Der er tusindvis af gymnasieelever derude, der drømmer om den dag, de kaster hatten i vejret og dimitterer fra et af landets militærtjenesteakademier. Hvis du er en af dem, håber jeg, at din drøm går i opfyldelse, og at du kan deltage i West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy eller Merchant Marine Academy. Men du skal forstå, at det kræver meget hårdt arbejde og tålmodighed bare at komme igennem ansøgningen. Min egen søn er uddannet serviceakademi, så jeg har selv set, hvor svært det er at få en tid. Men du kan gøre det, hvis du har de rigtige ting og ved, hvordan optagelsesprocessen fungerer.
Til det formål har vi samlet en liste over de vigtigste overvejelser for studerende, der håber på at modtage en aftale på et serviceakademi en dag. For at bringe vores liste ud i livet, interviewede vi 19 unge mænd og kvinder, som for nylig gennemgik ansøgningsprocessen for tjenesteakademiet og fik en udnævnelse til et (eller flere) af de fem militærakademier. Når det kommer til akademioptagelsesprocessen, har de været der, gjort det og var ivrige efter at dele deres erfaringer, tips og råd med den næste gruppe af serviceakademidrømmere. Med deres vejledning er her 20 ting, du skal vide om at komme ind på et militærtjenesteakademi . Hvis du er så heldig at modtage en aftale, vil du blive belønnet med en undervisningsfri uddannelse på en førsteklasses skole og en oplevelse, du aldrig vil glemme.
Det er virkelig svært at komme ind på et værnepligtsakademi. Ifølge National Center for Education Statistics søgte 41.989 personer til de fem militærakademier for klassen i 2023. Der er dog kun omkring 4.100 ledige pladser hvert år. Det sætter den samlede acceptrate for serviceakademiet på omkring 9,8 %. (Det er et gennemsnit – det varierer efter akademi.)
En acceptrate på 9,8 % er højere end hvad du vil se på de fleste Ivy League-skoler – hvor acceptprocenten varierer fra 5 % (Harvard og Columbia) til 11 % (Cornell) – og steder som Stanford (4 %) og M.I.T. (7%). Det er dog lavere end acceptgraden på mange andre meget konkurrencedygtige skoler, såsom Johns Hopkins (11%), UCLA (12%), Georgetown (14%), Berkeley (16%) og Notre Dame (16%). (Priserne er for efteråret 2019 bachelor optagelser.)
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MARCHORDRER:Begynd at forberede år på forhånd
"Personligt var det meget udfordrende" at komme ind på et serviceakademi, siger Skye Williams, som er på West Point. "Der er mange forhindringer ... du skal overvinde." Derfor begyndte mange succesrige ansøgere at forberede sig til et serviceakademi tidligt i gymnasiet, eller endda før. Planlæg din belastning på gymnasiet, fritidsaktiviteter, samfundsengagement og atletiske sysler med serviceakademiernes krav i tankerne.
Hvis du går på et militærtjenesteakademi, vil den føderale regering betale din undervisning og værelse og kost i fire år, men Onkel Sam vil have noget til gengæld . I de fleste tilfælde bliver du forpligtet til at tjene på aktiv tjeneste i det amerikanske militær i mindst fem år efter eksamen. Længere serviceforpligtelser er påkrævet for dem, der ender i visse job, såsom piloter. Gradienter fra West Point og Air Force Academy skal også tjene yderligere tre år i reserverne. Merchant Marine Academy-kandidater er forpligtet til enten fem års aktiv militærtjeneste eller fem år i den maritime industri og otte år i reserverne. Så før du overhovedet starter ansøgningsprocessen for tjenesteakademiet, skal du sørge for, at du forstår og er fortrolig med kravene til militærtjeneste efter eksamen.
Mens nogle kandidater, der kommer ud af traditionelle gymnasier, kæmper for at finde arbejde, er det ikke tilfældet med serviceakademi-kandidater. Takket være serviceengagementet er der en 100 % jobformidlingsprocent for de unge mænd og kvinder, der kommer ud af serviceakademierne. Som Coast Guard Academys Natalie Wong bemærkede:"Det er helt sikkert betryggende for mange mennesker, der kommer direkte ud af college, at være sikret et job."
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Marchordrer:Vælg først den militærgren, der passer dig bedst
Fordi du vil bruge mere tid på at tjene i militæret efter endt uddannelse, end du vil bruge på et tjenesteakademi, er det bedst først at vælge den militærgren, der passer bedst til dine egne mål og interesser – hær, flåde, luftvåben , marinesoldater eller kystvagt - og søg derefter en aftale til den skole, der leverer officerer til den gren. "Det er fire år på skolen, men så er det potentielt et helt liv som officer i den gren," siger Alexander Kleitz, der går på Air Force Academy. "Det er grenen, man skal fokusere på, og skolen er en måde at komme dertil." Naval Academys Sawyer Neal er enig og opfordrer gymnasieelever, der er interesserede i militærakademier, til først at finde ud af, "hvad du faktisk skal lave som officer i de forskellige grene, og hvor forskelligt dit liv ville være i hver enkelt. " For eksempel ønsker Evan Sievers at være involveret i militære rumoperationer, så han valgte Air Force Academy. Kystvagtens humanitære missioner fangede Lea Walkers øje, så hun besluttede at deltage i deres serviceakademi. Renee Nosko, som endnu ikke er sikker på, hvad hun vil gøre i militæret, er på vej til Naval Academy "fordi flåden har ... land, luft og hav" muligheder. Og så er der Connor McGurk, som skal til West Point for at blive hærofficer, fordi han "hellere ville rulle rundt i mudderet end at sidde fast på et skib i Stillehavet." Hov!
Værnepligtsakademierne er ikke for alle. Men det er okay, for serviceakademierne tager alligevel ikke hvem som helst. Der er nogle grundlæggende kvalifikationer for hver indkommende kadet eller midtskibsmand . De varierer fra et akademi til et andet, men generelt er du:
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Marchordrer:Vær ikke dum – hold dig ude af problemer
Det ser ud til at være uoverskueligt, men du vil blive overrasket over, hvor mange håbefulde serviceakademier, der mister deres drøm, fordi de gør noget ulovligt, såsom at mindreårige drikker eller bruger stoffer. Akademierne tolererer ikke ulovlig adfærd, når du er der (de vil sparke dig ud), så hvad får dig til at tro, at de vil indrømme nogen, der har en problematisk fortid? "Hvis du synes, det er sjovt at gøre ting, der er ulovlige, og du enten søger ind på [et serviceakademi] eller allerede er blevet optaget på [et], er det en dårlig idé," advarer West Pointer Andres Santiago. "Det kræver kun en fejl... og pludselig mister du det, du gerne ville mest." Åh, forresten, du bliver nødt til at indsende en politirapport og ansøge om en statslig sikkerhedsgodkendelse, hvis du bliver udnævnt, så lyv ikke om nogen tidligere kriminel historie. Fortæl sandheden, hele sandheden og intet andet end sandheden.
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Ud over de grundlæggende kvalifikationer skal du også være en veloplagt individ –du skal være lærd, leder og atlet . (Vi vil diskutere disse tre krav senere.) Som Naval Academy plebe Nathaniel Erickson bemærker, vil akademiets optagelsesofficerer "ikke se folk, der bare er nørder. De ønsker ikke at se folk, der bare er bognørder. De vil gerne se mennesker, der kan få succes i alle aspekter af deres liv." Hvis du er svag på et område, kan du stadig få en tid, hvis du er stærk andre steder. Så for eksempel, "hvis dine testresultater ikke er så høje, som de kunne være, ville jeg ikke være for stresset over det," siger Natalie Wong. "Der er helt sikkert andre områder, du virkelig kan trives i, og det vil optagelsesmedarbejderne også se på din ansøgning."
Derudover, mens det er fantastisk at klare sig godt i skolen og deltage i skolebaserede sport og fritidsaktiviteter, er en virkelig velafrundet studerende også involveret uden for campus. "Frivillig. Få praktikpladser. Få job. Hjælp dit samfund," siger Louis Burts, som er på West Point. Den slags aktiviteter vil få et serviceakademis opmærksomhed lige så meget som at dyrke sport eller melde sig ind i en klub i skolen.
Er du i tvivl om et serviceakademi er noget for dig? Bare rolig, for akademierne har programmer, der giver dig mulighed for at smage på livet som kadet eller midtskibsmand . Disse programmer kommer stærkt anbefalet fra gruppen af kadetter og midshipmen, vi har talt med, så sørg for at tjekke dem ud, hvis du tror, du måske vil deltage i et serviceakademi. De hjælper dig med at beslutte, om du er på rette vej eller har brug for at gå i en anden retning.
Der er ugelange sommerprogrammer for voksende high school seniorer. Fire af de fem serviceakademier kører disse programmer, som generelt forsøger at kopiere serviceakademiets version af grunduddannelsen. (The Merchant Marine Academy har ikke et sommerprogram, men du kan deltage i et andet akademis program for at få den generelle følelse.) "Det var en fantastisk oplevelse," siger Louis Burts. "Jeg fik en fornemmelse af, hvordan det vil være at vågne tidligt hver dag, lave PT hver dag, spise morgenmad med alle, gå til undervisning." For mange studerende, der går på et sommerprogram, ved de med det samme, om et serviceakademi er det rigtige for dem. Air Force Academys Seth Swain afslører for eksempel, at "efter dag to på akademiet sagde jeg til mine forældre over telefonen, 'mor og far, det er det, jeg vil gøre med mit liv, og jeg vil gå til et af disse akademier.'"
Sommerprogrammerne kan også hjælpe dig med at beslutte hvilke service academy er det rigtige for dig. "Med hensyn til om jeg ville gå på et serviceakademi eller ej," siger Alexander Kleitz, "tror jeg ikke, at [at deltage i et sommerprogram] var så vigtigt. Med hensyn til at skelne mellem luftvåben eller flåde, som var to på min liste, som jeg diskuterede, var det absolut kritisk. Jeg kunne ikke have gjort den forskel, hvis jeg ikke havde besøgt dem begge i en uge."
Desværre, fordi pladsen er begrænset på serviceakademiets sommerprogrammer, skal du igennem en ret konkurrencedygtig ansøgningsproces for at blive optaget på et sommerprogram.
Uanset om du deltager i et ugelangt sommerprogram eller ej, bør du også se på akademiernes dags-, overnatnings- eller weekendbesøgsprogrammer. Du vil komme til at skygge en kadet eller midtskibsmand under dit besøg og virkelig se, hvordan livet er for dem i løbet af skoleåret. "Jeg blev parret med en [Naval Academy] mid," fortæller Renee Nosko. "Jeg var helt vild med det, fordi jeg kom til at gå i klasse med hende, jeg fik spist i spisesalen med hende og virkelig udlevet hele midtoplevelsen."
Der er også fordele ved at være blandt kadetterne og midtskibsmændene i kasernen, fordi de fortæller dig ting, du ikke hører andre steder. "Jeg fik en mere ufiltreret version af skolen, end du får fra en optagelsesrådgiver," bemærker Burts.
Sammenlignet med traditionelle gymnasier er ansøgningsprocessen for serviceakademiet "bare et andet dyr" og "på et andet niveau," ifølge Seth Swain. Både civile skoler og akademierne kræver, at du indsender SAT/ACT-resultater, gymnasieudskrifter, anbefalingsbreve, skrivning af prøver og lignende. Men serviceakademierne får dig også til at få en nominering, tage en fysisk konditionstest, bestå en lægeeksamen og gå til samtaler . (Vi vil dække alle disse yderligere krav mere detaljeret senere.) "Serviceakademiets ansøgningsproces er helt sikkert meget mere stressende, meget mere tidskrævende og lidt mere opslidende" på grund af disse ekstra trin, sagde Dominique Basso, som går på Handelsskibsfartsakademiet. Derudover er der ingen "fælles ansøgninger" til serviceakademierne. Hvis du søger ind på mere end ét akademi, skal du indsende en separat ansøgning for hvert enkelt akademi.
Bliv dog ikke afskrækket af ansøgningsprocessen. "Der var så mange gange, at jeg var på nippet til at holde op," indrømmer Kayla Phillips fra Air Force Academy. Hun mener, at akademierne gør processen "lang og irriterende at luge de børn ud, som ikke vil være der eller ikke har viljen eller vedholdenheden til at være der."
Ansøgningstidslinjen for serviceakademier er typisk også længere end for traditionelle gymnasier. Gymnasieelever begynder normalt at arbejde på deres ansøgninger til traditionelle gymnasier i løbet af sommeren mellem deres junior- og seniorår eller i løbet af det første semester af deres seniorår. Afhængigt af akademiet starter serviceakademiets ansøgningsproces normalt i andet semester af dit ungdomsår på gymnasiet — i nogle tilfælde allerede i januar. Du skal muligvis også indsende en foreløbig ansøgning eller et spørgeskema for at vise, at du opfylder de grundlæggende kvalifikationer, før du overhovedet får lov til at åbne en fuld ansøgning. Derudover mens de fleste Ansøgere til serviceakademi lærer deres skæbne omkring det samme tidspunkt, som civile skoler udsender deres acceptbreve, akademierne kan udfylde nogle pladser så sent som den dag, hvor nye kadetter eller midtskibsmænd melder sig til sommertræning.
Mellem det tidspunkt, du starter din ansøgning, og det tidspunkt, du modtager en tid, er der flere deadlines, som du hellere ikke går glip af. "Hold dig på forkant med alle deadlines," råder Rhett Perry, som går på West Point. Hvis du gør det til et serviceakademi, bliver du nødt til at administrere din tid klogt. Hvis du ikke kan indsende de nødvendige dokumenter og fuldføre de påkrævede opgaver til din ansøgning inden de angivne frister, vil akademiet antage, at du ikke vil være i stand til at håndtere den tætpakkede tidsplan, som kadetter og midtskibsmænd står over for hver dag. Det er derfor, West Pointer Jack Felgar advarer potentielle serviceakademiansøgere om, at "tidsstyring og bare at være vedholdende og få alt gjort så hurtigt og præcist som muligt er supervigtigt."
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MARCHORDRER:Start ansøgningsprocessen så tidligt som muligt, og forbliv fokuseret
Fordi ansøgningsprocessen for serviceakademiet er så lang og besværlig, opfordrer Lea Walker gymnasieelever til at "begynde at arbejde på det tidligt og forsøge ikke at udskyde, fordi deadlines kan snige sig op" på dig. Evan Sievers anbefaler, at du udfylder så meget af papirarbejdet, som du kan i løbet af sommeren inden dit seniorår, så du kan fokusere på lægeundersøgelser, nomineringer og lignende i løbet af efteråret.
Akademikere på serviceakademierne er ekstremt udfordrende. Så det er ikke underligt, at de har høje akademiske standarder for indkommende kadetter og midtskibsmænd. Som med de fleste traditionelle gymnasier er militærtjenesteakademierne stærkt afhængige af SAT- og ACT-resultater. Selvom du kan få en aftale med lavere score, hvis du er stærk på andre områder, kan du få en kombineret SAT-score (matematik og læsning) på mindst 1.260 til 1.300 eller en ACT-score på mindst 29 til 31. Disse betragtes som "gennemsnitlige" karakterer i de fleste år, så højere score er endnu bedre. (Tjek for at se, om det akademi, du søger til, også kræver SAT-skrivningskomponenten.)
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Marchordrer:Tag testene mere end én gang
Akademierne giver superscore SAT- og ACT-resultater – for eksempel ved at kombinere din højeste SAT-læsningsscore og højeste SAT-matematikscore, selvom de er fra forskellige testdage – og det kan gøre en stor forskel. Nathaniel Erickson opfordrer gymnasieelever, der ønsker at deltage i et serviceakademi, til at "tage [prøverne] så mange gange, du kan, og tage så mange praksisprøver, som du kan." Hvis du virkelig kæmper med SAT eller ACT, foreslår Erickson "fokus på én sektion ad gangen." Koncentrer dig for eksempel om SAT'ens læsedel for én test, drej derefter til matematik og tag SAT igen.
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Mens dit high school-karaktergennemsnit og klasseplacering også er vigtige (skyd efter en top 10% placering), lad være med at lægge op på "nemme" klasser for at prøve at få lige A'er. For at være en konkurrencedygtig service-akademikandidat skal du udfordre dig selv med avanceret placering (AP) klasser, internationale baccalaureate programmer, honours kurser og lignende. Alligevel bemærker Alexander Kleitz, at akademiets optagelsesofficerer fortalte ham, at "det er bedre at have et A i et almindeligt kursus, end det er at have en dårlig karakter i et honours-kursus. Så lad være med at sætte dig ind i honours-kurser, som du ikke kan bestå. Men hvis du kan bestå honours-kurset, er det bestemt der, du vil være." Louis Burts er enig:"Hvis du tager en AP-klasse bare for at sige, at du tog det, og det ikke er et emne, du er rigtig god til, vil det ende med at skade dig i det lange løb."
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Marchordrer:Tag universitetskurser, hvis dit gymnasium tilbyder et program med dobbelt tilmelding
Programmer med dobbelt tilmelding giver gymnasieelever mulighed for at tage universitetskurser for kredit. Skye Williams tog dobbelte tilmeldingskurser i gymnasiet, og hun mener, at "at udfordre mig selv ved at tage college-kurser og samtidig tage gymnasiekurser" hjalp hendes ansøgning til at skille sig ud. Du vil ikke modtage merit for et universitetskursus med dobbelt tilmelding på et serviceakademi, men du skal muligvis ikke gentage klassen, hvis det er et obligatorisk kursus på akademiet.
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Det er også vigtigt at tage (og klare sig godt i) matematik og naturfag i gymnasiet, fordi akademiets pensum er S.T.E.M.-tunge. Du vil helt sikkert tage calculus, fysik og kemi, siger Alex Hooker, der er på Søværnet. Rhett Perry anbefaler også, at man tilmelder sig datalogi i gymnasiet. Men fordi akademierne leder efter "velafrundede" individer, kan du ikke ignorere ikke-S.T.E.M. kurser. Engelsk, historie og fremmedsprog er også vigtige. Dominique Basso mener også, at det college-skrivekursus, hun tog, "afgjort var meget nyttigt" for hendes akademiansøgninger, fordi hun fik flere tips til at skrive bedre essays.
Serviceakademiernes primære mission er at udvikle ledere. Så hvis du ønsker at få en udnævnelse til et akademi, vis dem, at du allerede er leder . Der er en endeløs liste over måder, hvorpå gymnasieelever kan få ledererfaring. Et par almindelige eksempler fra de kommende kadetter og midtskibsmænd, vi talte med, inkluderer:
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Marchordrer:Tænk "kvalitet frem for kvantitet", når du vælger dine aktiviteter
"Når det kommer til klubber, skal du være i lederstillinger," siger Seth Swain. "De leder efter kvalitet, ikke kvantitet. Du behøver ikke at være i 20 forskellige klubber og bare være medlem... Hvis du er i tre eller fire og er i lederstillinger, hjælper det virkelig." I sidste ende er det bedre at være leder i én aktivitet end at følge med i 10.
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Selvom de ofte overses, giver high school Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programmer sponsoreret af hæren, flåden, luftvåbenet og marinesoldaterne også lederskabsoplevelser, som serviceakademierne kan lide at se. Skye Williams deltog i sit lokale JROTC-program, og hun mener, at det var en vigtig faktor for at få hendes udnævnelse til West Point. Optagelsesofficererne kunne "se, at jeg har militær peiling og lederevner på det niveau," siger hun, "så jeg føler, at det var et stort plus for mig." If there isn't a JROTC program at your school, consider the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program, Naval Sea Cadet Corps or the Young Marines, which offer similar military-based leadership opportunities.
If you're going to survive the physical demands of service-academy life, you better be in shape! Not only will you be required to keep up during physically demanding military training exercises—such as marching 10 miles with a 40-pound pack on your back—but all cadets and midshipmen are expected to participate in some sort of athletic activity either at the NCAA, club or intramural level. Depending on the academy, 85% or more of all appointees earn a varsity letter in high school, which should tell you something about the type of young men and women the service academies want. Couch potatoes need not apply!
To make sure you can handle the physical challenges cadets and midshipmen face every day, you must take and pass a physical fitness test to receive an appointment . All service academies, except the Coast Guard Academy, use the Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA) to test your athletic ability. The CFA is made up of the following six events:
The Coast Guard Academy uses its own Physical Fitness Exam (PFE), which consists of sit-ups, planking and a 1.5-mile run.
With the CFA and PFE, practice makes perfect. Figure out which events are the most difficult for you, and start doing them over and over to improve your results. "It's really just about repetition and doing it as much as you can," according to Nathaniel Erickson. "If you struggle running, go run." Start practicing well in advance, too. Renee Nosko, a high-school runner who had trouble with some of the strength-based events, started lifting more weights "all throughout the summer and into the school year" before taking, and passing, the CFA in the fall.
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MARCHING ORDERS:Practice Throwing a Basketball
Pull-ups—check. Push-ups—no problem. Mile run—OK. Basketball throw—what?! How the heck did throwing a basketball as far as you can while on your knees get on the CFA? Rhett Perry has an idea. "My theory," he says, "is that the basketball throw is just there to make sure that you're going to learn how to do something. You can't just go out there and throw a basketball and actually throw it really far on your first try. It takes a lot of practice to get the technique down, because it's not all about strength. It's just technique. When you throw the basketball, it's only going to go far if you've thrown it a hundred times before. So, when you do the CFA, they make sure you really are committed to doing this and you practice and train for it."
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The CFA and PFE are pass/fail tests. Yes, you need to pass the test to get an appointment, but don't get too upset if you don't get the best score possible ("max out") on each event. The academies would "love to see on your application that you maxed your CFA," says Seth Swain, "but at the end of the day, it's not about maxing totals." Instead, you want admissions to say, "This kid has physical aptitude and he can run, and he can do push-ups and sit-ups…we're going to take him, because we know he can make it here."
The nomination requirement is perhaps the most unique part of the service-academy admissions process. To be considered for an appointment to a service academy (other than the Coast Guard Academy ), you must have a nomination from an authorized nominating source . There are several nominating sources, and "you should apply to all sources for which you qualify," according to Alex Hooker. That will increase your chances of getting at least one nomination for the academy you want to attend, which is all you need. Getting an additional nomination, Andres Santiago says, "increases your chances [of getting in] dramatically" because "it puts your name in a different pool" from which you can be chosen for an appointment.
Members of Congress—U.S. senators and representatives—are the most common sources of service-academy nominations. They account for about 75% of all appointments. Each U.S. senator and representative can have as many as five cadets or midshipmen nominated by them at each service academy at any one time. If they have fewer than five at an academy, they can nominate up to 10 applicants to that academy for every open slot. For example, if the Naval Academy currently has three midshipmen who were nominated by a particular U.S. senator, that senator can nominate up to 20 Naval Academy applicants for the incoming class (10 for each open slot).
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MARCHING ORDERS:Look for Informational Sessions Hosted by Members of Congress
Many U.S. senators and representatives hold informational meetings for young men and women interested in applying for a service-academy nomination. They'll run through the nomination process and answer any questions you have. You can also meet the congressional staffers who will be handling your application. You might be able to get a head start, too. "I think it was pretty valuable," says the Air Force Academy's Courtney Swift. "I'm happy I went because I got some paperwork done…so they had me in the system right away." Rhett Perry also appreciated the opportunity to meet with admissions representatives and current cadets and midshipmen at one of his senator's events. "That played a big role in my application process," he says, "because I was able to talk to these people."
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There are three methods members of Congress can use to submit their lists of nominees. The most common method is to submit what is called a "competitive" list, where the nominees for each open slot are unranked. In this case, the academy ranks the nominees based on merit and offers an appointment to the most highly qualified person. If a member of Congress submits a "principal with competing alternates" list, the nominee designated as the principal nominee will receive an appointment if he or she is otherwise fully qualified. (Obviously, you want a principal nomination if you can get it!) However, if the principal nominee is not qualified, the most qualified unranked alternate gets the nod. Finally, a member of Congress can submit a "principal with numbered alternates" list, which means that a principal nominee is designated and the alternates are ranked in order of preference. Once again, the principal nominee gets an appointment to fill the slot if he or she is fully qualified. If that person is not qualified, the highest designated nominee who is qualified gets the appointment for that slot.
Every service academy applicant should apply for at least three nominations—one from each U.S. senator from his or her state and one from the U.S. representative from his or her congressional district. (If you're applying to the Merchant Marine Academy, you can also get a nomination from a representative from another district within your home state.) However, this adds a significant amount of additional time and effort. "Each nomination application is like a whole other normal college application," says Evan Sievers. While each congressional nomination application will be different, you typically have to write essays, submit transcripts and standardized test scores, complete a questionnaire and the like. Each member of Congress will most likely have you interview with a review board, too.
Applicants often get butterflies in their stomachs when facing a nomination review board. The boards typically include current or former military officers—many of them service academy graduates—who can be a bit intimidating. To get on their good side quickly, Kayla Phillips reminds applicants to "use ma'am and sir in the room because that's what you use at the academies." They might even try to fluster you by throwing an odd question at you that you totally weren't expecting, but Phillips advises candidates to simply "think about it before you answer the question." It's also important to be relaxed. "If they ask you 'what are your favorite hobbies,' sometimes you might just freeze or be so struck by such a simple conversational question," says Jack Felgar. However, he found that "just kind of having fun with it and being relaxed helped me a lot." While the interviews can be a tough, Kayla Malone, who is attending the Naval Academy, insists that they get easier if you "just learn from every interview" and apply it to the next one. For her, "the interviews just kept getting better and better."
The U.S. Vice President is another nomination source. Like members of Congress, he or she can have a maximum of five cadets or midshipmen at each academy at any one time. For each available slot, the Vice President may nominate up to 10 candidates. Every applicant is eligible for a vice presidential nomination and should apply.
Presidential nominations are available for children of career military officers and enlisted personnel. While an unlimited number of presidential nominations can be given, only 100 candidates per year can be appointed to an academy with these nominations.
Other nominations are available for:
There may be limits on the number of these nominations allowed or on the number of appointees with these types of nominations.
The Merchant Marine Academy only accepts congressional nominations.
There's an unfortunate scenario that plays out all too frequently:A young man or woman works hard for years to become a scholar, leader and athlete worthy of a service-academy appointment, but is denied admission because of a disqualifying medical condition. There's a pages-long list of disqualifying conditions that can trip up a service-academy candidate. They include dental problems, poor vision, teenage asthma, broken bones that didn't heal properly, joint issues, skin disorders, hearing problems, food allergies and more. You can even be disqualified for failing to meet military height and weight requirements. The medical standards are in place to ensure that each person entering military service is physically able to handle the "rigors and stressors of military training and missions."
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MARCHING ORDERS:Check Your Prescriptions
You can also be disqualified for taking certain prescribed medications. We talked with one cadet candidate who was denied an appointment the first time he applied because of medicine he was taking. Connor McGurk received an appointment to the West Point Class of 2022 in January of his senior year of high school, but he was medically disqualified in late April because he had taken prescribed medicine that he "had to be off of for a certain period of time" before reporting for summer training. By the time he found out, it was too late to stop taking the medicine and still hold on to his appointment. (Fortunately, he was given a slot in the Class of 2023.) As a result, McGurk warns applicants who are taking prescription medications to "make sure you won't be disqualified based on what you're taking."
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Service academy candidates who have completed certain parts of their application are contacted by the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board (DoDMERB) and asked to schedule a medical exam. After the exam is completed, DoDMERB might ask you to provide additional information or medical records, or even want you to schedule additional medical appointments. Once all the necessary information is collected, DoDMERB reviews your medical record and determines if you're medically qualified or disqualified.
All is not lost, however, if you're initially disqualified, because you could get a medical waiver. DoDMERB doesn't give out waivers—the academies do. So, if the academy really wants you, you still have a shot at an appointment.
Under the best of conditions, it can take a month to schedule your initial examination, two more months to get all the information to DoDMERB and another month (or more) to get a medical waiver if required. If everything goes according to schedule, that's a four-month process…and it can be longer if there are bumps in the road! That's why it's important to get the DoDMERB process started as soon as you possibly can. That means knocking out the initial parts of your application quickly, so your name is sent to DoDMERB sooner. Jack Felgar got through the DoDMERB process relatively quickly, despite hitting a snag over a year-old football injury, because he was able to start the process before most of the other applicants. "Getting everything done so early helped because at that point it was still early in the DoDMERB process," he says. Because he was "probably one of the first people to have a DoDMERB appointment, they weren't all backed up yet, and they didn't have thousands and thousands of applications from all the academies pouring into their system yet. So getting it done so early definitely helped."
In addition to the academy-based admissions teams and regional admissions officers, the service academies have local representatives throughout the country who volunteer their time to mentor high school students seeking appointments. The Naval Academy calls them Blue and Gold (B&G) Officers, the Air Force Academy calls them Admissions Liaison Officers (ALOs), West Point calls them Field Force Representatives (FFRs), the Coast Guard Academy calls them Academy Admissions Partners (AAPs), and the Merchant Marine Academy calls them Admissions Field Representatives (AFRs).
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MARCHING ORDERS:Turn Your Local Rep Into Your New Best Friend
Local representatives can be a great source of information, guidance and support. Louis Burts says his FFR "was probably my best friend throughout this process, besides my mom. If I had a question, I could text her or call her on anything." Kayla Malone has similar praise for her B&G officer:"I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have her…she knew all the little ins and outs of everything that you need to know." "Utilize your Blue and Gold officer," Sawyer Neal advises future Naval Academy candidates. "Ask them questions. Don't be afraid to call them every once in a while. Set up a phone call to talk to them and give them updates on how you're doing."
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The Naval Academy and Air Force Academy require interviews with a local representative as part of the overall application process. West Point and the Coast Guard Academy don't require interviews for every candidate, but they can request an interview (say yes!) or you can ask for one yourself. The Merchant Marine Academy doesn't do interviews, but candidates can ask to meet with a local representative. Interviews allow you to "personalize" the application process. Instead of just reading about you, someone reporting directly to the admissions office will actually get to see you, talk to you and get a sense of what you're all about. That can be a tremendous opportunity for candidates, particularly if you don't have the highest test scores or top-flight athletic abilities. Of course, if you make a bad impression, it could harm your chances of getting an appointment. So make sure you follow all the regular tips and advice about making a good impression during interviews:Look professional, sit up straight, stay calm, speak clearly and the like.
In many cases, the interview with a B&G officer or ALO will be more low-key than the interviews with the nomination review boards. According to Alexander Kleitz, the Air Force "ALO interview now is over Skype or Facetime or some sort of video messaging service." For Courtney Swift, the interview was about "getting to know me as a person" and determining if she "wants to go to [the academy] for the right reasons."
There are no racial or ethnic admissions quotas at the military service academies. However, they are reaching out to qualified minorities and encouraging them to apply. For example, the Coast Guard Academy's Genesis Invitational outreach program brings prospective minority applicants to the academy for overnight visits where they can tour the campus and shadow a cadet. For Lea Walker, the experience was a "pretty valuable" part of her decision to apply to the academy. It allowed her to see the "academic side" of academy life and gain a more "well-rounded" understanding of what it's like to be a cadet.
The service academy admissions teams also include diversity officers who focus on helping minority candidates through the application process. (All candidates have access to regional admissions officers for similar assistance.) Skye Williams worked with a diversity officer who was "very influential and very helpful and very encouraging for the whole process. As soon as I started the application, she was already on me, sending me messages and encouraging me." Louis Burts also praises the West Point diversity officers. "To me, what was most important was that they weren't pandering," he says. "They weren't like, 'Hey, you're black, come to our school.' They didn't see me as a minority candidate. They saw me as a candidate. They saw me as an individual person, who they wanted to come to the school, and that made me feel very valued. Other schools would specifically mention, 'Hey, you're a minority, we want you to come here.' The West Point officers weren't like that with me. They were like, 'Hey, we think you'll be good for the school—come here.' And I think that's what made the difference for me. I wasn't seen as a statistic or someone to boost their minority numbers."
The academies' outreach efforts are paying off—minority admissions are on the rise. Based on the most recent data available, minorities account for about one-third of all incoming service academy cadets and midshipmen today. Those numbers have been rising over the past few years. Take West Point, for example. In 2009, about 25% of the incoming class were minority students. Eleven years later, that number has jumped to about 40% for new cadets reporting in 2020.
Along with an increase in minority admissions, more women are attending the service academies these days, too. Women weren't allowed to attend the academies until 1976. Since then, their numbers have been steadily rising.
Now, roughly one-quarter of all cadets and midshipmen are women. That's a big jump from a decade or so ago. Again, looking at West Point as an example, less than 15% of the new cadets entering the academy in 2009 were women. In 2020, women make up more than 23% of the incoming class.
One hurdle the admissions officers face when it comes to recruiting more female applicants is the notion that the service academies are still male-dominated environments. "Obviously, there's a lot more guys than girls at the academies," Courtney Swift points out, "but I feel like it's kind of always going to be that way. There's going to be an imbalance." Likewise, Dominique Basso has "always known that the military is a more of a male-dominated field…I just accepted it." The trick to calming any worries about being unable to succeed in a testosterone-heavy world seems to be visiting the academies and talking with women who have experienced academy life. By "just talking with other females either in the academy or who had gone through it," Renee Nosko realized that "plenty of other females have done this before me. While we may not be in the majority, it is definitely doable, and it is in fact worthwhile. Because they influenced me, and I'll influence another generation, it will just grow and grow and grow until eventually we'll have equal service between men and women."
What if a service academy wants you because of your athletic or leadership abilities, but you don't quite meet the school's academic standards? An admissions officer might ask you to spend a year at a prep school to strengthen your academic standing and test scores before moving on to the academy itself the following year. (You don't request it—they offer it to certain applicants who don't receive a direct appointment, often recruited athletes and enlisted military personnel who have been out of school for a while .) You're not guaranteed a slot at the academy the following year, but the majority of prepsters successfully complete the program, become fully qualified and receive an appointment.
West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy run their own preparatory schools. The Coast Guard Academy sends its prep students to either the Naval Academy prep school or to selected private military prep schools. The Merchant Marine Academy only sends its prep students to private military prep schools. Financial assistance is typically offered to offset the costs of attendance at private prep schools or military junior colleges, such as New Mexico Military Institute, Marion Military Institute and Georgia Military College.
At a prep school, you'll prepare for the academy by living the lifestyle of a cadet or midshipman at the academy. So, in addition to taking college-level classes, you'll wear a uniform, go through military training, follow military discipline, participate in organized sports and so on. "It was the best preparation that anyone could have," says Kayla Phillips, who attended the Air Force Academy prep school. "I didn't know how to march, I didn't know how to put on a uniform…or make a bed, but I was taught all that. I'm already prepared for what's going to happen at basic training."
In addition to running their own prep schools, West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy also send a handful of fully qualified candidates who didn't receive an appointment to private military prep schools or military junior colleges for a year. These are typically candidates who are "on the bubble," often because they come from a highly competitive congressional district. The academy wants them but just can't find a slot for them at that time. Again, an appointment the following year isn't guaranteed, but it's generally understood that an appointment is "yours to lose." In other words, if you do well at the prep school and stay out of trouble, you'll get an appointment to the next year's class. The academy alumni associations also provide scholarships to help pay for the private school costs. These scholarships are known as AOG Civil Prep Scholarships (West Point), Foundation Scholarships (Naval Academy) and Falcon Foundation Scholarships (Air Force Academy).
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MARCHING ORDERS:Don't Turn Down a Prep-School Offer
"If you do get into the prep school, please take it," Phillips urges younger students. "I was so disappointed when I found out I got prep school, because everyone wants to go to [the academy]. It was almost like I got second place. But I wouldn't have changed anything, because there's no way I would honestly survive if I hadn't gone to the prep school first. It's just the perfect way to prep you before you go to [the academy]."
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Candidates not selected for one of the academy-sponsored prep school programs can always attend a private military college on their own dime to help improve their chances of getting an appointment the following year. It's a bit risky, but it can work. This is the path Andres Santiago took. He believes attending the private school was a "foundational" part of ultimately earning his appointment to West Point and that "the training really does help prepare you" for an academy. For instance, he "didn't have that high of an SAT score" before going to the prep school, but the instruction he received at the school "increased my math score by about 70 points." Santiago benefited in other ways, too. Going the prep-school route is helpful "if you've never had any taste of military life or any form of discipline whatsoever," he says. "It just gives you a feel for the military grit and the attitude you need to have." Finally, Santiago believes attending a prep school also shows an academy that you're "trying things to strengthen yourself and improve yourself, which looks very good on an application."
If you've already enlisted in the military, you can still apply to the service academies if you want to further your education and become an officer. In fact, the academies often have slots reserved for active duty or reserve enlisted personnel that go unfilled each year. They also have special admissions officers who work exclusively with enlisted applicants , so you can get a little extra help with your application. Enlisted applicants who don't receive a direct appointment are automatically considered for the prep school, too.
There are, however, a few differences in the admissions process for enlisted soldiers, sailors and airmen who are applying to an academy from the ranks. For example, high-school teacher recommendations are generally not required for enlisted applicants. Recommendations from officers in the applicant's direct chain of command are required instead. There's also a special nomination source available for enlisted personnel, so a congressional nomination is not required. (Although, as with other applicants, enlisted applicants are still encouraged to apply for all nominations for which they qualify, including congressional nominations.) Enlisted personnel who are nearing the end of their service obligation may also have to extend their enlistment or reserve agreement for a year or two in order to attend the academy or prep school. Other variations may apply.
As a cadet or midshipman with prior military service, you'll have a leg up on your fellow classmates in many areas. You've been through basic training, lived the military life and, in some cases, experienced combat. The other cadets and midshipmen will respect you for that and seek your advice.
Sports play an important role in the service academy experience—especially when it comes to competing against rival academies. (Ever heard of the Army-Navy game?) Because of this emphasis on sports, the academies work hard to recruit qualified athletes. But the academies are at a recruiting disadvantage, because all cadets and midshipmen must meet their high standards for admission.
The academies have, however, found ways to enhance the recruiting process while still making sure all athletes are fully qualified and deserving of their appointments. For instance, the three largest academies—West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy—have special admissions officers that deal directly with candidates who are recruited athletes . According to Jack Felgar, who was recruited by West Point to play sprint football, these admissions officers "help you through the process a little bit, and they guide you a little bit more." The special admissions officers might be able to streamline the process for athletes, too. "I can't say this for sure," Felgar notes, "but I think that some of the things like getting cleared by DoDMERB or just having forms upload and then confirmed seemed to come a little bit faster and be prioritized a little bit higher." As with traditional colleges, the coaches can chip in, too. Courtney Swift, who will play tennis at the Air Force Academy, tells us that the application process for recruited athletes is "pretty much exactly the same, except you just have a coach helping you and guiding you a little bit more through the process." However, she "still had to do everything anyone else applying would have to do, like starting the application, doing all the testing, medical and getting a congressional nomination."
Without going into detail, there are also several special NCAA recruiting and eligibility rules that apply only to the military service academies . For one, the NCAA prohibition against paying student athletes is waived because all service academy cadets and midshipmen are paid. NCAA scholarship limits don't apply to service academies, either, because there are no "scholarships" for cadets and midshipmen—they all attend for free. This means that the service academies can bring in more athletes for their sports programs. There are also other special NCAA rules for service academies concerning contact periods, official visits, weight-training and conditioning schedules, the number of coaches allowed and more.
Because of the service academies' high standards, unique lifestyle and service commitment, academy coaches seem to take a different approach to recruiting athletes. "I'd say that Navy was looking at me as a person and a student at the Naval Academy before even looking at me as a player," says Kayla Malone, who is a volleyball player. "I felt like other schools just looked at you as an athlete and not as an asset to their school in any other way." Felgar had a similar experience at West Point. "One of the biggest things that my coaches stressed to me was that, obviously we're recruiting you to play ball here, but we're also recruiting you to be in the Army," he points out. "So they make it really clear from day one that they want you, but if you choose this lifestyle, you'll still serve on active duty for five years and in the reserves three years, you're still going to go to one of the toughest schools in the nation, and it's a whole different ballgame."
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MARCHING ORDERS:Connect with Coaches and Team Members
The recruited academy athletes we spoke to also had some advice for high school students who want to play on an NCAA team at an academy. "I think the first step would be reaching out to the coaches…and start a relationship with them," says Swift. "If you have a good foundation with the coaches, they'll really help you get through your application." Felgar advises high school athletes to be "proactive" and "get more film to send to your coaches, whatever sport your play, because that's what they love to see." Try to connect with some of the current players, too. "It would suck if you went and didn't really know what you're getting yourself into….Talking to the girls on the team helped me the most," Swift tells us.
We already mentioned that it's hard getting into a military service academy, which by itself should tell you that you need a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D. But you might not realize that your backup plan can actually play a role in determining whether or not you get into a service academy. During interviews with nomination review boards and volunteer admissions representatives, there's a good chance you'll be asked what you're going to do if you don't get an appointment . Your answer could sway their opinion of you one way or the other.
First, having a solid backup plan shows you're prepared for contingencies, which is an important part of military leadership. "It's really important that your backup plan is very well thought-out," Evan Sievers says. "They like to admit people who…aren't just leaning on being given an appointment to the academies. It is hard to get into the academies, so they want see that you did think about your plan if you didn't make it in."
Second, you want to show that your ultimate goal is to serve in the military. "My backup plan was always to go ROTC," Seth Swain tells us, "and if I didn't get into one of the academies, that's what I would have done." That's a common plan—and a good one for service-academy applications.
"I do think it's important to include ROTC in any backup plan," adds Rhett Perry. "It really just shows commitment that, no matter what, you want to serve overall, whether you do it through an academy or through a regular university."
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MARCHING ORDERS:Consider Other Paths to a Commission
If you don't get into a service academy, there are other ways to get a commission besides going through an ROTC program at a traditional civilian college. We already mentioned a few private military prep schools and military junior colleges (there are others). Some of them offer two-year early commission programs for the Army. There are also other four-year military colleges, such as The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute and Norwich University, where you can earn a ROTC commission. There are also officer candidate schools and other commissioning routes you can take as an enlisted member of the military.
One common misconception is that every cadet and midshipman came to a service academy right out of high school. That's just not the case. We already discussed the prep-school route, which funnels young men and women into the service academies one or more years after they graduate from high school. But every year there are also a fair number of other people entering the academies who reapplied after they were rejected the first time around. They followed their backup plan, worked hard to improve their weaknesses and dove headfirst into the application process again. "If you're worth going to [a service academy] and you don't get in the first time, prove them wrong," Sawyer Neal insists. "Show them how bad you want to serve, and that you deserve to be there. And the way you do that is by putting in lots of hard work and reapplying."
If you spend a year at college before reapplying, try to take the same classes that cadets and midshipmen take their first year at the academy of your choice . Neal, who attended the University of Oklahoma before reapplying to the Naval Academy, says the Naval Academy wants to see that you've "taken the courses that you'll be taking at the Naval Academy and that you can be successful in them." It's also "a huge advantage" if you get in the second time around because you've already taken some of the classes. You can't transfer credits from a traditional college to a service academy, though, and you'll still have to go all four years at the academy if you get in on your second try.
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MARCHING ORDERS:Join ROTC at College If You Plan to Reapply to a Service Academy
"If you apply the first year, you don't get in, and you go to a school that has a ROTC unit, I implore you to go into that and give it your all there as you reapply," Neal advises. He believes his ROTC experience is going to give him an advantage during his plebe year at the Naval Academy because he already knows "the basic knowledge that they're going to be teaching everyone this summer," he has experience working "hand-in-hand with staff sergeants and gunnery sergeants," and he's used to getting "yelled at and intimidated by men who have served 20-plus years in the military."
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When it comes time to reapply, you'll pretty much have to start from scratch . Connor McGurk, who spent a year at the University of Georgia and then reapplied to West Point, tells us that "there were some things that were already filled out [on my portal], like high school transcripts. I didn't need to submit those again. But I still had to get a nomination and do the CFA again. I could use the same essays, and the recommendation letters were the same. I just had to get the people who wrote them to update the date on them." Your DoDMERB medical exam is good for two years. Neal sees "an advantage in reapplying" and going through the process a second time. "You already know what you're doing. You know what they want. You know what they're looking for," he says. In addition, Neal believes you'll be a stronger candidate "after you've been shot down for something you've work so hard for….They like to see that resiliency. They like to see that never-quit attitude."
This section is for the parents out there. Take it from me:It's great being a service academy parent! You get to attend military balls, cheer on the sports teams and see lots of parades without ever having to do a single push-up, stay up all night preparing for a room inspection or stand at attention while an upperclassman screams in your face. But please, please, please take my advice:Don't pressure your son or daughter into attending a service academy . I know that most parents would never do such a thing, but it happens. "I was surprised at the summer seminar to see the number of kids who were there because their parents were making them be there," Alexander Kleitz says. "Even at the appointee tour I did, there were kids there who visibly did not want to be there or…talked about how they didn't want to go there but their parents were making them." My own son used to tell me that the students who didn't want to be at the academy stood out like a sore thumb. They didn't do well or simply quit because their heart wasn't in it.
It's also important for parents to let their children take the lead when it comes to working through the admissions process. That doesn't mean you can't help them, though. "You can't do it alone," Jack Felgar admits. "It really helps to have supportive parents who try to keep you organized." That's a good role for parents. You can also help out with things like gathering medical records, practicing for the physical fitness test, reviewing (but not writing) essays and transporting applicants to interviews. You won't be able to help them with paperwork at the academy, so get them (and yourself) used to handling these types of things on their own.
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MARCHING ORDERS:Talk Out Any Concerns With a Service Academy Parent
Moms and dads who are having a hard time accepting their child's decision to pursue a service academy appointment and military service can reach out to current service academy parents for advice. There are service academy parent clubs throughout the country with members who would love to help you out. (Yes, believe it or not, the parents have their own clubs.) The parent-to-parent support network is really quite amazing, and you shouldn't be shy about tapping into it if you have questions. Click on the following links to find the nearest parent club for the service academy your child wants to attend:West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy and Merchant Marine Academy. And don't forget to join your local parent club if your son or daughter gets in!
We've tried to give you a sense of what the service-academy admissions process is like and some tips to help you successfully maneuver through it. Frankly, however, we just scratched the surface. There's so much more to learn before you begin the process and when you're in it. Fortunately, there's plenty of good information out there.
You can start your research online. In fact, the first thing a prospective applicant should do is go through each page on the admissions office website for the service academy he or she wants to attend. "I was on the Naval Academy website every day," Kayla Malone tells us. That's where you're going to find the most authoritative information about the application process. Click on the following links to get started:
There are also online forums, where you can get answers to specific questions you may have. You shouldn't have any problem finding YouTube videos on service-academy admissions, either.
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MARCHING ORDERS:Check Out Serviceacademyforums.com
We heard several recommendations for serviceacademyforums.com. It's a place where applicants, current students, grads, volunteer admissions representatives, parents and others come together to ask questions, provide answers and discuss the service academies and other military colleges. "I would recommend using the service academy forums online," Jack Felgar says, "because almost any question that you could possibly have has been asked on those forums, and there's a ton of answers from ex-admissions officers and people who've gone through the same process. I was probably on that site every single week that I was filling out my application with random questions. That was really helpful."
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You'll want to talk face-to-face with current cadets and midshipmen, too. They're a critical source of information, according to the incoming students we interviewed. Getting "the real story from people who are actually there is important," says Alexander Kleitz, while Dominique Basso adds that "nobody really knows the experience like the people who have experienced it firsthand." There are a number of ways you can connect with current academy students. You can attend a summer program or do an overnight visit. You can attend a congressional informational meeting. Current cadets and midshipmen often show up at high schools to speak with interested students. Perhaps you know a friend of a friend who is at an academy. If you put in a little effort, you should be able to find a current cadet or midshipman who can chat with you.
Of course, admissions officers are important people to speak with, too. They cover all corners of the country, so there's a good chance they'll host an informational meeting somewhere near you. Natalie Wong, who's from Honolulu, tells us that "Coast Guard admissions officers came to Hawaii, and that's where I really got a lot of good information about the academy." The volunteer admissions representatives we mentioned earlier are great sources of information as well. Academy graduates can also be very informative, but just keep in mind that certain things at the academies change over time.
Finally, don't forget about old-fashioned books. Dominique Basso mentioned that she "read a few books," including How to Get Into a Military Service Academy , by Michael Dobson. Just another source to check out.
We want to thank the young men and women who offered their thoughts and guidance about the service-academy admissions process. Even though they were very busy at the time preparing for their first summer of training, which was just days away when we talked to them, they all graciously and enthusiastically agreed to spend some time with us so students who are a few years younger than they are can benefit from their experience. We wish them all the very best as they fulfill their dreams!
The 19 cadets and midshipmen who contributed to this story are: