수천 명의 고등학생이 모자를 하늘로 날리고 국립 육군 사관학교를 졸업하는 날을 꿈꾸고 있습니다. 당신이 그들 중 하나라면 당신의 꿈이 이루어지고 West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy 또는 Merchant Marine Academy에 다닐 수 있기를 바랍니다. 그러나 신청서를 통과하는 데는 많은 노력과 인내가 필요하다는 것을 이해해야 합니다. 제 아들이 서비스 아카데미를 졸업해서 약속 잡기가 얼마나 어려운지 직접 경험했습니다. 하지만 적절한 재료가 있고 입학 절차가 어떻게 진행되는지 알고 있다면 할 수 있습니다.
이를 위해 우리는 언젠가 서비스 아카데미에 임용되기를 희망하는 학생들에게 가장 중요한 고려 사항 목록을 모았습니다. 목록에 생명을 불어넣기 위해 우리는 최근에 사관학교 지원 절차를 거쳐 5개 사관학교 중 하나(또는 그 이상)에 임용된 19명의 청남과 여성을 인터뷰했습니다. 아카데미 입학 절차에 관해서, 그들은 그곳에 있었고, 그렇게 했으며, 다음 서비스 아카데미를 꿈꾸는 사람들과 자신의 경험, 팁 및 조언을 공유하기를 열망했습니다. 그들의 지도와 함께 다음은 군사관학교 입학에 대해 알아야 할 20가지 사항입니다. . 운 좋게 약속을 잡으면 일류 학교에서 등록금 없이 교육을 받고 평생 잊지 못할 경험을 하게 될 것입니다.
육군사관학교 들어가기 정말 힘듭니다. 국립교육통계센터에 따르면 2023년 5개 사관학교에 4만1989명이 지원했지만, 매년 지원 가능한 자리는 4100명 남짓이다. 전체 서비스 아카데미 합격률은 약 9.8%입니다. (평균이며 학원마다 다릅니다.)
9.8%의 합격률은 합격률이 5%(하버드와 콜롬비아)에서 11%(코넬)인 대부분의 아이비리그 학교와 스탠포드(4%) 및 M.I.T.와 같은 학교에서 볼 수 있는 것보다 높습니다. (7%). 그러나 Johns Hopkins(11%), UCLA(12%), Georgetown(14%), Berkeley(16%) 및 Notre Dame(16%)과 같이 경쟁이 치열한 다른 많은 학교의 합격률보다 낮습니다. (요금은 2019년 가을 학부 입학 기준입니다.)
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행진 명령:몇 년 전부터 미리 준비하기 시작
West Point에 있는 Skye Williams는 서비스 아카데미에 들어가는 것이 "개인적으로 매우 어려웠습니다"라고 말합니다. "난관이 많다… 넘어야 한다." 그렇기 때문에 많은 성공적인 지원자들이 고등학교 또는 그보다 일찍 서비스 아카데미를 준비하기 시작했습니다. 서비스 아카데미의 요구 사항을 염두에 두고 고등학교 과정, 과외 활동, 지역 사회 참여 및 운동 활동을 계획하십시오.
사관학교에 다니면 연방정부가 4년간 등록금과 숙식비를 내주지만 엉클샘은 대가로 무엇인가를 원한다 . 대부분의 경우 졸업 후 최소 5년 동안 미군에서 현역으로 복무해야 합니다. 조종사와 같은 특정 직업에 종사하는 사람들에게는 더 긴 서비스 약속이 필요합니다. 웨스트포인트와 공군사관학교 졸업생도 예비군에서 3년을 더 복무해야 합니다. Merchant Marine Academy 졸업생은 5년의 현역 군 복무 또는 5년의 해양 산업 및 8년의 예비군에 전념합니다. 따라서 사관학교 지원 절차를 시작하기 전에 졸업 후 병역 요구 사항을 이해하고 편안하게 되는지 확인하십시오.
전통적인 대학을 졸업한 일부 졸업생은 취업에 어려움을 겪지만 서비스 아카데미 졸업생은 그렇지 않습니다. 헌신적인 봉사 덕분에 봉사 아카데미를 졸업한 젊은 남녀의 취업률은 100%입니다. Coast Guard Academy의 Natalie Wong은 "대학을 갓 졸업한 많은 사람들에게 직업이 보장되어 확실히 안심이 됩니다."라고 말했습니다.
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행진 명령:먼저 자신에게 가장 잘 맞는 군대를 선택하십시오.
졸업 후 군대에서 복무하는 시간이 사관학교보다 더 많기 때문에 먼저 자신의 목표와 관심사에 가장 잘 맞는 육군, 해군, 공군을 선택하는 것이 가장 좋습니다. , 해병대 또는 해안 경비대 - 그런 다음 해당 지점에 장교를 공급하는 학교에 약속을 찾으십시오. 공군사관학교에 재학 중인 Alexander Kleitz는 "학교에서 4년을 보냈지만 그 다음에는 그 부서에서 장교로서 평생을 보낼 수 있습니다."라고 말합니다. "당신이 집중해야 할 것은 지점이고 학교는 거기에 도달하는 방법입니다." 해군사관학교의 소여 닐(Sawyer Neal)은 사관학교에 관심이 있는 고등학생이 먼저 "다른 부서에서 장교로서 실제로 무엇을 하게 될 것인지와 각 부서에서 여러분의 삶이 얼마나 다를지 알아내야 한다는 데 동의하고 촉구합니다. " 예를 들어, Evan Sievers는 군사 우주 작전에 참여하기를 원했기 때문에 공군 사관학교를 선택했습니다. 해안 경비대의 인도주의적 임무가 Lea Walker의 시선을 사로잡았고 그녀는 그들의 봉사 아카데미에 참석하기로 결정했습니다. 아직 군대에서 무엇을 하고 싶은지 확신이 서지 않는 Renee Nosko는 해군 사관학교로 향합니다. 왜냐하면 해군은 ... 육해공과 해상의 기회를 갖고 있기 때문입니다. 그리고 West Point에 육군 장교가 되기 위해 가는 Connor McGurk가 있습니다. 왜냐하면 그는 "태평양의 어떤 배에 갇히는 것보다 진흙 속에서 뒹굴기를 원하기 때문입니다." 헉!
육군 사관학교는 모든 사람을 위한 것이 아닙니다. 하지만 괜찮습니다. 서비스 아카데미는 아무나 받아들이지 않을 것이기 때문입니다. 모든 신입 생도 또는 미드십맨에게는 몇 가지 기본 자격이 있습니다. . 아카데미마다 다르지만 일반적으로 다음과 같습니다.
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행진 명령:바보가 되지 말고 문제를 피하십시오
말도 안 되는 소리 같지만, 미성년자의 음주나 마약 사용과 같은 불법 행위로 인해 얼마나 많은 봉사 아카데미 희망자들이 꿈을 잃고 있는지 알면 놀랄 것입니다. 아카데미는 당신이 거기 있을 때 불법적인 행동을 용납하지 않습니다(당신을 쫓아낼 것입니다). 그래서 왜 그들이 과거에 문제가 있는 사람을 인정할 것이라고 생각합니까? West Pointer Andres Santiago는 "재미가 불법적인 일을 하는 것과 관련이 있다고 생각하고 [봉사 아카데미]에 지원하거나 이미 [하나]에 입학 허가를 받았다면 나쁜 생각입니다."라고 경고합니다. "단 한 번의 실수로… 그리고 갑자기 가장 원하던 것을 잃게 됩니다." 아, 참고로 경찰에 신고를 하고 공직에 임명되면 공안을 신청해야 하므로 과거 범죄 기록에 대해 거짓말을 하지 마세요. 진실과 진실만을 말하세요.
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기본 자격 외에도 다재다능한 개인 - 학자, 지도자 및 운동선수가 필요합니다. . (우리는 이 세 가지 요구 사항에 대해 나중에 논의할 것입니다.) 해군 사관학교 평의원 Nathaniel Erickson이 지적했듯이, 사관학교 입학 담당자는 "단순한 사람들을 보고 싶어하지 않습니다. 그들은 그저 책을 좋아하는 사람들을 보고 싶어하지 않습니다. 그들은 삶의 모든 면에서 성공할 수 있는 사람들을 보고 싶어합니다." 한 분야에서 약해도 다른 곳에서 강하면 약속을 잡을 수 있습니다. 예를 들어, "시험 점수가 가능한 한 높지 않다면 그것에 대해 너무 스트레스를 받지 않을 것"이라고 Natalie Wong은 말합니다. "당신이 정말로 성공할 수 있는 다른 영역이 분명히 있으며 입학 담당관은 당신의 지원서에서도 그것을 볼 것입니다."
또한, 학교에서 좋은 성적을 거두고 학교 기반 스포츠 및 과외 활동에 참여하는 것이 좋지만 진정으로 다재다능한 학생은 캠퍼스 밖에서도 참여합니다. West Point에 있는 Louis Burts는 "자원봉사를 하십시오. 인턴십을 하십시오. 일자리를 얻으십시오. 지역사회를 도우십시오."라고 말합니다. 이러한 활동은 학교에서 운동을 하거나 동아리에 가입하는 것만큼 봉사 아카데미의 관심을 끌 것입니다.
서비스 아카데미가 당신을 위한 것인지 확실하지 않습니까? 아카데미에는 생도 또는 미드십맨으로서의 삶을 맛볼 수 있는 프로그램이 있으므로 걱정하지 마십시오. . 이 프로그램은 우리가 이야기한 생도 및 미드쉽맨 그룹에서 적극 권장하므로 서비스 아카데미에 참석하고 싶다고 생각되면 해당 프로그램을 확인하십시오. 올바른 길을 가고 있는지 아니면 다른 방향으로 나아가야 하는지 결정하는 데 도움이 될 것입니다.
떠오르는 고등학생을 위한 주간 여름 프로그램이 있습니다. 5개 서비스 아카데미 중 4개는 이러한 프로그램을 운영하며 일반적으로 서비스 아카데미 버전의 기본 교육을 복제하려고 합니다. (상선 아카데미에는 여름 프로그램이 없지만 일반적인 느낌을 얻기 위해 다른 아카데미의 프로그램에 참석할 수 있습니다.) "훌륭한 경험이었습니다."라고 Louis Burt는 말합니다. "매일 일찍 일어나고, 매일 PT를 하고, 모두와 아침을 먹고, 수업에 가는 것이 어떤 것인지 실감했습니다." 여름 프로그램에 참여하는 많은 학생들은 서비스 아카데미가 자신에게 적합한지 바로 알 수 있습니다. 예를 들어 공군사관학교의 세스 스웨인은 "사관학교 2일차 후 부모님에게 전화로 '엄마, 아빠, 이것이 내가 평생 하고 싶은 일이고 가고 싶은 곳'이라고 말했습니다. 이 아카데미 중 하나입니다.'"
여름 프로그램은 또한 어떤 서비스 아카데미가 당신에게 딱 맞습니다. Alexander Kleitz는 "사관학교에 가고 싶었는지 아닌지에 관해서는 [여름 프로그램에 참석하는] 것이 그렇게 중요하다고 생각하지 않습니다. 공군과 해군을 구분하는 측면에서 내 목록에서 내가 토론하고 있던 두 곳은 절대적으로 중요했습니다. 일주일 동안 두 곳 모두를 방문하지 않았다면 그 구분을 할 수 없었을 것입니다."
안타깝게도 봉사 아카데미 여름 프로그램은 자리가 제한되어 있기 때문에 여름 프로그램에 입학하려면 상당히 경쟁적인 지원 절차를 거쳐야 합니다.
주간 여름 프로그램에 참석하든 안 하든 학원의 주간, 야간 또는 주말 방문 프로그램도 살펴봐야 합니다. 방문하는 동안 생도 또는 미드십맨의 그림자를 볼 수 있으며 학년도 동안 그들의 삶이 어떤 것인지 실제로 볼 수 있습니다. "저는 [해군사관학교] 미드필더와 짝을 이루었습니다."라고 Renee Nosko는 말합니다. "나는 그녀와 함께 수업에 가야 하고 그녀와 함께 식당에서 식사를 하고 전체 중반 경험을 실제로 살아야 했기 때문에 그것을 절대적으로 좋아했습니다."
또한 막사에 있는 생도와 중간 기병 사이에 있으면 다른 곳에서는 들을 수 없는 이야기를 해주기 때문에 이점이 있습니다. Burt는 "당신이 입학 카운슬러로부터 얻는 것보다 더 필터링되지 않은 학교 버전을 얻었습니다."라고 말합니다.
Seth Swain에 따르면 전통적인 대학과 비교할 때 서비스 아카데미 신청 절차는 "단지 다른 동물"이자 "다른 수준"입니다. 민간 학교와 아카데미 모두 SAT/ACT 점수, 고등학교 성적 증명서, 추천서, 작문 샘플 등을 제출해야 합니다. 그러나 서비스 아카데미에서는 지명도 받고, 체력 검사도 받고, 건강 검진도 통과하고, 면접도 보게 됩니다. . (이러한 모든 추가 요구 사항은 나중에 더 자세히 다룰 것입니다.) Dominique Basso는 이러한 추가 단계로 인해 "서비스 아카데미 신청 절차는 확실히 훨씬 더 스트레스가 많고 시간이 많이 걸리며 조금 더 힘들고 지겹습니다"라고 말했습니다. 상선 아카데미에 다니고 있는 사람. 또한 서비스 아카데미에 대한 "공통 응용 프로그램"이 없습니다. 2개 이상의 아카데미에 지원하는 경우 각 아카데미에 별도의 지원서를 제출해야 합니다.
그러나 신청 절차에 낙담하지 마십시오. 공군사관학교의 케일라 필립스(Kayla Phillips)는 "그만두려던 적이 너무 많았다"고 고백했다. 그녀는 아카데미가 "거기를 원하지 않거나 거기에 갈 결심이나 끈기가 없는 아이들을 제거하는 과정이 길고 성가시게" 한다고 믿습니다.
서비스 아카데미의 지원 일정은 일반적으로 기존 대학보다 더 깁니다. 고등학생들은 일반적으로 3학년과 4학년 사이의 여름이나 4학년 첫 학기에 전통적인 대학에 지원하기 시작합니다. 단, 아카데미에 따라 서비스 아카데미 신청 절차는 보통 고등학교 3학년 2학기에 진행 -일부 경우 빠르면 1월. 또한 전체 지원서를 열기 전에 기본 자격을 충족함을 보여주기 위해 예비 지원서나 설문지를 제출해야 할 수도 있습니다. 또한 대부분 사관학교 지원자는 민간 학교에서 입학 허가서를 보내는 것과 거의 동시에 자신의 운명을 알게 되지만, 사관학교는 새로운 생도 또는 중간 요원이 여름 훈련을 위해 보고하는 날까지 늦게 일부 자리를 채울 수 있습니다.
지원을 시작하는 시간과 약속을 받는 시간 사이에는 놓치지 말아야 할 여러 마감일이 있습니다. West Point에 재학 중인 Rhett Perry는 "모든 마감일을 준수하십시오."라고 조언합니다. 서비스 아카데미에 들어가면 시간을 현명하게 관리해야 합니다. 지정된 마감일까지 지원 서류를 제출하지 않고 지원 업무를 완료하지 못하면 사관생도와 미드쉽맨이 매일 마주하는 빡빡한 일정을 소화할 수 없을 것으로 학원에서는 짐작할 것입니다. 그렇기 때문에 West Pointer Jack Felgar는 장래의 서비스 아카데미 지원자에게 "시간 관리와 끈기 있고 가능한 한 빠르고 정확하게 모든 것을 완료하는 것이 매우 중요합니다"라고 경고합니다.
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행진 명령:가능한 한 빨리 신청 절차를 시작하고 집중하세요.
서비스 아카데미 지원 절차가 너무 길고 번거롭기 때문에 Lea Walker는 고등학생들에게 "일찍 시작하고 마감일이 촉박할 수 있으므로 미루지 마십시오"라고 고등학생들에게 촉구합니다. Evan Sievers는 12학년이 되기 전 여름 동안 가능한 한 많은 서류 작업을 완료하여 가을 동안 건강 검진, 지명 등에 집중할 것을 권장합니다.
서비스 아카데미의 학업은 매우 어렵습니다. 따라서 그들이 신입생과 중급에 대한 높은 학업 기준을 가지고 있다는 것은 놀라운 일이 아닙니다. 대부분의 전통적인 대학과 마찬가지로 육군 사관학교는 SAT 및 ACT 점수에 크게 의존합니다. 다른 분야에 강점이 있다면 더 낮은 점수로 약속을 잡을 수 있지만 최소의 합산 SAT 점수(수학과 독해)를 목표로 삼으십시오. 1,260~1,300 또는 ACT 점수 최소 29~31. 대부분의 기간 동안 "평균" 점수로 간주되므로 점수가 높을수록 더 좋습니다. (지원하려는 학원에 SAT 쓰기 구성 요소가 필요한지 확인하십시오.)
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행진 명령:한 번 이상 시험 응시
아카데미에서는 SAT 및 ACT 결과를 최고점수(예:가장 높은 SAT 읽기 점수와 가장 높은 SAT 수학 점수를 합산하여 시험 날짜가 서로 다른 경우에도 해당)를 통해 큰 차이를 만들 수 있습니다. Nathaniel Erickson은 서비스 아카데미에 다니고자 하는 고등학생에게 "가능한 한 많이 [시험]을 치르고 가능한 한 많은 모의고사를 치를 것"을 촉구합니다. SAT 또는 ACT에서 정말 어려움을 겪고 있다면 Erickson은 "한 번에 한 섹션에 집중"할 것을 제안합니다. 예를 들어, 한 시험에서는 SAT의 읽기 부분에 집중한 다음 수학으로 전환하여 SAT를 다시 치를 수 있습니다.
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고등학교 학점 평균과 학급 순위도 중요하지만(상위 10% 순위를 노리는) A학점을 받기 위해 "쉬운" 수업에 짐을 싣지 마십시오. 경쟁력 있는 서비스 아카데미 후보자가 되려면 AP(Advanced Placement) 수업, 국제 학사 프로그램, 우등 과정 등에 도전해야 합니다. 그러나 Alexander Kleitz는 아카데미 입학 담당자가 그에게 "우등 과정에서 낮은 점수를 받는 것보다 정규 과정에서 A를 받는 것이 더 좋습니다. 그러니 할 수 없는 우등 과정에 자신을 두지 마십시오. 합격. 하지만 우등 과정을 통과할 수 있다면 그것이 바로 당신이 되고 싶은 곳입니다." Louis Burts는 다음과 같이 동의합니다. "당신이 AP 수업을 수강했다고 말하면서 당신이 정말 잘하는 과목이 아니라면, 결국 장기적으로 당신에게 상처를 줄 것입니다."
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행진 명령:고등학교에서 이중 등록 프로그램을 제공하는 경우 대학 과정 수강
이중 등록 프로그램은 고등학생에게 학점을 위해 대학 과정을 수강할 수 있는 기회를 제공합니다. Skye Williams는 고등학교에서 이중 등록 과정을 이수했으며 "대학 과정을 수강하면서 동시에 고등학교 과정을 수강함으로써 스스로 도전하는 것"이 자신의 지원서를 돋보이게 하는 데 도움이 되었다고 생각합니다. 서비스 아카데미에서 이중 등록 대학 과정에 대한 학점을 받을 수 없지만 아카데미에서 필수 과정인 경우 해당 수업을 반복하지 않아도 됩니다.
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아카데미 커리큘럼은 S.T.E.M.이 많기 때문에 고등학교에서 수학 및 과학 수업을 듣는 것(잘하는 것)도 중요합니다. 해군 사관학교의 Alex Hooker는 미적분학, 물리학, 화학을 수강하고 싶어할 것이라고 말합니다. Rhett Perry는 또한 고등학교 컴퓨터 과학 수업에 등록할 것을 권장합니다. 그러나 아카데미는 "다재다능한" 개인을 찾고 있기 때문에 비 S.T.E.M을 무시할 수 없습니다. 과정. 영어, 역사, 외국어도 중요합니다. Dominique Basso는 또한 자신이 수강한 대학 작문 과정이 더 나은 에세이 쓰기를 위한 몇 가지 팁을 얻었기 때문에 아카데미 지원에 "분명히 매우 도움이 되었다"고 믿습니다.
서비스 아카데미의 주요 임무는 지도자를 개발하는 것입니다. 따라서 아카데미에 약속을 잡고 싶다면 당신이 이미 리더임을 보여주세요 . 고등학생이 리더십 경험을 얻을 수 있는 방법은 무궁무진합니다. 우리가 이야기를 나눈 신입 생도 및 미드쉽맨의 몇 가지 일반적인 예는 다음과 같습니다.
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행진 명령:활동을 선택할 때 "양보다 질"을 생각하십시오.
"클럽의 경우 리더가 되어야 합니다."라고 Seth Swain은 말합니다. "그들은 양이 아니라 질을 찾고 있습니다. 20개의 다른 클럽에 속해 있을 필요도 없고 그냥 회원이 될 필요도 없습니다. … 당신이 3-4개 클럽에 있고 리더십 위치에 있다면 그것은 정말 도움이 됩니다." 궁극적으로 10가지 활동에서 추종자가 되는 것보다 한 활동에서 리더가 되는 것이 더 낫습니다.
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종종 간과되기는 하지만 육군, 해군, 공군 및 해병대가 후원하는 고등학교 주니어 예비군 장교 훈련단(JROTC) 프로그램은 또한 육군 사관학교에서 보고 싶어하는 리더십 경험을 제공합니다. Skye Williams는 지역 JROTC 프로그램에 참여했으며 이것이 West Point에 임명되는 데 중요한 요소였다고 생각합니다. 그녀는 입학사정관들이 "내가 그 정도 수준의 군사적 태도와 리더십 기술을 가지고 있다는 것을 알 수 있었기 때문에 그것이 나에게 큰 장점이 된 것 같다"고 말합니다. 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:
