When one thinks of selective colleges, several iconic names come to mind: Harvard, Princeton, and the remainder of the Ivy League and its peers. Often overlooked, however, is the difficulty of gaining admission to a U.S. service academy. The service academies—the Military Academy, the Naval Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, the Air Force Academy, and the Merchant Midshipmen Academy—all have acceptance rates ranging from 9% to 18% and are among the most difficult schools in the country to gain admission to.

Hana Cutler, a Dominion senior, received her acceptance to the U.S. Naval Academy—the most selective of all the service academies—on October 7, 2016, just hours before she was crowned Dominion’s Homecoming Queen.

Cutler’s journey toward admission into the Naval Academy began far earlier than the typical college admissions process. At the latest, students hoping to matriculate at one of the five Academies have to begin their applications at the beginning of the summer after junior year to be accepted. Students can apply to all the service academies, which is what Cutler did.

One of the major parts of being accepted to a service academy is obtaining a nomination from one’s local congressperson or a senator. Cutler set her sights on gaining the nomination of Barbara Comstock, the congresswoman from Virginia’s 10^th District. “It’s a big deal getting a nomination,” Cutler said, “[since] getting a nomination from the congresswoman is one of [only] two parts of getting in.” Even though Cutler applied to all the service academies, she could only request a nomination to her top choice. “It makes it seem like a game,” she said, “since you want to have the best opportunity for [that] school.

Before applying, Cutler met with Taylor Turchan, a Dominion alumna who recently graduated from the Naval Academy. Cutler spent a day in Annapolis attending all of Turchan’s classes and activities, an experience she describes as “pretty cool.” While at the Academy, Cutler says Turchan urged her to work on “time management and study habits,” since personal time at the Academy is at a premium.

After arriving at the Academy this summer, Cutler will immediately be subjected to the most difficult period of any Midshipman’s college career—plebe summer. ‘Plebe Summer’, which involves 44 days of ‘boot camp’ before the year starts, is intended to “turn civilians into midshipmen.” “I’m definitely most nervous about Plebe Summer,” Cutler said. “It’s going to be hell.”

Cutler hopes to obtain degrees in either Arabic or Chinese as well as Operations Research while at the Naval Academy. After graduating, she hopes to work for the CIA and travel the world.