Starfleet Academy

[shinzonfan 0]

Coming of Age was just on TNN and I couldn't figure out why:

 

1. There were only four people taking the entrance exams into Starfleet.

 

2. Only one of the four would be accepted.

 

I would think that Starfleet would take anyone who qualified. Aren't they always going to planets to discuss their possible acceptance into the Federation of Planets? Does that mean once the planet is accepted they may or may not have a representative in Starfleet depending on whether or not someone could pass the exam and get in? :blink:

 

Anyone know? Or did I miss the explanation somewhere?

[SuraksSoul 0]

hmm....A Wesley Crusher episode. A good one at that I guess. Probably for script, time, and casting reasons did they only have four competitors to base the story around. Also...the planet where this happened may not have been a prime host for this kind of testing. Just a guess though.

[Takara_Soong 4]

I think they would have to limit the candidates to the best of the best. You may recall in that episode there was a friend of Wes' who didn't qualify to take the exam by a few points.

 

The Federation has over 150 planets so the total number of individuals who could apply would be in the billions. They have to have some sort of requirements and standards that would have to be met before testing to get in. It also seems that many planets in the Federation have their own version of Starfleet whether it be strictly for security or other reasons. In the episode you reference Mordaq (sp?) was the first of his people to get into Starfleet Academy but another from his planet was on the Enterprise as part of an exchange program within the Federation in a later episode.

[Lubak10 0]

1. There were only four people taking the entrance exams into Starfleet.

 

2. Only one of the four would be accepted.

I think that that was only one group of people that was taking the test. With as many people and planets out there I doubt that they would only take one person per year.

[shinzonfan 0]

I didn't really think they were only taking one person a year. It just seemed odd that if they all past the tests, which they did, then they should all be able to go to the Academy. I would think Starfleet would want as many people as they could get. Not that they are desperate, just why not have as many people as they could. I guess it's kind of a dumb question. I was just wondering.

[Yillara Skye 1]

I guess it is sort of like a private school scenario...they can only accept a few people per semester, per testing site. (I have several students that attend private schools and this is the case at their academies)

[~Crims~ 0]

I always thought something was fishy about the episode, though it was one of the few bright spots in Season 1. Did Nog have to do the same thing Wesley did?

[prometheus 0]

I always thought Wesley was a child genius: he was flying a Star Ship in his early teens and experimenting with Warp theories and stuff. But he didn't get into the Academy in this instance! Does this mean that you have to be above genius level to get in? If Wes didnt get in then god knows how smart you have to be.

[~Crims~ 0]

There are other genious type people and the only reason he didn't get in was because he helped his fish-like friend. If he didn't help that guy, Wesley would have received a higher score.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Bumping for new discussion. Any other ideas on this topic?

[NordicBearskin 0]

Did Nog have to do the same thing Wesley did?

No. Nog underwent a series of holographical situations and his reactions to these situations were assessed by Miles O'Brien, who holds some kind of honorary teaching degree at StarFleet academy. If O'Brien thought that Nog handled the emergencies well enough then he would reccomend to StarFleet academy that they should allow Nog to join. By the way, Nog passed with flying colours. :lol:

[LouiseTrek 0]

I think it is because you normally have to be 18 to join the academy or an adult from other cultures. If you are between 16 and 18 you can take a test to join early.

[ensign_beedrill 0]

I agree with LouiseTrek. While watching this episode, I got the impression that the kids who were taking the test were all younger than the normal age of people who apply, and they were all child prodigies. This test was an opportunity given by Starfleet to young people who, like Wesley, qualify. It was extremely competitive, though, because if Starfleet let all of the younger kids who wanted to go to the academy go, they'd probably make up a relatively decent percentage of the students at the school. And they just don't want that many younger students. When the time comes and the other kids who took the test with Wesley are old enough, I'm sure they will be accepted with no problem. I mean, Wesley got in when he was of normal college age. I think this was just an early opportunity.