USNA Summer Seminar (NASS) and LOA

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
1

Hello all,

I am planning to apply for the NASS pretty soon, and wanted to know:
Is it true that students in MD have a tougher time getting accepted?
What are the qualifications for the LOA?
How many students tend to get the LOA?

Any other tips and advice would be greatly appreciated. I thank you all in advance.

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People have a hard time getting into USNA from MD because it’s close and so many know about it. You should check out serviceacademyforums.com for other information, IMHO it has been a great resource

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Anyone applying?

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I applied for SLE. Quick question: do they email you if you get in or do you have to check the candidate portal yourself?

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For USNA NASS, they will email you a decision before even opening up a portal. For SLE, I don’t know.

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Also, there are no set qualifications for an LOA. The number given differs from year to year. Usually, an LOA is given if you are one of the following:

  1. A recruited Athlete
  2. Meet and exceed “Scholastic Qualification”
  3. A URM, an Under Represented Minority
    Note that I said scholastic qualification, not academic qualification. Scholastic includes not only academics, but also all sports/ECA’s/Community Service. Generally, the vast majority of LOA’s are sent out during August/early to mid Fall, although a few get sent out in DEC/JAN every year. My best advice would be to finish the application early, as you will get looked at by the admissions board earlier. Just because you get looked at early, doesn’t mean you will necessarily get a decision early. The admissions staff may want to stack you up against the larger pool. In this year’s cycle, there are people who applied in July/August that haven’t received a decision yet. Also, if you are denied, you will only find out mid-April, so until then, there is always hope.
    Generally an LOA indicates that you are scholastically admissible, and that you just need to complete the following: CFA, Medical Qualification, Obtain a Nomination.

    All said and done, the LOA is not the goal, an Appointment is. If you get and LOA, awesome! A lot of stress is relieved. If you don’t get one, don’t sweat it. I did not get into NASS and did not get and LOA, but still received my appointment in mid January, around the same time that many people with LOA’s received their appointments.
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@MABlue Thank you for the information. When you say finish the apps early, will they look at the preliminary app that you submit for NASS or do you have to submit an actual application? Also do you know generally what SAT scores they look at? Lastly if you want to be a recruit, do they look at your SAT scores, grades, etc. or just solely on athletic talent (I’m asking for someone else)?

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  1. Preliminary/NASS app: This is SOLELY for establishing someone as an official candidate. If you are accepted to NASS or deemed an official candidate, USNA will email/mail you an official candidate letter which contains login info for something called the CIS. This lets you access the actual application, with the essay question, personal data, etc...When I am talking about finishing the application early, I am talking about the actual USNA application on the CIS.
  2. Recruits: If a USNA coach really wants you, they will recommend you for admission and do whatever they can to help you. Yes, they will look for SAT/Grades, and athletes must go through nearly the same admission process, such as the CFA and obtaining Nominations. Unlike a regular D1 school, where filling out an app would be something customary, USNA admissions will still look closely at a recruits app to make sure they are not a bad fit for USNA, and wouldn't obviously make a terrible officer 4 years down the line. One thing that does often happen, is that USNA, especially for football, will recruit a players who truly isn't academically prepared to attend USNA, so admissions will send them to the prep school, NAPS to prepare academically, and get an extra year of development.
    But to skip all the BS, and get to the real point: As long as you are decent academically(close to USNA averages), being a recruit will certainly make the chances of admission astronomically higher.
    The other great thing about being recruited to play at USNA is that unlike major D1 schools, your "scholarship" is not dependent on your participation on a certain team. In other words, if you were recruited to play Lacrosse, but after a year, chose to play club or intramural instead, you would still be a full time USNA student getting all your education/room and board paid for, since USNA does this for every student.
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Also Forgot to mention SAT scores! USNA only looks at the Composite Score, which is Critical Reading+Math, however for this next admission cycle, the new SAT will anyway be out of 1600, so no need to worry about that. One great thing USNA does is superscoring. Because of this, make sure to send in all the scores, as they will only consider the highest from each category for admission.

As for the actual scores, it varies greatly. Generally the average is somewhere around a 1330, but you have to remember that this could include a relatively large number of Recruited athletes/NAPS students, who generally have scores on the lower end. Per my admissions counselor, anything above a 1400 would be considered very competitive. I have a 1500 and have been accepted, however I know people with 1250-1300 that have also been accepted.

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Mine is 1220 right now with 540 in CR and 680 in Math, but I have around 9 clubs, 3 varsity and 1 unified sports, a 3.9 ish GPA on a 4.0 scale, and about 4 leadership positions. Do you think the rest of my application can help out my CR score? And will they still take the old 2400 test? @MABlue

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I believe that they will still take the 2400 version for the class of 2021, but you should check with admissions to be sure. You still have tons of time to retake the SAT, so while the rest of your application is already strong, you definitely want to bump the CR score up a bit, and if you could, the math score as well. It will simply be another aspect to set you apart from a huge pool, with thousands of candidates with the same kinds of sports/GPA/ECAs that you have.

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I dont like the new SAT so I have to take the SAT next week which is the last time that the 2400 version is offered. If I dont do well on the CR area after I take the test, will I still have a decent chance or automatically have an extremely low chance of getting accepted aside from the rest of my application?

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You would not have an automatically low chance, considering that both your CR and Math scores are in the middle 50% for USNA. It is also quite tough to predict these things, which is why I suggest trying to get test scores as high as possible. Improving test scores are something completely in your control. Things like varsity sports and leadership positions depend a lot on the people around you. You could be at an athletically competitive school where you only earn a few varsity letters, or you could be in a small school where you earn 12 letters and are a three-sport captain. Things like this a dependent on factors that to a certain extent, are out of your control, and USNA understands this. SAT’s on the other hand are universally standardized. They provide a way to stack two applicants up against each other simply using a number that doesn’t require the admissions committee to try and match up school competitiveness or course rigor.

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@MABlue I looked on College board and it said my CR score was below average by around 30 points. It’s also hard to predict because I don’t really know how competitive everyone else applying is

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Honestly, just submit your application, and let the cards fall as they may. With the rest of your profile, I do think you would at least get a candidate package. Remember, they are applicants to USNA with low tests scores that do get directly appointed, or have the opportunity to attend one of the prep/foundation school for an extra year of prep. I wouldn’t worry too much. Just focus on improving every day…

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Got it. Thank you so much @MABlue!