There is a lot of information on Service Academy admissions on online forums and various websites, and our goal is to ensure you focus on the right areas. Understanding the admissions process will help you apply effort to the areas that matter most in your application. We use the terms The Naval Academy, USNA, and Annapolis interchangeably in this guide.
Here is an overview of the major sections in this guide:
Basic Requirements – Who The Naval Academy is Looking For
There are both legal requirements and additional requirements for admittance into Annapolis. Legal Requirements:
- 17-22 years old
- U.S. Citizen
- Unmarried
- Not pregnant; with no legal obligation to support a child
While there is no perfect answer as to what to do to get an appointment to Annapolis, midshipmen excelled academically, athletically, and sought leadership opportunities during their high school careers. The Naval Academy publishes a class portrait that provides statistics about each class, which can be helpful in understanding the typical candidate profile.
Academics
The USNA admissions team recommends the following classes during your high school career. If available, taking Honors, AP, and IB classes are recommended.
- Required
- Math – 4 years of mathematics with geometry, algebra, and trigonometry
- Pre-calculus and calculus are also highly encouraged
- Science – 1 year each: chemistry and physics
- English – 4 years with a focus on writing and an emphasis on English and American literature
- Math – 4 years of mathematics with geometry, algebra, and trigonometry
- Optional but highly recommended
- Foreign language – at least 2 years
- History – U.S history and European or world history
- Computer and typing courses
USNA Admissions recommends striving to be in the top 20% of your high school class to receive an appointment.
Testing early and often with the SAT and/or ACT is a great way to determine if you should retest again during your junior year or even your senior year. Here are scores from a recent class showing what 50% of the class scored between. Scoring in these ranges could indicate you are competitive, depending on the rest of your application. If you are not within these ranges, we recommend retesting!
If you do retest, make sure to submit your scores each time as USNA takes the highest scores into account.
Naval Academy SAT score statistics
Naval Academy ACT score statistics
Fitness
Fitness is a major part of the application process. The physical test, known as the Candidate Fitness Assessment, is a series of 6 exercises that you can practice before the test, and we highly recommend doing just that! Here are instructions for the fitness assessment.
Naval Academy maximum fitness test scores
You can calculate your estimated CFA score using our Candidate Fitness Assessment Score Calculator.
Unlike the other service academies, USNA admissions does not post average scores. The admissions team will let you know if you fail though. You can take the test again and re-submit scores through the Jan 31 deadline — but keep in mind that your new scores (even if they are lower) will override your old scores.
The good news is that this test is the same across all service academies, so if you are undecided about which service academy to apply for you can still prepare for all and only test once. The test can be administered by any physical education teacher, coach, an active-duty commissioned officer, JROTC instructor, or your Blue and Gold Officer.
You’ll also want to make sure you meet the height and weight requirements for the Naval Academy.
Listen to our podcast with a recent Naval Academy graduate below:
How to Get a Nomination
If you are seeking a Congressional Nomination, the process is similar across the 3 main service academies. Understanding how the nominations process works will help you plan accordingly.
Nomination vs. Appointment
First let’s discuss the difference between a nomination and an appointment because they can be easily confused!
A nomination gives the Service Academy admission teams the legal authority to consider a candidate for an appointment. The appointment itself is the offer of admission from a Service Academy. So you need a nomination first in order to be eligible to receive an appointment.
You are required to receive a nomination from a nominating authority in order to attend the Naval Academy. The majority of midshipmen receive their nominations through Congress – either a State Senator or their local Congressional Representative. There is also a Vice Presidential Nomination, although this is incredibly competitive. If you have a parent who was active duty or retired, you are also eligible to receive a Presidential Nomination.
Who are you eligible to receive a nomination from?
Typically you are eligible for at least your U.S. Congressional Representative, your 2 U.S. Senators, and the Vice Presidential nomination. These usually increase in competition as you increase from the local to national level.
Each Member of Congress is authorized to have 5 candidates at any one-time. Typically Senators and House Representatives will have 4 candidates and 1 open slot. They will usually use one open slot per year. Each slot can be filled by up to 10 nominations from the Senator/House Representative.
This chart depicts the nomination slots that each Senator/Representative has:
Although the class years have different designators at each Service Academy, we simplified them to make the chart easy to understand.
Bottom line: You are competing for one of those 10 nomination slots. There are different methods for the Member of Congress to use for nominations, but typically the 10 nominees are not ranked by the Member of Congress. The nominating authority will usually leave that up to the Service Academy to decide who is the most qualified.
You should apply to every nomination source you are qualified for in order to increase your chances of selection for nomination.
Additional Nominating Sources:
- Presidential: children of military personnel
- Regular Army & Reserve Components
- ROTC & JROTC schools
- Children of deceased and 100% disabled Veterans
- Children of Medal of Honor Winners
Find your Senator or Representative here.
Naval Academy Resources
Our Mission
Many high school students dream of attending one of the elite U.S. Service Academies. The U.S. Naval Academy’s prestige and long history make it highly sought after.
The rigorous admissions process for the Naval Academy can be daunting and mysterious, especially for candidates with no history of military service in their family. Our goal here at Gain Service Academy Admission is to help navigate the admissions process to give you the best chance to receive a coveted spot at Annapolis.
As a service academy Graduate, my team and I have written the most comprehensive guide to getting into Annapolis. Our mission is help you to understand what Congressional Representatives and admissions officers at Annapolis are really looking for and how to go about gaining admission!
If you are looking for someone to help you navigate the admissions process, my team and I are here to personally guide you through everything from understanding the rigorous academic requirements to Congressional Nomination interview preparation. It is crucial that you become educated about the process and set yourself up the best you can in order to get that call from your Member of Congress.
I wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of an appointment and your honorable goal of becoming an officer in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps.
-Lieutenant Colonel Robert O. Kirkland (U.S. Army, Retired)
