Academics
It’s a matter of moral, mental, and physical development for the proud 4,500 midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy, who serve at least five years in the Navy or Marine Corps. Make no mistake: this is a “regimented, disciplined, controlled environment,” but that’s to get all midshipmen to graduation in a fortyseven month program. Students are “fully immersed in a military environment and have to keep up many different standards” to attend, but midshipmen are granted “endless … unique travel opportunities” not found at traditional colleges, such as “attending political functions in D.C. [and] foreign travel to Morocco to learn French.” “From [subjects covering] CEOs to war heroes, we learn and learn and learn,” says a student. The Naval Academy gives students “the resources to truly become great leaders in whatever naval warfare field [they] go into on top of a well-balanced and challenging college education.”
All incoming freshman take part in a rigorous seven-week mental and physical training program known as “Plebe Summer,” and students find the “greatest strengths [on campus] are endurance and multitasking.” Class sizes are small and the “vast majority of professors are extremely passionate and competent.” “They take feedback well and are always trying to improve their teaching and classes,” says a student. Many classes focus entirely around class discussions rather than lectures, pushing students “to [lead] outside the classroom and then discuss our actions and others’ reactions,” and classes about Seamanship and Navigation take midshipmen on actual ships to practice; in the summer, students also go on different training courses to experience the military first-hand.
Student Body
Unsurprisingly, this “bright, hard-working” group has a lot of “type-A personalities who are very outgoing, ambitious, and driven,” so those one student calls “the average Joe who just gets by flying under the radar” are rare. This is “an extremely challenging environment that forces you to grow into both a person of character and caliber,” says another student. Fortunately, the student body is “capable of helping each other through any conflict,” and students find that their “friendships are true relationships.” Due to the constraints placed on the midshipmen, there can be a great deal of “happy cynicism,” which results in a bit of “sarcasm and [a] make-our-own fun attitude.” USNA students are “quite competitive in all aspects,” but there are “so many people and resources available … committed to your success.”
Campus Life
Attending USNA is undoubtedly “a busy lifestyle that allows for little free time.” Students undergo “lots of work, sports, [and] military training” on any given day, so “free time is [spent] either trying to get more than four to five hours of sleep or playing video games [and] watching movies.” Students spend most every day in class or at mandatory events, followed by meetings and homework, and the schedule is very regimented: “Morning quarters formation, classes, noon meal formation, more classes, sports period, evening meal, then study.” A lot of people work out “almost obsessively” as well. There is no drinking allowed and everyone lives in the same dorm (no members of the opposite sex are allowed in rooms), so “a lot of socializing” takes place elsewhere. Everything here is “mission-oriented” and has a purpose: to foster a “camaraderie, understanding of others, and a no-personleft-behind mentality.” Students love Annapolis, where USNA is located, because they are a “very active” crowd and “there are a lot of places to go for outdoor activities.”
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