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I have never seen any discussion on these boards about the military academies and yet any list you look at of toughest to get into, they are all in the top 10. When I look up their average SAT's etc. they look mid-range. What is the deal? What do they look for? Anyone been through the process?

By Beenthereil (Beenthereil) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 09:16 pm: Edit

I know a graduate of West Point and my son is being recruited by AFA and West Point.

Politic--has a lot to do with who gets into the academies.

By Beenthereil (Beenthereil) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 09:17 pm: Edit

.....s

By ~the_Chosen~ (~the_Chosen~) on Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 05:14 am: Edit

They look for Scholar-Athlete-Leaders (SAL) criteria. It's very hard to get into a military academy.

1) you must have connections
2) congressional nominations, the more you get the better, without one you will not even be considered
3) the competition is tough, you start applying as early as september of your senior year
4) also, children of veteran get major preference and medal of honor children are GURANTEED a spot in at least one academy, maybe that's why the SAT scores are so low =D
5) If you aren't a leader, forget it, if you aren't an athlete, forget it, if you aren't smart, forget it.
6) Being a smart nerd just isn't enough, you have to be well-rounded and be able to adapt, they like strivers

Leadership is very important, SAT's are less of a concern. They want confident individuals who can LEAD and are able, smart, athletic. Why? because they do the BEST in tough situations. PR offers a good explanation of ROTC scholarships and the "SAL criteria" check it out.

http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/prepare/scholarathlete.asp

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/projects/west_point/wp051202s18.shtml

Read both the articles and you'll get a better understanding. They want the STUDENT TRIFECTA, are you one?

USAFA do reject people with high SAT scores 1400s even if their SAT average is around 1300. Just image a bunch of "all-arounders" in a school, excelling at EVERYTHING they do, you think it's easy to find people like that?

Personally I would never want to attend a military academy, they are rough, discipline you, and make you study like crazy. Westpoint sucks the life out of you.

That's why I'm taking a ROTC full-ride to Cornell =)

By Evergreen (Evergreen) on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 02:38 pm: Edit

For anyone who is not able to goto a military academy and is not able to, I recommend ROTC. I have a sister that was able to goto MIT with an NROTC scholarship, otherwise my parents would not have been able to pay for it. It really is a good way to pay for college, and it's not as bad as some people think it is. I am looking forward to doing ROTC where I go to college, wherever that might be.

By O71394658 (O71394658) on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 02:40 pm: Edit

So am I. I might go the ROTC route as well.

By ~the_Chosen~ (~the_Chosen~) on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 09:05 pm: Edit

Cool, 071, where you doing ROTC at? I'll be Cornell AROTC, was offered NROTC and AFROTC, but Air Force = restricted major, NROTC...ship life..booo...and army was the next best choice.