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Enlisting

slurvin

slurvin

It's good cape weather, cool, breezy
I am going to be a Senior in High School next fall and I am getting nervous about colleges. I have wanted to attend the Naval Academy for the challenge and prestige that can carry with you for the rest of your life. Recently I have hit a brick wall so to speak when comparing my grades to those of students accepted to the academy.

I only rank in the top 40% of my high school of about 450 students, but I have done well in my honors history and chemistry classes. The reason is I dug a hole for myself freshmen year and have had to recover ever since. Also on the national ACT test day I only scored a 22, but on my school test day I scored a 24 with a sub score of 28 on the math portion. The Naval Academy will only accept the national test day score, so I have another negative to my application. Although, I do plan to apply because it is worth a shot.

That is my backround academically, but I am not all screwed because I have played on the soccer team at my school, and have stayed in good shape.

With the war not ending anytime soon and other potential conflicts I feel I am in the same situation my grandpa's had to go through. They both enlisted during the Korean War and put their future plans on hold. In some ways I feel like this is the same situation with me, and I am considering enlisting.

My question is if I enlist in the Marines, with my scores, would I have a good shot at getting into the Naval Academy?

I am sorry that was so long winded I just wanted everyone to get a detailed backround to my vague question. Thanks for reading
 
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phrogpilot73

Well-Known Member
slurvin said:
My question is if I enlist in the Marines, with my scores, would I have a good shot at getting into the Naval Academy?
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The short answer is yes. I applied to the Naval Academy while in High School, with a whopping 1.96 GPA and 1200 on the SAT's. Needless to say, I wasn't accepted. I enlisted in the Marine Corps, and then continued to apply. The Naval Academy has 170 slots (85 for active duty and 85 for reservists) every year for prior enlisted guys (both Navy and Marine Corps). You don't have to have a nomination from a Senator/Representative to apply. If you are offered an appointment this way, you are automatically given a SecNav nomination. To put it into perspective, of the 170 slots there were approximately 105 prior enlisted guys in my class. So, you end up competing with a much smaller pool. If you do decide to enlist, MCO 1530.11G is the current order that is applicable. If you enlist active duty, just continue to apply. If you enlist reserves, attend college (do well), and continue to apply. The worst they can say is no.
 
WVUBetaHornet

WVUBetaHornet

Sweep the leg..
slurvin said:
I am going to be a Senior in High School next fall and I am getting nervous about colleges. I have wanted to attend the Naval Academy for the challenge and prestige that can carry with you for the rest of your life. Recently I have hit a brick wall so to speak when comparing my grades to those of students accepted to the academy.
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I applaud your efforts and tenacity in the matter of attending the USNA for the 'prestige' and the 'challenge,' but it is, indeed, a difficult university to get accepted into, and you must accept that reality. In addition, you should want to attend the USNA for yourself and not worry about what perks come along with it that you can place on your resume.

Wouldn't you agree though, that serving in the United States NAVY is considered to be a very prestigious privilege and a challenge in the first place? I did not go to the Naval Academy, as I'm sure a lot of people on AW did not, and I am very much looking forward to a commission as an officer.

Don't get me wrong, if it's the Academy that you want to strive for, then by all means I wish you the utmost of luck in your endeavor...but if for some reason you don't get in, don't rush yourself by enlisting on a whim, be grateful that you can still serve your country if that's what you really want to do with your life. The NAVY will still be around when you get out of school..take your time.

Best of luck, keep us posted.
 
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phrogpilot73

Well-Known Member
WVUBetaHornet said:
In addition, you should want to attend the USNA for yourself and not worry about what perks come along with it that you can place on your resume.
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I agree wholeheartedly, and this is the most important thing you can keep in mind, because when life is sucking at the Naval Academy (which it tends to do at times), you need the pure desire to be there to survive. It was a lifelong dream of mine to attend the Academy, so that's why I kept applying and ultimately, why I graduated from there. Regardless of how sweet it looks on my resume, I wouldn't trade my 4 years there for anything else.
 
gaijin6423

gaijin6423

Ask me about ninjas!
I didn't apply during high school, but I did apply and get accepted to USNA, by way of NAPS. They even let me graduate four years later (it almost didn't happen, save for a phrog guy who saved my ass) and be commissioned as a 2ndLt. phrogpilot73 gave some good gouge, but I'll just expand a little bit: Realize that while applying from the enlisted ranks, your paperwork has to go through a lot of hands to finally make it to HQMC and USNA. This includes your squadron/battalion, group/regiment, and wing/division, where it has to pass across the desk of the CO/CG, all of whom are more than a little busy. After that, USNA admissions has to process your application, send you a bunch of paperwork to fill out, wait for you to fill it out and get your DoDMERB exam done, and then have a board meet to discuss your case. It's a long, potentially painful process, but I don't say this to dissuade you from applying. Just realize that it's a fairly long, involved process, and you need to be proactive to make stuff happen.
 
gaijin6423

gaijin6423

Ask me about ninjas!
I was, indeed. And it was only by the good grace of Assassin that I was saved, because he called the Sup and reqested I stay. I guess I was a pretty decent driver for him when he was 3MAW CG...
 
The_Commodore

The_Commodore

Pavement sucks
I heard from a friend of my dad's that the academies have a school you can go to for one year if you need to improve on a subject or get your GPA up. Then if you do good you can start your university classes. Thats about all I know, maybe someone else knows more than me. But if you don't mind an extra year before the academy, you should definately look into it.
 
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phrogpilot73

Well-Known Member
The_Commodore said:
I heard from a friend of my dad's that the academies have a school you can go to for one year if you need to improve on a subject or get your GPA up. Then if you do good you can start your university classes. Thats about all I know, maybe someone else knows more than me. But if you don't mind an extra year before the academy, you should definately look into it.
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There's actually several pre-USNA programs. First, there is NAPS (Naval Academy Prepratory School), and second, there is the Naval Academy Foundation. Unfortunately, there is no "I want to go here to get there" arrangement. You apply to USNA, the admissions board decides among the following:

1. You attend USNA
2. You attend NAPS, with another chance at USNA a year later
3. You attend a NAF school, with another chance at USNA a year later
4. You don't attend any of the above, and it's you're perogative to get in.

I applied 4 times, was never selected for NAPS or a NAF school. My 4th application, I was accepted straight into the Naval Academy. It was up to me to work hard in the USMC, do well in school, etc...
 
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