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🎓 College profile

United States Naval Academy

MD · Public · Large suburb · 14,727 applicants 2023

9% admit rate SAT 1200–1420

🧭 A parent's read

  • Kids finish — on time. 93% graduate in four years. Nationally, barely half do — and a fifth year elsewhere quietly adds $30–70k to the real price. On-time completion is the most underrated ROI number in this decision.
  • Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

Get your child's odds at United States Naval Academy Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. United States Naval Academy starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Reach

Highly selective reach for nearly every applicant.

✅ Best for

  • Solid academic profiles — the admitted-student bands above are within reach for strong students
  • Students focused on Engineering (the school's signature program)

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1200, or ACT below 24, or unweighted GPA below ~3.50 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)
  • With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
Total enrollment
4,474
1,000 - 4,999
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
9.4%
Hyper-selective
SAT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
1200–1420
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
24–31
composite
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
93%

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at United States Naval Academy

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what United States Naval Academy actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Engineering
361 degrees · 41.3%
Engineering majors land high-paying technical roles. Top-earning sub-disciplines: petroleum, chemical, computer engineering.
2. Social Sciences
261 degrees · 29.9%
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.
3. Physical Sciences
132 degrees · 15.1%
Chemistry, physics, geology — strong wages especially in industry roles.
4. English Language & Literature
68 degrees · 7.8%
Writing-heavy roles. Variance is huge — corporate technical writers pay 2× journalists.
5. Military Technologies
52 degrees · 5.9%

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at United States Naval Academy

CS degrees (annual)
40
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to United States Naval Academy

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
University of Alabama in Huntsville
AL · Public
39 stats-based merit scholarships
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
University of Maryland-College Park
MD · Public
45% admit rate (vs 9% here)
University of Maryland-Baltimore County
MD · Public
74% admit rate (vs 9% here)
St. Mary's College of Maryland
MD · Public
75% admit rate (vs 9% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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