The Navy pays 100% of the tuition, room, and board, medical and dental care costs of Naval Academy midshipmen. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. You will continue to learn something new each day of your career, so stay in "receive mode" and listen to those who have been there and done that. Congratulations, you experienced what one percent of America gets to do. 2/C year marks a monumental time for Midshipmen. This child, and yes, even at 18, they are children, is already hurting and living with fear/doubts to criticize them is not what is needed at this time. All this time you were providing freedom and now you know what it feels like. Of course, you still have to meet all of the elevated standards. All rights reserved. You are not eligible for weekend liberty if you are assigned a military duty/watch (rotated responsibilities) or if you are having serious difficulty in academics, conduct or military performance. Generally, midshipmen can leave the academy within their first two years without repercussions, said Cmdr. There is no obligation at all if you quit before the sophomore year. I had a friend who left after plebe year because she had been recruited by a coach who left when she entered and didn't get on with the new coach. If you impress your interview board, they may choose you as the principal nominee virtually guaranteeing an appointment assuming you are fully qualified. No reason to sidetrack your energy about it. For the future BUD/S students in the fleet, there is a pre-BUDS program as well. Seniors are called Firsties, or First Class Midshipmen. Karine Jean-Pierre | 1.7K views, 59 likes, 3 loves, 75 comments, 8 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from RT: Press briefing by White House Press Secretary. How To Get Into The US Naval Academy: 5 Steps To Getting In. All Midshipmen participate in sports and extracurricular activities. You go to millions of meetings with people because they want to make sure that this is what you really want as opposed to you cracking under pressure.