<p>Thank you so much for your encouraging words. He had private tutoring and his tutor told me he should score above a 680. He said my son is better prepared than almost any of the kids he had tutored in the past. I have him going to a different tutor now, she told me that he is a very meticulous person, that he thinks everythig thru. She told me that he has an enormous capacity for memorizing, and that in life he will do very well, but because of the way he analyzes things, he takes his time to make sure he is right. On the math portion of the SAT, he oly had 1 question wrong, the problem was that he did not answer 17 others because he ran out of time.
I also feel that you are right, where there is a will there is a way. If he can get to 1200, I think he should have a good chance at getting in. He has a lot of other things going for him. In the mean time, we are hoping one of the coaches gets interested in him. He is definitely a D1 athlete for football and wrestling. He most likely is D1 for lax, but not quite as high D1 as Navy.</p>
<p>I agree that he should take ACT's and also get tutored. If he is offered NAPS tell him it is really a great offer. My son had 1180 on SAT's and was offered NAPS. At first he was disappointed but his BGO convinced him it was good to go there. He wanted to go to USNA since he was in 5th grade, so he went to NAPS and honestly it was a blessing. He breezed through his plebe year at USNA and continues to do very well. I have a daughter going to Penn State next year who had low SAT's the first time she took them. We got her tutoring and she came up 140 points in her math score and 50 on verbal. She took ACT's and did very well on that. Good luck and hang in there.</p>
<p>Definitely communicate with your son's BGO. </p>
<p>NAPS is generally reserved now for athletes and prior enlisted. Naval Academy Foundation is reserved for students who may need more Academic preparation. If he wants to go to the USNA, and this is the only route - take it. What you truly want is for your son to succeed at the Academy, and they are pretty good about judging the best candidates.</p>
<p>Testing is HUGE at the Academy. Most of the plebes will tell you that the tests are extensive (long), so that is why the SAT/ACT scores are important. They also are quizzed with professionalism quizzes that will figure into their overall academic standing. They also will have scores of other things to memorize and be tested on under stress. (One thing that the SATs/ACTs show is the ability to show academics under high stress, which is exactly what is needed.) I wouldn't say that the scores will cancel out your son's odds - ALWAYS APPLY - but they may hinder his application somewhat. With a small class, there is always the question of level of academic standards, so that is another reason the test scores will be scrutinized. Generally speaking - high scores and lower GPA will get you in faster than low scores and higher GPA. (I'm not talking "average" scores or average GPA.)</p>
<p>Oldegrad.... TRUE.... Very true.... Thanks for correcting my wording... I was just trying to cut out wordiness. You are correct in the percentage of athletes.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, NAPS is offered to regular and reserve Navy and Marine Corps enlisted men and women who are seeking Academy appointments to strengthen academic backgrounds. Then, it is offered generally to civilian candidates who are not successful on their first attempt at admission. It is a 1-year postsecondary school.</p>
<p>Naval Academy Foundation is also generally offered to civilian candidates who are not successful on their first attempt at admission. This is generally used to enhance qualifications for admissions - whether it be academics, physical, or more military knowledge. Schools associated with the Foundation may or may not be postsecondary.</p>
<p>Both are viable alternatives for students who maybe need more preparation or don't get into the Academy and truly want to attend.</p>
<p>Just an update. He has not been accepted to either the NASS or the AFSS. A girl in his class that got better SAT scores but does not have the GPA he has got accepted for AFSS. In the meantime, Harvard and University of Pennsylvania have started to actively recruit him for football. He has a real good shot at Harvard, he only needs to raise his SAT scores slightly as a recruited athlete, he meets all their other requirements. We have not gotten into those discussions with the Head Football Caoch at Penn. Wouldn't it be funny to not get accepted to one of the acadamies, but be accepted to Harvard?</p>
<p>Nope. They are both very selective.</p>
<p>Nope: Not funny at all. All great schools with different acceptance criteria. Believe me we know! Combined Math and CR @ 1000 could be a problem.</p>
<p>Even at Harvard, Yale and Penn! Recruited athletes at Ivy Schools must meet all academic qualifications for admittance. We Know a lot of kids in the womens hockey programs at all of the above. None of them got in because they had a great slap shot. They had the grades and the test scores. Sorry!! This is a sore subject, these kids earned their admission the hard way. They got the grades in school, good test scores and practiced at least five days a week usually at a rink far from home while doing homework in the back seat. Just My Rant!</p>
<p>btw, just an anecdote re: NAPS ...</p>
<p>Navy Football Coach noted among his recruits this year somewhere around 25 or so who are coming in directly with another 35 or so going to NAPS. </p>
<p>Also re: the statement, and this is NOT intended to discourage or diminish. As has been said there is but one way to guarantee NOT being admitted. Try not.</p>
<p>But the comment ...</p>
<p>
[quote]
If he can get to 1200, I think he should have a good chance at getting in.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>is understandably hopeful, and not reality based. It simply means the candidate would pass preliminary admissions muster. In fact, there are many thousands of candidates each year who could possibly say that and it simply would not be truth. </p>
<p>It can be challenging to lend support, compassion, encouragement and careful information without being either patronizing or as some have a tendency to do in making it sound as though one needs to be a rocket scientist BEFORE applying.</p>
<p>Good luck in participating in this competition that is sorta like a Superduper Lake Wobegone ... all the women are strong, men are good looking, and candidates are all above average. WAY ABOVE AVERAGE.</p>
<p>1200 is like the qualifying time to run the Boston Marathon.</p>
<p>FYI: The Ivy League controls the process for admitting Athletes at it's member Universities. They use a system called the Athletic Index. The AI is a numerical score based on SAT and Class rank. The League sets the minimum - if you are below the minimum the admissions office cannot admit you as a student Athlete. They also set the number of recruits that each school may admit per sport. No scholarship money can be given for recruited athletes. All monies must be based on need alone.</p>
<p>The individual Universities are mum on how they exactly determine their AI's. The league does state that 95% of the athletes must be within 2.5 standard deviations on the low side of the mean for freshman class. Most are well above this. The farther below the mean of the freshman class the better of an athlete you must be, but you still have to be above the minimum AI set by the league.</p>
<p>Coaches can contact every football kid around. They can not give likely letters nor can they promise admissions. Most do not have a clue as where one fall into the AI system.</p>
<p>FYI: For a recruited athlete, Harvard requires an SAT score of 1700 or greater or an ACT score of 24, and the student must be in the top 20% of their class. Fortunately with the writing portion of the SAT, my son is not that far off from the required number. He is also in the top 20% of his class.
Also, my son practices at least 7 days per week, when you consider the lifting, the speed training, the regular practices. So as for dedication to his sport, I would bet he is right there with the best of them. He is perfect size for the Ivy's and for the Service Academies. I don't believe one is better than the other, they all have and give the kids an advantage in life.</p>
<p>I don't know how this turned confrontational, it was never meant to be. My son's dream was to play football at Navy, then to follow in his father's footsteps into the Marine Corps. I found it ironic that he would have an easier time getting into a school we had never even coinsidered until he received his first recruiting letter from their Head Coach. As far as I know, he would still rather go to Navy.</p>
<p>Not confrontational at all just informative as have goon through the Ivy recruit process and do have first hand experience so was just offering some insight on the process that Harvard is bound to by League rules.</p>
<p>
[quote]
None of them got in because they had a great slap shot.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, while we'll not know, in fact it's a likely slam dunk that their slap shots DID get 'em in. As at USNA, there are literally thousands of applicants who have the grades, the scores, the ECs ...but only a chosen few have the slap shot. And so it goes. They must be minimally qualified academically, but once that academic baseline is validated and crossed, their ultimate offer of admission is quite often the preference and nod of the coach. Any admissions counselor at Harvard ...or USNA ...will rightly note there are literally thousands of qualified applicants who never see the Square or the Yard.</p>
<p>And that's my point noting how totally untrue it can be and usually is in stating once a candidate, currently neither a recruited athlete nor another special "need" of the Navy, has a good chance of getting in. I guess it depends on what one thinks is "good." For sure it's better than if the candidate had 1190 ...but not a whole lot. </p>
<p>Unless he/she can get that "nod" from Coach K ...or the Director of Special Recruiting. Either or both of those changes the whole discussion from appointment-or-not to "when's I Day."</p>
<p>I do stand corrected. It is the intangible "other" that probably gets them in. As a Yale admissions director once stated (paraphrasing) "we could fill the incoming class with 4.0 valedictorians, we have to look at other things". On net slap shot from the blue line probably helped a lot.</p>
<p>I was wondering if anyone could possibly shed some light on USNA admissions for my current situation:</p>
<p>I graduated high school last year with a less than satisfactory overall GPA (2.1) yet did fairly well on my SAT's (1020 Math & Verbal). My motivation was lacking yet the potential to succeced was there. Most every teacher and guidance counselor whom I told about wanting to go to Annapolis either laughed or told me not even to bother. I spent my entire summer motivating myself for the upcoming year, mentally and physically. I am currently attending a local community college majoring in mechanical engineering tech. with an overall 3.4 GPA. My concern is, can I still make it into the Academy even from a community college? I was also accepted recently into the University of Connecticut, by attending this school will I have a better shot rather than staying at the community college?</p>
<p>Yeah man, i would say that going to the University of Connecticut would give you a better shot. Have you applied for the class of 2013? If it doesnt work out this year, i would go to the University of Connecticut and try again next year.</p>
<p>What else could I do to make myself more competitive? I have been an active sailor at my local yacht club for the past 4 years where I also befriended an few Annapolis grads whom all said they would be more that happy to write a letter of recommendation. I plan on sailing for UConn starting in the fall, is there much else I can do as a college student for admissions?</p>
<p>If you search through this forum, you'll find more details, but trying to get into USNA from college isn't too different than from HS:</p>
<p>-Make sure you're taking (or have already passed and done well in) the types and levels of classes that Plebes would take, including calculus, chemistry, English, history, etc. Do your very best!
- Practice hard, every day, for the ACT/SAT, and plan to take one or both again. Do your best to get both your math and verbal sections over 600 (each). Higher is better. SATs are generally offered in April, October and January, and some locations offer the test in June.
- Stay active athletically. Competitive sailing should be good if you are doing it regularly, not just two regattas a year. Be sure to also run, do PT, etc.
- Be actively involved in a couple of other activities either at your school or in your community that really interest you. Try to earn leadership positions in them.
- Be aware of the deadlines to apply for nominations from your MOCs. They have all passed for this year (for the class that will start at USNA in July).</p>
<p>I am not an admissions officer, but I would think that doing well in classes at a more competitive school would be in your favor. It seems likely that U Conn would be more challenging/competitive than a junior college, so making that switch sounds like a good plan.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, take the SAT again and again. </p>
<p>A 1020 is much too low to be competitive in your situation.</p>
<p>Get some study materials for SAT/ACT tests. You need to bring up scores before they will give you serious consideration. Check out averages for recent classas. these are available in the class profiles oniline. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>