Centers of Influence Conference - US Naval Academy

On Wednesday night I returned to New York City (ahead of the snowstorm!) from the Centers of Influence Conference at the United States Naval Academy. Unfortunately, the conference was cut a little short due to weather--- and some counselors are now not leaving Annapolis until Sunday!-- but the time we spent there was certainly long enough to better understand the mission, unique collegiate experience, and tradition behind this truly remarkable institution.

First, let's be clear-- what is the Naval Academy? The Naval Academy is a military service college where students go through a highly selective admissions process based on meeting academic, physical, and medical criteria in order to attend. This leadership development college is designed to train officers for the Navy and Marine corps and is tuition free with the understanding that all graduates will serve their nation for at least five years after graduation. This is NOT the same as enlisting directly in the military, as graduates work diligently to earn a bachelor's degree during their four years at the Naval Academy. In fact, the Naval Academy has the #1 graduation rate in the country for schools who have both over 50% of their class graduating in the STEM fields and over 100 graduates a year. #2 is MIT. Unlike the other military service academies, half of the faculty at the USNA are civilian professors. After the five years of service is completed, some graduates continue on for a career with the military. Others rejoin the civilian workforce and pursue careers doing things like becoming lawyers, engineers, or working in the corporate technology sector.

The midshipmen on campus have a very very unique college experience, and it certainly isn't for everyone. There is mandatory Physical Training for all for two hours a day. There is no drinking on campus. Plebes (the Naval Academy's term for freshman) have strict curfews and limits on leaving campus. Meals are served family style in an extraordinarily efficient way where all 4400 midshipmen are in and out of the chow hall in 20 minutes (I ate with them, let me be clear, most of the eating was completed in about 10 minutes). All midshipmen are in uniform at all times. People looking to wear flannel pajama bottoms to class need not apply. Virtually every minute of every day is mapped out for all midshipmen, with class, meals, PT (Physical Training) fitting into a neatly organized grid. This allows midshipmen to maximize each hour of each day, showing them just how much they can accomplish in 24 hours. The curriculum is also full of preset requirements for all students, regardless of major, in things like naval science, chemistry, and calculus. All majors offered are based on the needs of the Navy. By law, at least 65% of the class must be majoring in a STEM field but liberal arts majors like Political Science, History, and Foreign Language also exist.

New initiatives at the Naval Academy include a new major in Cyber Security -- unique compared to other cyber security programs at other universities because it focuses on not just keeping data safe but also how to break into systems (this is, after all, training for the military where this type of skill could be of use to the US Government). In the past 10 years, there has also been an increased push to allow students to study abroad. Because of the nature of the training and the requirement that all midshipmen graduate in exactly 4 years, international study used to be off limits. But new programs now allow students to study at other Naval Academies across the globe, building partnerships and allies with mutually beneficial results.There is also a strong desire to increase the number of female midshipmen from the current level of 22% to a higher level of 30%.

Another attribute of the Naval Academy is the athletic teams. There are 33 varsity sports at the Naval Academy and Division I athletics is a major draw. If you've ever seen an Army-Navy game on TV, you know that school spirit and support of athletics is a keystone feature of the Naval Academy.

So, how does one get selected to attend the Naval Academy? Let me just say, it isn't easy. Each year approximately 18,000 students apply for one of the 1,200 spots in the entering class. In order to be qualified to be considered there are MANY steps. For more information about the steps you can visit http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/. Essentially students must follow steps to solicit a nomination, usually through their congressman. In addition to seeking a nomination, students must fill out an application, complete a physical fitness evaluation, and have a medical evaluation completed by a US medical review board doctor. For your reference, about 90% of midshipmen were varsity athletes in high school. On a student panel we listened to, two of the four midshipmen panelists were valedictorian of their high school class. The average SAT score of admitted students is a 1313 on the first two sections. Things like strong moral character are essential. Applicants must also submit a letter of recommendation from their high school English teacher and Math teacher, no other subjects are allowed. Once a student gets a nomination, they are then eligible to receive an appointment to the Naval Academy, aka getting in. Applicants are strongly encouraged to start this process as early as possible, as competition increases as the year goes on. Unlike a traditional college application that might be due January 1, if you submit your initial Naval Academy application that late in the cycle your chances of admission go from slim to none.

There are multiple pathways to being appointed to the Naval Academy. The majority arrive through the process listed above. But a few hundred midshipmen per year arrive after completing a PG year at the Naval Academy Prep School or a similarly affiliated foundation school around the country. Then there are also appointments given to individuals identified from the enlisted ranks who show the potential to be future leaders in the Navy or Marines.

The physical plant of the Annapolis campus is truly gorgeous. The dormitory, Bancroft Hall, is hands down the most gorgeous, regal, and impressive dorm I've seen (first picture above. Yes, that is a DORM). All midshipman live here, making it the second largest dorm in the world. The campus is also full of traditions, perhaps the most infamous being the Herndon climb at the end of Plebe year where the class is faced with swapping out a Plebe hat for a Naval cover on the top of the obelisk monument, which has, for good measure, been covered in grease. Check out 'Herndon Climb' on youtube to see some examples.

Another of my favorite details on campus were the stained glass in the chapel. Each window had a corresponding maritime biblical verse. And did I mention the glasswork is Tiffany? Interestingly, the Naval Academy also has a Hillel and students of all faith backgrounds are welcome.

Easily the best part of the visit though was getting to see Second Class Jacky Chow, ElRo class of 2010! As fate would have it, my escort to lunch in the chow hall was in the very same Company as Jacky! Can you believe it??! It really was fate that out of 4400 midshipmen, the one that I connected with would know Jacky, let alone be in his Company. Jacky will graduate next year and I know I speak for the entire ElRo community when I say how proud we are of him and his service to our country. (*author's note*, the USNA COI conference had us running on a schedule similar to that of a midshipmen. Our agenda started between 6:30 and 6:45 am each day with our 'mid morning break' coming at 9:30 am. I was very tired in this pic!)

Overall, it takes a very specific combination of leadership, scholarship, and a desire to serve to be a good fit for the Naval Academy. There are some enormous benefits -- like the free tuition, stipend, and guaranteed job for the first five years after graduation. There are also enormous challenges -- did I mention the 2 hours a day of required working out? I didn't mention Plebe summer, but google it. There is also an extremely high level of mental toughness required, especially for young people just out of high school. The sense that students feel lucky to attend though is palpable. You don't get the sense that many people come to the Naval Academy as their second choice option. I'm honored to have been selected to attend the COI conference and feel much better equipped to guide students interested in pursuing this option. 

GO NAVY! 

Book Review: The Perfect Score Project

Late last fall, I got an advance copy of The Perfect Score Project, by Debbie Stier, in the mail. I don't get a ton of free time in this job, but I left the book on my desk to read during my free moments, and I just finished reading.

The premise of the book is that the author took a one year journey to take seven administrations of the SAT on a quest to earn a perfect 2400 (with a 12 on the essay). This experiment overlapped with her high school son's own college application journey. Her year of prep ended right as his real college admission testing cycle began.

I won't ruin the book's ending for you by revealing if she does or doesn't get the perfect score, but I will share my thoughts on the premise and information within these pages.

First, let me start by saying that it is probably clear to anyone who knows me that I'm not a fan of the SAT (or really any standardized tests). I understand why these tests exist and I'm not saying there is no place for them in the college admission landscape, but I am wholeheartedly against the concept that there is an entire industry that revolves around the exam and that students (or in the case of the author, adults) devote months and years of their lives to prepare to fill in a bunch of bubbles. The money that is exchanged, the anxiety that is produced, the false sense of accomplishment/failure that is created boggles my mind. With that said, the book is not just a story about test prep. It is also a story about parenting, college anxiety, and honestly some pretty fun trivia about the SAT (I might not like the SAT, but I do love trivia).

Second, let me go on by saying that I'm super excited that Debbie's son wasn't a student at ElRo. (Sorry Debbie if you are reading this, which you probably are because you seem like the kind of person who sets up Google alerts, so Hi!). I'm not trying to be mean, I only say this because the stress over this project was palpable in the book. The vision of a kitchen with SAT prep tips taped to the cabinets might as well be ripped out of the pages of Dante's Inferno. That doesn't mean that I didn't find Debbie to be an endearing narrator (I did) or that I don't think she grew a lot from the project (she did), but I'm happy to have read about it in a book and not lived it in person. I do happen to know the counselors at her son's school and let me say, with full sincerity: bless them. It was clear though, through the neuroses, that Debbie really does love her kids and really did genuinely find joy in the project.

I highlighted many things in my copy of the book, but some of the most important were:

-- The Blue Book (The College Board's test prep book) is the gold standard of test prep materials. All of the best prep will be rooted in actual College Board materials. This is great advice and falls in line with my own personal corollary which is: the secret to great test prep isn't about the company you pick to tutor you, it is about the level of commitment, focus, and drive of the pupil. Year after year some of our best test takers at ElRo didn't have a tutor or magic class, they are bright students who study on their own because they love studying, not because their parents want them to. So if the raw material (the student) is good at self-study, the Blue Book might be all you need.

-- "For most people, 'I'm not good at math' means 'I haven't practiced.'" (page 170). Take it from me, a person who was a year behind in math in 4th grade and never really learned her multiplication tables/long division who ended up taking AP Calculus BC in 11th grade and then the even more advanced 'Math Topics' class in 12th. Math CAN be unlocked for anyone who is committed to practicing.

-- Test score gains come from deliberate practice and loving the test. Case in point for that second part about loving the test is that we once had a senior at ElRo who went from a 27 to a 32 on the ACT in 60 days. I asked him what happened after I saw his score, his answer: "I really loved the passages on each of the sections on that particular test, they just all had topics that interested me-- I didn't even feel like I was taking a test."

So, should you read the book? For parents (or students) that want to get familiar with the ins and outs of the test and will keep both feet on the ground when reading, knock yourself out. Buy it, read it, chuckle at some of the extreme lengths her obsession brings her to, take note of some of the really great advice (like picking a test center that uses full size desks and not chairs with a mini fold-down desk attached to one side). But, if you are already prone to Testing Robot Syndrome, proceed with caution. If you think test scores are the key to your child's (or your) happiness/success in getting into college, make sure you don't skim over the parts about the strain the project put on Debbie's relationship with her kids and ex-husband. The four years of high school go fast, both for parents and for students. Fixating on Kumon worksheets, and vocab words, weekly practice tests, and reaching a certain score on a test are only going to result in bonding and fond memories for a very small percentage of people. For the rest, admission testing obsessions will plant seeds of anger and resentment. It is not worth it.

In closing, I do feel a little bit bad for Debbie because the timing of this book will make portions of it relevant for a limited time only. The College Board is revamping the SAT once again so the version of the tests that she took will be extinct starting with the students that are currently in the 9th grade (unless they push back the release date again). But the underlying themes of the quest for a perfect score, the commentary on parent/child relationships, and basic tenets of test performance are timeless.

The Perfect Score Project will be published February 25th. To learn more about the book, the project, and the author, go to http://perfectscoreproject.com/.