West Point or Air Force or Navy academies? Anyone with experiences to share?

[Anonymous]

*have blarg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ds is being recruited for a sport. Academically he’s a math and science kid with some interest in medical school.

Alternatively does anyone have experience with ROTC?

Btw if you know little or nothing about this world, other than military = bad, please do not bother responding.

As the spouse of a disabled combat veteran, I know a fair amount about this world. I would be very hesitant to support this. First, while I think our military has done and continues to do critically important thing, and I am grateful to those who serve, I think the risk of being asked to put your life on the line for something you don't believe is too high right now. For me, it would be too high now, because I disagree with the current administration, but even if your kid supports invading Greenland or whatever might happen, it seems likely that there would be another administration they feel similarly about.

The other is that this administration is pulling funds to support disabled veterans. The thought that your son could put his life on the line for his country, and then not be taken care of afterwards, should terrify you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:OP, I've toured USMA/West Point a couple times, and the tours were led by graduates who had also done a sport. One quit the sport after freshman year; the other stuck it out all 4 years but considered quitting. It's a big time/travel commitment on top of other cadet requirements. If your kid doesn't have the academic stats, they'll frequently admit to a prep school first.

Is that so different than athletes at all schools?

It's somewhat different, as other schools don't have the same academic and non-academic requirements, have a wider choice of majors, etc. You don't really hear about athletes at other schools not making it through due to grades anymore. It seems to be about the transfer portal and NIL$ today, if you're "that" good -- none of that is an option at a service academy. At USNA, for example, I think everyone gets the equivalent of an engineering degree bc of the class requirements. Not sure what sport OP's child plays or what caliber athlete they are. If they need to be a recruited athlete to gain admission and really want to go, then I guess it's worth a try.

My DH has a BS in History from the Naval Academy. Not too many history grads also took Differential Equations and Thermodynamics. I actually majored in Enginnering (elsewhere) and he had many but not all of the same classes I did.

DP. Interesting info. I am starting to think some people on here are posting purposely incorrect and negative info to discourage people from looking into academies. Probably have a dc applying and want to keep the field as clear as possible for them.

Lol, lmao even

No amount of parent jockeying will make things easier for your children at a service academy. The fact that your mind goes there is telling. 🥴

Not once they are there, but in helping them get there, sure it does.

Missed my point entirely. It's not like HYPSM. Getting in is not the bottleneck. Getting in is the easy part. A lot of students get pushed by families to go that get in and don't make it through. The prep school for athletes often doesn't work out for cadet candidates.

If your student is a borderline case they will likely be much better off matriculating elsewhere.

My DH and I are both academy grads. I know exactly what the academies are like--and yes, getting in is hard. Much harder now than it used to be. DS would likely not have gotten in if not for his sport and having two parents who are grads.

Legacies are a minority, although obviously there are some, and some that are multi generational (rare but happens at many schools). People who don't want to be there are sniffed out pretty early on in the admissions process.

I guess if you compare admissions before the 2000s making assumptions about your timeline. Most students that can get into a service academy has a lot of good choices. You aren't a failure if you don't go to an academy.

I'll share a specific example about a cadet that was pushed through within the last decade.

My husband was on the same floor as a "Princess" legacy case had two general parents. She didn't make it past freshman year. All of her peers and instructors knew she couldn't cut it. Lots of strings pulled. Finally failed out but it took a full year. They slammed her door so hard at recognition it broke.

Admission should be hard but lots of people squeak by that shouldn't and if they make it through go on to be terrible officers.

You're talking about West Point. We're USNA grads.

I'd argue that lots of people squeak by that should not, but I don't know about West Point. It's subjective and hardly the norm at any rate. Not even sure why I'm wasting my time discussing this since that wasn't OP's question anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ds is being recruited for a sport. Academically he’s a math and science kid with some interest in medical school.

Alternatively does anyone have experience with ROTC?

Btw if you know little or nothing about this world, other than military = bad, please do not bother responding.

As the spouse of a disabled combat veteran, I know a fair amount about this world. I would be very hesitant to support this. First, while I think our military has done and continues to do critically important thing, and I am grateful to those who serve, I think the risk of being asked to put your life on the line for something you don't believe is too high right now. For me, it would be too high now, because I disagree with the current administration, but even if your kid supports invading Greenland or whatever might happen, it seems likely that there would be another administration they feel similarly about.

The other is that this administration is pulling funds to support disabled veterans. The thought that your son could put his life on the line for his country, and then not be taken care of afterwards, should terrify you.

Hopefully this administration will be short lived. Everything they do terrifies me. I'm sorry about what you and your DH are experiencing currently.

The thought of invading Greenland would be laughable if that loon weren't serious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I've toured USMA/West Point a couple times, and the tours were led by graduates who had also done a sport. One quit the sport after freshman year; the other stuck it out all 4 years but considered quitting. It's a big time/travel commitment on top of other cadet requirements. If your kid doesn't have the academic stats, they'll frequently admit to a prep school first.

Is that so different than athletes at all schools?

It's somewhat different, as other schools don't have the same academic and non-academic requirements, have a wider choice of majors, etc. You don't really hear about athletes at other schools not making it through due to grades anymore. It seems to be about the transfer portal and NIL$ today, if you're "that" good -- none of that is an option at a service academy. At USNA, for example, I think everyone gets the equivalent of an engineering degree bc of the class requirements. Not sure what sport OP's child plays or what caliber athlete they are. If they need to be a recruited athlete to gain admission and really want to go, then I guess it's worth a try.

My DH has a BS in History from the Naval Academy. Not too many history grads also took Differential Equations and Thermodynamics. I actually majored in Enginnering (elsewhere) and he had many but not all of the same classes I did.

DP. Interesting info. I am starting to think some people on here are posting purposely incorrect and negative info to discourage people from looking into academies. Probably have a dc applying and want to keep the field as clear as possible for them.

Lol, lmao even

No amount of parent jockeying will make things easier for your children at a service academy. The fact that your mind goes there is telling. 🥴

Not once they are there, but in helping them get there, sure it does.

Missed my point entirely. It's not like HYPSM. Getting in is not the bottleneck. Getting in is the easy part. A lot of students get pushed by families to go that get in and don't make it through. The prep school for athletes often doesn't work out for cadet candidates.

If your student is a borderline case they will likely be much better off matriculating elsewhere.

My DH and I are both academy grads. I know exactly what the academies are like--and yes, getting in is hard. Much harder now than it used to be. DS would likely not have gotten in if not for his sport and having two parents who are grads.

Legacies are a minority, although obviously there are some, and some that are multi generational (rare but happens at many schools). People who don't want to be there are sniffed out pretty early on in the admissions process.

I guess if you compare admissions before the 2000s making assumptions about your timeline. Most students that can get into a service academy has a lot of good choices. You aren't a failure if you don't go to an academy.

I'll share a specific example about a cadet that was pushed through within the last decade.

My husband was on the same floor as a "Princess" legacy case had two general parents. She didn't make it past freshman year. All of her peers and instructors knew she couldn't cut it. Lots of strings pulled. Finally failed out but it took a full year. They slammed her door so hard at recognition it broke.

Admission should be hard but lots of people squeak by that shouldn't and if they make it through go on to be terrible officers.

You're talking about West Point. We're USNA grads.

I'd argue that lots of people squeak by that should not, but I don't know about West Point. It's subjective and hardly the norm at any rate. Not even sure why I'm wasting my time discussing this since that wasn't OP's question anyway.

USAFA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ds is being recruited for a sport. Academically he’s a math and science kid with some interest in medical school.

Alternatively does anyone have experience with ROTC?

Btw if you know little or nothing about this world, other than military = bad, please do not bother responding.

As the spouse of a disabled combat veteran, I know a fair amount about this world. I would be very hesitant to support this. First, while I think our military has done and continues to do critically important thing, and I am grateful to those who serve, I think the risk of being asked to put your life on the line for something you don't believe is too high right now. For me, it would be too high now, because I disagree with the current administration, but even if your kid supports invading Greenland or whatever might happen, it seems likely that there would be another administration they feel similarly about.

The other is that this administration is pulling funds to support disabled veterans. The thought that your son could put his life on the line for his country, and then not be taken care of afterwards, should terrify you.

Same. Current admin is encouraging war crimes and an unprofessional, unethical military. Also reduced healthcare and they’re floating reducing retirement benefits.

It’s a risk in multiple ways. I would encourage you to see what kind of scholarships he can get elsewhere. Especially if he wants medical school. Get the cheapest undergrad possible without a military commitment.

I hate to say this because there are a lot of good people doing important work in the military. In normal times, I think it’s an excellent option for people for a number of reasons, and lord knows we need good people in these roles.

If he’s determined to go this path, get a medical exam first before he spends any more energy on the application. I know recruited athletes who were ultimately rejected over medical histories. And what might disqualify him from one service may be acceptable at another. He may not really have three choices.


-military family who sacrificed for 30 years and two immediate family members who went to AFA and USNA

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I've toured USMA/West Point a couple times, and the tours were led by graduates who had also done a sport. One quit the sport after freshman year; the other stuck it out all 4 years but considered quitting. It's a big time/travel commitment on top of other cadet requirements. If your kid doesn't have the academic stats, they'll frequently admit to a prep school first.[/quote]

Is that so different than athletes at all schools? [/quote]
It's somewhat different, as other schools don't have the same academic and non-academic requirements, have a wider choice of majors, etc. You don't really hear about athletes at other schools not making it through due to grades anymore. It seems to be about the transfer portal and NIL$ today, if you're "that" good -- none of that is an option at a service academy. [b]At USNA, for example, I think everyone gets the equivalent of an engineering degree bc of the class requirements. [/b]Not sure what sport OP's child plays or what caliber athlete they are. If they need to be a recruited athlete to gain admission and really want to go, then I guess it's worth a try. [/quote]

My DH has a BS in History from the Naval Academy. Not too many history grads also took Differential Equations and Thermodynamics. I actually majored in Enginnering (elsewhere) and he had many but not all of the same classes I did.[/quote]

DP. Interesting info. I am starting to think some people on here are posting purposely incorrect and negative info to discourage people from looking into academies. Probably have a dc applying and want to keep the field as clear as possible for them. [/quote]

Lol, lmao even

No amount of parent jockeying will make things easier for your children at a service academy. The fact that your mind goes there is telling. 🥴[/quote]

Not once they are there, but in helping them get there, sure it does.[/quote]

Missed my point entirely. It's not like HYPSM. Getting in is not the bottleneck. Getting in is the easy part. A lot of students get pushed by families to go that get in and don't make it through. The prep school for athletes often doesn't work out for cadet candidates.

If your student is a borderline case they will likely be much better off matriculating elsewhere.[/quote]


My DH and I are both academy grads. I know exactly what the academies are like--and yes, getting in is hard. Much harder now than it used to be. DS would likely not have gotten in if not for his sport and having two parents who are grads.

Legacies are a minority, although obviously there are some, and some that are multi generational (rare but happens at many schools). People who don't want to be there are sniffed out pretty early on in the admissions process.[/quote]

I guess if you compare admissions before the 2000s making assumptions about your timeline. [b]Most students that can get into a service academy has a lot of good choices. [/b]You aren't a failure if you don't go to an academy.

I'll share a specific example about a cadet that was pushed through within the last decade.

My husband was on the same floor as a "Princess" legacy case had two general parents. She didn't make it past freshman year. All of her peers and instructors knew she couldn't cut it. Lots of strings pulled. Finally failed out but it took a full year. They slammed her door so hard at recognition it broke.

Admission should be hard but lots of people squeak by that shouldn't and if they make it through go on to be terrible officers.[/quote]
But maybe not a lot of good tuition-free options. Maybe they can play their sport at an Ivy and pay $95K a year (if no financial aid), or they can go to an academy and pay no tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ds is being recruited for a sport. Academically he’s a math and science kid with some interest in medical school.

Alternatively does anyone have experience with ROTC?

Btw if you know little or nothing about this world, other than military = bad, please do not bother responding.

you'll get much better info from the service academies forum

[Anonymous]

Current admin is encouraging war crimes and an unprofessional, unethical military.

How are they doing that?

One thing they are doing, as they should, is getting rid of Democrats in uniform who think it’s ok to publicly criticize, defy, and maliciously comply with civilian authority,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I've toured USMA/West Point a couple times, and the tours were led by graduates who had also done a sport. One quit the sport after freshman year; the other stuck it out all 4 years but considered quitting. It's a big time/travel commitment on top of other cadet requirements. If your kid doesn't have the academic stats, they'll frequently admit to a prep school first.

Is that so different than athletes at all schools?

It's somewhat different, as other schools don't have the same academic and non-academic requirements, have a wider choice of majors, etc. You don't really hear about athletes at other schools not making it through due to grades anymore. It seems to be about the transfer portal and NIL$ today, if you're "that" good -- none of that is an option at a service academy. At USNA, for example, I think everyone gets the equivalent of an engineering degree bc of the class requirements. Not sure what sport OP's child plays or what caliber athlete they are. If they need to be a recruited athlete to gain admission and really want to go, then I guess it's worth a try.

My DH has a BS in History from the Naval Academy. Not too many history grads also took Differential Equations and Thermodynamics. I actually majored in Enginnering (elsewhere) and he had many but not all of the same classes I did.

DP. Interesting info. I am starting to think some people on here are posting purposely incorrect and negative info to discourage people from looking into academies. Probably have a dc applying and want to keep the field as clear as possible for them.

I posted very early on in the thread and suggested OP take a lot of info here with a grain of salt. There's a lot of misinformation, but it's tiresome to try to correct it all.

The greater DC area is one of (if not the hardest) area from which to get an appointment and then be selected to a service academy. We (no joke) considered sending DS to my mom for his last year of high school because she lives in an area with much less interest where it's significantly easier.

DH is on a panel for one of the Senators who reviews the applications of the kids seeking nominations. He says if he were applying today he'd have no shot. The kids are unbelievably impressive and polished.

DH is a C level exec at a Fortune 50 tech company, so he's not exactly a dud either.

My son’s school usually sends one or two kids a year to the academy in the past several years. All I really know about them is they are IB diploma graduates and varsity athletes. Maybe there were aspects I was not seeing but I bet they were “standard strong” not “unbelievably impressive and polished”.

[Anonymous]

Does your child want to go to a school that gets rid of books about the holocaust and slavery, but keeps Mein Kampf ?

Any year prior to this, I would have encouraged an academy. These are not normal times.

-two academy grads in our family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I've toured USMA/West Point a couple times, and the tours were led by graduates who had also done a sport. One quit the sport after freshman year; the other stuck it out all 4 years but considered quitting. It's a big time/travel commitment on top of other cadet requirements. If your kid doesn't have the academic stats, they'll frequently admit to a prep school first.

Is that so different than athletes at all schools?

It's somewhat different, as other schools don't have the same academic and non-academic requirements, have a wider choice of majors, etc. You don't really hear about athletes at other schools not making it through due to grades anymore. It seems to be about the transfer portal and NIL$ today, if you're "that" good -- none of that is an option at a service academy. At USNA, for example, I think everyone gets the equivalent of an engineering degree bc of the class requirements. Not sure what sport OP's child plays or what caliber athlete they are. If they need to be a recruited athlete to gain admission and really want to go, then I guess it's worth a try.

My DH has a BS in History from the Naval Academy. Not too many history grads also took Differential Equations and Thermodynamics. I actually majored in Enginnering (elsewhere) and he had many but not all of the same classes I did.

DP. Interesting info. I am starting to think some people on here are posting purposely incorrect and negative info to discourage people from looking into academies. Probably have a dc applying and want to keep the field as clear as possible for them.

Lol, lmao even

No amount of parent jockeying will make things easier for your children at a service academy. The fact that your mind goes there is telling. 🥴

Not once they are there, but in helping them get there, sure it does.

Missed my point entirely. It's not like HYPSM. Getting in is not the bottleneck. Getting in is the easy part. A lot of students get pushed by families to go that get in and don't make it through. The prep school for athletes often doesn't work out for cadet candidates.

If your student is a borderline case they will likely be much better off matriculating elsewhere.

This times 1000. It's not getting in that's hard, it's living through it that is difficult. People reward graduates from academies because it can be h*ll to live through and they know graduates have a very high tolerance for pain, discipline and respect for hierarchy and chain of command.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your child want to go to a school that gets rid of books about the holocaust and slavery, but keeps Mein Kampf ?

Any year prior to this, I would have encouraged an academy. These are not normal times.

-two academy grads in our family

DEI books were removed. They did not remove a book about the Holocaust, but rather a gender studies book that looks at how Holocaust memorials represent gender. Here are the books that were removed. Big deal. - Academy Grad

https://media.defense.gov/2025/Apr/04/2003683009/-1/-1/0/250404-LIST%20OF%20REMOVED%20BOOKS%20FROM%20NIMITZ%20LIBRARY.PDF

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting that link. Sad that any of the academies would be forced to compile such a list. Your caviler dismissal of this as DEI is equally sad and misleading.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child want to go to a school that gets rid of books about the holocaust and slavery, but keeps Mein Kampf ?

Any year prior to this, I would have encouraged an academy. These are not normal times.

-two academy grads in our family

DEI books were removed. They did not remove a book about the Holocaust, but rather a gender studies book that looks at how Holocaust memorials represent gender. Here are the books that were removed. Big deal. - Academy Grad

https://media.defense.gov/2025/Apr/04/2003683009/-1/-1/0/250404-LIST%20OF%20REMOVED%20BOOKS%20FROM%20NIMITZ%20LIBRARY.PDF

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for posting that link. Sad that any of the academies would be forced to compile such a list. Your caviler dismissal of this as DEI is equally sad and misleading.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child want to go to a school that gets rid of books about the holocaust and slavery, but keeps Mein Kampf ?

Any year prior to this, I would have encouraged an academy. These are not normal times.

-two academy grads in our family

DEI books were removed. They did not remove a book about the Holocaust, but rather a gender studies book that looks at how Holocaust memorials represent gender. Here are the books that were removed. Big deal. - Academy Grad

https://media.defense.gov/2025/Apr/04/2003683009/-1/-1/0/250404-LIST%20OF%20REMOVED%20BOOKS%20FROM%20NIMITZ%20LIBRARY.PDF

I agree it’s sad that they had to do it. But this is where the last 4 years left us.