Benefits of Attending the U.S. Naval Academy

The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) is a four-year higher educational institute with many similarities to other colleges. Yet, there is much more to the Naval Academy than meets the eye. It’s a service academy, dedicated to developing U.S. Navy and Marine Corps officers who will protect our country at the highest levels of leadership. Everything at the Academy is approached through a military leadership lens, from the classes offered to determining jobs after graduation.

What are the benefits to this type of model? There are many. USNA has an excellent academic reputation; it is rated the number one public college in the nation. It offers career and life-building leadership lessons throughout every activity and guarantees a job after graduation. Beyond this, many intangibles bolster these excellent benefits. We’ll explore them all here.

A Top Notch Education

The Academy is highly selective, with an acceptance rate of just seven percent, one of the highest in the country. The school maintains an eight-to-one student-faculty ratio and boasts an 89 percent graduation rate. Further, Naval Academy graduates are on track to be the sixth highest earning graduates of any school. The Academy prides itself on its academic prowess. It offers 26 majors, including mathematics, various types of engineering, history, foreign area studies, cyber operations, oceanography, political science, English and many more. These are taught by military and civilian instructors, and midshipmen must take core curriculum courses that supplement a more typical college education with robust military leadership instruction.

Learning Leadership from All Angles

In addition to credited classes focused on military leadership, USNA also teaches non-credited lessons that are hard to match in a typical college. Midshipmen must follow their chain of command and learn from those both above and below. Within their company, they are encouraged to work as a team, sometimes undergoing strenuous tasks that must be completed as one unit. Additionally, midshipmen must balance a full workload of classes with an intensely rigorous physical training regimen and very little spare time. They practice leadership daily, and learn it from all angles in all activities.

Beautiful Housing and Board + Other Benefits

Not only do midshipmen enjoy these benefits, but they also have an enviable living situation on the Naval Academy campus, known as the Yard. All 4,400+ midshipmen (all four classes) live in one of the largest dorms in the world, Bancroft Hall, affectionately known as “Mother B.” This gorgeous Beaux Arts building is a small city with everything midshipmen need in their daily lives. They have a bookstore, uniform and tailor shop, cobbler shop, snack bar, barber/beauty shop, post office and recreation rooms. There is a 55,000 square foot dining area called King Hall, where over 13,000 meals are served daily.

Midshipmen enjoy excellent medical and dental care at the Academy, including routine medical treatment, orthopedics/sports medicine, podiatry, physical therapy, preventive medicine, optometry, dental hygiene and general dentistry services.

A Guaranteed Career

One of the main draws of the U.S. Naval Academy is its exciting and dependable career path. The goal is to create career officers who serve 20 years or more in the Navy and Marine Corps. Naval Academy graduates can become an ensign in the Navy or a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, depending upon their path. Service assignments are made in November of their final year, and they are commissioned into their position after graduation, which occurs aptly during Commissioning Week in late May. They’ll have opportunities to work with state-of-the-art technology and learn how to operate aircraft, vessels and machinery. Not only is the career path a desirable and lucrative chance to continue receiving training by a world-class military operative, but the pride that military personnel feel in serving their country is incomparable.

Navy Goes Beyond the Typical

What are the benefits of attending the U.S. Naval Academy? They are numerous and go well beyond the typical college education. If you’re interested in pursuing a military career, they are invaluable. World-class education, immersive leadership training, housing, clothing, food and medical services, plus an excellent career path when you graduate are valuable assets in a world where jobs can be hard to find. Want to see it for yourself? We offer daily tours and would be happy to welcome you to the Yard! When you take a tour, purchase something from our shops or dine in our restaurants, you’re also supporting the midshipmen by helping to fund the many clubs and extracurricular activities. Visit today and make a difference. You’ll be surprised to see all the differences here too.

On The Yard