This is a tough one. I had a long chat with my friend's sponsor Mid this weekend who was NROTC for a year before USNA. I asked him why he switched. For him it was about wanting more training opportunities, more exposure to various officers, more leadership opportunities. His unit was considered large, but it was nearly half the size of a USNA company. Also with USNA summer training having more robust options, he felt his summer exposure would have more chances. He also decided he wanted to be surrounded by like-minded folks with the same goal the entire time, just not when in lab or at training. He also felt like he would be confident in his rankings for service assignment. He is really open to the options to include USMC, and staying NROTC really forced him down one path. He also was excited for things like internships sponsored by the Navy, Leatherneck and Powered Flight (he thinks he really wants to fly and sees this a great chance to test that... same thought with Marine Corps). I think this is totally a personal choice. Sure you will have a step up on the direct folks as you have an extra year of maturity, college level classes, military exposure. It really matters what your goals are, financial situation, scholarship vs non-scholarship (obviously extra risk here if not on scholarship or received advanced standing yet as this is a guaranteed path to commission). If you are happy where you are at, what is missing? What do you think USNA will provide that you are missing? Are you okay with the Plebe year restrictions after having so much freedom for a year?