<p>I have been to the Naval Academy for a week long immersion and explanation of the application process, this is otherwise known as NASS. I will try to answer all questions, but if I miss a couple, surely somebody else will be able to answer them.</p>
<p>Please post all of your questions regarding the Academy app process, or some other general questions on this thread.</p>
<p>Welcome MP. And God bless your heart and kind offer of help. I'll be 1st to warn you though, a week @ NASS is just an admissions appetizer of a 12 course meal. Stay tuned. You'll be amazed, maybe stunned. :eek: :)</p>
<p>That is exactly what I have been told, I appreciate the warning. They say that they make it relatively easy so that your desire for admission goes up, but it is still a good admissions tool.</p>
<p>
<p>Please post all of your questions regarding the Academy app process...
</p>
<p>Congratulations on your selection and attendance at NASS!</p>
<p>Although your intentions may be well and good, a week at NASS in no way prepares you to answer the admissions questions that arise in this forum.</p>
<p>We have B&GO's, current Midshipmen, current Plebes, former Midshipmen, Naval Academy graduates, parents of current Midshipmen, and parents of former Midshipmen here as regular posters, all of them together serving as a good resource for incoming hopeful plebes like yourself.</p>
<p>To advertise yourself as someone who can answer the admissions questions of others in your shoes is a little naive. </p>
<p>Perhaps posting YOUR experiences is a better path to follow?</p>
<p>I started this forum for BGO's and any other admissions type Officers to be able to answer questions, as well as anybody who thinks they have the answer. I didn't mean to sound as if I knew all of the answers, I just wanted to create an open discussion on a broad topic.</p>
<p>Sooooo.....tell us about your NASS experience. What you did/didn't like, what was the hardest part for you, the easiest. Would be interesting to hear about your experiences.</p>
<p>My son took his physical on 7/9/2007. DoDMERB website indicates that they have not received his physical yet (7/17/2007). Any ideas as to how long it usually takes for them to post the results? His physical was taken at one of the contracted medical facilities (not at a military site).</p>
<p>^^^^^
After Concorde, Inc. receives the DD Form 2351 from the medical examiner, the results should be entered into the database within one week. The process can be speeded up by having the medical examiner(s) fax the DD 2351 to Concorde, following up with the original via US mail.</p>
<p>Soooo.... still waiting to hear about your NASS experience.</p>
<p>NASS was the ****! Getting up at 5 sometimes before 5 in the morning was the worst part of the experience, but once everybody got moving and sweating there was no more drowsiness.
Favorite part: Sea Trials- 8 full hours (only half of Plebe summer's equivalent) of continuous movement. It might sound naive to discuss how this was my favorite part, because it was absolute torture, but looking back on it it was fun. This part, along with the Mock Indoc probably resembled the closest experience to actually being in the Academy. </p>
<p>The Mock Indoc was interesting. Before the indoc my squad leader, Foquette, told me about how he made a guy cry during the last session. This didn't seem surprising once the Mock Indoc started. A girl in my squad, when asked why she wanted to attend the Academy replied that she wanted to be a pilot.
*<strong><em>WRONG ANSWER</em></strong>**
4 or 5 squad leaders swarmed her and started yelling at her about how selfish she is for not making service to her country her number 1 priority. She started bawling and didn't stop until a squad leader whispered something to her.</p>
<p>Eating was always fun too. About 10-20 seconds after the mess started, people would start yelling, it was a strange cafeteria atmosphere. When opening the juice you have to cut a hole in the end opposite of the spout to allow for the juice to pour. When doing this you have to yell "Die" as loudly as possible. When the cafeteria helpers brought the food you had to yell "Incoming" as loud as possible.</p>
<p>For me this was fun, but some people started to complain, etc. </p>
<p>NASS is definitely worth the trip and the $300 tuition, which is quite reasonable considering they give you about $150 dollars worth of NASS essentials such as a backpack, shirts, exercise shirt, sweats, etc.</p>
<p>It was a great experience and anyone who thinks they want to go the Naval Academy should go and see for themselves.</p>
<p>DOES ANYONE HAVE SOME POINTERS ON THE APPLICATION ESSAY? THE PROMPT SAYS:</p>
<p>(1) Describe what led to your initial interest in the naval service and how the Naval Academy will help you achieve your long range goals, and
(2) Describe a personal experience you have had which you feel has contributed to your own character development and integrity.</p>
<p>IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE CHIME IN. JUST FOR THE RECORD MY INITIAL INTEREST WAS MY FATHER WHO GRADUATED IN 88. THANKS. YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS A TREMENDOUS HELP.</p>
<p>^^^^^
There is no right or wrong answer to the essay prompts.</p>
<p>Please refer to the following post on this subject:
<p>comment The personal statement, other compelling background attributes, can make the difference between your application and that of others.
</p>
<p>The formula for getting accepted to USNA starts with the application essay. Certainly, your secondary school performance record is quite important, (Class Rank, Standardized Test Scores, etc) but I assure you that no matter how well (or how poorly) your academic record is, the essay will make or break you since the board reads ALL of the essays.</p>
<p>The first thing I'd work on is getting an SAT above 1250. Once you have this and a solid record of grades, then a winning essay could make you a lock. Though the application essay asks you how you think the Naval Academy will help YOU achieve YOUR goals, you have to keep in mind the rub here. The Academy and the Naval Service is looking for people who are going to help achieve ITS needs. Keep this fact in mind while writing your essay. How are YOU going to help achieve the Navy's or Marine Corps' goals?</p>
<p>Also in the essay include how you became interested in USNA and what you plan on doing while you are there. Explain what USNA can give you that a four year civilian school can't. Why didn't you choose NROTC over the Academy? All of these are things you can throw in that admissions officers are looking for. They want people who aren't afraid to go home on leave and wear a USNA ballcap. They are advertising USNA as an academic powerhouse than ever before as well as a place to train combat leaders. USNA appointees will have higher demands placed on them than ever before. Explain to them how you are ready to meet this challenge and why you think you can complete the four year test.</p>
<p>Current class of 2010 mid... Just my $.02</p>
<p>USNAson- </p>
<p>the only thing tangible I can offer is perhaps a few things to keep in mind:
As there are 10 "items" on the list, I will label them the "10 basic steps to your personal essay"....</p>
<ol>
<li> There is no "one winning formula." No "right and wrong." What you do want is to make the admissions folks sit up and take notice....a "WOW- we really need this kid!!"<br></li>
</ol>
<p>So keeping that in mind, write from your own personal experience/thoughts/etc.... make it about why YOU want to attend- not what you think the admissions folks want to hear....if you have trouble getting started, start with a "free write"...whatever comes to mind...and work from there.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Also keep in mind that this is about you, and what sparked your interest-
or how an event or incident in your life has shaped or impacted you and who you are....if it is related to your dad, then what is it about his service-specifically- that had this much of an impact on you and your desire to attend? Is this to follow in his footsteps, or are you looking to leave a set of tracks of your own? Try and pin down YOUR reason why you desire an appointment / career as a Naval Officer.</p></li>
<li><p>follow the directions -
if asked for 500 words, give them 500....
not 550 or 600...</p></li>
</ol>
<p>remember, part of this is also your ability to follow directions....
confining your statement to 500 words will force you to get right to the point, as succinctly as possible- which, in itself, can be challenging.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>write from your own experiences, from the first person....who knows you better than you and can tell your story better than you?</p></li>
<li><p>avoid the "I Thinks"..... what I mean by that is "I think I will make a good officer because....."..... instead, change your "I Thinks" to "I Knows".... I KNOW I will make a good officer because......
when it comes right down to it, you either know something or you don't....
and if you don't know, what will the admissions board think?</p></li>
<li><p>Be yourself. Not more than yourself, and not less. Don't blow yourself up into something you are not, or humble yourself so much that you don't take credit that is yours to take. Try and be as objective as you can, something along the lines of "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth"..... something like that. Honest.... perhaps that is what I am aiming for.</p></li>
<li><p>Write several drafts until you get your message down clearly the way you want it........ </p></li>
<li><p>......then give it to others to proofread, knowing there is a good chance you will be going through several more revisions. Ask several people to "PLEASE READ WITH A VERY CRITICAL EYE"...to see if what you mean is what they "get," if your message is clear, if it makes sense and follows a logical flow. Give it to your english prof to check for grammer errors, etc. Get as much feedback as you can and revise it accordingly, from both people that know you well AND those that don't know you well at all. Remember, if a stranger doesn't "get" what you mean, then chances are neither will an admissions person.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't waste your precious 500 words on something that can be found or known about you in another part of your application. If you have "captain of foosball" listed in your athletic CV, then don't repeat it in your essay....UNLESS your essay is something you learned while serving in that capacity as captain......
instead, use your 500 words to describe something about who you are that will not be found anywhere else in your application package.
Remember, this is the one way "you" get to be "at the table" when your file is reviewed..... if you were there in person, what would you say to make your case for an appointment? </p></li>
<li><p>and last, you have 500 words to "use"...make every single one of them count....</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>The essay is nearly the only place in the application where you get to tell the Academy exactly what you think.. No "fill-in the dots", no medical exam results...</p>
<p>I tell my candidates to try to make sure that when their essay is done, that it reflects who they really are, what they really think, and finally that if they said it, rather than read it, it would sound exactly the same.</p>
<p>I say this because when I meet candidates, the ones who can speak in their "true voice", and are excited about their plans, what they have done, and what they want to do, and can articulate it clearly, I can't help but share in their excitement. It clearly distinguishes them....</p>
<p>I am sure the same occurs when Admissions reads your essay. If you finish your essay, and you don't see "you" in there, then I would keep trying until you do.</p>
<p>Thank you! these are great tips and I now have a starting point.</p>
<p>Thanks for the essay tips. :) They will definitely be helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great advice. I have a quick question. I have an interview coming up in a couple weeks with my Blue and Gold Officer. What should I expect the interview to be like? Is there any way to prepare for this? How much weight does this interview carry in the admissions process?</p>
<p>Welcome Academy2012(hopeful), noticed this was your first post. Jump right in and ask lots of questions, we all try to help out.</p>
<p>I recall reading a few posts on the BGO interview thing, but can't find them right now. Obviously, you should be able to clearly articulate why it is YOU (not your parents or someone else) want to attend USNA. Be yourself, be honest, but do your homework ahead of time (poke around here, read all the things you can find on the USNA official website(s), etc.)</p>
<p>Be able to explain whey you chose USNA over other Military academies (if that is in fact the only one you plan to apply to). Would you consider ROTC at another college? Be prepared to talk about your h.s. accomplishments.</p>
<p>Best of luck, keep us posted.</p>
<p>"Be able to explain whey you chose USNA over other Military academies..."</p>
<p>I have a question about that. Obviously all the military academies provide a great education and it would be a personal opinion for one to say that USNA provides a better education than the others. Out of the military academies, USNA is the only one that I'm applying to and my reasons are mainly that I want to be an officer in the USMC (can't do that through the other academies :p) and that I love how tradition seems to be very important at USNA compared to the other academies... Are these "incomplete" or not-up-to-par (I don't want to say "bad") reasons? Everyone says the best way to answer a BGO's questions is to speak from the heart and don't say what you think they want you to say... and that's my basic reasoning. I can give many more reasons as to why USNA is right for me over ROTC programs and such, but my reasoning seems to be more limited when it's comparing USNA to the other service academies.</p>