Recently, I got to visit the the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland, and I was overall impressed. My experience underscores the importance of visiting colleges you are considering to pick up on the vibe of the community you are contemplating living in for four years and being a part of for the rest of your life.

While a lot of USNA traditions are as strong as ever, 2025 is also a time of major change in Annapolis.

For example, the US Naval Academy continues to look for the most highly qualified candidates who are representative of America. Yet, for many years those aims have been pursued by an institution also committed to practicing race, ethnicity, and sex-based preferences to achieve certain demographic goals; however, the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America for the second time is the dawn of a new day at the Naval Academy because executive orders by Trump and an accompanying memo by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bar the USNA from considering race, ethnicity, or sex as a factor for admission moving forward.

To learn more about the United States Naval Academy and its admissions process, watch the full video below.