Are service academies like West Point considered prestigious?

[Anonymous]

Where does something like Coast Guard Academy fit in? I noticed they have fewer age restrictions and they allow students who are parents, for instance.

[Anonymous]

Work on your material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The honest truth? They're not as prestigious as they used to be, in the same way that the military is not viewed as wholly and unobjectionably glorious as it used to be in the past.

And to be frank, a lot of people simply aren't aware of their existence, and/or don't view them in the same vein as regular universities.

Lol. Sounds like you watch a lot of movies from the 50s. And Vietnam vets would like a word.

People who don’t respect the academies as selective universities are either ignorant about the requirements or are blinded by their stereotypes about thousands of people they don’t know.

Americans' trust and confidence in military decreasing

But for the military. there would be no American empire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where does something like Coast Guard Academy fit in? I noticed they have fewer age restrictions and they allow students who are parents, for instance.

https://uscga.edu

[Anonymous]

Equivalent to T50

[Anonymous]

I find it hard to believe most people don’t know this. Even if you were never interested yourself, you went to school with other people. And the kids who were accepted were high achieving student-athletes. Every kid from my high school who went was one of the best students, a star athlete, and popular. These are well rounded kids with an unusual amount of self-discipline for 17 year olds. Whatever negative stereotypes you may have about the hundreds of thousands of diverse people with a wide range of jobs in the military, you can’t really pretend you’re unaware of the academies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, a lot of people — dare I even say most — just aren’t aware of them or their existence.

PP with kid who is currently applying to service academies.
I agree with this statement. There was an earlier thread on DCUM where I expressed this, and my comment was met with incredulity. But the start of my DC's desire to apply came from our experience doing a two year stint in NoVA while DC was in elementary school. The military moms/dads in uniform, picking up their kids, made a huge impression on DC. MD, VA and Washington, D.C. have such a military presence that it's sort of a given that civilians know about stuff like this.

Conversely, in our city, there is zero military presence. I didn't know the term "service academy" and also didn't know really basic things, like West Point = United States Military Academy = Army, for example, or how the Marines or Space Force fit in with service academies. I also didn't understand the difference between the service academies, ROTC, and the officer training after college....vs. enlisted. DC's school is a college-prep school, but they don't have much experience with their students applying. My DC is the only one, I think, in DC's class. And while one part of the application process is similar to a typical college app process but with emphasis on leadership and athletics, the other parts (physical, medical, nomination) are totally different. So this has been a whole education for me.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to believe most people don’t know this. Even if you were never interested yourself, you went to school with other people. And the kids who were accepted were high achieving student-athletes. Every kid from my high school who went was one of the best students, a star athlete, and popular. These are well rounded kids with an unusual amount of self-discipline for 17 year olds. Whatever negative stereotypes you may have about the hundreds of thousands of diverse people with a wide range of jobs in the military, you can’t really pretend you’re unaware of the academies.

Maybe if you're from this part of the country. Most of the rest of the country (and definitely most of the rest of the world) simply aren't aware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to believe most people don’t know this. Even if you were never interested yourself, you went to school with other people. And the kids who were accepted were high achieving student-athletes. Every kid from my high school who went was one of the best students, a star athlete, and popular. These are well rounded kids with an unusual amount of self-discipline for 17 year olds. Whatever negative stereotypes you may have about the hundreds of thousands of diverse people with a wide range of jobs in the military, you can’t really pretend you’re unaware of the academies.

Tell me you live in a bubble…

My only experience with academies was flipping past the army/navy game on tv, and it wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned these were college teams. There were no academies or military bases within hours of where I grew up. Military culture/reverence wasn’t a thing. Living in the DC metro gives you a very skewed perspective on the value of the military.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to believe most people don’t know this. Even if you were never interested yourself, you went to school with other people. And the kids who were accepted were high achieving student-athletes. Every kid from my high school who went was one of the best students, a star athlete, and popular. These are well rounded kids with an unusual amount of self-discipline for 17 year olds. Whatever negative stereotypes you may have about the hundreds of thousands of diverse people with a wide range of jobs in the military, you can’t really pretend you’re unaware of the academies.

Tell me you live in a bubble…

My only experience with academies was flipping past the army/navy game on tv, and it wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned these were college teams. There were no academies or military bases within hours of where I grew up. Military culture/reverence wasn’t a thing. Living in the DC metro gives you a very skewed perspective on the value of the military.

I grew up in rural PA. No base or post anywhere near us. If you are old enough to have a kid looking at colleges, you parents are old enough that they or other family members were drafted. Unless you come from such a privileged background, even your grandparents were college educated. Tell me more about my bubble.

[Anonymous]

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to believe most people don’t know this. Even if you were never interested yourself, you went to school with other people. And the kids who were accepted were high achieving student-athletes. Every kid from my high school who went was one of the best students, a star athlete, and popular. These are well rounded kids with an unusual amount of self-discipline for 17 year olds. Whatever negative stereotypes you may have about the hundreds of thousands of diverse people with a wide range of jobs in the military, you can’t really pretend you’re unaware of the academies.

Tell me you live in a bubble…

My only experience with academies was flipping past the army/navy game on tv, and it wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned these were college teams. There were no academies or military bases within hours of where I grew up. Military culture/reverence wasn’t a thing. Living in the DC metro gives you a very skewed perspective on the value of the military.

I grew up in rural PA. No base or post anywhere near us. If you are old enough to have a kid looking at colleges, you parents are old enough that they or other family members were drafted. Unless you come from such a privileged background, even your grandparents were college educated. Tell me more about my bubble.

The point is that name recognition for the service academies is atrociously low. Most people would recognize West Point, yes, but even then, I would bet a lot of people wouldn’t be able to associate that with USMA, and certainly wouldn’t view it in the same realm as the elite universities.

Not dunking on the service academies, just noting that awareness around them is low. And a lot of people simply don’t like the military, too, which is fair.

[Anonymous]

That is just not true in terms of name recognition. Yes , some may hate the military because they don’t understand reality but there is still plenty of name recognition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it's really prestigious and in demand, a lot more kids would apply, then the school would have plenty of applicants with high stat + all the other stuff to choose from.
Looks like it's not the case.

The USMA has a 9% acceptance rate. The USNA has a 9.1% acceptance rate. The USAA has a 13.4% acceptance rate. I’m guessing your kid could not get in.

9% acceptance rate among 1300 SAT average applicant pool

Oh my kid got 1540 SAT and is very healthy, but doesn't want military lifestyle.
Rather go to GMU

LOL. Your kid is a moron. Both for the GMU choice and the 1540, which you meant as a flex but for those of us in the 1% is not quite embarrassing but nothing we’d share voluntarily.

oh yea so my kid didn't go to GMU. However if those were the only two options, rather go to GMU.
Military style is simply not it for my kid and probably for most kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is just not true in terms of name recognition. Yes , some may hate the military because they don’t understand reality but there is still plenty of name recognition.

That might just be in the circles you move in or the bubble you live in.