Welcome To The Course

We are so excited that you are here. We truly believe that our nation is in need of future leaders. The Service Academies are a great opportunity for students to develop the leadership skills necessary to lead America's military members.

We get it -- the application process is complicated!

This course is designed to cover the entire application process virtually and break down the whole process into a step-by-step method that helps you strategize and plan for success.

Our goal is to help you get the appointment to the Service Academy of your choosing!

In this module, we introduce the course and discuss all the topics we cover.

The admissions processes for each Service Academy are similar. We go over what each academy is looking for:

The medical clearance process
Congressional nominations
How to fill out all applications from pre-candidate questionnaire to final application
Strategies for your high school career on how to make yourself an attractive candidate
What the Service Academies are looking for

The Scholar, Athlete, Leader Model

The Service Academies are looking for young men and women who are the "whole candidate" meaning they are successful at academics, athletics, and leadership.

The academics or scholar portion of the application is weighted higher in traditional colleges. At the Service Academies, athlete and leader credentials are weighted much higher!

There are things you can do now to improve the quality of your application. We cover all of them in the modules in this course:

How do you prepare for and pass the Candidate Fitness Assessment?

USAFA - United States Air Force Academy

USNA - United States Naval Academy

USMA - United States Military Academy (or West Point)

USMMA - United States Merchant Marine Academy (or King’s Point)

Overall this is an important part of your application as it is worth about 10% of the overall evaluation.

How do you win a congressional nomination from a Member of Congress?

What are your primary concerns? We will talk about why should you pay attention to what district you live in.

Medical clearance and DoDMERB
We will discuss what trips up candidates as well as typical disqualifies. We will also cover how to get a waiver for a medical condition that may be disqualifying.

Telling a narrative of your life and how it aligns with military service
This is covered in both the essay and interview modules of this course, as well as the letters of recommendation that give a second-hand perspective of your narrative.

Basic Requirements for Attending a Service Academy

17-22 years old upon entering Basic Training
U.S. citizen
Unmarried
Not pregnant/no legal obligations to support a child
Excellent moral character
Academically qualified through SAT/ACT, HS GPA
Physically qualified through CFA and sports
Medically qualified
Nomination from an approved source - typically Member of Congress

Key Terminology to Understand

Here are some keywords to make sure you understand:

Pre-Candidate Questionnaire - This questionnaire opens a student file for each Service Academy. Students must fill this out for each Service Academy they are interested in to begin the application process.

Candidate - Once you have filled out a Pre-Candidate Questionnaire and opened an application with a Service Academy, students become candidates. They are waiting on a decision from the admissions board.

Appointee - Students who have been offered admission from the admissions team are appointees. They have received an appointment to one or more Service Academies. DoDMERB clearance and a nomination are both required in order for this to happen.

DoDMERB - The is the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board. Every appointee must receive medical qualification before attending a Service Academy. This clearance must be granted.

Letter of Assurance - A Letter of Assurance or LOA is pre-approval of appointment. The Service Academies will evaluate your initial application. If you have excellent qualifications, you may receive an LoA beginning around the August timeframe. This LoA virtually guarantees your admittance as long as you complete the application requirements and maintain good standing.

The Path to Appointment

Appointees have been offered admission from the Service Academy. The steps for receiving a Service Academy appointment include:

Complete the Pre-candidate Questionnaire
Become a candidate
Fill out the application
Complete the fitness test
Seek a nomination
Complete the DoDMERB exam*

*For the DoDMERB exam, this is dependent on completing enough of the application process for the Service Academy to determine that you are a quality candidate worth spending the money on to get a medical exam, as the medical exam is paid for by the government.

The Admissions and Application Timeline

The Admissions team looks at candidates typically from the December to April timeframe before offering appointments.

Spring of Junior Year:

Complete basic requirements and the pre-candidate questionnaire
Attend a summer program or visit a Service Academy
Fill out the second part of the application

Fall of Senior Year:

Students should have completed the entire application
SAT and ACT final re-testing if necessary
Ensure you are on track to meet the Member of Congress nomination deadlines, which typically fall around October

Winter of Senior Year:

We recommend completing the application much earlier than the late December to January deadlines
Await admissions decisions from late November through April
Appointments offered January through April

Spring of Senior Year

Mid-April is when Service Academies provide final admissions notifications
You'll have until May to accept or decline an appointment

Post-Graduation

Report as cadet/midshipmen in June or July right after you graduate from High School

We can’t wait to go through all of these in greater detail with you! Continue on with the course to keep learning about the type of candidates Service Academies are looking for and how to set yourself up for success.