<p>My best friend got his rejection letter yesterday from Navy. Ill give you his profile briefly before I ask my question.
1300 SAT
12 varsity letter winner
Football captain senior year
Wrestling captain senior year
Baseball captain junior and senior years
Leadership Award for Wrestling
3.7 GPA a private boarding school
Multiple AP's junior and senior year
5 on calc AP
Honor Roll 9th - 12th grade
Attended Summer Seminar summer of 2004
Attended Navy baseball camp in 2004
Grandfather attended USNA
School Prefect (leadership position in our school)
Flawless disciplinary record at home and at boarding school </p>
<p>.....and he did not get in. My friend was not offered NAPS or any other foundation (like a PG year). Attending the Naval Academy has been his dream since he was young, and does not want to give up on his dream. My question is, what does he need to do to go about achieving this dream? The only other college he applied to was VMI (he was accepted) but it was a backup and he has no interest going there. Should he enlist for a year and apply again next year? Should he go to VMI for a year and then apply again next year? He is willing to apply until he is 23 in order to achieve this dream. Is there hope that Navy will accept him later this year? How early would he here if Navy has an opening at the academy or NAPS for him? Everyone close to him is blown away that he was not accepted. If anyone has any suggestions on what is the best, most efficient road he can take to someday achieve admission, please respond. Any input or suggestions is greatly appreciated.
Thanks</p>
<p>I was also rejected:
1390 SAT
29 or 30 ACT
12 clubs by senior year, which I participated 100% in all of them
Master of Ceremonies
Most Improved Player
Volleyball varsity captain
Volleyball j.v. captain
3.1 GPA high school
Perfect math score on hs graduation test
First place in state in an art contest (in 6th grade)
Outstanding Sportsmanship Award from the state
300+ Volunteer hours (since 4th grade)</p>
<p>In college:
Student Body President (volunteer)
Founder of college newspaper (volunteer)
Founder of chess club (volunteer)
Engineering club member
Student Mentor (volunteer)
Math Tutor, ESL tutor (volunteer)
2.5 GPA at a college (failed every class due to absence last semester, which brought it down.)
3 part-time jobs involving leadership for about 25-30 hrs per week</p>
<p>I'm 22 now, and since I couldn't afford to go to the state school or the private school I was accepted to, I worked 3 jobs and started a software company. I attended a comm college in the mean time b/c it allowed me to stay on my parents health insurance for no cost, and the college was also half-off because I was employed there. It was a choice of paying $250 a month for health insurance, or $1,000 for a full semester for the community college and staying on my parents health insurance as a dependent. So, it was basically the same price (250 x 4 months) but I could take college credits and practice being a leader as Student Body President.</p>
<p>How do I explain this to the Navy? I want to be a leader, and I want to be at a good college, and when I became a citizen and learned about being a Naval Officer a couple of years ago, that's what I wanted to do.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Sweetpea, I think if you request next year's application right now, they will send it to you right away. You will only need to get your transcripts, PAE, and packet in this time. You will simply have to raise your SAT to 1400 and aim for a 4.0 your first semester in college, and get your info in by August. That's all. Also, contact the Football/Baseball/Wrestling coaches RIGHT NOW. Tell them you are still a candidate for 09 and also want to be a candidate for 2010. Getting recruited by a coach is the easiest way to get in. You would basically let them know that you want to commit to their sport for 4 years.</p>
<p>makewaves-
nope the person isnt me...its actually is my best friend! if i had been rejected from my dream school i'd probably be too upset to ask for help a day after rejection.
you made an awesome point about contacting all the coaches and telling them the situation. I will def tell my friend that. thanks for all your help, ill let you know what he ends up doing.</p>
<p>Assuming your friend passed Dodmerb and he doesn't have some blatant personality defect that your stats don't reveil, I think he has at least two possible paths- and a third one that may sound strange. </p>
<p>First off your friend should talk with his Blue/Gold officer and see it he can find out where he came up short. That is, does he need to be more competitive academically or was there some other problem.</p>
<p>Path one. Improve his SAT score. While 1300 is very good, I think 1400 is the more realistic cut off point for USNA.</p>
<p>Path two. Pursue a recruited athlete appointment. To do this he would have to develop into a Division 1 quality athlete. Don't know if that's possible.</p>
<p>If he is really serious, a third approach would be to establish residence in a less competitive congressional district. Check out the underrepresented states and congressional districts and see if there's a way to establish residency there.</p>
<p>I agree with aspen. The reality is that there will be many people at I-day this year with stats worse than your friend's. SAT and rank are very important - if he's at a boarding school, with a 3.74, he was probably not in the top 20%. That would make it unlikely for him to win the district in a competitive area.</p>
<p>Another suggestion - he could do a PG year at another boarding school (in a location that is less competitive for nominations....). This lets him boost his athletic and academic stats. (check first that he could establish residency in time).</p>
<p>Looking at your note, it could be my son, just add Sea Cadets for 5 years. This is his second year waitlisted, and has started the application process again for next year, he doesn't want to give up, he's currently a college freshman. I thought he would be a shoe in from the beginning...not so.</p>
<p>aspen-
great point about contacting a blue and gold officer. I know he never mentioned contacting his officer. Ill pass the advice on, Im sure it will be useful for him.
Thanks</p>
<p>CA-
no my friend is not from CA, hes from the east coast. a little update, my friend is seriously considering going to VMI for his first year and then reapplying. does anyone think this is a bad idea? whill it hurt his application process the second time around if hes already at another military college? anyone out there that went to VMI and got into Navy the next year, or is there anyone who has seen friends go to VMI and apply to Navy and fail because its uncommon for the Navy to accept kids at VMI?</p>
<p>Take Roger Staubach as an example... granted it was a bit earlier on the timeline but he attened NMMI for a year before getting into USNA... not sure if that helps any but I also attended college (not a military institute) for two years before they let me in... I guess i'm trying to say don't let data on how many students get in from VMI keep you from getting your dream... reapply (or tell this kid or reapply...) if thats what you really want</p>
<p>sweetpea i think your friend might cosider a military prep school such as New Mexico Military Institute or Marion Military Instititute there are military prep schools with specifically created programs focused on getting their students into one of the service academies. I am not quite sure VMI is his best route if he really wants to end up at the Naval Academy. He should check out the prep schools ASAP, application time might be running out. One thing about attendng VMI and then trying to get into the Naval Academy is he might have to pay back the year, if it can be done at all. If not I think he should apply to a local college and focus on grades and the sports thing. However, he can go Navy from VMI, it might not be a bad deal at all, has he visited VMI or spoken to the Navy reps there?</p>
<p>I don't know anything about this organization, but thought it may be interesting for candidates wanting to be as competitive as possible to investigate.</p>
<p>Coastie:
What do you mean by "One thing about attendng VMI and then trying to get into the Naval Academy is he might have to pay back the year" ?</p>
<p>No matter where the appointee has been to school prior to admission, he/she still starts out as a plebe.</p>
<p>I would think that VMI or other civilian school would be the better route, rather than the prep school (unless the student is attending under a Foundation Sponsorship, in which case there is a high probability of an appointment the following year). Tuition being equal, at least at the end of the year the student has one year of college completed. If things don't work out for the second attempt for appointment, he/she would advance to the sophomore year, or transfer to a preferred college. Otherwise, the $30,000 of tuition and fees is for naught, as prep school credits are not transferrable.</p>
<p>"I would think that VMI or other civilian school would be the better route,"</p>
<p>You don't go to VMI withhopes of using the experience to vault yourself into an Academy. The only reason to go to that school is if you plan on living WAAAY south of the Mason-Dixon Line, marrying a southern belle and using the school's alumni network once you graduate. Spending a year at a college or prep school is fine---spending a year at VMI (which of course does not completely foreclose the possibility of an Academy appointment) seems unwise to me. Almost any other option is better than this.</p>
<p>For those of us left with little option after being denied or put on an alternate/waitlist, VMI or The Citadel, for my two cents, isn't actually a skum choice. North or South..... We'll work hard, show that we are ready to serve our country as an officer and be in a military environment which most/some colleges don't offer besides the ROTC option. How does one know if it gives a leg up to next year's admissions? Wish I knew! As to the stats, most I've seen who have posted their stats have what it takes just like I did, CO of NJROTC, AP grades and a college course, high SAT, community service, rifle team state champ and Navy Nationals, nominations, QQQ, ect. ect. ect.. Its a matter of circumstance. Why did the admissions board overlook so many great accomplishments? Cause they didn't have room for all of us. If yall ask me, its a bit like hitting the lottery :) We all gotta do what we gotta do. For me, attending a military college is a far better choice than mowing yards for the next four years. Besides, I kinda like the southern belles. Yep, I've been to a "deb" ball ;) Sorry to be so serious but my heart is still alittle black and blue. And too, did I mention that I get to use The Citadel's beach house for life? If things change & I make the appointment to USMMA, I will still feel like it was a lotto hit. Those of us that didn't get what we wanted need to keep our heads held high. All this hard work wasn't for nuttin'! I wish I had advice sweetpea's friend.... But my crystal ball was run over by a redneck today..... Just hope he listens to those who know him best and be proud of what he ends up doing. No magic answers.</p>
<p>It seems as though VMI is a better route for those of us who definately cannot afford a PG year at a boarding school (my friend is on a HUGE scholarship to go to the prep school we are at now) It is true that it seems to be like a lottery in some cases, but I found out today maybe not so with my friend. He called NAVY and found out the missing thread...he was not his congressman's primary candidate, he was his secondary. He did not have a clue that there were primary and secondary candidates. Navy accepted the primary guy, and ousted my bud out. In his case, not getting accepted ending up being more fair and believable than he thought. My friend has actually moved past devastation to enthusiasm about next year. His viewpoint is that he will be alot more prepared his plebe year at Navy from his experiences at VMI (assuming he gets in the second time around) Is this the case, are kids who go a year later from a PG or college year more prepared than their classmates? Or is he just making himself feel better. Is there any harsh reality about his optimism that I should share with him so he doesnt get his hopes up again?
Deepthroat-you said going to VMI for a year and reapplying to Navy was unwise...can you elaborate at all?</p>
<p>If your friend ends up at VMI and doesn't get into USNA on his 2nd try, it's not such a bad thing. I visited VMI several times for scholarship interviews, overnight visit, and just to see the campus, and thought it was great. Their engineering programs are highly rated, and the professors seemed great. If I hadn't gotten into USMA, I would have been proud to go to VMI.</p>
<p>Going to any college prior to admittance to the Academy gives the candidate maturity, and experience in dealing with academic demands on the college level. One new appointee who has posted on this thread, was successful only after three tries! Even Jimmy Carter did not get in until his third attempt.</p>
<p>While the Academy still starts new appointees out as plebes, prior college experience may allow one to validate out of several "killer" courses, ie Chemistry and Calculus I and maybe even Calc II. Many of the plebes are older, having come in from the fleet, prep school, and civilian colleges. He will at least be better able to withstand homesickness, having been a year away from home already.</p>
<p>If this is what his heart tells him to do, then he should go for it. "When one door closes, another one opens". Best of luck to all who face the same disappointment.
CM</p>