U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) announced today that she will hold her first "U.S. Service Academy Information Forum" for high school students interested in attending the nation's prestigious service academies. The freshman Congresswoman had scheduled her first academy forum in October of last year, but the event had to be cancelled due to the 2013 shutdown of the federal government.
The United States Service Academies consist of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York; U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York; and U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut.
Meng's forum will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 18th at Forest Hills High School located at 67-01 110th Street in Forest Hills, Queens. Representatives from each of the institutions will be present to provide an overview of their facilities. They'll also discuss the requirements for admission, procedures for applying, and answer questions from students and parents. Cadets and midshipmen will be in attendance as well.
The elite service academies prepare top college-age Americans to be officers of the U.S. uniformed services. After four years of study, service academy graduates become commissioned as officers in the active or reserve components of the U.S. military, coast guard, or merchant marine for a minimum of five years. High school seniors and college students seeking to attend these institutions, with the exception of the Coast Guard Academy, are required to be nominated by their Member of Congress.
Students nominated by Meng compete against students from throughout the country and must meet the highly competitive educational, physical and extracurricular standards set by each individual institution. Meng is assisted in the nomination process by her Academy Review Board, a panel of local community leaders.
"'I'm extremely excited to finally hold my first service academy forum," said Meng. "I urge all local students interested in applying to attend this forum so that they can find out more find out about each facility."
RSVP's are not required but are recommended. Students and parents can confirm their attendance through Meng's website at https://meng.house.gov/events/acadforum or via email at MengRSVP@mail.house.gov.
The next round of nominees will compete for a spot in classes that begin in the summer of 2015. The deadline to apply is November 5th.
Meng was forced to cancel last year's forum because representatives from the academies were unable to attend. The government shutdown resulted in staff being furloughed. But despite the cancellation, Meng still accepted applications and nominated students, several of whom began attending the academies this past June.
