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Naval Academy Foundation Visits Schreiner

Article written by Bill Drake, University Relations

On Monday April 1 Capt. Ed Wallace, USN (Ret.) visited Schreiner University to review the Greystone Program and the Schreiner academic, extracurricular, and athletic programs. Capt. Wallace's purpose in visiting Schreiner was to gain a better understanding of both the Greystone program and Schreiner's rigorous first-year curriculum in Calculus, Chemistry and English, three key areas of academic preparation for entrance into the Naval Academy .

Captain Wallace is a former naval aviator with 27 years flight experience after which he served as Naval Academy Chief of Staff, Director of Admissions, and associate professor of oceanography. In his current position he represents the Naval Academy Foundation and is in charge of the Athletic Scholarship program which sponsors approximately 80 scholar-athletes in one-year preparatory programs between their high school graduation and entrance into the Naval Academy .

In a meeting with Schreiner Provost Mike Looney, Dean of Students Peg Layton, Chief Financial Officer Fred Gamble, SFSA coordinator Allan Boatwright, associate Dean of Admission Sam Davis, and Greystone Director David Bailey, Capt. Wallace explained that admission to the U.S. Naval Academy is very selective, with only 1150 slots available for the approximately 13,000 applicants each year, with young women constituting approximately 17% of those selected. Wallace explained that while the Greystone program is unique because students actually attend college-level classes rather than advanced high school classes, which is the case in all of the 23 schools with which the Naval Academy Foundation currently has affiliations, the phenomenon of young people entering the Naval academy after an additional year of preparation beyond high school isn't unusual � in fact, according to Wallace, approximately 1/3 of all entering midshipmen have had that additional year of preparation.

Wallace pointed out that the reason that all current Naval Academy Foundation-supported prep schools are advanced high schools rather than colleges is because so many of those selected for support by the Naval Academy Foundation are dedicated athletes who want to preserve their four year NCAA eligibility, which they could not do if they participated in college-level athletics in an academy preparatory program because they would lose one year of eligibility. In fact, according to Wallace, 100% of those selected for support by the Naval Academy Foundation were varsity letter athletes in high school.

Several of those present asked Capt. Wallace whether the Naval Academy 's emphasis on academics and athletic prowess would exclude applicants who were well-rounded but not necessarily varsity athletes. Wallace explained that there are 17 different categories for which applicants are awarded points in calculating who is extended an appointment, including SAT scores, rank in class, quality of the high school, teacher recommendations, community service, writing samples, a face-to-face interview, participation in sports of all kinds, community service, student and community leadership, and work history during school. �We are looking for the well-rounded student as well as the student-athlete,� Wallace emphasized,� and we go out of our way to look for that special student who is dedicated to becoming a Naval Academy graduate no matter what obstacles they have to overcome.�

Asked about the implications of the Naval Academy 's selection criteria for students who participate in the Schreiner-affiliated Greystone program, Wallace pointed out that Greystone actually offers students a unique advantage. �Not only is the cost of a year at Schreiner considerably more affordable than many of the prep schools on our list, the quality of instruction is so superior that if a young person isn't finally selected for an appointment they haven't lost a year by taking merely post-high school courses.� According to Wallace, students in the Greystone program come under the heading of �free-agent' applicants, which means that they have been invited to apply again after being initially rejected but for a variety of reasons they haven't been selected for Naval Academy Foundation scholarships. �Out of the 1150 slots available each year only about 75 are filled by free-agents,� Wallace noted, �so with Greystone students already filling two of those slots this year I would say that the program and the students are definitely doing a lot of things right.�

Before and after meeting with Schreiner officials for lunch Wallace had toured the campus with Commander Bailey, met privately with a variety of students for candid discussions on what they think of Schreiner, sat in on several classes including Calculus and English, met with members of Schreiner's athletic program, and inspected the living quarters of Greystone students. At the conclusion of his visit Wallace commented, �Many years ago we dropped colleges from our list of Foundation supported schools because we found that after a year at college too many of our sponsored students were losing motivation to enter the Naval academy after a year of �the good life' at college, but from what I see here at Schreiner the Greystone program has struck an excellent balance in this area, maintaining motivation and dedication while enabling students to obtain a high level of academic preparation in a university context. We are certainly thinking of reconsidering our decision to include only advanced high school preparatory programs in our Naval Academy Foundation scholarship support program.�

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