Tuva
i don't know how much this post will actually help (if at all) but I will throw my two cents in. After having two kids in college now, daughter a Plebe at USMA and a son a senior at USC (yes, the REAL one in Southern California
) I will say that in the final analysis, the only one who needs to be convinced is you. First, it has to be assumed that your parents love you and want you to be successful and happy with your life. Much about parents expectations are centered around, yep, you guessed it, THEIR expectations, not necessarily yours. Your first job isn't necessarily to convince them, but to get your appointment first. Having a back-up plan by applying to other civilian colleges (either through ROTC or not) is only prudent and only increases your options (and shows your parents that you have a plan). Get the acceptance letters first, line up your choices, then go to work on your folks. Bringing a parent's "peace of mind" with the decision to go to a service academy may not ever be totally possible, we are after all, parents--we worry, hope, second-guess, pray, etc etc etc, that things will be all right, but we know we can never be certain about anything---we just want to know that our kids are exactly where THEY want to be. Good luck with that appointment! Showing them that you can successfully follow-thru with such a challenging application process will tell them a lot.