<p>I'm currently in 8th grade, going to be a freshman in highschool next year but I've been interested in attending a service academy for a long time. My first choice for a college would probably be USNA. I was wondering if anyone has tips on how to prepare or to help me be competitive for admission in 4 years. (Plenty of time, right? :0) Is it too early to start preparing now? I've memorized both Anchors Aweigh and the Marine's hymn and I'm not quite sure what that'll do. Any suggestions on what I can do?</p>
<p>I'd say do everything you can from the start of high school to build your resume for when you apply junior/senior year. Here is the profile for the Class of '08: <a href="http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/profile2008.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/profile2008.htm</a> The Naval Academy wants not only kids with good grades, but kids that have shown their ability in athletics and leadership as well. I would recommend that you start playing a sport freshman year if you don't already (I recommend football if you can hack it, it's the greatest). And definately keep the grades up, do well on the SAT/ACT, find different leadership positions in your school and community, and stay out of trouble. Also try and challenge yourself in school. It's usually better to take an AP/honors class, work hard, and get a B than to take the easy class and get an easy A.</p>
<p>It's really good that you're focused on your goals that young. It wasn't until part way through junior year that I decided I wanted to go to USNA.</p>
<p>Thanks. Football might be a little hard though, as I'm a girl. :) Would cross-country be a good sport to try?
My school has only two electives for ninth grade and I'm sure that I'm going to have marching band as one. I go to a relatively small Christian school (about 275 students in the entire secondary side which is 7-12th grade). Will that have any affect on my chances?</p>
<p>Haha my bad. Yeah cross country is real good, it seems like a lot of candidates/appointees here did that in high school.</p>
<p>If your school is smaller and more competitive academically then I'm sure it could only help. I also go to a Christian school (a little bigger though, about 700 students 9-12). I think they can appreciate the higher level of competition at private schools. </p>
<p>Anyways, it's great that you're starting to prepare yourself this early. Good luck in high school, it goes by fast :0).</p>
<p>Cross country, track, volleyball, softball, field hockey, basketball, swimming. Any of those available?? Leadership positions (captain) help.</p>
<p>Keep in the top of your class, have good ongoing extra-curriculars and community service. Be well rounded too.
CM</p>
<p>If you want to excel in some of the sports listed above and truly love the sport, you will want to consider playing club during the off season or even attending camps during the summers.</p>
<p>Keep your grades up! The better your gpa and class rank, the more competitive a candidate you will be.</p>
<p>I think memorizing the Marine's hymn was the best preparation...maybe I'm just bias though.</p>
<p>My best advice is to apply early both to the academy and to your reps. and senators! It's quite an involved process as everybody on here would agree. And work hard throughout high school b/c some kids don't wake up until they're juniors and regret poor grades they got in the first two years of HS.</p>
<p>As a freshman I was in a similar situation to yours; needed a sport especially. I joined the cross country and track teams, and just worked my tail off- its a great sport where hard work makes up for lack of talent. In the end I was a varsity captain six times- lots of letters, all state, etc. The key is having small goals that lead up to your big goal. For me, I knew that I needed a varsity letter, but after that happened I worked towards other goals like being a captain, and state championships for the team. Knowing that you want the academy early is great because you need to be FOCUSED on that goal; academically and elsewhere. Be a leader right from the start, run extra miles, go to every practice, the coach will notice and you will gain respect from your peers. Its a long tough road, but I can tell you that getting that acceptance letter justifies all the sacrifices.</p>