<p>Hey, I was looking for some input on my chances of getting into the Naval Academy, or more importantly NAPS. Here are my credentials</p>
<p>Class Rank: 70/425
SAT: 1140 (should go up to around 1250)
GPA:3.5
Athletics: 3 years JV Football, 1 year varsity. 2 JV Track 1 year Varsity
Boys State/Boys Nation Candidate
Boy Scout Finishing Eagle
FBLA/Model Congress Club. Regional 1st place FBLA Parlimentary Procedure 8th place in the State
Vice President Class, Student Council Member
6 years Orchestra</p>
<p>You do not say what grade you are in or what state you are from. I am guessing you just finished your Junior year because of Boys' State. If you were merely a candidate, and did not attend, it does not matter.</p>
<p>Look up the class profile for the class of 2010 on the USNA website. Compare yourself to those that were accepted.</p>
<p>There are so many unknown criteria and variables that is is possible for a candidate with lesser credentials to be appointed over one who is far more outstanding due , for example, to the competitiveness of the state and/or congressional district. </p>
<p>If you are a junior and did not activate your candidate file and start your application, you are already behind in the process. Many MOC require nomination applications and recommendations to be filed by Sept. 1, Leaving only 4 weeks for you to ask for the applications, receive them, and get the recommendations written and returned. (Remember, it is summer and your school counselor is probably not available to send your transcript.) </p>
<p>My son was told that the SAT scores (Math + Critical reading) must be at least 1300, with no individual score less than 600. There are obviously some mids who did not score this high, but who knows what other factors weighed in the selection decision.</p>
<p>You do not state what, if any, community service you have performed. (I realize that you may have many hours through scouts, but you have neglected to mention it)</p>
<p>Yes, I am a senior and i live in the PA 11th Congressional District. I did attend boys state and while I was a boys nation Candidate which means i was one of the 12 top kids there sorta. </p>
<p>Community service is a different issue. I do some threw scouts and FBLA, but i dont keep track of the hours. I dont keep track because i feel it turns service into an application buffer it really takes away from the whole point behind the service. Which is acting selflessly to serve others.</p>
<p>Well...i know just based on sat my chances are slim, i was looking more towards NAPS, because im willing to spend a year there to be able to attend USNA</p>
<p>I do not know the location of the 11th PA congressional district. If it encompasses a military installation, then "generally" there is greater interest from its residents in attending a Service Academy, and the competition increases. Population can also be another factor.</p>
<p>You do not state which, if any AP classes you have taken, or what level of math and science coursework you have completed. (A 3.8 GPA based on primarily humanities-type coursework is not equivalent to one based on high-level math and science coursework, or AP-level coursework).</p>
<p>Service Academies are looking for well rounded individuals who show great potential for leadership. Listing one's community service is not equivalent to bragging, it is another factor in describing you on paper to a review committee who cannot meet you in person. While you will have an interview, it will not be with the selection committee, and you still want to give as complete a "snapshot" as you can of who you are to those making the decisions.</p>
<p>I think again it matters on yours school and where you are from but your persistence and desire to attend the academy is keyu. My son had the following act scores :700 in math and 580 in verbal and on the Act had a 34 in math and 25 in english with a total score of 30. He did however come from one of the best public schools in Michigan and with an unweighted average had a 3.9, class rank of 20 out of 345, at least 2 honors classes a semester and AP Physics, AP Chemistry and AP Govt his senior year. He was also in the Atlas program all four year which is an Honors International Studies program which only takes 35 freshman a year. He did earn varsity letters in football(2), skiing(4), and lacrosse (2) and was captain of his lacrosse team his senior year. However, initially his admissions officer said that he at least need to bring his English in the ACT to a 26 to be a viable candidate. He retook it and recieved the same 25 but did up his Science and Math scores. He recieved his letter early October that he was academically qualified and recieved a Letter of Assurance in early February. He had to receive a medical waiver and finally got his letter of Acceptance mid March. The academy likes persistence and if this is what you want you really want let them know your desire and I feel that at you will get into NAPS and you never know USNA on your first try.</p>
<p>Thanks wick ... your specific information provides some real perspective. Perhaps there are other particular profiles out there? They can lend real perspective to the statistical averages.</p>
<p>I took AP history as a Soph. and as a Junior i took Ap English, Ap Psychologh, and Ap Gov. I took Honors everything. next year ill be taking Ap English Ap chemistry and maybe ap euro, as well as honors physics. My school is really competitive we had 3 kids get accepted to service academys last year. I went from 150 after my fresh year to 75 after soph. If i pull a 4.o this year i will probably get down to 45-50. Im very willing to go to NAPS for a year but no one seems to know how competitive NAPS is to get into or even a Prepster program at a military college for a year. Is it alright to come out and say that to admissions. </p>
<p>Another note i didnt make NASS because i had lows psat scores. ( i had a football game the night before and it was away so i didnt get to sleep till 1230-1 ish. So im not an official candidate whats the best way to become an official candidate</p>
<ol>
<li><p>High School Educational Testing Service (ETS) Code. (They have a link that allows you to look it up if you don't know)</p></li>
<li><p>Rank in your High School Class. Also from your Guidance Office. If your school does not rank, please estimate. </p></li>
<li><p>Congressional State and District (where you or your family votes). </p></li>
<li><p>Zipcode + 4. (You can look that up too with a provided link).</p></li>
<li><p>Your SAT, ACT, or PSAT scores. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you are competitive, you will be issued a candidate number and a PIN to access your electronic application.</p>
<p>It is a good idea to take a look at the Admissions website, they have a lot of good information there that will answer many questions that you might have about the process.</p>
<p>Yeah i did that, but i did it with my psat scores and they wernt that swell so im trying to update my file but its rather tough to know who to call and what to say once your on the back burner</p>
<p>Did you have your SATs sent directly from the college board?? If you applied online with your PSAT scores then you should have gotten a letter telling you to continue to update your file and how to do it... if you don't know then you have a great excuse to call admissions.....
I suggest that you go to the college board website and have your scores forwarded. It may cost a couple of bucks.... then take the ACT's in Sept. I do know of one young man who didn't get a candidate number until after the Sept ACT test and he is on a foundation prep scholarship.....Make sure you can get good grades with all those AP classes you are taking.
My understanding is that NAPS and foundation prep scholarships are for otherwise excellent candidates who are academically deficient.... they just need an extra year of academic preparation. Now get moving!!!</p>
<p>I just read the article yesterday and was thinking the same thing. </p>
<p>Everyone even remotely interesting in pursuing this path should print the article and refer to it frequently, beginning even as early as ninth grade, in order to position him/her self to be as competitive as possible.</p>
<p>Also I would strongly recommend that your school's guidance office have a copy in order to aid potential candidates.
CM</p>
<p>My understanding is that NAPS and Foundation scholarships are principally to support diversity and major-sports athletic prospects. Interestingly, while another branch of the service, we learned @ NASS (from a friend who's 30+ years into the AF, and his son is now a cadet there) that every starting member of the USAFA football team attended AF prep. Seems they use it as a DoD "redshirt" of sorts.</p>
<p>And it does seem those spots are not much allocated to the good-but-not-great candidates who need a bump on the SAT but can't hit the 3, do a 4.5 40 in pads, or support the call to diversify the cadre and haven't done so hot or even attempted pre-calc.</p>
<p>^^^^ not necessarily. For example, the foundation program is limited to 20% of its slots for athletes.....
Naps enrolls a large number of priors.</p>
<p>"good but not great candidates".....believe what you will. From experience, this is far from it.</p>
<p>"Red shirt year"....yes. The 5-year plan is not an option at the academies.</p>
<p>"diversity" and "bump on SATs"....hardly. First of all, there are lots of non-ethnic groups that attend both NAPS and foundation. SATs...are not even required again.</p>
<p>Before anyone believes what has been posted here, do your research- you might be surprised at what you find here- and what you don't! </p>
<p>ps...if the offer comes for either, and if USNA is what you want, GRAB IT!!!</p>
<p>OK, so you tried to become a candidate via the online Preliminary Application and something you told them made them decline making you an official candidate. </p>
<p>In those cases a local BGO is ususally asked to contact and counsel that potential candidate to discuss their potential candidacy (it can sometimes take a while to get that call). Get great grades, but did lousy on the SAT? Are you a candidate for NAPS? Your BGO can make a call to Admissions to get your candidacy file opened (You might even try calling them yourself). Sometimes, it just does not make sense for the BGO to make that call, though. The mitigating reasons and/or your motivation have to be pretty good (in the opinion of the BGO) for him/her to do so.</p>
<p>Keep taking the SAT/ACT. Take a cram course to increase your scores. According to the Academy 60% of their admissions algorithm is some combination of SAT/ACT scores and Class Rank. That is why they ask those two questions of you in the Preliminary App.</p>
<p>SAT/ACT scores are slowly losing their importance. Sure, good scores can help one gain acceptance but not grant it. This is the case at all colleges, not just the academy. The people at Annapolis are looking for well rounded students who show leadership skills. Who are they looking for the most? Those would could possbily posses careers in the NAVY/Marines for ten to thirty years.</p>