The service academy application process

Intake — Induction Day & Plebe Summer

Incoming midshipmen report on Induction Day (I-Day) at the end of June — gear issue, medical screening, haircuts, and the Oath of Office before marching into Bancroft Hall. That begins Plebe Summer, roughly seven weeks of near-total isolation from the outside world: dawn physical training, drill, sailing and seamanship, weapons, boxing and Marine martial arts, and memorizing Reef Points, all run by hand-picked upper-class "detailers." (The grueling Sea Trials capstone and the greased-pole Herndon Monument climb come later — they mark the end of plebe year the following spring, not the end of the summer.)

The academic year

Classes run Plebe (fourth class), Youngster (third class), Second Class, and First Class ("Firstie"). The Brigade of Midshipmen numbers over 4,400; every mid earns a Bachelor of Science across 26 majors, and at least 65% graduate in a STEM field. Standout seniors compete for the Trident Scholar program's year-long research thesis. Days are anchored by formations, a full-Brigade noon-meal formation, classes, athletics, and evening study.

Athletics — mandatory sport, every season

Midshipmen not on a varsity roster compete in club or intramural (company) sports. The Navy Midshipmen field roughly three dozen NCAA Division I teams — football in the American Athletic Conference, most other sports in the Patriot League — and chase the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy and the Army–Navy Game each year.

The summers, year by year

Each midshipman's summer splits into rotating blocks — a fleet-training block, a professional-training block, and leave.

• After Plebe year — Youngster Cruise: about three weeks at sea living and working alongside enlisted sailors aboard a ship or Yard Patrol craft.
• Rising Second Class — PROTRAMID: a sampler of the warfare communities in one summer — surface ships, a dive aboard a submarine, flights in naval aircraft, and Marine air-ground training.
• Rising First Class — First-Class Cruise: four to eight weeks embedded with a fleet unit as a junior-officer-in-training.
• Also: serving as a detailer for the next Plebe Summer, summer school, and sailing / YP seamanship training.

Intake — In-processing & BCT ("Beast")

New "basic cadets" arrive on In-processing Day (I-Day) in late June and step off the bus into the hands of upper-class cadre. Basic Cadet Training (BCT, "Beast") runs about six weeks in two phases: the first on the cadet area — customs, the Honor Code, heritage, and conditioning — and the second at Jacks Valley, a 3,300-acre field site where cadets live in "tent city" and run the assault, confidence, obstacle, and Leadership Reaction courses. BCT closes with the Acceptance Parade, when the class — now "Doolies" (fourth-class cadets) — is accepted into the Cadet Wing.

The academic year

The four-class Cadet Wing — about 4,000 cadets in four groups — moves from Doolie (freshman) up through firstie (senior). Every cadet earns a Bachelor of Science from a STEM-heavy program: a 32-course core plus one of about 30 majors. The Academy frames the experience as three pillars — academics, military training, and athletics — and the day runs from an early reveille through a mandatory noon formation and march across the Terrazzo to Mitchell Hall, afternoon classes, athletics, and evening Academic Call to Quarters.

Athletics — every cadet an athlete

Every cadet competes on an intercollegiate, club, or intramural team and is fitness-tested each semester. The varsity Air Force Falcons play NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference and contend for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy against Army and Navy.

The summers, year by year

• After freshman year — Combat Survival Training (SERE): about three weeks of survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training in the field; many rising sophomores also serve as BCT cadre.
• Airmanship: roughly half of cadets fly the glider Soaring course, and the Wings of Blue run Airmanship 490 — the jump program where students make a first freefall parachute jump solo and earn jump wings.
• Rising junior — Operations Air Force: a required ~2.5-week tour of operational Air and Space Force bases to explore career fields alongside Airmen and Guardians.
• Also: summer research, language immersion and Global Engagement programs, internships, leadership cadre roles, and a block of leave.

Intake — Day One & Swab Summer

Incoming cadets — "swabs" — report on Day One in late June or early July for uniform issue, drill, and in-processing. Swab Summer runs about seven weeks of calisthenics, drill, obstacle and ropes courses, basic sailing, and indoctrination in Coast Guard history and chain of command, with one week spent aboard the barque USCGC Eagle, "America's Tall Ship." Rising second-class cadets run the training in two-week rotations; it ends with Sea Trials, a roughly 12-hour endurance test after which swabs receive their shoulder boards and join the Corps of Cadets.

The academic year

The Coast Guard Academy is the smallest federal academy — a Corps of about 1,100 cadets — and the only one that needs no congressional nomination; admission is purely competitive. Cadets progress from fourth class (4/c) to first class (1/c) and choose among roughly nine or ten majors, weighted toward engineering and marine science, all earning a Bachelor of Science. The day runs from a 0600 reveille through formations, corps-wide meals, classes, mandatory afternoon athletics, and evening study.

Athletics — Division III, and a sailing powerhouse

Unlike the Division I DoD academies, the Coast Guard Bears compete in NCAA Division III, primarily in the NEWMAC conference. Athletics are mandatory — varsity, club, or intramural — and sailing is a standout, with dinghy and offshore teams that have won national championships.

The summers, year by year

Summer training rotates aboard Eagle and at Coast Guard units; every cadet spends a minimum of six weeks aboard Eagle over four years.

• Rising third class: five to six weeks aboard USCGC Eagle learning seamanship and celestial navigation, plus time at a Coast Guard field unit as a junior petty officer.
• Rising second class: Swab Summer cadre duty, a two-week coastal sail-training cruise of New England, and an aviation week (including a helicopter hoist).
• Rising first class: a junior-officer tour aboard a cutter or at a sector or air station, where cadets can earn Officer-of-the-Deck qualification.

Intake — Indoctrination ("Indoc")

New "plebe candidates" arrive in early July for Indoctrination — about two-and-a-half weeks of uniform issue, that first regulation haircut, drill, fitness, basic seamanship, and an introduction to academics and regimental routine, run by upper-class cadre. An Honor Oath transitions candidates to plebes and the Regiment of Midshipmen; a separate Acceptance Day in September swears the class into the U.S. Navy Reserve.

The academic year

The Regiment numbers about 1,000 midshipmen. Kings Point is unlike any other academy: midshipmen pursue one of two tracks — Marine Transportation (deck) or Marine Engineering (engine) — and graduate with three credentials at once: a Bachelor of Science, a U.S. Coast Guard merchant-mariner officer license (Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer), and a military commission, most often as a Navy Reserve Strategic Sealift Officer.

Athletics — Division III Mariners

The USMMA Mariners compete in NCAA Division III — most sports in the Skyline Conference, football in the NEWMAC — across 18 varsity teams, with club sports (including sailing and crew) and intramurals rounding out the three tiers.

The defining feature — Sea Year

Instead of four campus summers, Kings Point sends midshipmen to sea for roughly a year. Midshipmen train aboard U.S.-flag commercial ships and military vessels, visiting on average around 18 countries, completing a structured Sea Project, logging sea time toward their license, and earning pay from the shipping companies — hence the motto, "The World Is Our Campus."

• Plebe (freshman) year: on campus at Kings Point.
• Sea Year (sophomore–junior): roughly 300 days at sea aboard commercial and military ships, split across two rotation groups (the "A split" and "B split") so the Regiment is always partly afloat.
• First class (senior) year: back on campus to finish coursework and sit for the Coast Guard license exam.