Starfleet Academy prep school?

[bfollowell]

I wonder what sort of requirements Starfleet Academy has for entrance? What sort of school is it? Is it mainly a college like one of our contemporary military academies or does it start earlier, maybe even high school or grade school? Maybe they have a prep school for younger students.

The reason I'm asking is that I'm a few chapters into Voyager: Children of the Storm and it has been mentioned several times that Naomi Wildman just entered Starfleet Academy. That seems very strange to me.

I believe it was sometime in 2371 when Voyager was lost and Naomi was born in 2372. The most recent Voyager novels take place in 2381. Really? She entered Starfleet Academy at ten years old?!

Now, granted, I don't know anything about her father's people or how quickly they mature but she's also half human and she didn't seem to be aging or maturing all that much faster than a typical human girl the last time I saw her on the show. Does this seem strange to anyone but me?

- Byron

 

[Pavonis]

Naomi was half-Ktarian, and apparently ages faster than a human child would.

Since species age at different rates, it wouldn't be practical to set a fixed age for entrance. An 18-year-old human is ready to join the service, but an 18-year-old Ocampa would be dead (and hence, unable to serve).

 

[Christopher]

Now, granted, I don't know anything about her father's people or how quickly they mature but she's also half human and she didn't seem to be aging or maturing all that much faster than a typical human girl the last time I saw her on the show.

But you said it yourself -- she was born in 2372. Yet less than three years later, in "Once Upon a Time," she was being played by a 10-year-old actress. So obviously she did mature much faster than a human.

 

[bfollowell]

Now, granted, I don't know anything about her father's people or how quickly they mature but she's also half human and she didn't seem to be aging or maturing all that much faster than a typical human girl the last time I saw her on the show.

But you said it yourself -- she was born in 2372. Yet less than three years later, in "Once Upon a Time," she was being played by a 10-year-old actress. So obviously she did mature much faster than a human.

Yeah, I guess you're right. Looking back at the photos of her throughout the show, I guess she did appear much older, especially early on. She definitely looks to be in the later tweens at the end of the seven-year run.

Thanks for the replies.

- Byron

 

[Mike Winters]

I wonder what sort of requirements Starfleet Academy has for entrance? What sort of school is it? Is it mainly a college like one of our contemporary military academies or does it start earlier, maybe even high school or grade school? Maybe they have a prep school for younger students.

The reason I'm asking is that I'm a few chapters into Voyager: Children of the Storm and it has been mentioned several times that Naomi Wildman just entered Starfleet Academy. That seems very strange to me.

I believe it was sometime in 2371 when Voyager was lost and Naomi was born in 2372. The most recent Voyager novels take place in 2381. Really? She entered Starfleet Academy at ten years old?!

Now, granted, I don't know anything about her father's people or how quickly they mature but she's also half human and she didn't seem to be aging or maturing all that much faster than a typical human girl the last time I saw her on the show. Does this seem strange to anyone but me?

- Byron

Just look at Alexander. He was born in 2366. In 2374, he enlisted in the Klingon Defense Force during the Dominion War. So at 8 Earth years old, he is a soldier on a front line bird of prey. In 2379 or 2380, he became the Federation Ambassador to Qo'noS.

Mike

 

[Mike Winters]

This is straight from Memory Alpha

"As with other child characters in Trek, Naomi Wildman appears to age rather quickly. She is seen at age two in 2374 appearing to look about six years old and then later seen from 2375-2378 (at age three to six) to look about ten years old. However, unlike other such characters, an on screen explanation was provided. (Her Ktarian heritage caused her to age more rapidly than a purebred human.)"

 

[bfollowell]

This is straight from Memory Alpha

However, unlike other such characters, an on screen explanation was provided. (Her Ktarian heritage caused her to age more rapidly than a purebred human.)"

I guess it's been far too long since I've watched any of the episodes. The first thing I'll do when the wife and I get our new house and can get "real" high-speed Internet again is get Netflix and start watching through these again.

- Byron

 

[Christopher]

Just look at Alexander. He was born in 2366. In 2374, he enlisted in the Klingon Defense Force during the Dominion War. So at 8 Earth years old, he is a soldier on a front line bird of prey.

Maybe. That's certainly what was implied, but it's not completely out of the question that Alexander was conceived during Worf and K'Ehleyr's first relationship six years before "The Emissary." "The Emissary" certainly did imply that they'd never slept together before, but Alexander's age would make a lot more sense if they had.

 

[Mike Winters]

Just look at Alexander. He was born in 2366. In 2374, he enlisted in the Klingon Defense Force during the Dominion War. So at 8 Earth years old, he is a soldier on a front line bird of prey.

Maybe. That's certainly what was implied, but it's not completely out of the question that Alexander was conceived during Worf and K'Ehleyr's first relationship six years before "The Emissary." "The Emissary" certainly did imply that they'd never slept together before, but Alexander's age would make a lot more sense if they had.

Memory Alpha reports that Alexander was conceived in 2365.

 

[Christopher]

^Memory Alpha is not the Word of God. It's a fan-created resource and it contains its share of assumptions and best guesses. While I agree that a 2365 conception date is more consistent with most of the canonical evidence, an earlier conception date is more consistent with Alexander's age. It is kind of hard to believe that Alexander could go from conception to the equivalent of a human 6-year-old in less than 18 months.

 

[R. Star]

^Memory Alpha is not the Word of God. It's a fan-created resource and it contains its share of assumptions and best guesses. While I agree that a 2365 conception date is more consistent with most of the canonical evidence, an earlier conception date is more consistent with Alexander's age. It is kind of hard to believe that Alexander could go from conception to the equivalent of a human 6-year-old in less than 18 months.

Definitely agreed about MA not being infallable. It is a fan wiki in the end and Trek canon isn't the most consistant thing ever devised.

Personally I can buy into Klingon kids maturing more quickly than humans than I could that K'heylar was twisted enough to have had concieved Alexander and kept it away from Worf during Emissary even when he was proposing.

I actually kind of liked what it said about Klingon culture that they were willing to send their equivilent of teenagers into war to fight and die without blinking an eye.

As for Starfleet Academy, they were perfectly willing to take in Wesley at age 15 in TNG's "Coming of Age." Granted that episode didn't make much sense on the concept of the entrance exam washing out three out of four applicants.

 

[Pavonis]

We don't know the Academy graduation rate, though. Perhaps Starfleet Academy has devised a method for screening the potential dropouts up front, ensuring they never (or at least, rarely) waste the Academy's time by attending then dropping out.

 

[R. Star]

We don't know the Academy graduation rate, though. Perhaps Starfleet Academy has devised a method for screening the potential dropouts up front, ensuring they never (or at least, rarely) waste the Academy's time by attending then dropping out.

So Wesley didn't make the cut(initally) but Nog does the very first time?

 

[Pavonis]

Sure, why not? It's what happened, canonically.

There may be a strong political component in the acceptance of individuals from non-Federation worlds - Worf, for instance, and Ro Laren. Nog could've been eased in that way.

On the other hand, there may be more to acceptance into SF Academy than grades. Crusher's psych profile may have indicated he wasn't ready to leave home, or had other issues to deal with before joining (a father dead due to service in SF), while Nog was ready to join, even if they scored similarly, or even if Nog scored well below Crusher.

 

[Snaploud]

A number of factors could have been at play. They may have different standards for a fifteen-year-old human than an eighteen-year-old human. Also, the timing of the entrance exam could have played a role in how many openings were available (either due to it being a mid-year application or during a year of expansion/contraction for starfleet ranks). An interesting timing consideration is that the Federation had experienced a long period of relative peace prior to Wesley's application (pre-Borg, before the re-emergence of the Romulans, etc.). The same was not true when Nog submitted his application.

Consider how many starfleet ships engaged in battle during the Deep Space Nine years. Now, think about how--several years earlier--just a few dozen destroyed ships at Wolf 359 had a massive effect on the fleet. Obviously, starfleet had greatly expanded its ranks sometime after learning about the Borg.

Edit: another possibility is that Nog had applied for a different track at the academy. It may be easier to get into an engineering/security track than a command track.

 

[Stevil2001]

In one of the Picard Starfleet Academy novels (I think the first one), it is stated that one-third of accepted cadets do not graduate.

The Wesley-not-being-accepted thing never made any sense to me, given his credentials.

 

[Pavonis]

His credentials were good, sure, but there was something about Wes Crusher that suggested he'd not be a good fit for the Academy. Looks like they were right, too. He was involved in the death of a fellow student, and conspired to cover it up. When found out, he was going to be expelled, but was allowed to stay and repeat that year. Then he ends up dropping out anyway!

Clearly the Academy entrance examines are good at screening out applicants that won't make it through. It's probably Picard's influence that got Crusher in despite the Academy's best judgment.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

I seem to recall in the TWOK novelization by Vonda McIntryre it being mentioned that first year midshipmen were 14 years old...