United States Naval Academy

As many people said before, USNA is not an institution that anybody can just stroll into to. I departed USNA prior to signing my 2-for-7's, for various reasons. I must say first, USNA truly has some outstanding aspects about it and some very genuine, outstanding people. That being said, at my time at USNA I witnessed and experienced enough to make the decision to not pursue the whole 4 years. While it is true that "wherever you go you're going to have people that you hate/dislike/can't get along with" I saw way too much that should be allotted at an institution of the likes as USNA. I am being sincere and honest when I say I would trust more people I went to high school with (rural upstate NY) than with the vast majority of midshipmen. Yes it is a military environment and all that, which I had absolutely no problem with; I'm comfortable in a structured environment. However, an institution that prides itself on honor and integrity, there should be much more effort in accepting midshipmen that actually possess it. I saw more cheating, lying, and stealing at USNA than anywhere I've ever been. I even witnessed my company officer comment that after a member of my company lied about being on the football team for 6 months, that it was only a "minor thing." I even saw outright racism and one isolated incident where racism caused a legitimate case of extortion. Yes, all of this at THE United States Naval Academy. Also, they constantly call it leadership laboratory, but the version of leadership they teach at USNA is "do it my way or shut the %^%@ up." I am truly worried about the next wave of navy/marine corps officers that are coming down the road. I also applied for all the wrong reasons, which was 90% of the reason why I chose to part ways. However, the disillusionment I witnessed was icing on the cake. An institution of the caliber USNA is supposed to have should not possess the quality of people it trains. I took with me as many positives as I could, my roommates and I will undoubtedly remain lifelong friends. Although, I won't lose sleep at night if I never see almost everyone I went to Annapolis with again. If you go, make sure you go for the right reasons, it's as simple as that. Don't get cynical like I did. However, I view the decision I made as one of the best in my life. I worried that after a few weeks I would regret it, but that has not even come close to being the case. And everyone that says "he's just bashing USNA to self-validate his decision", you are obviously quite ignorant. I actually received a tremendous amount of support from my peers, and many of them applauded the fact that I actually owned up to all of USNA's misgivings, and that it took more to fess up to it and deal with it. In conclusion, go for the right reasons, go to be a genuine leader of sailors/marines, not just a good looking spot on a resume and the promise of a decent job after you five and dive.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2014

Perceived Campus Safety: A+, Social Life: F

I attended many years ago as a member of the class of 1993, dropping out at the end of plebe summer in 1989. As I write this decades later, going there remains the biggest mistake of my life, and my failure there, my biggest disappointment.

Given my personal history with the place, I've long been interested in who drops out and why. The navy's determined that personality type is the strongest indicator: 8% of extroverts, 40% of introverts, and roughly 50% of creative types (e.g., artists, writers, actors, musicians, etc.) drop out.

The bulk of the student body is made up of extroverts. Creative types make up a very small portion, and introverts make up the balance. This leads to an overall dropout rate of 25%.

If you're a type-A personality - outgoing, aggressive - you'll probably get a lot out of USNA and do well. If you're either creative OR shy by nature, you probably shouldn't go - you won't enjoy your time there, and there's a very good chance you won't make it through. However, if you're BOTH creative AND shy, don't go. You will fail. Don't waste your time or the Navy's, don't bring upon yourself and your family the heartache that will inevitably result when you drop out.I speak from experience here - I'm highly creative and highly introverted, so fate had me doubly screwed. I realized by the end of my first month that I had no business being there, and that no incentive in the world would make me want to stay. The prestigious degree and "free" education, room, and board just weren't worth the mental torture. Based on my own casual observation, I would estimate that about 2/3rds of my fellow dropouts that summer were also creative introverts - it wasn't just me.

1st Year Male -- Class 1993

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Useful Schoolwork: F

About this school: it is very hard to get into and very hard to stay in. I left a little before the first semester was over. If you want a life, do not come here, you will be deprived of it for not only your time at school, but also after school and well after you graduate. If you are open-minded and question things, you will hate it here. Before attending, ask yourself why you are doing this and look at all other programs, such as NROTC, or even enlisting (I am prior enlisted Marine Corps) before coming here. The school work is hard, and you have hardly any time to do it without sacrificing precious sleep time. Often times you do pointless activities that get in the way of your study period, especially freshman year, and all of them are pretty much mandatory. The upperclassmen lord over you, and most of them are very adolescent in attitude. The staff (military and civilian teachers) are alright however, but you won't have time really to seek their help, nor really the inclination. If you mess up, such as a conduct or honor offense and you are not a part of the good ol' boy system, everyone turns against you and instead of helping you out, they make you life hell. All of this is actually encouraged by the staff and often times your classmates (especially upperclass) will seek to stab you in the back. If you decide to drop out, everyone turns against you yet again, and especially the staff will make your life absolutely miserable. This place encourages conservativism, conformity, and a hive-mind mentality, coupled with a huge dose of propaganda.

As officers, you are encouraged to think for yourself and become leaders of character (this is preached at the academy, yet never practiced). Coming here after high school does not prepare you to lead men into battle. It does not teach you to be an effective leader. It does not prepare you to deal with people in a social setting. It does not help you deal with real life scenarios. Many people are absolute geniuses that do not have a shred of common sense. If you do have common sense, you will hate it here because you will question everything.

If you are in really good shape, made super good grades in high school (taking the hard classes of course), got really high SAT/ACT scores, are uber-motivated about the military, and lack general common sense (ask your friends and family how you act in public and how you are able to deal with real life scenarios to get a picture of your relative common sense), you will absolutely thrive here. If you are a non-conformist, a person who questions authority, a person who bends the rules or even breaks them intentionally, a person who has great street smarts, a person who values individual liberties, and a person who enjoys life in general, you will hate it here.

Academically, this place places huge value on engineering and science, not humanities and social studies. Athletically, recruited athletes get all the special treatment, non-athletes are pretty much nobodies. Socially, the upperclass rule the lives of the lowerclassmen. Most of the men are very immature themselves, and are unapproachable in a social setting. A lot of contempt is bred here between classes, and I felt uncomfortable here. Everyone is in your business and rumors spread like plague. There is nothing really to do on campus except study and work out. Off campus, the town is okay the first few weekends, then it gets boring and is a waste of money. You can't drink your first year, even if you are of age.

Overall, this school is not for people who have common sense. ROTC, OCS, USNA, they all make the same thing: officers in the naval service. And of the three, none of them produce either better or worse officers. There are bad from all three, and there are great from all three equally. However, if you want a huge challenge, and want connections for your future and want to deprive your self of life, liberty, sleep, and happiness, come to the Naval Academy. If you want a social life (such as getting laid), want to take charge of your college experience, and be independent, do not come here.

Finally, I had more freedom as an enlisted person than being here. I had more freedom to think and do things than I did here during my stay. I made way more money, and I was better accepted as a man and as a leader than I ever did here. If you are a prior-enlisted reading this and are considering going... I strongly do not recommend it. And for everybody, ask yourself what you really want and research as much as possible. There is a startling lack of information about USNA on the web, which is all of it's propaganda efforts masking what really happens there.Good luck!!

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Social Life: F