I am lost. I did a research and found there had many military ready programs for kids:
- Sea Cadet/Navy Cadet: 10 -17 years old
- JROTC
- Military Boarding School: 7th-12th grade
- West Point SLE: 17 years old
- JROTC battalion commander
- Civil Air Patrol
- Boy/Girl State
-Which one is the best ready program for 4 years Military Service Academy?
-If kids take JROTC should take they JROTC battalion commander?
- If kids in Sea Cadet/Navy Cadet, should they still go to West Point SLE?
-If kids continue going to military, will they have any benefit regarding time in military and ranking from any of above programs?
@skieurope @ChoatieMom @thumper1 @wis75 @momofsenior1 @VickiSoCal @ucbalumnus :
do you have any answer for my above questions?
Thank you so much.
None of the above will guarantee your kid will get an appointment to a service academy…none.
My biggest answer regarding ANYTHING related to the military…what does the student want to do?
No one…repeat NO ONE (and yes, I’m yelling) should package their kid for some kind of military service academy or ROTC or scholarship related to the military unless the KID really really wants to be in the military.
In my opinion, the most notable related thing…which you don’t even have on your list…is attaining Eagle Scout status. That is very recognizable in the military community as a good thing.
For anything related to military…Do only if the KID wants to do military related things in the future.
So…first and foremost…ask your kiddo because you know…all of the above are huge commitments that take time to do…and might get in the way of your kid doing something the kid really wants to do.
@ChoatieMom your thoughts?
@thumper1: I am pulling my kid out of Boy/Girl Scout and shopping for other better military ready program. The Scout my kid is in taught kids wrong doing (in my thinking, I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, just simply pull him out). If I can find a better Boy Scout troop then my kid may come back.
For the above listing, I want to hear people’s opinion before joining. It’s costly to join (even with trial because you have to pay for uniforms) and it takes time to discover. You don’t get much real experience during the trial.
You have already ignored good advice, and this thread is only four posts long.
- What does your child want? Why does your child want to attend a service academy?
- Attaining the highest level of scouting has nothing to do with being "military ready", but everything to do with leadership, setting and accomplishing long term goals, and maturity.
I think maybe you are not clear about what the military is looking for in its officers.
I have no service academy family members, but I am married to a physician who took an HPSP scholarship for medical school and is presently an active duty full colonel with 27 years of service in two branches of the military. We know a number of people who are service academy graduates.
None of the programs you have listed is more helpful at getting an appointment to one of the US military academies.
None of the programs will give any benefit for time or ranking.
Being a Sea Cadet/Navy Cadet would not prevent a student from eventually attending West Point or serving in a different branch of the US military.
You seem to have a lot of confusion about how admission to the service academies works. The way you write makes me think that you did not grow up in the US, and probably are still learning about the college admission process here. If that is true, don’t worry! There are a lot of parents in your situation. If you haven’t met with your child’s high school guidance counselor to talk about colleges, you should do that as soon as you can. The guidance counselor will be able to help you learn more about good options for your child.
And if your kid doesn’t get into a service academy they can go to Officer Candidate School instead after completing college which is what my kid did. He self-studies for the exam and got himself into physical shape.
What does your kid want to do? Are they upset about your attitude about Scouting? I’m guessing you are unahappy that the Boy Scouts have decided to be coed?
@mathmom: I never heard about Coed in Boy Scout and it is not the reason.
Some leaders taught kids to be cunning and it happened in the last two years. I reported to head of the troop but he blamed the kids did that by themselves. So prefer pulling my kid out and find a better path for my kid. Some people think that is not a big deal for teaching kids cunning since it is the real world. I don’t want destroying my kid.
@ServiceAcademy Please define what you mean by “cunning”.
I prefer being answered my questions than steering away from it with other questions like what my kids want to do, how old kids are, what grades, what SAT/ACT score they get, what they are good at, which sports they join in, etc. I will read or open new threads about other topics.
Ps: my kid is on track with sport & Academy and a good body, has been playing sport rain or shine since 4 years old.
Good luck!
With that attitude towards the people YOU are asking advice from, you’re going to need all the good luck you can get.
@eastcoascrazy: here is the definition from Google:
cun·ning
ˈkəniNG/Submit
adjective
1.
having or showing skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit or evasion.
“a cunning look came into his eyes”
synonyms: crafty, wily, artful, guileful, devious, sly, scheming, designing, calculating, Machiavellian; More
2.
NORTH AMERICAN
attractive; quaint.
“the baby will look cunning in that pink print”
noun
1.
skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit.
“a statesman to whom cunning had come as second nature”
synonyms: guile, craftiness, deviousness, slyness, trickery, duplicity; More
@eastcoascrazy: which kind of attitude are you talking about?
I want to discuss about one topic at a time at the deep levels. Why do I have to bound around?
For many other topics, I will learn and create new threads if I don’t understand.
Why is your user name “Service Academy”? Has your son expressed specific interest in one of the academies?
When people ask more questions they are trying to get a better picture. When you ask a question without giving any details, the answers are going to be very general. You asked if TWBI or IB is better for getting into Ivies or Service Academies. Neither. Those schools very much look at the whole application. If the answers and advice stop there, you don’t know anything more than you did when you posted.
What helps to get into the Academies is leadership. A huge percentage of applicants were sports team captains, Eagle Scouts/Gold GS award earners, class officers, club leaders.
@twoinanddone: thank you.
I got screwed up because of Boy Scout. I am trying to find another organization for his leadership program.
I just opened a new thread regarding athletics.
@intparent :when I first created my account, they didn’t let me use my name or my emai Id. I tried, I tried. Out of the blue, I had many questions regarding Military Service Academy so I picked it and voila it let me. :x
If you want to be recruited to play that sport (wrestling, lacrosse, football) then that’s the sport for your child. There is a big advantage to being recruited for your sport. If you are using the sport to show physical fitness then it may not matter so much. Running is going to be very important for a first year.
That doesn’t answer the question of what interest your son has expressed. Nor why this seems so important to you. Is it because you don’t have to pay for a service academy education (at least not in dollars)?
@twoinanddone : yes, he got recruited to go to ODP. Within ODP water polo, he was nobody. I don’t know when or what will make him to be team captain in ODP or go to national.