I am a 14 high schooler interested in joining annaplois out of high school. Im a freshmen and i have earned my pilots lisence,i have done over 50 hours of community service. im also in rotc and have been dedictated to it since the begining.i have letters of recomendations and i also pull mostly a's with some b's. what else can i do to ensure a path to annapolis it have been a dream of mine since about 5th grade,i would also like to no anythign u can tell me about naval aviators,becuase thats wat i currently want to do.

Hi Skelieman~

I would say you're on the right track at your current age. The main goal you have right now is getting accepted to the Academy. Since you're still just a freshman with the intention of joining right out of high school, it's in your best interest to go balls-to-the-wall in high school and finish out the last 3 1/2 years strong. The selection process for high school graduates is more stringent. There will be thousands of applicants across the country with 4.0 GPAs, varsity athletic letters, JROTC, etc. etc. etc. that you'll be in competition with.

The best bet for you is to study hard, get and maintain good grades, and above all else, don't let peer pressure fail you in the end. If you're active in sports, that will help a lot. As far as recommendations, that's great; but, see if you can't forward those recommendations to congressmen and get nominations from them. This is a tedious process that involves a lot of essay writing, letter writing, appointment scheduling and interviews to get someone to nominate you for a slot.

As far as schooling, get good at math, physics, chemistry and English. You will be required to take up to Calculus III plus one semester of higher order math. Chemistry is a ball-buster for over 50% of freshmen. You will take at least 2 semesters of physics because every degree from the Academy is a Bachelors of Science (regardless of your major). Finally, my biggest bit of advice is to learn English, writing and grammar. It will KILL you if you can't get that down by the time you finish high school.

Enough with academics. Get to working out as well. The minimum physical standard every semester is roughly 65 situps, 45 pushups and a 10:30 mile and a-half run.

Only in your junior year will you be able to apply for the service selection of your choice. You'll get a good chance at Pilot or Naval Flight Officer, but there's also a good chance of getting your 3rd or 4th choice and getting disappointed.

Let me know if you have any questions after this. In the meantime, focus on the short-term.