<p>HAve any of you read anything about the most recent controversy at the academy? If you want information, go to google and search the news for naval academy. Here is a link to one article though,</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/02_26-35/NAV%5B/url%5D">http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/02_26-35/NAV</a></p>
<p>basically, what is said in the article is that only about half of any given entering class is academically competetive. The USNA prof who wrote this said that minorities, members of the fleet, and athletes are not really chosen competetively, compared to the rest of the applicants. I was just wondering if any of you had heard anything about this and what your thoughts were on the subject.</p>
<p>It has never been a secret that the academies award appointments on the whole person score, not just pure academics. I would have to say that USNA is doing something right. This year they have 3 Rhodes Scholars, 1 Marshall Scholar and 2 Mids named to the USA Today College Academic First Team. You would be hard pressed to find any other institution, let alone an Ivy, with similar stats. It should also be pointed out that one of the Rhode Scholar recipients is also a varsity athlete and captain of the baseball team. No admission process is perfect. There is always a subjective element that comes into play. Overall, I would say that USNA has done a great job in selecting quality individuals for appointment.</p>
<p>"This year they have 3 Rhodes Scholars, 1 Marshall Scholar and 2 Mids named to the USA Today College Academic First Team."</p>
<p>The response to that would be "Well, those mids were from the "50% competitive category." </p>
<p>But at any rate, USNA isn't trying to overtake Harvard; it is trying to produce great military leaders. Academic excellence is just one part of what makes great officers. I'm sure the "other 50%" have characteristics other than high SAT scores that make likely to be successful officers.</p>
<p>DeepThroat</p>
<p>Personally, I think the professor has some gripe with someone at the academy. Why they would choose to attempt to embarass their employer is beyond me. Anyway, with regards to the set asides he refers to, this is nothing different from any Division 1 school. The problem is more apparent at a smaller school. If you take a large university like, say Michigan, if there are 500 kids in each class that are recruits who may not be as academically qualified, it is absorbed more into the huge student body. I think the professor brings about some valid points. But like all opinions, his is skewed from the facts a bit. Seems to me that the Navy knows what they are doing.</p>
<p>I think the Prof. totally missed the nail. He has a valid argument about academics, however, the mission of USNA is to develop Midshipman morally, mentally, and physically into Officers who hold high standards in citizenship, government, and the US Navy. Academics is one of three aspect of the Academy, not all, it alone is not the tell tale sign of a great officer. Additionally, there is no scientifc data (and never will be) that proves good leaders come from high GPA's -- therefore Admissions shouldn't pick all 1600's who do sports. USNA has also had numerous scholarships and awards (3 Rhodes, 3 USA Today All Ac team) so I see no reason why USNA has an academic problem...academics is important, but not at the expense of good leaders. Look at Senator John McCain...he was 5th from last in his class...but look at the type of leadership he displayed during Vietnam and even today as a senator. What was more important to the Navy his GPA/class rank or ability to be a great leader?
As a summary...ACADEMICS is only one factor that makes USNA great. Therefore the purpose of USNA is not its high-class academics alone.
I think Admissions is doing a fine job.</p>
<p>My only contribution to this controversy involved an athlete that I know was recruited by Air Force. I think I have posted this concern on this site before. He had below average test scores, was in the 7th decile of his class, had absolutely no extracurricular activities and had been in so much trouble for smoking at school that the coach of his sport refused to name him as a captain even though he had been on varsity for 3 years (which at our competitive high school is almost unheard of). Yet Air Force recruited him and guaranteed him admission. This was for baseball, not football. He declined the offer. I certainly hope that the Naval Academy would not resort to this lowering of standards - it diminishes the accomplishments of the many student athletes who have worked so hard for their appointments and takes away a spot from someone else who is truly deserving. I look at the posts from some of these kids who are trying to get in and my heart just breaks for them. I just hope that the academy does not give into our sports crazy society and compromise its standards too much. I can understand how racial and ethnic diversity as well as geographic diversity can enhance the brigade; I understand that test scores and grades alone cannot predict what sort of a leader a student could become. But to give an appointment to someone on the basis of a 87 mile per hour fastball is unacceptable to me.</p>
<p>Just a quick note here. All of this is for the most part nothing new. It is no secret that most highly competitive universities do not admit students just on the basis of strict academic competitiveness. Do you think men's basketball players at Stanford or hockey players at Harvard have the same academic standards as the others there? Of course not. Most universities admit athletes, those with special skills, those that are famous, those are are members of underrepresented minority groups, etc. that have lower academic records than others. The USNA is no different in this regard when it comes to athletes and underrepresented minorities. The only unique thing about the USNA is their commitment to admitting a certain percentage of prior enlisted men and women. But this too is made under the assumption that these people contribute something both to the school and to the officer corps that would not be contributed by an applicant who had higher academic credentials on paper but little else. This same type of controversy erupted this year at Dartmouth when the director of admissions was found to have complained about the lower academic standards of admitted atheletes.</p>
<p>don't listen to that article. Prof fleming is an english prof with no military service at a service academy focusing on engineering, he has only a small glimpse into our world, and not enough to truly judge the situation</p>