I have looked over this forum for a while now and would like to get the other members advice in regard to my son. My son is a junior in high school. He has for a long time wanted to attend The Citadel. The reasons are numerous. Even though he has always lived in North Carolina my family is from the Low Country of South Carolina and I lived there as a child. Due to this we spend a lot of time in Charleston. He has visited The Citadel numerous times in his life. He also closely follow a pair of brothers that the thought a lot of attend The Citadel (one severed in the Army the other has been an officer in the Marines a little over a year). Earlier this month he visited The Citadel for an “official” college day. About an hour after the visit, on the way home, I asked him what he thought and his answer was “It (the visit) made me want to go there even more.” I think he knows what he is getting into as such as any 16 year old can actually know about a Senior Military College. I don’t think getting in will be any problem for him. His unweighted high school GPA is around a 3.75. His most recent ACT score is a 25 (more on that later). He also has a strong desire to serve although he is not certain as to which branch he would prefer at this time. He sees good points about both the army and navy. He plans on applying for ROTC scholarships and here is where I am seeking advice to give him. I mentioned his GPA above. Most of his classes are honors classes. He took one AP class last year and two this year. He has played JV football in his ninth and tenth grade years along with JV baseball his ninth grade year. He played varsity baseball in the tenth grade and earned his first “letter”. He played varsity football this fall (junior year) and although he was not a starter he did letter. He is currently a starting pitcher on his varsity baseball team; however, I doubt he would be a college prospect. He earned his Eagle Scout rank at the beginning of his tenth grade year and earned a bronze palm for Eagle last fall. His troop has about 45 scouts and he served as their Senior Patrol Leader in his tenth grade year. He is currently a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster in the troop and organizes the troop’s color guard for outside groups, sporting events and etc. In addition he was selected to serve as a Senior Patrol for a contingent troop to the National Jamboree last summer. I think this was an honor because he was selected from a group of scouts from five different counties in our area. He is active in Interact Club (service club) and the Model United Nations Club at school. He was inducted into the school’s Beta Club this past fall and he is now active in that club. He is active in church and in Young Life. He served as a representative to a regional Model UN Conference last year. He will also serve as a representative to another regional conference next week and to a larger Model UN Conference at Georgetown University in Washington DC later this month. He feels at ease around military members. His biggest weakness is in English, specifically reading and those darn standardized test such as the SAT and ACT. He has taken the ACT three times. The first two his score was a 21 each time. After the second test in December he got busy with an on-line program (March To Success which is ironically free through the Army) and several study guides. He took the ACT again in February and received a 25. I think this is even more significant when you consider he raised his reading score from a 17 to a 23 in just three months. I am also concerned about the interview process as he is a man of few words especially in formal settings and especially talking about himself and his achievements. Third, while he has spent a lot of time in scouting and has shown leadership in scouting I am concerned about his lack of leadership positions in sports/clubs at school. His baseball coach does not believe in team captains so serving there is out. He is working with a guidance counselor and a teacher in trying to organize a Venture Crew at his school. What advice would you give him and me? (Note, I have never served in the military but I did complete several semesters of AFROTC in college.). What would help his chances at an ROTC scholarship? He certainly plans to continue taking the SAT and ACT this spring. He likely will take an SAT prep course over the summer in order to get ready for the early fall SAT. Would having another visit to campus and talking with officers in each of the ROTC programs be a good idea at this time? What other ideas do you have?