The Naval Academy

First and foremost, you don’t apply to the naval academy because you are considering it as one of many colleges.  You apply to the naval academy because you want to join the military and you see the best path for yourself as one that would provide a high quality four year education which will train you to be an officer.  You choose the Naval Academy over West Point or other post secondary military institutions or vice versa not based on the military academy but rather because that is the branch of the military you wish to join.  All that having been said, the Naval Academy is an amazing opportunity for the right individual.

The naval academy draws highly motivated, talented, and disciplined students from all over the country.  All agree that the academics are the hardest part of the Naval Academy but these students enter an institution that strives to train and strengthen the whole person.   In addition to academics, students are expected to participate in 2 hours of physical activity daily.  They are also evaluated on their integrity and their ability to work as a team.  All of these aspects are considered in determining a cadets ranking within their class which then determines where they are in line in choosing their final placement after the academy.

The Naval Academy offers 23 majors.  2/3’s of the students pursue technology majors and 1/3 pursue the humanities.  The school is ranked 5th best engineering program in the country.  In particular, aerospace, electrical and mechanical are also ranked 5th in the country. The school maintains a stringent core curriculum. 3/4 of the classes a student takes are core classes, 1/4 pertain to the students major.  The strict nature of the school not surprisingly also extends to student life.  Students are woken up at 6:30. Breakfast is at 7:00. Classes begin at 8:00.  Lunch is at 12 and so on.  Co-ed within floors.  No tv’s, refrigerators, microwaves or foods in dorms.