Hello- I don’t want to completely shift the focus of the thread but I did want to offer you a recommendation- I think you should also look at the Webb Institute- it is a prestigious four year college with only one major- naval architecture and marine engineering. It is a very special place on Long Island in New York. It is a small intense program with free tuition. It may be worth looking into as another option.
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I also recommend the USMMA at Kings Point for another LI option.
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It’s great you’re seeking out this info now!
If you can, see if you can find someone who dropped out of a service academy to get their perspective. Many do, and while their reasons vary, there is often a general theme of “I didn’t fully appreciate that it was going to be so _____.” If you know anyone at a service academy now, they know someone who left. Great place to start. Unlike other schools, these don’t focus on retention. Instead, they use the experience to further screen for what they deem important.
Also, the service afterwards can feel loooong. You should think about the time in school + commission and think about how much of the life you have experienced that it represents. If you are thinking you can make it through, be realistic about how long of a slog it will be if it feels wrong/uninteresting/etc.
I’m not trying to dissuade you, although it may sound like that. I’m offering some perspectives through which to gauge your true interest. There are few people for whom this is ideal, and they are a subset of the ones who believed it would be ideal for them. Otoh, for those who found it ideal, they got an education for and a launch into the organization of their dreams.
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This is a great point. Historically, both USMA and USNA will separate 200-300 cadets/mids for various reasons (academics, honor, fit, health, etc.) before graduation. They count on that. No one commissions from a service academy without fully understanding what they’ve signed up for. To that end, the academies give cadets/mids two full years to walk away with no service or financial obligation. It’s not until you raise your hand and take the oath of affirmation the first day of your junior year that you incur an obligation to the nation to complete your service. If you separate even a day after taking the oath, you also incur a serious financial obligation.
This is an important point as well. Though the academies are degree-conferring institutions, your major/degree is mostly for your benefit once you leave the service. For Army, only the medical and cyber branches have specific degree requirements; every other branch is filled based on the needs of the service that year. Also note that the academies are federally mandated to allocate at least 69% of each class into combat arms. 81% of our son’s class of 2019 was allocated to combat arms branches. At USMA, for instance, each cadet is required to rank the Army’s 17 branches in order of preference. USMA attempts to place each new officer into one of their top three choices, but there is no guarantee that you will get one of them. If you end up in a MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) that you find uninteresting, service can definitely seem “loooong,” as @gardenstategal so aptly put.
You should also make sure you understand the service commitment for each specialty as it varies, with five years being the least tenure. Medicine, aviation, and (soon) cyber will require ten years or more. The year our son commissioned, the commitment for cyber was upped from five years to six, but Congress is now considering increasing it to ten because there has been 100% attrition in the branch making it difficult to have cyber experts in the upper ranks.
Oh, and the reason our son is serving nine years instead of six is due to the two additional years + payback for his master’s degree.
This “free” education comes at a cost.
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Wondering if you decided to apply or not? My son is applying to USMMA, USNA and USAFA. He just got an LOA from USMMA. This application process is intense!
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Unfortunately, I decided against applying. It was quite overwhelming and with my research I realized that deep down it was not what I truly wanted to pursue, at least at a military establishment. I wish the best for your son!
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