Hello everyone. Son was just offered a West Point AOG sponsorship and this mama is a bit overwhelmed on how to guide him on selecting the right prep school. Apologies if this is not the right forum, but curious why you all picked MMI. We knew about USMAPS, but didn’t know there were other options! Any and all advice welcome as we help him narrow down his options.
Also, he is still processing and initially took AOG offer as a rejection, but we think it’s a good thing. He won’t have a lot of time to decide and will likely not be able to visit campuses in advance as he’s about to enter HS finals and AP exams. We will start doing our outreach to the schools ASAP to educate ourselves but would love to learn from all of you as well. We are from West Coast.
2028: We became aware of the AOG program about 4 months ago, and we did not know how to take that. My DS was all about it right away. If that was his way to USMA, he was fine with it. Here are a few of my thoughts FWIW.
1) The chances of your DS getting into USMA next year are excellent with Civil Prep (advertised as 90%+). If West Point is his goal, this is a very solid path to get there.
2) The cost is very reasonable. Between the AOG scholarship and aid offered by the school, you are not looking at too much out of pocket.
3) Your student does not lose anything by going to MMI. It's a Junior College, so any credits they earn could be transferred to another school if he decides that the military route is not for him.
4) I have spoken with multiple West Point alums as well as the parents of current students. All agree that the students who go through the AOG program are more successful in their first year at the academy. We have a student in our neighborhood who is a first year cadet at West Point. We were talking to his mom last week, and, unprompted, she told us a story about how the first semester was a struggle for her son at West Point. She then said, "he has a friend who attended a prep school who's taken him under his wing, and he has been such a huge help."
5) I agree with Mamarowe re: LTC Bowen. Your student will be in good hands.
6) We picked MMI because it is an actual Junior College. The other available prep schools are High Schools with JUCO programs attached. I didn't want my son to feel as though he was going back to High School, and you don't have to worry about that with MMI.
7) The advice I gave my son when this came up was, "your biggest struggle here will be your ego. Once you get past that, one year is nothing in the long run. Nobody will ever know after you graduate that you spent a year at prep." I will have to say that that advice was more advice for myself. My son's ego was fine. My ego has been a little bruised because I wanted him to get the appointment, and explaining prep to people is hard. They see it as a rejection too because they don't understand. It's a different path.
As crazy as it all sounds, we are actually hoping that he does not get an appointment this year. He got a thick envelope from Cadet Command the other day. My wife was like, "Oh no. I hope it's not an appointment to West Point. I really want him to do prep." Turns out that it was paperwork for the 3 YR ROTC scholarship he got. We were both relieved.
Bottom Line: I'm a huge fan of the AOG program and MMI. The risk is low, and the reward is high. We visited the campus in April, and the staff there is solid. If you are still on the fence, I'm happy to chat on the phone or online. Just send me a message.
My DD will be attending MMI as a Falcon Foundation scholar this fall.