Academy Dreams
The pier and training vessel at the Merchant Marine Academy

USMMA · High school roadmap

Junior year: U.S. Merchant Marine Academy11th grade · The launch year

Your 11th grade checklist for USMMA, built from the official pages we track.

The pier at Kings Point, November 2015. Photo: Spc. Stephanie Ramirez via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (U.S. government work).

Why this year matters

Junior year is when the academies' application windows open and the summer programs fill. Current juniors are applying for the Class of 2032. That cycle's exact dates are not yet published, so the timing below uses each academy's general "junior year" guidance plus the summer-2027 program dates that are posted.

Checklist for junior year

SAT / ACT

  • Test policies differ:
    • USCGA and USMMA list the SAT or ACT only23.
    • USMMA doesn't accept non-standard or untimed administrations3.
  • Score-send codes: USNA SAT 5809 / ACT 17424; USAFA SAT 4830 / ACT 05305; USCGA SAT 5807 / ACT 06002; USMMA SAT 2923 / ACT 29743. West Point's codes are not listed on the pages we reviewed.

Nominations: start in spring of junior year

  • Apply to every source you qualify for: both U.S. Senators, your U.S. Representative, and the Vice President, plus any service-connected categories78. You don't need to know the official personally8.
  • Every congressional office sets its own deadline and process (essays, recommendations, interviews). Find yours at house.gov and senate.gov9.

Fitness in junior year

  • Benchmarks worth knowing:
    • No academy publishes a CFA "passing" score. Treat the averages as a target, not a minimum.

Medical prep (junior year)

  • No exam yet, but get ready:
    • Keep your medical records organized. DoDMERB looks for actual doctor's notes, and parents may need to request records for students under 1810.
    • Plan to finish orthodontic treatment before entry1112.

Key deadlines

When the academies' applications open (published pattern)

USMMA1

  • Opens: May 1 of junior year

Summer programs (apply during junior year, attend summer 2027)

USMMA6

  • Application window: No summer seminar found on usmma.edu. Juniors can do day or overnight visits instead
  • Cost: Visit meals $8 (day) / $24 (overnight)

Dates change. Always confirm on the official USMMA admissions site and your congressional offices’ pages.

USMMA-specific notes

  • USMMA is different. It accepts only congressional nominations from your state, not Vice Presidential or service-connected ones3.

USMMA13; 14

  • Local representatives: Admissions Field Representatives (alumni or parent volunteers) plus regional Admissions Officers
  • How to connect: Contact your regional Admissions Officer

Eligibility basics3; 15

  • Age: 17 to not yet 25 by July 1
  • Other basics: U.S. citizen; meets Navy Reserve commissioning requirements. The CRS lists the unmarried/no-dependents rule for all academies

Sources

  1. USMMA Selection Process (usmma.edu)
  2. USCGA Requirements (uscga.edu)
  3. USMMA 8 Steps (usmma.edu)
  4. USNA Apply (usna.edu)
  5. USAFA Grades 11–12 (usafa.edu)
  6. USMMA Admissions Visits (usmma.edu)
  7. West Point Nomination Planning (westpoint.edu)
  8. USNA Nomination Sources (usna.edu)
  9. USAFA Nominations (usafa.edu)
  10. DHA: DoDMERB (dha.mil)
  11. USAFA Requirements (usafa.edu)
  12. USCGA Disqualifying Conditions (uscga.edu)
  13. USMMA news on Field Reps (usmma.edu)
  14. USMMA Admissions Officers (usmma.edu)
  15. CRS IF13219 (congress.gov)

Keep every USMMA date on your calendar.

Coming soon: reminder emails before applications open, nomination deadlines close and summer program windows shut.

Reminders coming soonAll deadlines