<p>I thought attending the Academy, any of them for the services, was free. You just have to give your life over to them for a while. I thought that is what it is all about. Why do the students need scholarships? They receive a pretty good stipend every month to help handle personal expenses. Aren’t our tax dollars already paying their way? I would be ****ed if my student lost a scholarship to a student who was already going to school for free and didn’t need the money to help pay the bill. To me, scholarship dollars need to go to students whose families have to pay for the students to attend a regular college/university where they get to finally have a sense of adult freedoms and decide for themselves what to learn, when to call home, how to wear their hair, what clothes to wear, and when and where to eat, etc. I still don’t get why a student, just on the verge of leaving childhood with all it’s rules and regulations for a more mature existence where one gets to make some decisions on their own, would choose to then be treated more like a prisoner - Not able to call home when they want to, not able to travel off the grounds of the academy for many months, not able to own and drive a car if they so desire until the last two years - I just don’t get it. They don’t get freedom, but can lose their life for this country? How is that logical? Especially when you can go to college, do ROTC, and then attend officer candidate school if that is your ultimate goal…</p>