Fleet Application Guidance for the Class of 2031
Explanation of Privacy Act Statement
The information required to complete the application is requested for the purpose of evaluating your qualifications for admission to the Naval Academy. Information you provide will be used to determine your eligibility and competitive standing for an appointment to the academy. Authority for requesting such information is contained in Title 10 USC, Ch 853 8458. Disclosure of the information is voluntary; however, failure to provide requested information will result in an incomplete evaluation of your qualifications, may prevent proper referral of necessary information to pertinent congressional nominating sources, and may preclude further consideration of your application.
Submission of online forms constitutes your requisite written authorization by the party about whom the record is maintained for release to the following individuals/entities: appropriate Members of Congress (sources of nomination), other officer accession programs and parent or guardian of record. Release to any other individual or entity is only as permissible by law.
The USNA Admissions Board is committed to a process which has proven to be a fair assessment of the “whole student”, where academic rigor, life experiences, unique circumstances, volunteer work, leadership ability, and character attributes continue to be evaluated.
As such, the following application documents are required:
Personal Data (Application) and 2 Essay Questions
Submit information in application.
Candidate Academic Information
Submit school official/counselor’s name and email address from your high school you graduated from, submit college transcripts if applicable. Your school official will upload the form, your school profile, and your official transcript.
For Homeschool candidates, we will need the full course descriptions for 9th-12th grade courses uploaded with the homeschool transcript. It is also helpful to provide the list of books used for the courses. If the parent assigns the grades, they should be listed as the recommender for both the Candidate Academic Information and Candidate Activities Record.
Transcripts
It is your responsibility as a candidate to ensure the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) receives your school transcript. USNA only accepts official transcripts sent in from a school official/counselor. As mentioned above, when you submit your school official’s/counselor’s name and email for the Candidate Academic Information portion of the application, your school official/counselor will then be sent instructions on how to submit your transcript to USNA. Your school can submit your transcripts electronically, uploaded by your school official, or by mail, as directed in the instructions provided. A complete transcript includes grades 9-12 plus any additional college transcripts up to and including the fall semester of the year applying.
Recommendations
Candidate Activities Record (Extracurricular Activities Official)
Enter all activities you participated in during the 10th through 12th grades of high school. You may use the dropdowns or other option to indicate any extra-curricular activities that you have been involved in since graduating from high school. You will also enter the school official or designated Command representative who will validate your ECAs. This may be your Command Career Counselor, Guidance Counselor, Registrar, or Principal/Vice Principal from your high school.
Military Recommendation #1
Submit Command representative’s name and current email address for Instructor/LPO/LCPO/SNCO. The Command representative should be an enlisted member, E-6 and above, for the first Military Recommendation. This should be someone that the applicant works with on a regular basis for an accurate evaluation of your performance. The recommender should highlight the applicant's accomplishments in their remarks/comments. This can be documented awards, special qualifications, volunteer hours, and leadership. They may submit an attached write up to their recommendation, but are still required to fill in the drop down boxes for the recommendation. If you do not have an E-6 and above available from the current command, please contact the Fleet Admissions Counselor for a waiver to use a different recommender.
Military Recommendation #2
Submit Command representative’s name and current email address for DIVO/Dept Head/OIC . The Command representative should be a Commissioned Officer, O-1 and above, for the second Military Recommendation. This should be someone that the applicant works with on a regular basis for an accurate evaluation of your performance. The recommender should highlight the applicant's accomplishments in their remarks/comments. This can be documented awards, special qualifications, volunteer work, and leadership. They may submit an attached write up to their recommendation, but are still required to fill in the drop down boxes for the recommendation. If you do not have an O-1 and above available from the current command, please contact the Fleet Admissions Counselor for a waiver to use a different recommender.
Candidate Fitness Assessment
Submit name and email address of person who will administer this assessment. The CFA administrator may be the Command Fitness Leader, any Commissioned Officer, or E-6 and above. Family members are not allowed to administer a candidate's CFA.
The test consists of a one-mile run, a 'shuttle' run, a kneeling basketball throw, abdominal crunches, push-ups, and pull-ups or a flexed-arm hang for women (when pull-ups cannot be accomplished). Administrators will receive instructions via email.
You may take the CFA as many times as you would like to improve your score, however, you will need to contact your Admissions Counselor to resend a new link for the CFA Administrator to enter a new score.
Standardized Examination Tests
All candidates for admission to the Naval Academy are required to take either the SAT, ACT, or CLT. Detailed information and registration forms for tests may be obtained from the following websites: SAT - www.collegeboard.org; or ACT - www.act.org; or CLT - https://www.cltexam.com/tests/. The tests are designed differently and we have observed that many candidates perform better on one than the others. Additionally, students often see a considerable test score improvement on a second or third attempt at the tests. The Naval Academy Admissions Board uses the highest reading and writing score (or critical reading score if taken prior to the digital SAT) for SAT, or the English score for ACT, or the Verbal reasoning, grammar, and writing score for the CLT, and the highest math scores from all the SAT or ACT tests or quantitative reasoning score for the CLT taken by the candidate. We need to receive the full score report directly from the testing service (not the superscore from the College Board or ACT). It is your responsibility to ensure that your scores are forwarded to the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy code for the SAT is 5809 and the ACT is 1742. CLT test takers should select United States Naval Academy within the CLT score reporting portal. Scores recorded on an official transcript are also accepted.
SAT, ACT, and CLT tests must be completed prior to 1 Feb 2027.
Non-standard, untimed test scores, or tests completed with accommodations are not accepted.
Gap Year
If you have any gap year(s) after high school, you will have the opportunity to make a statement on your application as to your activities, specifically what you were doing during the gap period. If you are not taking college classes post high school, we will require you to provide a gap year statement.
Previous Candidates
Candidates for this year’s class who have applied for previous classes should ensure that complete and up-to-date information is available to the Naval Academy Admissions Board. Previous applicants must submit a high school transcript that includes freshman through senior year. If attending college, a college transcript that includes the fall semester of the current academic year will also be required. The school officials completing the Candidate Academic Information and validating the Extracurricular Activities form must be from a school official in the high school from which they graduated. All previous candidates must reapply to all of their nomination sources, since nominations do not carry over from year to year.
College applicants should enroll as full-time students, pursuing a technically-oriented curriculum that a midshipman would take during the first two years at USNA. Regardless of eventual major, these courses include calculus I/II/III, chemistry I/II, physics I/II, English I/II, western civilization and government. Students validating classes should take the next sequential course listed previously as well as other technical courses taught at USNA, if available. It is also highly recommended that you retake the SAT, ACT, or CLT.
Please ensure completion of your application in its entirety, including all ECAs and emails of school officials, before submitting.
Commanding Officer Endorsement
All fleet applications must have the Commanding Officer endorsement. Applications will not be reviewed without this endorsement. Commanding Officers may attach a write up highlighting the applicants qualifications and leadership with their endorsement. Fleet candidates should inform their Commanding Officer or Command Commissioning Program Representative immediately upon receipt of their official candidate email.
Qualifying Medical Examination
Once you become an official candidate to the Naval Academy, the Office of Admissions will determine when your name will be sent to the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board (DoDMERB). You will be notified by Concord (DoDMERB contractor) concerning the scheduling of your medical examination. For medical questions, please contact the Admissions Medical Technician at 410-293-1817 or admissionsmedical@usna.edu. Your medical exam will suffice for all service academies or ROTC programs you may be considering.
DoDMERB will notify you in writing of the results of your medical examination, advising whether you are qualified, incomplete, or disqualified. If you are found disqualified medically by DODMERB, then a waiver may be considered for admission or one of USNA’s preparatory programs. DODMERB does not provide medical waivers. Keep in mind, however, USNA will process medical waivers once a determination is made that a candidate is being considered for an offer of appointment for direct entry or a preparatory program. No action is needed on your part to initiate the waiver process, and USNA may contact you if additional information is required as part of the waiver process. If you are a previous year candidate who was deemed medically qualified, your qualifying medical examination is valid for two years. In this case, you may be required to submit a Present Health Questionnaire.
A final point: A preliminary medical screening examination by a private physician taken by you on your initiative does not qualify you for entry, and fees for such examinations must be paid by you. You must still take the official service academy medical examination as scheduled by Concord at no cost to you at an authorized medical examining facility.
Apply for Nomination
To be eligible for a nomination for appointment, Fleet candidates must obtain the Commanding Officer endorsement and submit the request for the SECNAV nomination. The request form can be found within the Fleet Checklist. Other official nomination sources include the U.S. Representatives representing your home of record congressional district, U.S. Senators representing your State, and
the Vice President of the United States. There are also service-connected nominations based on the candidate’s or parent’s service. Please review these categories at: https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Apply/index.php
We encourage you to apply to all available sources. Applying for a nomination is similar to applying for a school. Each Congressional Office has their own application and deadlines. Being personally acquainted with the nominator is not required. It is recommended that you begin applying for nominations immediately after you complete your preliminary application. Many nomination notifications do not go out until early to mid-January and the deadline for the USNA application is January 31. Your nominator will notify us of your nomination and it will update on your application portal. You do not need to notify the Academy.
Candidates do not need a nomination to attend any of our preparatory school programs.
Notification of Appointment
To receive an offer of appointment, you must first be found qualified by the Admissions Board, be medically qualified, meet the qualifying standards for the Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA), and receive a nomination from an official source. Candidates compete for offers of appointment to fill vacancies for which they are nominated. Appointments are formally made by the Superintendent of the Naval Academy in the name of the President of the United States.
Candidates with outstanding qualifications may be offered Letters of Assurance (LOAs) beginning in September. An LOA is a statement that a candidate is highly qualified by the Admissions Board and will be given a Fully Qualified Offer of Appointment upon satisfactory completion of all remaining requirements (including nomination, Candidate Fitness Assessment, Blue and Gold Officer interview, and
medical). If you receive an appointment, you will be asked to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.