Good afternoon everyone! I don’t want to take up your time by explaining everything that I have done in my high school career, but I will say that I am a female sophomore at a private college prepatory school, an I have already(or I plan to in the next year) have mostly everything that people say to do , such as leadership positions, church groups, varsity athletics, community service, musical groups, etc. ( everything that was on the profile for the class of 2021). I was just wondering who i can apply to for a service nomination in the next year and a half if I live in TN, and when the next "forums’( I don’t know what its called, but the meeting that representatives from USNA hold for prospective candidates in certain various regions) near Nashville TN is? and also is it worth it to try and attend the summer stem program this next summer? will it help me in receiving an appointment at all? thanks so much!
Contact Sen. Alexander’s Nashville office to start- https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/academynominations
Sen. Blackburn and your Congressional Rep. may also assist you in obtaining a nomination.
See tips on Sen. Blackburn’s page
https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/academy-nominations
Yes, try to attend any summer programs at the Naval Academy. The experience would help you get a better insight into and demonstrate your interest and fit for a career in the Navy.
Contact Naval Academy Admissions directly for their forum schedule.
Good luck!
Also, look at NROTC.
You may also take a look at Coast Guard Academy - no nomination needed. Can’t hurt to have a few options.
Also check out similar discussion at service academy forums, about purpose of summer seminars.
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/summer-seminar-2020.69575/
Thank you so much! its really helpful to see all the information about nominations on the same page! Also, would applying to the NROTC not only help me in the long run, but help me to get into USNA? that’s an option I’m very open to taking
The purpose of NROTC is to help you become a Naval officer while earning a degree at a civilian college. NROTC has no bearing on academy appointments–they are two different routes to the same end.
Attend the programs if you wish to see the post and are interested in the programs, but they have no bearing on appointments. USNA lists the reasons to attend one of these camps:
These camps are targeted to any student “interested in pursuing engineering, architecture, or related fields in college,” any college. Because they are pay-to-play and there are not enough spaces for every applicant, they cannot be considered part of the admissions rubric at any academy as the appointment process is Federally mandated to be equally open to all applicants.
Just to add to the point about the STEM programs and the academy summer camps in general, our son was appointed to both USMA and USNA but did not attend any camps. During his application process, both his FFR and his BGO told him that he could apply to them if he wanted to play soldier/sailor for a week and wanted to check out the posts, but he might not get a slot as he was not the profile the camps target and since he had made it abundantly clear that service academies were his first choice for his college experience, the camps weren’t going to be particularly informative for him as none of the summer programs reflect the life of an actual cadet or midshipmen in the least (and now that he has graduated from USMA, he can confidently concur with that assessment). They are marketing outreach tools targeted to strong candidates who may not consider an academy or are on the fence about them, and they are also used to increase the pool of candidates for selection from under-represented groups.
The benefit of NASS and SLE, though, is that applying is one way to open a candidate profile and they enable a candidate to take a CFA (optional) and talk to current officers, cadets/mids, and admissions. They can be very helpful in getting questions answered firsthand, but attendance is not part of the appointment rubric for the reasons I stated above. So, if you should apply but don’t get a slot, no worries.
Thank you so much! This was really helpful! I think I might apply to the stem program just to get the feel of the campus, as well as get to build interesting things. the same as your son, I don’t plan on going into engineering, but I think it will be a good experience! thanks again for the help
If you want to play your sport at USNA, there are summer camps to consider- contact the coach.
https://navysports.com/sports/2018/5/23/recruiting.aspx
But you do realize that USNA is primarily an engineering college, you will be required to take an engineering-heavy courseload no matter what you major in, and all mids earn a B.S. upon graduation.
https://www.usna.edu/Academics/Majors-and-Courses/Course-Requirements-Core.php
As you can see from the majors offered, USNA is a STEM-focused school with a comparatively narrow offering of majors (+ = STEM major, * = honors program available):
USMA has a much broader curriculum than any of the other service academies if you are not focused on engineering:
https://westpoint.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/RedBook_GY2020_20170803.pdf
Of course, the service you select should be based on what you want to do after you commission, not on where you spend the four years of your college education. Each service is quite different post-commissioning.
Ok , so I took your advice and started to look at the USCGA. This school is actually more fitting to my needs because I have always wanted to go into marine science, and they have a major like that, and I also find the search and rescue career VERY attractive, and it also allows me to work on the ocean which is something ive wanted to do since I was young, and I would get to save lives! Does anyone have any advice on admissions? I am still extremely interested in USNA, but I think USCGA is a VERY good school with everything that I have ever dreamed of, really.
You might start with the academy website:
and then head over to serviceacademyforum.coms which the the CC equivalent for those interested in applying to the service academies.
One big distinction between the USCGA and the other service academies is that admission to the USCGA does not require a congressional nomination. Otherwise, the rest of my general admissions advice applies.
People major in things other than engineering. I worked for a lawyer who had majored in history at the USAFA. Another majored in political science.
Ok! very helpful. I was invited to the bears day at USCGA, but im only a sophomore. Should i wait until my junior year? thats when my school recommends to start visiting colleges.
Visit when you want to. If you already have an invitation to visit USCGA, take it. At least you’ll have one out of the way.
Sounds good! I might visit on one of the spring dates, just to wait a while. I have yet another question (Shocker ikr), but does it look better if I apply early action to my #1 service academy? I know that if I made it in , I would definitely go
USCGA is the only service academy that offers early action (they can do this because they are not constrained by the timelines of the congressional nomination process), so they must place a value on it, but the answer is to apply when you can present your best application. If you can do that in the EA timeframe, go for it, but EA (anywhere) will not help you if the corresponding timeline limits your ability to present your best self.
Ok! Thanks so much! hopefully i can apply as early as i can to get a head start, but i’ll make sure to take your advice and wait until my application is the best that it can be. thanks for answering!
Hi! i have another question, and its only slightly related to the academy. I have been looking to join the NJROTC or even a program like that but with the coast guard if they have one. I live in TN, does anyone know what site to go to or who to contact? and does anyone have any helpful information on that topic as well? thanks so much!
No. Coast Guard has just two youth programs in Elizabeth City NC and Miami FL. Has success in training minorities.
https://www.gocoastguard.com/faq/does-the-uscg-have-jrotc-program-0
You might look into Sea Cadets. Again, it may be intended to open doors to service careers for young people without mentors, depending on which neighborhoods it is located. Some youth programs are seeking to recruit people to enlist once they graduate from high school, you’d want to see if it is a match for your goals.
"Since 1958 the Naval Sea Cadet Corps has been committed to providing American youth with a drug and alcohol free environment to foster their leadership abilities, broaden their horizons through hands-on training and guide them to becoming mature young adults. The Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) is for American youth ages 10-18 who have a desire to learn about the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines. Sea Cadets are authorized by the Secretary of the Navy to wear Navy uniforms appropriately marked with the Sea Cadet Corps insignia. The objectives of the Sea Cadet program are to introduce youth to naval life, to develop in them a sense of pride, patriotism, courage, and self-reliance, and to maintain an environment free of drugs and gangs. "