Why are the service academies so selective?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Published July 2023:

"The West Point Acceptance Rate originates from the total number of applicants that start files with the West Point Admissions team. This doesn’t include qualified candidates, only students who are interested in attending. They haven’t received a congressional nomination yet or gone through any of the admissions processes. From a recent class profile, this totals 12,294.

Since only 1,210 were admitted, this leads the public to believe that the admissions rate was 9.8%.

In reality, only 2,228 were qualified academically and in physical aptitude according to the admissions team. This results in a much higher acceptance rate of 54% if you are qualified."

Published where? How do they get away with this?

Applying to West Point, Annapolis, or the Air Force Academy is not like applying to a normal school. You have the fitness tests to begin with. That eliminates nearly 80 percent of all 18 year olds. And then there's the Congressional Nomination, which is very difficult to get. Very few kids receive one. But once you have it - if I recall - the odds of getting into an academy are about 50 percent.

So it's not like applying to Penn or wherever. West Point doesn't receive 10,000 applications and simply chooses the best 1000. It's a layered process and potential applicants are eliminated along the way before they even get a chance to formally apply. Getting a Congressional Nomination is key. And they're not handed out like candy. There are panels and all sorts of hoops to go through. Anyone that gets one is a very accomplished young person.

Stop. There are other nomination paths, and one academy that doesn't require one at all.

*snort* Yeah. The Coast Guard Academy.

It's very selective. For instance: You have to be at least six feet tall. That way if your boat sinks, you can safely walk back to shore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Published July 2023:

"The West Point Acceptance Rate originates from the total number of applicants that start files with the West Point Admissions team. This doesn’t include qualified candidates, only students who are interested in attending. They haven’t received a congressional nomination yet or gone through any of the admissions processes. From a recent class profile, this totals 12,294.

Since only 1,210 were admitted, this leads the public to believe that the admissions rate was 9.8%.

In reality, only 2,228 were qualified academically and in physical aptitude according to the admissions team. This results in a much higher acceptance rate of 54% if you are qualified."

Published where? How do they get away with this?

Applying to West Point, Annapolis, or the Air Force Academy is not like applying to a normal school. You have the fitness tests to begin with. That eliminates nearly 80 percent of all 18 year olds. And then there's the Congressional Nomination, which is very difficult to get. Very few kids receive one. But once you have it - if I recall - the odds of getting into an academy are about 50 percent.

So it's not like applying to Penn or wherever. West Point doesn't receive 10,000 applications and simply chooses the best 1000. It's a layered process and potential applicants are eliminated along the way before they even get a chance to formally apply. Getting a Congressional Nomination is key. And they're not handed out like candy. There are panels and all sorts of hoops to go through. Anyone that gets one is a very accomplished young person.

Stop. There are other nomination paths, and one academy that doesn't require one at all.

*snort* Yeah. The Coast Guard Academy.

It's so awkward to watch someone double down on their ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Published July 2023:

"The West Point Acceptance Rate originates from the total number of applicants that start files with the West Point Admissions team. This doesn’t include qualified candidates, only students who are interested in attending. They haven’t received a congressional nomination yet or gone through any of the admissions processes. From a recent class profile, this totals 12,294.

Since only 1,210 were admitted, this leads the public to believe that the admissions rate was 9.8%.

In reality, only 2,228 were qualified academically and in physical aptitude according to the admissions team. This results in a much higher acceptance rate of 54% if you are qualified."

Published where? How do they get away with this?

Applying to West Point, Annapolis, or the Air Force Academy is not like applying to a normal school. You have the fitness tests to begin with. That eliminates nearly 80 percent of all 18 year olds. And then there's the Congressional Nomination, which is very difficult to get. Very few kids receive one. But once you have it - if I recall - the odds of getting into an academy are about 50 percent.

So it's not like applying to Penn or wherever. West Point doesn't receive 10,000 applications and simply chooses the best 1000. It's a layered process and potential applicants are eliminated along the way before they even get a chance to formally apply. Getting a Congressional Nomination is key. And they're not handed out like candy. There are panels and all sorts of hoops to go through. Anyone that gets one is a very accomplished young person.

Stop. There are other nomination paths, and one academy that doesn't require one at all.

*snort* Yeah. The Coast Guard Academy.

Anybody remember this video of a Coast Guard sailor climbing on top of a narco sub packed with cocaine? That thing was submerging and he subdued it.



Laugh at the Coast Guard if you like but if your kids aren't stepping up like this then you are missing the big picture.

If you haven't been victimized by a junkie recently maybe you should be grateful?

+1

Maybe your CS kid can make a web app that does that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Published July 2023:

"The West Point Acceptance Rate originates from the total number of applicants that start files with the West Point Admissions team. This doesn’t include qualified candidates, only students who are interested in attending. They haven’t received a congressional nomination yet or gone through any of the admissions processes. From a recent class profile, this totals 12,294.

Since only 1,210 were admitted, this leads the public to believe that the admissions rate was 9.8%.

In reality, only 2,228 were qualified academically and in physical aptitude according to the admissions team. This results in a much higher acceptance rate of 54% if you are qualified."

Published where? How do they get away with this?

Applying to West Point, Annapolis, or the Air Force Academy is not like applying to a normal school. You have the fitness tests to begin with. That eliminates nearly 80 percent of all 18 year olds. And then there's the Congressional Nomination, which is very difficult to get. Very few kids receive one. But once you have it - if I recall - the odds of getting into an academy are about 50 percent.

So it's not like applying to Penn or wherever. West Point doesn't receive 10,000 applications and simply chooses the best 1000. It's a layered process and potential applicants are eliminated along the way before they even get a chance to formally apply. Getting a Congressional Nomination is key. And they're not handed out like candy. There are panels and all sorts of hoops to go through. Anyone that gets one is a very accomplished young person.

Stop. There are other nomination paths, and one academy that doesn't require one at all.

*snort* Yeah. The Coast Guard Academy.

Anybody remember this video of a Coast Guard sailor climbing on top of a narco sub packed with cocaine? That thing was submerging and he subdued it.



Laugh at the Coast Guard if you like but if your kids aren't stepping up like this then you are missing the big picture.

If you haven't been victimized by a junkie recently maybe you should be grateful?

+1

Maybe your CS kid can make a web app that does that?

PP is clearly missing that USCGA admissions are based on merit. That's nothing to laugh at.

[Anonymous]

*snort* Yeah. The Coast Guard Academy.

It's very selective. For instance: You have to be at least six feet tall. That way if your boat sinks, you can safely walk back to shore.

Finally a school where my DS has a hook. I'm 6'6" and added my last inch or two quite late - DS should mention that in the essay as he's a mere 6'2 1/4". One question: is the Coast Guard big on latin (which would be great)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Published July 2023:

"The West Point Acceptance Rate originates from the total number of applicants that start files with the West Point Admissions team. This doesn’t include qualified candidates, only students who are interested in attending. They haven’t received a congressional nomination yet or gone through any of the admissions processes. From a recent class profile, this totals 12,294.

Since only 1,210 were admitted, this leads the public to believe that the admissions rate was 9.8%.

In reality, only 2,228 were qualified academically and in physical aptitude according to the admissions team. This results in a much higher acceptance rate of 54% if you are qualified."

Published where? How do they get away with this?

Applying to West Point, Annapolis, or the Air Force Academy is not like applying to a normal school. You have the fitness tests to begin with. That eliminates nearly 80 percent of all 18 year olds. And then there's the Congressional Nomination, which is very difficult to get. Very few kids receive one. But once you have it - if I recall - the odds of getting into an academy are about 50 percent.

So it's not like applying to Penn or wherever. West Point doesn't receive 10,000 applications and simply chooses the best 1000. It's a layered process and potential applicants are eliminated along the way before they even get a chance to formally apply. Getting a Congressional Nomination is key. And they're not handed out like candy. There are panels and all sorts of hoops to go through. Anyone that gets one is a very accomplished young person.

Stop. There are other nomination paths, and one academy that doesn't require one at all.

*snort* Yeah. The Coast Guard Academy.

It's very selective. For instance: You have to be at least six feet tall. That way if your boat sinks, you can safely walk back to shore.

I wonder how many navy sailors would be willing to go through this:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/18/us/coast-guard-columbia-river-bar.html

[Anonymous]

Your fabulous future is guaranteed if you graduate from a service academy. Great career, great benefits, prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it just because they're free?

It’s not free. What a stupid thing to say.

Not only are they free, they pay YOU to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny to hear posters suggest that the admit rate is actually higher than advertised because you have to have certain physical requirements as a threshold. Not everybody has those requirements and that’s part of the reason why it’s so selective.

That’s like saying a division 1 athletic scholarship isn’t really that hard to get because you have to be really good at sports to get it.

Strawman argument. The acceptance rates are juiced because they include in the denominator everyone who ever clicked "apply" on the website, regardless of how little of the application they completed before abandoning it.

Right. Because they knew they couldn’t make the cut.

1. I'd bet more kids abandon SA apps because they decide they don't want the lifestyle than because they lose hope they'll be admitted. 2. Even if 100% of abandoned apps were due to the latter, it's still inaccurate to count them as "applications" when calculating the percentage of applicants admitted. Because, you know, they didn't actually apply.

Maybe. But if your kid got into either the Naval Academy or West Point you’d cream your jeans and be all over this website crowing about it.

[Anonymous]

From a long term perspective, you end up with an excellent education, a huge network, a guaranteed job with excellent benefits, and often interesting work. And you graduate without debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Published July 2023:

"The West Point Acceptance Rate originates from the total number of applicants that start files with the West Point Admissions team. This doesn’t include qualified candidates, only students who are interested in attending. They haven’t received a congressional nomination yet or gone through any of the admissions processes. From a recent class profile, this totals 12,294.

Since only 1,210 were admitted, this leads the public to believe that the admissions rate was 9.8%.

In reality, only 2,228 were qualified academically and in physical aptitude according to the admissions team. This results in a much higher acceptance rate of 54% if you are qualified."

Published where? How do they get away with this?

https://www.gainserviceacademyadmission.com/west-point-acceptance-rate/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny to hear posters suggest that the admit rate is actually higher than advertised because you have to have certain physical requirements as a threshold. Not everybody has those requirements and that’s part of the reason why it’s so selective.

That’s like saying a division 1 athletic scholarship isn’t really that hard to get because you have to be really good at sports to get it.

Strawman argument. The acceptance rates are juiced because they include in the denominator everyone who ever clicked "apply" on the website, regardless of how little of the application they completed before abandoning it.

Right. Because they knew they couldn’t make the cut.

1. I'd bet more kids abandon SA apps because they decide they don't want the lifestyle than because they lose hope they'll be admitted. 2. Even if 100% of abandoned apps were due to the latter, it's still inaccurate to count them as "applications" when calculating the percentage of applicants admitted. Because, you know, they didn't actually apply.

Maybe. But if your kid got into either the Naval Academy or West Point you’d cream your jeans and be all over this website crowing about it.

If my kid stepped up like that I'd cry for days and then be able to die knowing we did something right while raising him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a long term perspective, you end up with an excellent education, a huge network, a guaranteed job with excellent benefits, and often interesting work. And you graduate without debt.

Unless you're air force and get missileer, then you get to live at one of the assorted truly miserable corners America

[Anonymous]

Because service academies produce the officers and other leadership roles. You want your military leaders to be the most qualified candidates, not Jimmy from BFE Fly Over-land whose only reason for joining is to get out of his Podunk town and who has no other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because they will potentially lead people into battle, be responsible for a $1B piece of equipment and asked to defend the country?

+1

This. Exactly this.