nerdy" shipmates As always, CAPT MJ has her finger on the pulse of the Brigade :)
 
I got the sense last year that DD was happier with Dant’s List than Dean’s List, for the reason @Capt MJ states. I, of course, would’ve been happier with Supe’s List. Sigh.
 
20USNA23 said:
Sentiment expressed by NavyHoops, experienced by Gabe, still feels very prevalent today among the overwhelming majority of my "nerdy" shipmates As always, CAPT MJ has her finger on the pulse of the Brigade :)
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I fondly remember one sponsor son, a complete Cali guy from San Clemente (beach volleyball and surfing and In ‘n’ Out and fish tacos), volleyball starter and eventual captain, confess to us one semester he had made Supe’s List, but he had to scale back or his cool factor rep would diminish. He was halfway serious.
 
I was just happy to not be on the unsat list.

And honestly not many Mids cared about wearing the stars... they just wanted the weekends that came with them. Weekends (when not in COVID times) are much more prevalent for all classes than earlier decades. They were highly prized and rare for us unless a 1/C.
 
Letter sweaters are the best. Comfortable and no cover. Best USNA uniform. Still have mine!
 
Things must have changed. In my day, those made Supe’s list were true standouts and everyone knew it. They typically ranked in the top 50 of their class academically and also did well on the then-version of the PRT. There were so few that it didn’t engender much discussion among the rest of the brigade. I don’t recall what they got for it.
 
NavyHoops said:
Letter sweaters are the best. Comfortable and no cover. Best USNA uniform. Still have mine!
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This just came up among my classmates on FB. Someone found and shared the gouge about who the POC is to get missing/damaged sweaters replaced ($90).

Mine is among my most prized possessions. My family has 2 generations of Ns now and I'm pretty proud of that.
 
Skipper07 said:
We are encouraged to wear stars but I’d say roughly 60% of those on a list don’t.
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This doesn't surprise me at all, knowing several MIDNs and a little about the culture there. USNA is quite successful at indoctrinating each class with the knowledge that even though they may have been a standout in High School, that they are decidedly average when it comes to being a Midshipman. I think that it is hammered into them quite a bit that they are part of a larger team and that their individual accomplishments aren't something to be wearing on their sleeve, as it were. My guess is that this has always been the case and possibly more so in the past, when the stars were rare.

The other side of the coin could be that it represents more things to buy at the uniform store and more things to keep track of on your uniform for inspection. Are the stars in the right place? Are they straight? Multiple uniforms...more work.
 
I don't think there was an option to wear / not wear your star when I was a mid. If you earned it, it was considered part of your uniform. I suppose someone could have earned it and not worn it . . . but never heard of that. happening As I've repeatedly said, the number of mids eligible to wear the Supe's star was so small that it was never a topic of general discussion.

IMO, if you earn the star, you should wear it. It's like wearing a ribbon / medal that you earned. In life, not everyone gets a trophy. That doesn't mean that those who earn the trophy shouldn't accept it.

The above said, it may be time to revisit the criteria for Supe's list. When 35% of the class is on the list, it's no longer as much of an achievement as when the number was <10%.

[As an aside, I have no issues with parents who are proud of their child's accomplishments; they should be. Rubbing that accomplishment in the face of other parents is not cool.]
 
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