ROTC to West Point

Hello,
I have known my whole life that I wanted to serve in the military, but it was not until during my senior year of high school that I decided I wanted to serve in the Army. I had always dreamt of applying to an Academy, but I foolishly did not apply to any and missed West Point's deadline. I am currently on a 4-year national Army ROTC scholarship, and am entering my freshman year in college. However, I am curious in the possibility of applying for admission to West Point, and starting over again as a plebe if accepted.
My question is, would it be at all possible for me to apply for admission even though I haven't applied before? Would my current scholarship allow me to switch over to West Point? Realistically, should I even bother applying?
Thank you

Yes, you can still apply to West Point. I believe you can still switch over even with your current scholarship.

Your question about whether you should switch over is one you will have to answer yourself. Either way you will be commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army. What you have to ask yourself is, do you want a normal college life? Or do you want a West Point college life? Because they are two very different things. Also, you will have to decide whether it is worth it to go back to being a freshman in college again, because you will have to start over at the Academy.

People do it. There is a guy in my class that was a junior in college, was doing a ROTC program, and he still decided to switch to the Academy. It's all about determining what works best for you.

Plenty of cadets are from university. One of my good friends came to plebe year after doing ROTC.

yes and if you want it you need to do it now

Already around 200 LOAs given out. The class size will be between 1200 to 1300. So with the rolling admisisons, if you think you have time to wait around the the application dedaline around Feb 28 to finish your application to be competitive the answer is NO. Some Congressional nomination application deadlines are as early last October (less than 6 weeks out).

All of the above advice is very good. There are more than a few cadets who have had a year of college under their belts before attending WP. DS attended a private college for his freshman year since he was a re-applicant, I know of another who has 2 years college experience--freshman year at a private school and then his second year at MAPS. I have one DS at WP and another in ROTC at a very good university--2 totally different paths but the outcome will be the same. There are pluses and minuses to both situations--you need to decide what suits you best, your personality, lifestyle, goals, etc. Good luck

I just started my third (yes third) year in college. My LOA arrived this week. My university doesn't have ROTC, but I imagine that it will only help improve your standing.

Deadlines

MemberLG said:

yes and if you want it you need to do it now

Already around 200 LOAs given out. The class size will be between 1200 to 1300. So with the rolling admisisons, if you think you have time to wait around the the application dedaline around Feb 28 to finish your application to be competitive the answer is NO. Some Congressional nomination application deadlines are as early last October (less than 6 weeks out).

Click to expand...

In our area the deadline for the nominations is October 1 and interviews are held the last week in October. All material (recommendations, transcripts, application) must be submitted by then. Check your deadlines carefully.