Chance me for USNA please!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
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<p><strong>HEADS UP</strong> This is going to be really reeeaaalllly long!!</p>

<p>Just a bit of background info:
First-generation American, Chinese, female, live in 3rd Congressional District of KS, no military in family, largest high school in the state(~2100 students, public). On my preliminary online app, I said I did NOT plan on applying for NROTC- will that look bad? I really want the full Naval Academy experience, instead of NROTC. I want to major in either CompSci, CompEng, or Physics. After graduation, I want train at the Nuclear Power School then be a surface warfare officer (yes, I know this is really competitive). I would also like to pursue at least a Master's degree (probs at the Naval Postgrad School and then serve more! :) ).</p>

<p>My high school has sent a person to the Naval Academy in both the high school c/o 2013 and c/o 2014. I also know 2 others from my Congressional District who are attending/will be attending USNA (one graduated high school in 2013, another 2014). Another person from my district is at the AIr Force Academy (high school c/o 2013). I am not sure from whom they each got their nominations. However, correct me if I am wrong, I thought that each senator and representative had a quota of how many of their nominees can be attending service academies at a time? Would this lower my chances of admittance? Anyways, onto the stats!</p>

<p>These stats are current as of the end of this year (my junior year):
UW/W GPA: 4.000/4.675
Class rank: 8 of 472. Top 2%. (though the total number of students fluctuates a bit)</p>

<p>ACT: Oct. 2013: 31C. 34W. 30M. 28R. 31S. 10 essay.
April 2014: 33C. 32W :(. 32M. 33R. 35S. 9essay.
Superscore: 34C.</p>

<p>SAT I:Jan 2014: 2040: CR-600. M-720. W-720.
March 2014: 2070: CR-650. M-710. W-710.
Superscore: 2090. LOL.
SAT IIs - Not required for admission. Not-so-great scores anyways :/.</p>

<p><strong>Scroll down quite a bit if you don't want to bore through my classes for the past three years. Basically lots of math and science. Honors & AP everything except history classes.</strong></p>

<p>Freshman year:
Choir
Pre-AP Modern World History
Pre-AP English I
Advanced Algebra II and Trigonometry
Spanish I
Honors Biology
Physical Education/Health</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
Honors Chemistry
Honors Pre-Calculus
Physics
Pre-AP english 2
Gifted program class (completed semester of computer credit and semester of humanities credit)
Spanish II
Teacher aide - 1st semester
Pre-AP World Geography - 2nd semester</p>

<p>Junior year:
AP Language (guessing 4 or 5 on exam)
AP Calculus BC (guessing 4 on exam)
AP Music Theory (tbh the teacher does not prepare us for the AP test at all)
College Physics (school does not offer any AP physics)
Spanish 4
Gifted program (Completed the last semester of computer credit, designed an engineering and technology project in conjunction with a science museum)
US history (1st semester at school, 2nd semester online)
CAD 1 - 2nd semester</p>

<p>I took Spanish 3 at the local CC the summer before junior year.</p>

<p>My plan for 12th grade:
Multivariable-Calculus & Linear Algebra
AP Statistics
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Literature
AP Spanish
Government (semester)
???elective (semester)</p>

<p>ECs:
Varsity cross country (9)
Varsity Track (9)
Debate (9-12)
Forensics (9-12)
Kansas Association of Youth (9-12)-Officer every year except 9th.
SNHS (11-12)-20 hrs volunteering/yr
NHS (11-12)-35 hrs volunteering/yr
Daycare volunteer (summer 2012-senior year)
Volunteer at swim meets (9-12) I used to be a nationally ranked swimmer, but that was when I was 12 and 13 years old.
Science Olympiad (11-12)
Math Club (11-12)
Free tutoring for K-8 kids-100ish hrs volunteering/yr (10-12)
Mock Trial (11-12)
Drummer in a local band, have toured across several midwest states (10-12)</p>

<p>I had to quit XC and track because I had lifeguard training during the fall sophomore year, and once I started tutoring, I also had to make supplementary lesson plans for the kids, which took quite a bit of time, not to mention my own school work. I am not currently in any school sports, but I do triathlons for "fun".</p>

<p>Medically qualified.
Haven't tried basketball throw yet.
Pull-ups: working on it...
Haven't tried shuttle run yet.
Sit-ups: ~80-90
Push-ups: 50+ (which is the female CFA max)
Mile: 6:30-6:40 (guessing it will be around there after 2 min of push ups. Want to get it down to 6:20ish)</p>

<p>Job experience:
City parks & rec lifeguard 30-40 hrs/week (seasonal during each summer starting in summer 2013)
Teaching year-round swim lessons 8 hrs/week in school year and 12-16 hrs/week in summer (started winter 2013)</p>

<p>I also have two internships going this summer at two different universities. The internships are for physics and computer science. Not saying the universities' names or going too in-detail for privacy's sake. 8hrs/wk and 5 hrs/wk.</p>

<p>Okay we have FINALLY reached the end. Please chance me! I'll chance you back or send you virtual homemade cookies or something! I know chances, especially for the Naval Academy, can seem quite arbitrary since there are just so many things that are factored in to admissions, but I would like to know approximately where I stand. Thank you so much if you actually read through this headache of a post! :)</p>

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<p>Oh! Forgot to mention this: I did not apply for Summer Seminar because of prior commitments to teach swim lessons in June…</p>

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<p>Not applying for NROTC will not hurt a lot, but certainly does not help. USNA asks that question for a reason – they want to know how committed you are to a Navy career. Also, your explanation won’t impress anybody. I suggest that you come up with a better explanation in case you get asked this at the interview. It is not like NROTC somehow precludes attending USNA. They assume that you would choose USNA over NROTC, given the choice. Then again, you could also change your mind and apply for the NROTC scholarship; eliminating that as an issue.</p>

<p>Your academics are outstanding, obviously.</p>

<p>Your leadership is good but not great. Teaching life guard lessons is good, because it combines athletics with some leadership. What USNA really wants, leadership-wise, is team captain of a varsity sport or student council officer. Being an officer in a club is okay, but not special.</p>

<p>Your physical fitness appears excellent, but lack of varsity sports will hurt. No doubt about that. 90% of USNA midshipmen participated in varsity sports. Just doing it in 9th grade will hardly count. They are looking for more like three years of varsity sports. Plus, although not officially stated, I believe that USNA prefers team sports over individual sports.</p>

<p>So, out of the three “legs” of your application, you are extremely strong in one but only okay in the other two. I rate your chances as below average but not out of the question. Being female might help you.</p>

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<p>+1 NROTCgrad… My DS was not going to do it at first and he is now very happy that he did. </p>

<p>As a former enlisted Navy guy I (respectfully) told my son this:

  1. OCS officers were the most down to earth and understood the enlisted the best.
  2. NROTC officers were also good but it took them a little more time to adapt.
  3. Academy officers were intense for lack of better words. They are fresh out of 4 years of total control and attention to detail. As important as this is it does not go over well with salted enlisted guys. It takes the Academy officers to get into the swing of things in the real fleet.</p>

<p>I can’t say it well enough I am trying to be respectful to all that become officers it was just how enlisted guys saw it. My DS is now applying to the Academy for his 2nd time. He has the NROTC scholarship in hand and as I said he is quit happy. He was more thrilled than I expected when he visited the NROTC unit that he will be part of. </p>

<p>In regard to your chances…well unless you apply you will never know. To that end I would agree with NROTCgrad on the three legs. If you can do something about the leadership and sports it will be helpful. Top 2% is going to help!</p>

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<p>@NROTCgrad @3unitsilove I have changed my mind about NROTC and will be applying. Will the admissions council somehow be notified of this since some parts of the application process for USNA and NROTC overlap? 3units, good luck to your DS!</p>

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<p>runorrun,</p>

<p>Aglag & Time2 have both suggested in other posts to use the forum “Service Academy”. My DS was able to ask many questions that helped him a great deal. This forum is okay; however, there is some really strict eyes that watch the other forum. On top of that there is a lot of really experienced people that will help you along your way.</p>

<p>Good luck…</p>

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<p>Runorrun,</p>

<p>I did not answer your question only because it might be better to ask on the other forum as suggested. Last thing. Remember that NROTC, OCS & the Academy all get you to the same end goal of becoming an officer. In this case your now just working on NROTC and the Academy. </p>

<p>Once your out on the big pond it makes no differance what college you went to! What does make a differance becoming salty, learning what the Navy is all about, and making your command the very best it can be. </p>

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<p>“I have changed my mind about NROTC and will be applying. Will the admissions council somehow be notified of this?”</p>

<p>I am confident (but not totally certain) that, yes, USNA will be automatically notified of your application for an NROTC scholarship. For one thing, USNA counts applications for NROTC scholarships as applications to USNA (I know that sounds weird, even perhaps deceptive, but it is a fact). Also, USNA will soon assign you to a “Blue and Gold Officer” and you should make sure that he or she knows of your NROTC application.</p>

<p>My advice is to apply for the NROTC scholarship soon (this summer, if not this month) because it will increase your chances of getting assigned to your first choice of college. The Navy chooses your college, but tries to accommodate your preferences. They assign you to your college based on a quota system. If an opening still exists at your preferred college, when your are awarded the scholarship, then they will assign your there. “First come, first served” in other words. However, be careful to not choose colleges which might be too competitive. If your scholarship is assigned to, say, Yale but you do not get into Yale then you go back to the bottom of the list for being assigned to college.</p>

<p>The University of Kansas is required to be on your list of five preferred colleges, and it must be in the top three. Personally, I recommend making it precisely number three and choosing other colleges that you like better for numbers one and two. </p>

<p>I see that you are very interested in Berkeley. It does have NROTC; just make sure that you are likely to get accepted. Just a couple of months ago, a student here on CC was rejected by Berkeley even though his NROTC scholarship was assigned there. Eventually, he declined the scholarship after he came off the wait list at the University of Chicago where his family is paying almost the entire cost. (I have no idea how somebody could get accepted at U.Chicago but rejected by Berkeley) Personally, I always recommend both the University of Rochester and Tulane University because they both offer free room and board to all ROTC scholarship students, plus they are good schools which most NROTC scholarship students can get admitted to.</p>

<p>I think your chances for the NROTC scholarship are excellent, because it has more emphasis on academics compared to sports and leadership. I would be surprised if you do not get a NROTC scholarship.</p>

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<p>In the “for what it is worth” department, the United States Merchant Marine Academy is a perfectly legitimate way to obtain an officer’s commission in the Navy. Applying to it in addition to USNA is very easy. Just list it too when you apply to your Senators and Congressman for USNA.</p>

<p>The only real disadvantage to USMMA is that the academic majors are extremely restricted. Only five majors, and all have to do with ships and shipping. Personally, I did not understand this option when I applied to USNA and NROTC many years ago. If I had known, then I would have applied. If accepted, I would have gone and majored in Logistics, which is my current field now as a civilian.</p>

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<p>It’s also worthwhile to mention that while you’re looking into other ways of becoming an officer, consider whether or not you’d be interested in serving in any of the other branches… if so, then apply to their respective academies/scholarships. </p>