<p>Somewhat odd experience happened to my son. Hed made up his mind that he would serve in one of the Maritime services no matter what the outcome of his 3 academy applications. MMA was always #1 as hed learned about it through NJROTC. That whole Sea Year thing hooked him. Coast Guard was #2 and USNA, #3. It was listed in this order on all of his nomination sources that asked for choices in order. Coast Guard was the first to contact him for an interview. Theyd sent a wonderful gentleman to our home and it felt more like a visit than interview. He was so patient in asking & answering questions and did so over a three hour period which Dad & I made a pact beforehand to be quiet through. Upon seeing him to the door with the ending handshakes & thank you for coming, he looked directly at son and said, Son, with some of your views on things & what I think youd do well in studying, I think you should apply to West Point. Talk about keeling over. To this day, I still wonder what hed seen to form that opinion. He must have seen something much like what 69 describes. His BGO for USNA was a Napster & really pushed hard to get him an offer for NAPS as he had a weak math background. Fortunately, he was offered his first choice & its all history now. But boy, what a wild ride. If he ends up a Coast Guard Officer in the end, it will somehow be rather ironic. Hes remained in contact with his BGO and was invited to speak about MMA at the high school where the BGO teaches. The BGO feels the same as USNADad&Grad that the school needs to know more about what happens during the application process, how schools are involved and what the alternatives are to direct appointments. Applications to Service Academies are confusing enough without having the schools knowledge of whats going on. I had no idea that the applications would involve so many peoples help.</p>