United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy, also known as USNA or Navy, is the 48th school and ranks positively as public school in the country. Focusing on training officers, Navy offers bachelor’s to all its undergraduate students. Currently, 4,450 attend the academy.

Navy was established in 1845 by the Secretary of the Navy, George Bancroft, making it the second oldest of the five service academies. It replaced the Philadelphia Naval Asylum as the country’s naval academy. The campus was built on the former Fort Severn in Annapolis, Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay, just 33 miles from Washington, D.C. and 26 miles from Baltimore.

When it opened, the class consisted of 50 students and seven professors, but the Civil War severely affected the school. Much of the state was for the Confederacy, but it did not formally secede. The school originally planned to move locations but hostilities changed plans with many students being sent to sea or transferring to Fort Adams. Many important leaders of Navy resigned and joined the Confederates. The academy quickly reopened at the end of the war.

Navy is home to dozens of military traditions as well as the Ring Dance, Cover Toss, and Herndon Monument Climb. It’s also known for its famous songs and sayings including “Anchors Aweigh,” “Beat Army,” and “Blue and Gold.” The school motto is Ex Scientia Tridens (Through Knowledge, Sea Power).

Today, the campus is a National Historic Landmark, containing important buildings, monuments, and sites. Over 50 astronauts, 46 Rhodes Scholars, 24 Marshall Scholars, and 73 Medal of Honor recipients have graduated from the United States Naval Academy. Jimmy Carter is also one of the school’s notable alumni.