JMPO, and throw it in the garbage can after reading it.
I have 3 kids (1 ADAF now), 1 graduating in May and 1 is a sophomore in college.
All of them were successful in college IMPO because of two statements you made. Each of them chose colleges that were the opposite of their siblings even down to the look of the campus and the location (size of the town, and outskirts). (UMD, VT and GMU).
Strength and Honor said:
VMI: Just always had the dream of going here
Purdue:Campus felt like home and I loved it.
College is a juggling act, especially as a ROTC cadet. It is a life of blending academics, social and ROTC. You have yet to truly meet the cadets or your peers that will be part of your next 4 yrs.
~ I am willing to bet you have matured and changed since you were 14, what makes you think you won't over the next 4 yrs.
~~~ That includes the importance of how ROTC will impact your life. Some will be all in, while others will decide once in, that this just isn't my career future. What is common is you still have to love the school.
Since you only visited when VMI was out of school, how can you make a decision based on a dream without seeing the real thing?
~~Think about movies, people rave about how great it is, you have only seen the trailer, but after you see it, because you built it to me something more you walk out saying, Yeah it was good, but not as great as others led me to believe.
~ No flaming, I am not saying anything negative about VMI, just saying reality and the dream rarely ever meet!
I get Purdue is known for engineering, but I don't think I would say that it is not nationally well known. I love March Madness, and I know of Purdue. I know of VMI because Bullet was ADAF, and we live in VA. We were born and raised in NJ. Ask Bullet's or my family that has no military background about VMI and you would get
where are they located and what does VMI stand for? However they know Purdue.
Now combine this with what if in 4 yrs you decide to go Reserves, and not AD? Which school is the best choice for your degree?
I will add one last thing that you didn't. Purdue, USF, and VMI are not in the same states.
~ The avg kid dreams of their sr. yr. finally flying the coop. Parents cry as they walk out, while their child has their foot on their arse pushing them into the elevator smiling!
Yet, the majority of them @6 weeks later (Oct) miss home, and it gets worse when that 3 day Columbus Day weekend or fall break in Oct. rolls around and because it is a flight away they are there until Thanksgiving while their close friends living 4 hrs away go home.
~~~ OBTW their FB teams may stink, but trust me dorms empty out at a higher rate when they are playing an away game versus a home game.
Finally, ROTC scholarship has that lovely 1 yr. no harm, no foul from a walk away perspective. As a parent I would strongly say to you this one thing!
TALK TO THE FOLKS ABOUT FINANCES.
~ That includes how often you can fly home.
Like I said, now is the time to throw my opinion in the garbage.