Perception of Service Academies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they are prestigious. Even more so than Ivy schools.

You must have top academic record AND be top athlete AND get a congressional nomination, AND not have any (documented) medical issues including anxiety, depression, adhd, allergies, AND Abe physically and mentally resiliant

This is the equivalent of a unicorn among today’s teens.

No SAT average for West Point is only 1270

But these students are the whole package. Smart and academically capable, in good physical condition, mentally healthy, able to withstand both mental and physical rigors, have demonstrated leadership. They ask and expect far more of their students than any other academic institution

Yes it's prestigious, and these schools look for more of the other qualities such as leadership etc.
However academically not top of the top.
Just pointing out the facts

Ok I would agree. Not top of the top academics, but still high. However, greater prestige than Ivy IMO due to the level of effort required to get through 4 yrs. They require far more from their students than any other university would. The academies would crumble the majority of Ivy students. But I think a decent percentage of academy students would be able to be successfully handle any Ivy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When applying to a service academy you are required to obtain a Congressional nomination from one of the following sources:

A member of the U.S. Senate
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives
The Vice-President of the United States
The Governor or Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
The Secretary of the Army

Each MOC possesses five nomination slots per year across all five service academies. Each senator has the same.

Really? How can there be so many applicants, then?

Oh please - I worked on the hill and constituents would just call or email their rep, send a blurb about themselves or resume and they would be nominated. The reps want to say xx from their district so it’s an automatic nomination

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they are prestigious. Even more so than Ivy schools.

You must have top academic record AND be top athlete AND get a congressional nomination, AND not have any (documented) medical issues including anxiety, depression, adhd, allergies, AND Abe physically and mentally resiliant

This is the equivalent of a unicorn among today’s teens.

No SAT average for West Point is only 1270

But these students are the whole package. Smart and academically capable, in good physical condition, mentally healthy, able to withstand both mental and physical rigors, have demonstrated leadership. They ask and expect far more of their students than any other academic institution

Yes it's prestigious, and these schools look for more of the other qualities such as leadership etc.
However academically not top of the top.
Just pointing out the facts

Ok I would agree. Not top of the top academics, but still high. However, greater prestige than Ivy IMO due to the level of effort required to get through 4 yrs. They require far more from their students than any other university would. The academies would crumble the majority of Ivy students. But I think a decent percentage of academy students would be able to be successfully handle any Ivy

Not even close to the Ivies academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they are prestigious. Even more so than Ivy schools.

You must have top academic record AND be top athlete AND get a congressional nomination, AND not have any (documented) medical issues including anxiety, depression, adhd, allergies, AND Abe physically and mentally resiliant

This is the equivalent of a unicorn among today’s teens.

No SAT average for West Point is only 1270

But these students are the whole package. Smart and academically capable, in good physical condition, mentally healthy, able to withstand both mental and physical rigors, have demonstrated leadership. They ask and expect far more of their students than any other academic institution

Yes it's prestigious, and these schools look for more of the other qualities such as leadership etc.
However academically not top of the top.
Just pointing out the facts

Ok I would agree. Not top of the top academics, but still high. However, greater prestige than Ivy IMO due to the level of effort required to get through 4 yrs. They require far more from their students than any other university would. The academies would crumble the majority of Ivy students. But I think a decent percentage of academy students would be able to be successfully handle any Ivy

It's just different path and diffent life style.
No need to try to comapre the two.
Many many many kids wouldn't go there even if they offer admission and free everyting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When applying to a service academy you are required to obtain a Congressional nomination from one of the following sources:

A member of the U.S. Senate
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives
The Vice-President of the United States
The Governor or Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
The Secretary of the Army

Each MOC possesses five nomination slots per year across all five service academies. Each senator has the same.

Really? How can there be so many applicants, then?

There's a backdoor into the Academies - if you are a legacy.

https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Apply/Presidential-Nomination.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they are prestigious. Even more so than Ivy schools.

You must have top academic record AND be top athlete AND get a congressional nomination, AND not have any (documented) medical issues including anxiety, depression, adhd, allergies, AND Abe physically and mentally resiliant

This is the equivalent of a unicorn among today’s teens.

No SAT average for West Point is only 1270

Where are you getting that number from? According to West Point's Common Data Set, the 25/75 SAT range is 1220/1440. That doesn't average out to be 1270 -- it's 1330.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When applying to a service academy you are required to obtain a Congressional nomination from one of the following sources:

A member of the U.S. Senate
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives
The Vice-President of the United States
The Governor or Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
The Secretary of the Army

Each MOC possesses five nomination slots per year across all five service academies. Each senator has the same.

Really? How can there be so many applicants, then?

Oh please - I worked on the hill and constituents would just call or email their rep, send a blurb about themselves or resume and they would be nominated. The reps want to say xx from their district so it’s an automatic nomination

How long ago was this?
Most people give out the nominations through committees. My child recently applied and each had portals, questions, and interviews. It was thorough and documented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get it, OP. I come from a part of the country where I didnt know a single military member/vet other than my drafted grandfathers. Not a single person from my graduating class of 550 went into the military. When my sister’s boyfriend ended up attending the naval academy the following year, we were all fairly shocked—it wasn’t a typical path. (To be completely transparent though, he had applied to a handful of civilian schools and didn’t get in—USNA was the only option he had once decisions came out).

It worked out well for him, but it wasn’t until moving to DC that I learned it’s considered prestigious. I assumed at the time it had been his safety school since it was the only one he got into, lol.

Bullshit.

I don’t know how to prove it is true, but it really is. This was 2005 in an area where the closest (tiny) military bases were hours away. It just wasn’t a thing in my life at that time. Totally different mentality in dc adjacent areas, where I now have more military acquaintances than I can count.

I think the bullshit refers to "it was his only option." And I agree. Unless he only applied to Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Stanford.

Right there is 0% chance that his ONLY option was the Naval Academy. 0%.

I don’t know what to tell you. He applied to 3 traditional schools (Harvard was one, the other two were SLACs in our home state) and all 3 denied him. He went to USNA. He should have applied to more safeties, clearly, but 20 years ago applying to 10+ schools wasn’t a thing and I guess he overshot.

Sorry, but I don't buy it.

Name the SLACs. You can easily do that without outing him or yourself.

Pomona and Claremont McKenna.

I am not making this up. Both are extremely selective now, not sure what it was like in 2005. Obviously Harvard was still selective, lol.

Both were extremely selective then, too. Cut me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they are prestigious. Even more so than Ivy schools.

You must have top academic record AND be top athlete AND get a congressional nomination, AND not have any (documented) medical issues including anxiety, depression, adhd, allergies, AND Abe physically and mentally resiliant

This is the equivalent of a unicorn among today’s teens.

No SAT average for West Point is only 1270

But these students are the whole package. Smart and academically capable, in good physical condition, mentally healthy, able to withstand both mental and physical rigors, have demonstrated leadership. They ask and expect far more of their students than any other academic institution

Yes it's prestigious, and these schools look for more of the other qualities such as leadership etc.
However academically not top of the top.
Just pointing out the facts

Ok I would agree. Not top of the top academics, but still high. However, greater prestige than Ivy IMO due to the level of effort required to get through 4 yrs. They require far more from their students than any other university would. The academies would crumble the majority of Ivy students. But I think a decent percentage of academy students would be able to be successfully handle any Ivy

It's just different path and diffent life style.
No need to try to comapre the two.
Many many many kids wouldn't go there even if they offer admission and free everyting.

True. There's not really a reason to compare them to Ivies or any other college (except if doing ROTC, maybe) bc it's not an apples to apples comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When applying to a service academy you are required to obtain a Congressional nomination from one of the following sources:

A member of the U.S. Senate
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives
The Vice-President of the United States
The Governor or Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
The Secretary of the Army

Each MOC possesses five nomination slots per year across all five service academies. Each senator has the same.

Really? How can there be so many applicants, then?

Oh please - I worked on the hill and constituents would just call or email their rep, send a blurb about themselves or resume and they would be nominated. The reps want to say xx from their district so it’s an automatic nomination

How long ago was this?
Most people give out the nominations through committees. My child recently applied and each had portals, questions, and interviews. It was thorough and documented.

Not all applicants end u being "qualified." Not all applicants receive a nomination bc members of Congress only have a certain amount of nominations to give out each year. Not all applicants will pass the medical requirements or the physical fitness exam. You have to have all of these components in order to be considered a qualified applicant, so some may start the application process but won't ultimately meet all requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they are prestigious. Even more so than Ivy schools.

You must have top academic record AND be top athlete AND get a congressional nomination, AND not have any (documented) medical issues including anxiety, depression, adhd, allergies, AND Abe physically and mentally resiliant

This is the equivalent of a unicorn among today’s teens.

No SAT average for West Point is only 1270

But these students are the whole package. Smart and academically capable, in good physical condition, mentally healthy, able to withstand both mental and physical rigors, have demonstrated leadership. They ask and expect far more of their students than any other academic institution

Yes it's prestigious, and these schools look for more of the other qualities such as leadership etc.
However academically not top of the top.
Just pointing out the facts

Ok I would agree. Not top of the top academics, but still high. However, greater prestige than Ivy IMO due to the level of effort required to get through 4 yrs. They require far more from their students than any other university would. The academies would crumble the majority of Ivy students. But I think a decent percentage of academy students would be able to be successfully handle any Ivy

It's just different path and diffent life style.
No need to try to comapre the two.
Many many many kids wouldn't go there even if they offer admission and free everyting.

True. There's not really a reason to compare them to Ivies or any other college (except if doing ROTC, maybe) bc it's not an apples to apples comparison.

Ok, but back to OPs topic: the academies are every bit at prestigious as Ivy schools, only for slightly different reasons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When applying to a service academy you are required to obtain a Congressional nomination from one of the following sources:

A member of the U.S. Senate
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives
The Vice-President of the United States
The Governor or Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
The Secretary of the Army

Each MOC possesses five nomination slots per year across all five service academies. Each senator has the same.

Really? How can there be so many applicants, then?

Oh please - I worked on the hill and constituents would just call or email their rep, send a blurb about themselves or resume and they would be nominated. The reps want to say xx from their district so it’s an automatic nomination

How long ago was this?
Most people give out the nominations through committees. My child recently applied and each had portals, questions, and interviews. It was thorough and documented.

I worked on the Hill and my DH did too. I was in 3 offices and he was in 4. Nominations were extremely competitive and handled by a committee back in the state or congressional district. Many years we weren't even able to nominate 5 to each academy because the candidates didn't make the cut via the selection committee. That was across the board in all the offices. The only delegation we both worked in that consistently filled their nominations (BTW, you can nominate but the kid still have to get in!) was CA. It is just a big state so lots of kids to pick from. But again, even if the selection committee, filled with Academy grads, selected the kids for nominations not all would get in. Many would go on to ROTC at Stanford or UCLA. That is how great these kids were and still couldn't get into an academy.

[Anonymous]

BIL attended the Air Force Academy and he's one of the best people I know. Type A, sure. But also hates Trump so there is that.

West Point, USNA, and Air Force Academy have always been extremely prestigious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they are prestigious. Even more so than Ivy schools.

You must have top academic record AND be top athlete AND get a congressional nomination, AND not have any (documented) medical issues including anxiety, depression, adhd, allergies, AND Abe physically and mentally resiliant

This is the equivalent of a unicorn among today’s teens.

No SAT average for West Point is only 1270

But these students are the whole package. Smart and academically capable, in good physical condition, mentally healthy, able to withstand both mental and physical rigors, have demonstrated leadership. They ask and expect far more of their students than any other academic institution

Yes it's prestigious, and these schools look for more of the other qualities such as leadership etc.
However academically not top of the top.
Just pointing out the facts

Ok I would agree. Not top of the top academics, but still high. However, greater prestige than Ivy IMO due to the level of effort required to get through 4 yrs. They require far more from their students than any other university would. The academies would crumble the majority of Ivy students. But I think a decent percentage of academy students would be able to be successfully handle any Ivy

It's just different path and diffent life style.
No need to try to comapre the two.
Many many many kids wouldn't go there even if they offer admission and free everyting.

True. There's not really a reason to compare them to Ivies or any other college (except if doing ROTC, maybe) bc it's not an apples to apples comparison.

Ok, but back to OPs topic: the academies are every bit at prestigious as Ivy schools, only for slightly different reasons

I would say maybe equivalent to between T10-T20

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When applying to a service academy you are required to obtain a Congressional nomination from one of the following sources:

A member of the U.S. Senate
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives
The Vice-President of the United States
The Governor or Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
The Secretary of the Army

Each MOC possesses five nomination slots per year across all five service academies. Each senator has the same.

Really? How can there be so many applicants, then?

Oh please - I worked on the hill and constituents would just call or email their rep, send a blurb about themselves or resume and they would be nominated. The reps want to say xx from their district so it’s an automatic nomination

How long ago was this?
Most people give out the nominations through committees. My child recently applied and each had portals, questions, and interviews. It was thorough and documented.

I worked on the Hill and my DH did too. I was in 3 offices and he was in 4. Nominations were extremely competitive and handled by a committee back in the state or congressional district. Many years we weren't even able to nominate 5 to each academy because the candidates didn't make the cut via the selection committee. That was across the board in all the offices. The only delegation we both worked in that consistently filled their nominations (BTW, you can nominate but the kid still have to get in!) was CA. It is just a big state so lots of kids to pick from. But again, even if the selection committee, filled with Academy grads, selected the kids for nominations not all would get in. Many would go on to ROTC at Stanford or UCLA. That is how great these kids were and still couldn't get into an academy.

My son went through the nomination process in VA - the process was very rigorous - essays and interview panels for REP and both SEN separately. For parents with interested kids, go to serviceacademyforums.com - lots and lots of information on the nomination process. He is currently at USMA and none of his classmates experienced the "automatic nomination" described above. Perhaps that was a long time ago?