Military Academies

My son just committed to the Air Force Academy yesterday.  If son can swing it, Academies are a great way to go.  As you touched on, financial position is a great part of the equation.  We could definitely not afford the education the Academy will provide, and the opportunity to be paid while furthering his education after, is great too.

RobT - This weekend my youngest son attended a college baseball camp at VMI.  One of the coaches told us there are 5 college military academies in the US.   Army, Navy, Air Force, Citadel and VMI. All are D1 baseball schools.   On the ride home, I thought about Coast Guard but that wasn't mentioned for whatever reason.   There are significant differences between each of these academies that I'm just learning about.  Uncle Sammy provides his own special scholarship for Army, Navy & Air Force.  Citadel and VMI are different and have some added flexibility with (or without military commitment) and the service branch you can select if you want to go into the Service.   There is in-state and out state tuition at both VMI and Citadel.  I wish I knew more.  But as I said I'm just starting to research this as son has indicated he is interested in a school like this with or without baseball. 

I just thought I'd throw VMI and Citadel into the mix for you to consider.   Both are relatively small colleges.  Citadel is in the Southern Conference and VMI is in the Big South in 2014.   My understanding is VMI will rejoin the Southern Conference in the 2014-15 academic year.  Good luck!

rynoattack - Congrats on your son's commitment.  That is outstanding.  You must be very proud of him.

The often forgot about Merchant Marine Academy

http://www.usmma.edu/

If your son's goal is to earn an M.D. or other graduate health sciences degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, he doesn't have to attend a service academy.  He can attend any suitable pre-med program anywhere and then apply.  

In fact, attending a service academy may complicate reaching this goal.  Graduates of the service academies have to compete for assignments after graduation. The competition occurs in the context of service needs, and the services have their own openings they want their academy graduates to fill.  Armed services generally permit only a very small number of graduates to go right into advanced degree programs after graduation/commissioning.  The students who get this opportunity are often the super elite who win Rhodes, Marshall, or other creme de la creme competitions.  

Service academies exist to prepare career officers, and if your son's goal is to be something else, he could discover that the free tuition has a hefty non-financial price tag. Your son could graduate from USAFA with a biology major but not be allowed to apply to med school for several years, or even until his academy service obligation has been fulfilled.

Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Academy don't offer any majors remotely resembling pre-med, nor do they offer medical career paths (the Coast Guard gets its doctors from the US Public Health Service).  Both play D3 ball; I don't know how well. 

Admission to West Point, Annapolis, and USAFA is complicated by the congressional appointment system.  Start researching the process junior year because the deadlines for the various steps come up quickly (e.g., scheduling local interviews with the staffs of your US rep and both US senators).  Recruited athletes do get an edge in this process, but they still have to get started early.

Best wishes, 

Yes I am.  I really think it was a good life choice.

For others reading this, here is the link to the Army Scholarship Program.  You go to any undergraduate school, but you still have to apply to medical school (or other) and get in.  You apply to the medical schools of your choice.

http://www.goarmy.com/amedd/education/hpsp.html

 I dated a guy (a long time ago!) who was in this program during medical school.  It is very generous and comes with a monthly stipend to help pay for room and board.  Some of the medical hospitals where you are required to do your residency are located in lovely places (ie. Hawaii).  By the time my friend met his military obligation, it was only a few more years to get to the 20-year mark for retirement.  He is now collecting full pay during his military retirement and also working in private practice.  

The down side was he had to deploy to the Gulf War.

I also personally know someone who went to Dental School in a similar program with the Navy.  Again, San Diego/Coronado Island is not too shabby!

These scholarship programs are not to be confused with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, located just north of Washington, DC, as Swampboy mentioned.  I had to laugh when he said, "..The students who get this opportunity are often the super elite who win Rhodes, Marshall, or other creme de la creme competitions."  They let me in ... and I was none of these!  

Keewart, 

I was saying that the academy graduates who are allowed to go into an advanced degree program immediately upon completion of their undergraduate degree are very small in number and very elite in accomplishment.  Nearly everybody else is expected to learn how to fly planes or drive ships or lead troops or do something else the services need junior officers to do.

I wasn't offering any opinion on how competitive the Uniformed University of the Health Services is because I don't know.

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

I hadn't actually thought about that... I was assuming that your service obligation could take place after grad school. That does complicate the issue a bit.  Realistically I don't know how well it would work out to go to school, then serve four years, then go back to school for a few more years, then serve a few more years. It's not my life to live though.

Thanks to all for the information - the decisions are still years down the road, but having a plan is probably a good thing.

My Dad is an Annapolis grad and my father-in-law is a West Pointer. Both ended up retiring out of the military and are great men.

But, as other(s) have noted: any good pre-med (biology, biochemistry) program will, with great grades and drive, lead to a BS degree that is required for medical school.And I got my BS in Biology from Virginia Tech. 

The service academies are not for everyone and are exceedingly hard to get into. And being commissioned will not necessarily lead to a spot/slot for medical school. In other words: going to a service academy can be an outstanding choice, but your son would be there to become an officer and leader first, baseball player second.

Best of luck however it turns out.

I would suggest applying to all the academies that have the potential to help in reaching his ultimate goal. The cost of applying is minimal and you are not required to attend if selected. Never hurts to have options. And there is no downside in giving back your country. It's an honor to serve.

Annapolis graduate. Class of 1972.

he can always go to medical school and have the military pay for it.    the services know that medical school is expensive and will offer to pay for it in return for military service. getting into the medical school from the academies is very very tough.   Many of the doctors I met in the military said their bills were very high and they decided to join the military and let the govt pay their school bills.  

West Point  91