United States Air Force Academy vs. United States Naval Academy
Drive into Colorado Springs and the campus climbs to seven thousand feet against the Rampart Range, where you'll fly, study, and learn to breathe in real winters. Annapolis sits a continent east, low and tidewater, on the Severn where it meets the Chesapeake, and midshipmen learn to sail before they ever ship out. Both academies charge you nothing. Both demand a congressional nomination, a medical exam, and a passing fitness assessment. The Air Force Academy commissions you into the Air Force and Space Force on a STEM core that still leaves room for business and the social sciences, and it admits a wider share of applicants. Annapolis runs harder to get into, packs more of its degrees into engineering, and points you toward a wardroom, a submarine, or a Marine commission. Its entire brigade sleeps under one roof, in Bancroft Hall, so privacy goes early and the structure never lets up. If the pull you feel is salt water and a deck under your boots, aim for Annapolis and don't look back.
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Acceptance Rate
Total applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students for the most recent admission cycle.
Early Admissions
Air Force Academy does not offer an Early Decision or Early Action plan; all applicants apply through Regular Decision.
Standardized Tests
Air Force Academy requires standardized test scores for all applicants.
SAT Accepted?
ACT Accepted?
Test Optional?
SAT Scores
ACT Scores
Class Rank
Where Air Force Academy's enrolled first-years placed in their high school graduating class.
Based on the 62% of enrolled students who reported a class rank. Air Force Academy does not publish an average GPA.
Admissions Factors
How Air Force Academy weighs each part of your application.
Rigor of High School Record
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Application Essay
Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
Character / Personal Qualities
Talent / Ability
First Generation
Level of Applicant's Interest
Class Rank
Volunteer Work
Work Experience
Geographical Residence
State Residency
Alumni Relation
Racial / Ethnic Status
Religious Affiliation
Cost of Attendance
What it costs to attend Air Force Academy — fully covered for every cadet.
As a U.S. service academy, United States Air Force Academy charges no tuition or fees. Tuition, food, housing, and medical care are fully funded by the federal government, and students receive a monthly salary in exchange for a military service commitment after graduation.
Major Distribution
Bachelor's degrees awarded in the past year by academic major.
Student Diversity
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduate students.
Student-Faculty Ratio
The number of students for every one faculty member, indicating the average level of access students have to instructional staff.
Campus Life
On-campus housing and Greek life participation rates.
Enrollment by Gender
Since some students did not report gender, totals may not fully reflect the student body.
Acceptance Rate
Total applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students for the most recent admission cycle.
Early Admissions
Naval Academy does not offer an Early Decision or Early Action plan; all applicants apply through Regular Decision.
Standardized Tests
Naval Academy requires standardized test scores for all applicants.
SAT Accepted?
ACT Accepted?
Test Optional?
SAT Scores
ACT Scores
Class Rank
Naval Academy does not report this.
Not reported
Admissions Factors
Naval Academy does not report this.
Not reported
Cost of Attendance
What it costs to attend Naval Academy — fully covered for every cadet.
As a U.S. service academy, United States Naval Academy charges no tuition or fees. Tuition, food, housing, and medical care are fully funded by the federal government, and students receive a monthly salary in exchange for a military service commitment after graduation.
Major Distribution
Bachelor's degrees awarded in the past year by academic major.
Student Diversity
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduate students.
Student-Faculty Ratio
The number of students for every one faculty member, indicating the average level of access students have to instructional staff.
Campus Life
On-campus housing and Greek life participation rates.
Enrollment by Gender
Since some students did not report gender, totals may not fully reflect the student body.
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Air Force Academy vs. Naval Academy: frequently asked questions
Is the Air Force Academy or Naval Academy harder to get into?＋
Accepting about 8.8% of applicants in its most recent cycle, the Naval Academy is the harder admit (roughly 1,416 offers from 16,077 applications) against about 16.2% at the Air Force Academy (about 1,356 appointments from 8,350 applications). Both run deeper than the headline rate, though. Every candidate at either academy also has to secure a congressional nomination and clear a medical exam plus the Candidate Fitness Assessment, so the effective path runs more selective than the percentage suggests.
Is the Air Force Academy or Naval Academy better?＋
Neither wins outright; it turns on the branch and career you want. The Air Force Academy commissions officers into the Air Force and Space Force, the path toward flying, space operations, and cyber roles, and every graduate earns a Bachelor of Science. Annapolis commissions into the Navy and Marine Corps, toward sea, submarine, aviation, and Marine careers, with engineering its largest field at about 42% of degrees. If you want aviation or space, the Air Force Academy fits; a naval or Marine commission points you to the Naval Academy.
Does the Air Force Academy or Naval Academy have higher SAT scores?＋
On scores, the Air Force Academy posts the higher band, with its middle 50% of enrolled cadets scoring 1320–1470 on the SAT (28–33 ACT) against 1210–1410 (25–31 ACT) at the Naval Academy. Both require the SAT or ACT, and neither runs test-optional, so a score at or above each academy's range keeps you competitive. Scores still count as just one part of a file that also weighs the nomination, the medical exam, and the fitness assessment.
What are the most popular majors at the Air Force Academy vs the Naval Academy?＋
Engineering leads at both, though the Naval Academy concentrates harder in it: about 42% of its degrees against roughly 33% at the Air Force Academy. From there the Air Force Academy spreads wider, with the sciences (about 20%), social sciences (16%), and business (14%) all carrying real weight. At Annapolis the social sciences (about 20%) and sciences (about 17%) trail engineering, and every graduate of either academy earns a Bachelor of Science.
How much do the Air Force Academy and Naval Academy cost?＋
Both cost nothing. As federal service academies, neither the Air Force Academy nor the Naval Academy charges tuition or fees. The military fully funds tuition, room, board, and medical care, and cadets and midshipmen draw a monthly stipend. What you owe instead is the commitment: graduates of both commission as officers and serve at least five years of active duty, in the Air Force or Space Force from Colorado Springs and in the Navy or Marine Corps from Annapolis.
What are the graduation and retention rates at the Air Force Academy vs the Naval Academy?＋
Retaining about 97% of first-year midshipmen and graduating roughly 93% within six years, the Naval Academy edges ahead on both, against 94% retention and an 89% six-year graduation rate at the Air Force Academy. The two run close on size and structure: about 4,470 midshipmen at Annapolis and 4,085 cadets at Colorado Springs. Every student lives on campus inside a structured, residential program from induction through commissioning.
Source: United States Air Force Academy Common Data Set 2022-2023. Figures transcribed 2026-06-08. Esslo aggregates publicly reported data and is not affiliated with Air Force Academy. Banner photo by Anthony Quintano, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Source: United States Naval Academy Common Data Set 2023-2024. Figures transcribed 2026-06-08. Acceptance Rate is from the Class of 2029 edition. Esslo aggregates publicly reported data and is not affiliated with Naval Academy. Banner photo by Bnordlund, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0).