They had a big parade review today and they looked great.  Really makes me proud of him.  He has always talked of flying jets in the Navy but today he told me he has decided he wants to go into Marine aviation.  Any input from on which direction would be better.

USNA "prep school"???

Paging Zahpod...

Dang, man!


Ya know that kid's getting a good education w/o a bunch of BS.




 <-----   Naval banana

Prep school.  Good for you, and good for him.  No joke.

Quoted: USNA "prep school"??? Paging Zahpod...

IIRC from my application days, it's a school where they put people who they want to go to the Academy, but aren't quite at the level where they want them. The Navy wants them, but doesn't want to set them up to do badly in their first year. So you go to NAPS and get brought up to speed. You can only get in by applying to USNA, and then they decide if you're going there, USNA, or out.

Congrats.  Glad you enjoyed your visit.  Your son will get enough exposure to all of the career paths open to him over the next 5 years to make an informed choice.

The only advice that I have would be to you:  Newport gets awfully chilly starting any day now and doesn't really warm up until June.  Plan your visits accordingly.  When your boy gets to Annapolis, try to visit at least once per year - football games are a great time.  Watch your son get sworn in on I-day and if you can, be there for the whole of June week.

Quoted: Quoted: USNA "prep school"??? Paging Zahpod... IIRC from my application days, it's a school where they put people who they want to go to the Academy, but aren't quite at the level where they want them. The Navy wants them, but doesn't want to set them up to do badly in their first year. So you go to NAPS and get brought up to speed. You can only get in by applying to USNA, and then they decide if you're going there, USNA, or out.

That's it exactly.

Congrats to your son. I tried to get into USNA last year, got rejected, but I had alot of college academic cred already so they didn't think NAPS would be a good fit for me.

I'm at El Cid now, and we're all psyched up because next weekend is the first time alot of us will get to see our parent's since 8/13.

Congrats!

Zaphod (NAPS '87) checking in!

Congratulations, Dukota!

Marine aviation is a fantastic choice, but a BITCH to get into! He's going to have to study like mad at USNA. Warn him now.

NAPS is reserved for the top 300 or so applicants to the Naval and Coast Guard Academies who didn't make the first cut. As stated above, the services have sufficient interest that they offer the Prep School as a polishing place before the "main event".

I, for one, am better for being a NAPSter, and if you think the Service Academies are a tight bunch, try the guys who went to NAPS!

My class seriously took it in the shorts. Of about 300 who started, only about 125 went to USNA. Of those, less than half graduated. I remember my Youngster year watching my classmates dropping like flies (academics, paternity, maternity, honor, etc.). It was terrible. Wasn't NAPS's fault, though.

So, is it cold in Newport, yet?



ETA: I tried to go visit the place last year, but post-9/11 they don't let visitors in anymore.

In case you haven't found them yet, Mama Leoni's (right outside the main gate to NETC) is the best Italian place in town. You then have the Boathouse (just keep going down Thames Street, WAY down, and it's on the right) for seafood, as well as other places I've never heard of, but I'm sure are there.

Oh, and tell your kid to keep it wrapped if he visits Sloppy Vagina, er..... Salve Regina.

I was offered NAPS and the Academy while I was still in boot camp in 83, but was given bad info, I was told NAPS was a 2 year stint by my Div Officer, had I known it was only 9 months I would have accepted.

hindsight is 20/20.....

Hope your son does well, my uncle was a pilot for the Marines, flew F4's off of the America and I think he was an instructor at NAS Pensacola before getting out and flying for Contentintal Airlines.