Naval Academy Preparatory School
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The Naval Academy Preparatory School, or NAPS is the preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy and United States Coast Guard Academy, located at NETC, Newport, Rhode Island. The mission of NAPS is to provide for strengthening of academic potential of candidates to each of these institutions. The students are called by their rank midshipman candidates or cadet candidates, depending on whether they are bound for the Naval or Coast Guard Academies. However, all are informally known as NAPSters.
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[edit] History
The Naval Academy Preparatory School is the Navy’s fourth oldest school; only the Naval War College, the Naval Post Graduate School, and the Naval Academy are older. Informal preparatory classes began as early as 1915.
In 1918, the Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels signed in a provision to have up to 100 sailors from the fleet to be eligible for entry to the Academy. Due to the difficult nature of the Naval Academy's entrance examination, then Undersecretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt also allowed for a school to founded to prepare Sailors and Marines for entry.
The first official classes were established at Naval Station, Newport and Naval Station, San Francisco in 1920. A year later the schools were moved to Norfolk, VA and San Diego, CA. San Diego classes were disestablished and NAPS classes remained solely in Norfolk until 1942, when the new Naval Academy Preparatory School opened in Newport, RI.
In early 1943, NAPS moved to the Bainbridge Naval Training Center, a facility of several hundred acres located above the Susquehanna River, some 40 miles northeast of Baltimore, MD. NAPS returned to Newport while the Bainbridge Center was temporarily inactive during a 15-month period around1950. When Bainbridge was reactivated in 1951 because of the Korean War, the preparatory school returned to Maryland. in August 1974, NAPS returned to its permanent home in Newport.
In the 1970s, civilian applicants began to be considered for entry and women were first admitted to NAPS in 1975 following congressional authorization of women to attend all service academies.
In 1979, NAPS began preparing prospective Coast Guard Academy students. The Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, selects students for assignment to NAPS. Appointments are awarded upon graduation. New facilities have recently been added to the preparatory campus including a brand new building to house the students. In addition, NAPS possesses an astro turf football field with a newly laid track surrounding it. All in all, the life of a NAPS midshipmen is considerably cozier than it has been in the past.
[edit] Admissions
It was once possible for enlisted sailors and Marines to apply directly to NAPS for admission. In the late 1980s, NAPS was brought under the authority of the USNA Superintendent and the admissions process was unified. Since then, students must apply for admission to either the U.S. Naval, U.S. Merchant Marine, or U.S. Coast Guard Academies. Those students who are deemed qualified but who may require an extra year or preparation may be offered an appointment to NAPS.
[edit] Course of Instruction
All midshipman and cadet candidates complete a standard course of study—calculus, physics, chemistry, and English—to make them competitive at their respective academies. Varsity athletics are also offered. During the first three weeks upon reporting, midshipman candidates from each of the academies complete an indoctrination period to introduce them to a military lifestyle.
