The true question should be are you intending a career or diving? If you intend to dive, without a doubt go SA, since it is par to Ivy regarding education.
Um, I'm going to have to step in and respectfully disagree with this last quote. Brief background-I did AFROTC at VMI, served four years in the USAF as a missileer, and left the service (or "dived") after my initial commitment.
After the service, I went to law school and am now a practicing attorney.
Ok, so my beef with the above quote is that while an SA education is undoubtably top-notch, I don't think there is any reason to believe that choosing an SA over an equally prestigious civilian school is "without a doubt" the best move a kid could make if he/she has no aspirations of service past the initial service obligation. SAs immerse the cadet/mid into the world of the respective branch, and are there to produce professional military officers. Sure, the education received by a student there is high quality; but, the goal is to make an Ensign/Lieutenant who, at least potentially, could one day become a senior leader in the service. I would only suggest that a service academy is "without a doubt" the best place for a kid to go, if he/she at least had an idea that career military service was something that interested them. Or, at the very least, that the student was willing to devote the next 9 years (or whatever) completely to his respective military branch.
I may not be making myself entirely clear, but, for a kid who wishes to be a citizen-soldier, or has desires to return to civilian life as soon as the obligation is over, it really makes very little difference if he attended an SA or an equally-ranked civilian college (with respect to the academic exposure). That is, a kid with a degree from USNA/USCGA with 5 years active duty, is, I think, equally prepared to handle graduate school admissions/the job market as a University of Michigan/Cornell/UVA grad who also has 5 years of active duty.
I don't have anything against guys that go SA and serve only the minimal requirement, quite the contrary, as there are many reasons why a military career becomes less appealing to people over time. Using myself as an example, I had initially hoped to make the USAF a career; but, once I got into it, I really had no desire to pursue what was necessary to make that happen. I am worlds happier as a civilian, yet I wouldn't trade my VMI or USAF experience for the world. Still, I think, given the educational mission of the various SAs, that a kid should at least be open to the idea of a career in uniform if he/she decides on attending there. Desires, wishes, interests change as we get older; but, if you don't want to be immersed in the military, and go to the SA just for the academic experience or what might possibly be a reward a decade or so down the line, it is going to be a rather miserable college experience. Simply-you shouldn't go to one of the SAs because it is "par to an Ivy;" rather, you should go because you want to dedicate yourself to the service of the nation, and because you are willing to give the necessary sacrifices so that you can be trained as a leader (potentially a future senior leader) in the Armed Forces.
So, my advice-If you want to be an officer in the military, and that is something that is in your very core, and you are at least open to the idea of a career in the service (i.e. not opposed to it), then most definitely apply to one of the SAs. If, on the other hand, service is something you feel it is your duty as a citizen to do; however, you don't think it is possibly your life's calling-that is, if you wish to serve in uniform, but know right now that your ultimate goals and interests do not center on the military (e.g. medical school, politics, whatever)-I think that more than likely you would be unhappy in the SA environment. I would never discourage an applicant from applying to anywhere they had an interest; but, it is just important to keep in mind the type of enviroment that the next four years will involve, and if that is something that is worth enduring, or indeed is essential, to what the ultimate goal of the student is.