(a) Each candidate for admission to the Naval Academy—

(1) must be at least 17 years of age and must not have passed his twenty-third birthday on July 1 of the calendar year in which he enters the Academy; and

(2) shall be examined according to such regulations as the Secretary of the Navy prescribes, and if rejected at one examination may not be examined again for admission to the same class unless recommended by the Academic Board.

(b) Each candidate for admission nominated under clauses (3) through (9) of section 8454(a) of this title must be domiciled in the State, or in the congressional district, from which he is nominated, or in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, or the Virgin Islands, if nominated from one of those places.

(c) Each candidate nominated under clause (2) or (3) of section 8454(b) of this title—

(1) must be a citizen of the United States;

(2) must have passed the required physical examination; and

(3) shall be appointed in the order of merit from candidates who have, in competition with each other, passed the required mental examination.

(d) To be admitted to the Naval Academy, an appointee must take and subscribe to an oath prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy. If a candidate for admission refuses to take and subscribe to the prescribed oath, the candidate’s appointment is terminated.