<p>A family member recently suggested that I checked it out. I went to their website and it looks great, but I've never really thought about going into the navy before. I know it's free, and that's not really an incentive for me because I could pay for college elsewhere, but I feel that the overall experience would be great. My junior course load is going to be very difficult (5 APs, dedicated to several ECs), so I will hopefully be an attractive applicant to USNA. After college, I intended to go into the foreign service or CIA, then go to law, or perhaps business school. Could this still work with the Navy just with a 5 year detour. What would I do during this five year service requirement? What are the living conditions like? I've always imagined myself living in a dorm, making friends from all over the world, learning a lot through class discussion, and having fun in college, can I still do this at USNA? </p>
<p>Sorry if I sound ignorant, but I really don't know much about it. Thanks!</p>
<p>Bancroft is the largest dorm in the world, bar none. </p>
<p>You will make friends from every state in the nation, and many nations represented in the Brigade. Add to that “oh, the places you’ll go, the things that you’ll see” and you will find that your cup runneth over. </p>
<p>Fun. Well, all depends on what you consider “fun.” There is lots of “fun” - even of the mandated kind! There are plenty of ways to have good, clean fun. And even some dirty fun (as in, crawling through mud, running the O-course, getting all sweaty doing all sorts of things you never thought possible!) “Fun” at USNA is unique to USNA in may ways- what you will not get are the keg parties typically seen at other institutions of higher learning- but you will find ways to have “fun” nevertheless, and you would be amazed at what 4,000+ mids can come up with to entertain themselves!</p>
<p>Consider the following:
go to USNA.edu > admissions and read through the catalog.
go and visit- priceless.
Attend an information session offered by the Admissions office. Ask questions as to “what can I do when I graduate.” Take notes, because there is a lot you can do.
If all of that peaks your interest, then apply for NASS (Naval Academy Summer Seminar) -applications open on-line on Feb 1, 2010. </p>
<p>In the meantime, if you think you want to be an Officer in the US Navy or Marine Corps, then get your other ducks in order. Academics are important, but USNA will look for more than what you inside the classroom- they want to see what you can do outside of it as well. Leadership. Sports. All count. </p>
<p>Law, business school-
Keep in mind the Naval Academy is purposed with developing leaders for the Naval Service. In the course of your studies, you can select from 20+ majors, including economics - but that is most likely the closest you will get to a “business” curriculum; then again, business depends on economics.
Law- well, you have to complete your undergrad work first, and lots can happen between now and then, but there are those that pursue the law following their completion at USNA, although the service commitment is longer as a result. But it can be done.</p>
<p>All of the above are great points. Some additional easy references are at <a href=“http://toughestschhoolsintheworld.com/[/url]”>http://toughestschhoolsintheworld.com/</a> but before you start focusing on the school, you should spend at least some time considering the mission. The same results graduating from the Naval Academy can be found by accepting an ROTC scholarship. The Naval Academy application is like a job interview. Be sure you want the job. Motivation is a huge part of the interview. As a junior, I don’t pretend to think you should have it all figured out. The fact that you are posting shows you have an open mind and good research skills. Make sure you research the whole picture and not just a single school catalog. Goood LUCK!</p>
This is where you need to start. Check out [Officer</a> Planner: Careers & Jobs: Navy](<a href=“http://www.navy.com/careers/officerplanner/]Officer”>Find Careers in the U.S. Navy | Navy.com) This link will let you look at some Navy officer career fields, and will show you the various ways (including USNA) that you can earn a commission. Unless you are interested in serving in the Navy or Marine Corps for at least 5 years after graduation and commissioning, USNA is not the right place for you.
Someone once described a SA academy education as “$300K shoved up your a** one nickel at a time.” There is no cost for tuition, but there are much easier ways to pay for college, and that’s not counting the service commitment time. Not meant to discourage, but IMO, it’s better to know up front that a SA education is hard. It’s hard to win an appointment (only ~14% of applicants), it’s a lot of hard work while you’re there, and there’s 5 or more years of service afterwards.
It IS great. My daughter, now a sophomore, or “Youngster,” wouldn’t trade places with anyone, anywhere. She’s getting a great education, she has matured more than she dreamed in only one year, she’s made lots of lifelong friends, she’s having fun, and she’s very possibly going to be paid to learn to fly when she graduates. What’s better than that?
Every USNA graduate receives a BS degree, no matter what major they choose. The curriculum includes courses in calculus, chemistry, history, English, electrical engineering, ethics, leadership, and law, in addition to major-specific coursework. IOW, your coursework would prepare you well no matter what you want to do after you complete your service obligation. However, you would also gain leadership experience unlike that of graduates of any non-SA college. You want to run a business? Imagine leading a group of 10 or more sailors or Marines - and that’s the LEAST responsibility you would have when you started your commissioned service.
During their time at USNA, Midshipmen receive briefings and trainings that allow them to find out about their various service options. During their senior year, Mids list their own top preferences for their choice of service. Actual assignments are made based on the Mid’s rank in class, or “Overall Order of Merit.” Even so, in a given year, most graduating Mids (~90%) are assigned to one of their top two choices. Some of the available choices include Naval aviation, either as a pilot or weapons officer; submarine officer; surface warfare officer; Marine Corps pilot; or Marine Corps ground officer. A very small number of graduating Mids (no more than 25/year) go directly to medical or dental school. A small number of Mids who are academically advanced can begin work on a Master’s degree at a regional university, such as Johns Hopkins, during their senior year at USNA, and they can be allowed to complete the Master’s before going on to another school or service assignment.
Rooms in Bancroft Hall are similar to standard college dorm rooms, but life in Bancroft Hall is highly regulated by the Brigade of Midshipmen “Chain of Command.” Your life is NOT your own during your first, or “Plebe” year. Even after Plebe year, rooms are inspected periodically. However, Mids are generally very bright people, and they DO have fun whenever possible. In regards to classroom discussions, etc., you would have ample opportunity for that at USNA. Classes are very small, and they are all taught by professors, not graduate teaching assistants. Some professors, particularly for the various Naval science classes, are military officers, but many are civilian Ph. D.s.</p>
<p>2012 …this is a terrific link you’ve suggested! I’d not seen this before, and it’ll be helpful to a great many. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.</p>
<p>I’d like to thank you for the link as well. My son has an LOA to Navy, but has always wanted USAFA. He attended all the summer seminars this summer, and was very impressed by the Naval Academy (and is sure he would be as happy there as at AF), but has been trying to find out more about what exactly his opportunities would be once he graduated. He visited a local Naval Base last week and had a great tour there, which only sparked his interest more. I have this link open for him to get him even more info today once he gets home from school. Thanks again!</p>
<p>While USAF is a worthy calling, suffice it to say in all fairness, generally the career and vocational options available via USN are vastly superior and diverse. Especially with the impending future of unmanned bombers being flown from computers in Wichita or wherever. Unless one aspires to ultimately get his PGA card. </p>
<p>And the cultures are dramatically different as are the USAFA and USNA experiences.</p>
<p>1.) Go get your dads rifle and stand in a football field with a lot of misquitoes for an hour and a half
2.) Go strip the sheets off your bed and remake it about 10 times in a row in under 1:30
3.) Attempt to eat a chicken leg using a fork and knife without looking at it</p>
<p>If you enjoy this, I garuntee you will enjoy USNA.</p>
<p>If you do not want to serve in the military do not even apply to a service academy. Others who want to serve for 20+ years deserve that spot over people who just want it for the free education.</p>
<p>Having been someone that decided very late in the game that the Academy was the place I wanted to be, I would suggest you look into it, but remember the point of the Naval Academy (and all service academies) is to become an OFFICER. And if you are not interested in that, then I would consider another route that is no less honorable or worthwhile. If that is something you are interested in, consider your options other than just the Academies – ROTC, OCS, etc.</p>
<p>My daughter is “considering” USNA … what’s it REALLY like for the women there? My daugher is bright, attractive and has loads of guys calling her … she doesn’t have a boyfriend – she has tons of boy friends (if that makes sense)-- so she’s never without a date to a dance or party … that said, does a girl like her fit in at the academy? What’s it like socially for the women who are there? Are they outcasts? Do they/can they date?</p>
<p>It all depends on the “woman.” For the majority, they do just fine. Academically, many will even outpace their male counterparts. Physically- can be a challenge for some. Attitude- that can be the deal breaker.</p>
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<p>I guess the question is why she wouldn’t!
They are all bright. Most are fairly if not downright attractive. There is no wanting for male attention if that is what they are seeking, as they are outnumbered 4:1. Not sure how many dances or parties she will “find,” let alone have time for [which is not to say there aren’t a few to be found], and having a significant other- can be a help or a hinderance. Guess it depends on who it is, where it is, how often, how mature. It is very much a case of “secondary, optional and conditional.”</p>
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<p>Aside from the uniforms, the no-makeup during plebe summer, the demands on their time and restrictions on their freedom [and what jewlery they can wear], somehow they all find time to make friends, socialize on weekends, and create great bonds with their shipmates.</p>
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Absolutely not!
But come in with a chip on your shoulder, “its all about me” attitude, add a dash of arrogance, and they can find themselves going it alone, which is never a good thing. It’s all about ship, shipmate, self.</p>
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They can, they do. Hormones still flow, even at USNA.</p>
And you’re right. If one is aspiring to the PGA Tour, USAF might be the preferred venue. And that’s not bad.
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