At USNA it’s called Naval Academey Summer Seminar (NASS). Here’s the blurb on USNA’s website:

The United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar is a fast-paced, six-day experience for high achievers who have completed their junior year in high school. Summer Seminar teaches you about life at the Naval Academy, where academics, athletics, and professional training play equally important roles in developing our nation’s leaders.  If you think that you may be interested in pursuing an appointment to one of the nation’s service academies and serving your country as an officer, you should seriously consider attending the Naval Academy’s Summer Seminar.

To apply, you must:

• Have completed your junior year
• Be 17 by July 1st
• Be unmarried with no children
• Demonstrate leadership and achievement in athletics
• Be physically fit and in good health
• Have a positive attitude

You pay $350 for the experience, plus travel, for 8 academically-focused 90-minute workshops on topics like oceanography, IT, Naval architecture, mechanical engineering, mathematics, history, and more. A typical day starts at 5:45 with breakfast, a morning workshop, lunch, afternoon workshop, a sports event or military drill instruction, dinner,a Special Event and then taps at 2300 so you can start all over again the next day at 5:45.

Sound good? Here’s better news: It’s open for applications. You have until April to complete it. Anyone planning on attending USNA or any military academy should apply for this event. You want as much information as possible about what it’s like to be part of that world before taking the Oath during Plebe Summer.

There are two great reasons (besides what I’ve already explained) for attending:

1. You get your first FitRep (Fitness Report) during those two weeks, although you don’t find out about that until you return home, when your B&G officer tells you. And, the USNA runs all participants through the CFA (Candidate Fitness Assessment). A requirement of admission, applicants either pass it during Naval Academy Summer Seminar (NASS), or retake it as part of their application package.
2. All NASS participants are automatically processed as applicants to USNA upon completion. There is no need to submit an additional preliminary application.

If you don’t get selected, it doesn’t mean you won’t be selected for USNA. There are only three summer sessions of 750 students each. There will be lots of applicants selected who didn’t attend.

Here’s a rundown on what the Summer Seminar experience was like for one of the successful applicants (taken from Building a Midshipman):

You wake at 4:30 a.m. departure day—after packing seven pairs of shorts, ten sets of socks, a few shirts (they’ll give you five when you get there), a bathing suit (you have water work) and shower sandals. Not much else, a book in case of free time (but that was non-existent). You hug your Labradors Stoney and Casey one last time, explaining to them the immensity of this event, climb into the family car and head off to the airport by 5:15 a.m. to catch the 6:45 flight.

The United Airlines flight takes you through Denver, home of the US Air Force Academy. The plane lands behind schedule at Baltimore-Washington International, leaving you a late-night thirty minute drive to your hotel, located close enough to the Yard (the USNA campus) for walking. That choice is fortuitous because Visitor parking on the Yard (the local’s name for the campus) proves difficult (as a Plebe, Mom and Dad get a FONA—Friends of the Naval Academy—pass allowing them access to on-Yard parking).

It has been a long day, but who can sleep? You and your father walk over to the “school by the bay” and watch. Look. Absorb the history and tradition you will be part of for six days—starting tomorrow. Despite the late hour, you aren’t the only wide-eyed high school age civilian wandering with parents. You also notice uniformed Mids briskly walking through the Yard, and groups of fit-looking Mids in work-out clothes sprinting the Yard’s many running routes.

Now, it’s 8 am, and you’re standing at the proverbial door to your future. A guard station with two Marines controls entry to the 338-acre institution once known simply as the Naval School and renamed the “United States Naval Academy” in 1850. Inside these walls lie the remains of John Paul Jones; the sword he used; his famous quote, “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not go fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way”; the figurehead from the USS Delaware now known as ‘Tecumseh, the God of 2.0’ (for the Midshipman goal to get a grade point average of 2.0); and Freedom 7—America’s first space capsule.

This is where Albert Michelson first accurately measured the speed of light with just $10 worth of equipment (in 1878, he won the Nobel Prize for Physics), and where Midshipman Joseph Reeves invented the first football helmet. This is the spot where, just one month earlier, 1000 graduating seniors threw their hats into the air in celebration, and set off for their assigned duties. Inside is Tecumseh Court, where Midshipmen celebrated V-J Day by beating the Japanese bell until it cracked. A meander through this National Historic Site resembles revisiting treasured history, every building named for a famous American military figure.

It begins sprinkling—a precursor to the seven-feet of water and sludge Hurricane Isabel will drop on the Yard in nine months. The schedule you received before leaving home calls for running, so you innocently ask where that will take place (not outside because, good grief, it’s raining!). The Detailer (now called Cadre) assigned to greeting and meeting cracks a smile, and answers,

“We try to schedule all of our wars for sunny days.”

Sixty minutes later you’re wet and muddy, and part of the USNA Summer Seminar process.

Later, your dad tells you, after waving good-bye and losing sight of his only daughter, he wanted to give you spending money. He asked a Detailer  if he would mind finding you and giving you $20 (That’s right—in the USNA environment, $20—or 20 cents—would get to the intended party).

The young man replied,

“Mr. Mxxxx, don’t worry about that. Your daughter will have no time to spend money.”

From the uniformed Marines checking ID’s at the gate to the polite and friendly greetings of the Mids you pass to and from the orientation, it is clear that the comfortable rules and regulations of your ‘podunk’ civilian life have been replaced by YP’s, gouge, EI and the Dark Ages of USNA.

You blitz through the fastest week of your life. Some attendees don’t like being barked at. Mentally, you scream,

Just do what they say! They know how to train you!

You have no problem saying, ‘Sir! Yes Sir!’ over and over. You’re thrilled to rise early and sprint to the track for more running. You never feel like quitting because, what’s the big deal? It’s not Plebe Summer. It engenders a question of pride—even with your lungs burning and your legs chugging through the last quarter mile. Even when your Detailer tells the company:

“We’ll run longer because we’re the best!” And sends everyone on an extra half mile ‘longcut’—even then you don’t feel justified quitting.

You remember that run well: You were lagging further and further behind, the next Squad of Plebe wanna-be’s closing in and threatening to pass you. Your Platoon pushed you on, but your lungs had nothing left to give. Just as you decided to move off the path and get out of way, your haggard head lifted and spotted the finish line. There ahead, classmates slowed down, and doubled over as they gulped fresh air and tried not to throw up. Just ahead twenty steps. Ten steps… Five, and then, Done!! You knew you could make it! When the week ends, your company remains the only one without a single quitter the entire time.

You remember the time you forced exhausted arms through push-ups—again. One, two, three. You’re great at push-ups—it’s one of your strengths—but, the Detailer didn’t want push-ups anymore. Now he wanted you to stay in an arms-bent position and hold. So you held. Centimeters from your face, a worm crawled under your body, between your arms, toward your lowered chin. Millimeters from your mouth and nose! Oh well. You held, until the Detailer restarted the push-ups. What’s one worm?

You adopt Navy language as your own. Mother B, Plebe, the Yard, chopping in the hallways. You like chopping. Go Navy Beat Army!

Now you’re back from both Summer Seminars (You also went to USAFA’s version). You return to civilian life with a burning desire to attend the Naval Academy. Everything you observed—the honor, the commitment, the clear-eyed intelligence of potential classmates—convinced you your life path and destiny intersect at the gates of the Naval Academy.

They send you home with a good Fitrep report, a failed PAE (you couldn’t hang from a bar for eighteen seconds), and an oversize packet of USNA materials. You use your new USNA duffel bag to carry it. Go Navy! Beat Army!

–excerpt from Building a Midshipman: How to Crack the USNA Application

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Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-sixth grade and author of two technology training books for middle school. She wrote Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a tech columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for ISTE’s Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s editing a thriller for her agent that should be be out to publishers this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.

Sgt. 1st Class Bryan E. Hall, 32 years old from Elk Grove, California
1st Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
April 10, 2009

Bryan Hall, and five other soldiers, was killed on April 10, 2009 when a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives at a police station in Mosul, Iraq. Betty Hall said an Army commander told her that by ordering his soldiers to fire on the suicide bomber’s truck, her son probably saved many lives by preventing the attacker from entering the police compound.You can read more about Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Hall here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Building a Midshipman: How to Crack the USNA Application

Building a Midshipman is the story of one applicant’s journey from high school student to Midshipman in the United States Naval Academy.

It has been the bible for many military academy applicants, whether their goal is a spot at the Naval Academy, West Point, the United States Air Force Academy or the Coast Guard Academy. Now, Monday’s, I’ll serialize it on this blog for free. Of course, if that’s too slow, you can purchase the book on the publisher’s website or Amazon. Either way, you get lots of tips and tricks for cracking the Naval Academy application.

To be sure you don’t miss any of these:

• Subscribe to USNA or Bust by Email
• Sign up to the RSS feed

Here’s the second installment:

Congratulations! On being accepted to one of the premiere institutions of higher education in the United States.”

Those words from the United States Naval Academy, on an innocuous eight and a half by eleven sheet of stationary, delivered in a legal size envelope, are addressed to you, Maggie Clara Schmidt, Candidate Number xxxxxx.

You have awaited that envelope—sometimes filled with hope, but more recently with trepidation—for months.  During the humid June days of Summer Seminar, you were told an acceptance letter could arrive anytime after September. September arrived, and departed.  As did October.  And November. The new year rolled in and still no word. Then humbling news: A friend received his acceptance letter. You celebrated with him, but worried—when would yours arrive? Why did he hear first??  Will they take you?

Then the Administration invited you to Candidate Visit Weekend—this must be positive! Your Blue and Gold Officer agreed; they don’t invite everyone. You arrived in Annapolis in January, survived the freezing winter weather without complaint, returned home to California, and still no admittance. Lots of reassurances, but no letter.

Now, here it is, in your hand.

“You have the right to be extremely proud of yourself.”

And you are. You were always sure they would accept you—what’s not to like? Tears burst uninvited from your eyes, and a passing car slows to stare at your antics.

The first thing you do is post on IM (Instant Messenger):

“I’m in!”

Everyone you know understands what that means. You email a Plebe friend, and his reply addresses you “Midshipman Schmidt”.

That makes it official. For four years, you will be Midshipman Schmidt.  No longer will you be “Varsity soccer player Maggie Schmidt” or “Our concertmaster Maggie Schmidt”. You will be an employee of the United States  Armed  Services. Hooyah!

Congratulations pour in.

When you wear your USNA jacket (Sprint Football—from your Midshipman pal), people ask, “Are you in the Navy?”

“No, I’m going to the United States Naval Academy.”

“Wow. You must be smart.”  The moniker firmly tattooed onto USNA students.

Some people nod and smile, with no understanding of the path you have chosen. Military seniors talk about their Navy days, memories and advice for the newbie. It’s as though you now belong to the nation’s largest fraternity, a loyal bond of friendship forged by those who wear the uniform.

Your parents can’t stop smiling; their work is done. They’re sending their precious child into the proverbial “harm’s way”, to follow the noblest path available since man first engaged in war, and that’s a good thing. Girlfriends want to meet your male classmates; male friends ask why you want to fight. Your smart friends accept you into their MENSA club.

All of them feel extreme pride for you, their friend, and then pity that, while they spend last lazy days before entering the college classroom, you will be running and jumping and sweating through Plebe Summer.

But you don’t want a break.

It’s time to start your future.

You sit back and wonder what happened? Was it prestidigitation, or did they accept you for who you are?

And who are you?

Next week: Chapter One: Who You Are.

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Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and author of two technology training books for middle school. She wrote Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a tech columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for ISTE’s Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s editing a thriller for her agent that should be be out to publishers this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.

Building a Midshipman: How to Crack the USNA Application

It has been the bible for many military academy applicants, whether their goal is a spot at the Naval Academy, West Point, the United States Air Force Academy or the Coast Guard Academy. Now, Monday’s, I’ll serialize it on this blog for free. Of course, if that’s too slow, you can purchase the book on the publisher’s website or Amazon. Either way, you get lots of tips and tricks for cracking the Naval Academy application.

To be sure you don’t miss any of these:

• Subscribe to USNA or Bust by Email
• Sign up to the RSS feed

Here’s the first installment:

Prologue

 What are the three most intimidating failures of your life?  Taking your driving test? Scoring the winning goal—for the other team?  Or, have you failed over and over again, and still believed success lives just ahead, just out of reach but waiting for you?

For the thousands of students who apply every year for one of the four military academies, slogging through the numbing concatenation of decisions preceding a nomination, there is no greater intimidation than the statistically likely event that they will apply and fail.  That’s an examination into the pithiness of moral fiber important to the USNA, and eulogized by James Stockdale, USNA ’46 and Medal of Honor Winner:

“The test of character is not ‘hanging in there’ when you expect a light at the end of the tunnel, but performance of duty and persistence of example when you know that no light is coming.”

For those just beginning the process of applying to the United States Naval Academy, propelled into harms way by the fervor to serve your country and blend your life into “the military family”, the desire for an engineer’s blueprint to articulate the steps, or a mathematical formula that quantifies the process is overwhelming.  Anything that will increase those unlikely odds.

Luckily, the tunnel you wander down pursuing your dream not only has a light, but footprints to follow. You stumble forward toward the murky pin-prick bobbing up ahead, far down the dark passageway. Its barely there, only just showing through the dimness called ‘growing up’ and the back-light of contradictions between where you are and where you want to be.  But, the closer you step toward it, the sharper and clearer the image.  And the clarity reveals the detail like the layers of a digital picture until, finally, you can make out that goal just past senior year. 

This true story is for you.

The United States Naval Academy provides one of the most prestigious educations available. The caliber of classes, professors, and your fellow students are unmatched anywhere in the country. But it comes with strings attached. You must use that top-notch training in the service of your country for at least five years following graduation, defending our shores and values from enemies, whether the aggressive military type, computer hackers, or benign fellows wearing the face of a neighbor.

Every year, over 56,000 students—and 112,000 parents—apply to a military academy, in excess of 14,000 to the United States Naval Academy.  How does a normal kid, with a good GPA, a well-rounded life, and a passion to serve his country overcome the mystique of the Naval Academy?  The first thought when adults hear ‘USNA’ and ‘college acceptance’ in the same sentence is ‘Wow, you must be smart!’ To all but about 1200 lucky appointees, candidacy resembles Fermat’s Theorem—impossible unless you’re a precocious genius (like Andrew Wiles).  The application process puts the chaos in Chaos Theory. 

Surprisingly, there are no classes in “How to Crack the United States Naval Academy Application” and no books chronicle an effective effort. Surprising, because a methodical, well-organized series of steps taken in a systematic order will get you there. It may feel like climbing Herndon at the end of Plebe year, but it works.    

This is the true story of how one All-American kid—like those many that apply—did it. She had no idea she could aim so high and succeed so succinctly.  She began by tagging along after her brother’s USNA dream and found herself intrigued by the quality of education, depth of opportunity, and eminence of applicants selected for admittance.  Her research into the typical Midshipman uncovered a profile alarmingly like herself. If she dreamt of attending a college where she fit in and attracted kindred souls, this qualified.

She took that first step, signing the attendance roster at a local Academy Night, with ninety-seven other students.  And with a clear-eyed faith in herself, she began the Academy Application Experience.  I’ve catalogued those steps from her first nascent thought through the unreal days of Summer Seminar.  I’ve crystallized when the dream became an obsession—something she knew she had to try or never forgive herself—and most important, how she translated vision to reality. 

And I’ve revealed her strategy to success. Exactly the same as the great Olympian, Carmen Boyle, described the strategy behind Luge:

“Lie flat and try not to die.”

Maggie Schmidt, the heroine, is Everygirl. Like your neighbor or your daughter’s best friend. The story’s drama lies in her conversion to a successful candidate.  The reader is left with the feeling, If Maggie can do it, so can (I)/(my daughter). 

When you first meet Maggie, you may wonder, why does she think an Ivy League school will accept her?  She doesn’t earn straight A’s or play quarterback on the football team—or center on the volleyball squad.  I describe in detail her background, her academic interests, her focus, as well as her struggle to put together a winning admissions package.  Along the way, you gain insight into the moral fiber that grounds everything she does and allows her to fight the good fight. The support from family and friends, and decisions she must make that superficially appear impossible for an adolescent, but are in fact achievable for thousands of like-minded teens.

This is a true story. The only changes I’ve made are Maggie’s name and those of friends and acquaintances.

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Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and author of two technology training books for middle school. She wrote Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a tech columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for ISTE’s Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s editing a thriller for her agent that should be be out to publishers this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. 

Karla Comfort received a lot of looks and even some salutes from people when she drove from Benton, Ark.., to Camp Pendleton, Calif., in her newly-painted, custom Hummer H3 March 2. The vehicle is adorned with the likeness of her son, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. John M. Holmason, and nine other Marines with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 7 th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division who were all killed by the same improvised explosive device blast in Fallujah, Iraq, in December.

For Karla Comfort, having the vehicle air brushed with the image of the 10 Marines was a way to pay homage to her hero and his fellow comrades who fell on Iraq’s urban battlefield
‘I wanted to let people know (Marines) are doing their jobs honorably, and some of them die,’ said the 39-year-old from Portland, OR ‘I don’t want people to forget the sacrifices that my son and the other Marines made.’

Leading up to her son’s death, Karla Comfort had received several letters from him prior to his return. He had been deployed for five months, and Comfort ‘worried everyday he was gone until she got the letters and found out the date he was coming home,’ she said.

Marines knocked on the front door of her home in Farmington , Mich., at 3 am with the dreadful news.

‘I let my guard down when I found out he was coming home,’ she said. ‘There are times that I still cannot believe it happened. It’s very hard to deal with.’

Karla Comfort came up with the idea for the rolling memorial when she and her two other sons attended John’s funeral in Portland, Ore.

‘I saw a Vietnam (War) memorial on a car, and I said to my son Josh, ‘we should do something like that for John,’ she recalled. ‘He loved Hummers.’

She purchased the vehicle in January and immediately took it to AirbrushGuy &Co. in Benton, Ark., where artist Robert Powell went to work on changing the plain, black vehicle into a decorative, mobile, art piece.

‘I only had the vehicle for two days before we took it in,’ she joked.

Two hundred and fifty man-hours later, Powell had completed the vehicle. The custom job would have cost $25,000 Out of respect for Karla Comfort’s loss and the sacrifices the Marines made, AirbrushGuy &Co. did it for free. Comfort only had to purchase the paint, which cost $3,000.
‘I love it,’ she said. ‘I’m really impressed with it, and I think John would be happy with the vehicle He would have a big smile on his face because he loved Hummers.’

Karla Comfort gave Powell basic instructions on what to include in the paint job. But in addition to the image of her son in Dress Blues and the faces of the nine other Marines, there were several surprises. ‘He put a lot more on than I expected,’ she said ‘I think my favorite part is the heaven scene.’
On the left side of the vehicle, a detail of Marines are depicted carrying their fallen comrades through the clouds to their final resting place. The American flag drapes across the hood, the words, ‘Semper Fi’ crown the front windshield and the spare tire cover carries the same Eagle Globe and Anchor design that her son had tattooed on his back.

‘All the support I have been getting is wonderful,’ she said.

Karla Comfort decided to move back to her hometown of Portland, and making the cross-country trip from Arkansas was a way for her to share her son’s story. It’s also her way of coping with the loss.

‘Along the way I got nothing but positive feedback from people,’ she said. ‘What got to me was when people would salute the guys (Marines). It’s hard to look at his picture.
I still cry and try to get used to the idea, but it’s hard to grasp the idea that he’s really gone.’

Let’s get this Hummer going around the world,
We won’t forget!

Click to view slideshow.

Jacqui Murray is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman.  She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, an ISTE article reviewer, a weekly contributor to Write Anything and mother of a Naval Officer and an Army grunt. Currently, she’s seeking representation for a military thriller that she just finished. Any ideas? Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.

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Wreaths Across America has been profiled before and it will probably be profiled again because they are a great organization. For 20 years they have laid Christmas wreaths on the headstones of our fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery. And this year, for their 20th year, their goal is to lay a wreath on every headstone, all 220,000, and they need our help. Head over to Help Wreaths Across America Cover Arlington and there you can find information on how you can do that. Whether it’s via a donation or just getting the word out, anything we can do helps.These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

How to crack the USNA application

You don’t have to be a miracle-worker to be the 10% of applicants accepted to a military academy, but you do need a plan. For the thousands of students who apply every year–and slog through the numbing concatenation of decisions preceding a nomination–there is no greater discouragement than the likely event that they will fail. This, though, is the Board’s peek into an applicant’s moral fiber and an important ingredient to the go/no go decision. In the words of James Stockdale, USNA ’46 and Medal of Honor Winner: “The test of character is not ‘hanging in there’ when you expect a light at the end of the tunnel, but performance of duty and persistence of example when you know that no light is coming.” This is the true story of Maggie Schmidt, an All-American kid who dreamt of attending the Naval Academy when her research into the typical Midshipman uncovered a profile alarmingly like herself. This book describes her background and academic interests, her focus, as well as her struggle to put together a winning admissions package. Along the way, you gain insight into the moral fiber that grounds everything she does and the decisions she must make that some consider impossible for an adolescent, but are achievable for thousands of like-minded teens. This workbook walks you through the long process, provides check lists of everything required, decision making matrices, goal-setting exercises to determine if USNA is a good fit for you, and a mix of motivation and academic advice to balance a decision that rightfully might be the biggest one most teens have ever made. See the publisher’s website at structuredlearning.net for more details.

It has been the bible for many military academy applicants, whether their goal is a spot at the Naval Academy, West Point, the United States Air Force Academy or the Coast Guard Academy. Now, Monday’s, I’ll serialize it on this blog for free. Of course, if that’s too slow, you can purchase the book on the publisher’s website or Amazon. Either way, you get lots of tips and tricks for cracking the Naval Academy application.

To be sure you don’t miss any of these:

• Subscribe to USNA or Bust by Email
• Sign up to the RSS feed

The excitement begins next week. See you then!

Follow me.

Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and author of two technology training books for middle school. She wrote Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a tech columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for ISTE’s Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s seeking representation for a techno-thriller Any suggestions? Contact Jacqui at her writing office, WordDreams, or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.

What to do to get into USNA

Skip them. Be happy you’re done. Move on to the next:

First Steps:

If you’re serious about attending the USNA or any other military academy, buy a few books (or check them out of the library) on the process. It’s worth the investment because if you pursue this dream, you will be investing much more of your time and money before you achieve your goal. Better to make sure this is the direction you want to go.

Here are two books to get you started:

• Building a Midshipman: How to Crack the USNA Application–

From the perspective of a woman who was accepted and how she accomplished it. Down-to earth, personal, definitely not dry, and should give confidence to any teen, male or female, considering a military academy as their college of choice.

• The Naval Academy Candidate Book: How to Prepare, How to Get In, How to Survive

A general and useful overview of the USNA application and the academy in general

Seniors–Check for Letter of Assurance

Few get them. Most candidates get an Offer of Appointment without a LOA. Don’t think too much about it, but if you get one, cheer.

Seniors–Apply for a Candidate Weekend Visit

Even if you’ve already received your offer, attend this exciting weekend. You’ll get to see the Yard, visit with current Mids, ask more questions, see how the academics work. It’ll help you decide if you’re not sure, or clinch your decision to attend.

Seniors–DodMETS

This should be done already. If you required a DodMETS waiver, follow up. Make sure it comes through. A good rule is to do everything you can until the ball is in someone else’s court so to speak. Don’t expect a waiver to happen without lots of personal attention.

Click here for background on DodMETS

Seniors–get the CFA done

This should be done already. For information on the Candidate Fitness Assessment, click here and then here.

Seniors–Follow up on all steps of the application

Check the binder you set up over the summer to be sure everything is submitted. Check CIS–Candidate Information System–the online application site for candidates only. Be sure USNA has everything you’ve sent. If they don’t, resend and/or talk to your B&G Officer. In fact, stay in close touch with your B&G Officer at this stage in your application process. He’ll be interviewing you and passing his recommendation on to the Admittance board.

Make copies of every piece of paper you submit. Then, if (when) they disappear across the country in Annapolis, it won’t be a show stopper.

Seniors–follow up on the Letters of Recommendation from teachers

Teachers are very busy writing these for many seniors. You may have to stay on top of them to be sure they get out. Don’t worry. Your teachers won’t mind. They’re used to it.

Seniors–Blue-and-Gold Interview

The B&G (Blue and Gold) Interview allows the Naval Academy one more opportunity to insure that they appoint candidates who will make it through the next nine years. It has to occur before you are accepted and shows up as complete or pending on the CIS. Prepare for it. Don’t take it for granted because you think your B&G Officer ‘likes’ you. It’s his job to be an applicant screen for USNA, not your buddy.

Seniors–Accepted? Get a Passport

You’ll need one eventually, and sometimes, they take a while to get. Don’t run out of time. Get one now.

Seniors–SAT

January is the final date you can take the SAT and expect it to be counted toward USNA acceptance. Check their website for dates.

Juniors–get the preliminary application completed

That’s on USNA.edu. A preliminary application must be submitted to become an official candidate for next year’s entering class.  If you applied for the Summer Seminar program, do not submit a preliminary application.

January is the deadline to complete preliminary application if you want to be included in next year’s application process.

Hone these critical skills

All USNA applicants and grads are leaders. If you’re a freshman, even a sophomore, not sure if you have enough of the leadership gene, check out these posts to see how to develop these traits:

• How to solve problems
• How to manage your time
• How to prioritize
• How to get along with people
• How to think

Read Books

Check out the Marine Corps summer reading list

Freshmen/Sophomores–Attend an Academy Night

These occur throughout the year, so keep your eyes open. They’re offered through the School District or your representative’s office. Check those websites to find out when you should go.

Click here for more information on Academy Nights.

Freshmen/Sophomores–Get your Social Security Number

You must have one to apply to the Naval Academy. If you don’t have the card, get it.

Tour a warship

These tours are offered through your Blue and Gold officer or any number of other avenues. Find a tour. Take it. You want to be sure the Naval Academy is right for you. Seeing how officers work on a Navy ship is a good idea.

Be a leader

Wherever there’s an opportunity to be a leader, take it. The Military Academies want to see you as a proactive, can-do person, not a follower. Officers are the ones who make things happen and inspire the enlisted to do their best. Be that person.

Create your resume

Check how to create your resume. List all of your activities, awards, community service. The best time to start this is as a freshman, but if you’re older than that, do it now. And keep it up to date throughout high school. It’ll remind you of all your accomplishments when you’re filling out applications and essays.

Continue Community Service

Most colleges want to know you give back to your community; Military Academies are no exception. Do as much as you can. Give as much of your time and labor as you can afford. No, it doesn’t mean you do less in academics or sports. Figure out how to do it all. That’s the kind of person USNA, USAFA and all military academies like.

Are you a Future USNA Midshipman?

Read the qualifications of a Midshipman here. See what you think.

–taken from Building a Midshipman: How to Crack the United States Naval Academy Application

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Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and author of two technology training books for middle school. She wrote Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a tech columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for ISTE’s Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s seeking representation for a techno-thriller Any suggestions? Contact Jacqui at her writing office, WordDreams, or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.