georgethe7th
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2011
- Messages
- 2
We are anxiously awaiting word from USNA (along with many of you), and at the same time, want to have a well-crafted back up plan that will put our son in the best position to re-apply next year if it doesn't happen this year. By way of background, our son is a young senior (won't turn 18 until August), attends a very competitive private high school, has a 3.0 GPA, yet scored a 2000 on the SAT. His graduating high school will send 20 kids out of 95 to Ivy League schools, yet our son has dreamed of attending a service academy (most interested in USNA) since he was 13.
My question is this: if our son does not secure an appointment this year, how best should we counsel him on another college choice? He has been accepted to a couple of good Big Ten schools where he could also play lacrosse and pursue ROTC, and has also visited and been accepted to a couple of small private colleges with military focus, e.g. Norwich University and Virginia Military Institute. Assuming he takes a freshman course load that includes calculus, chemistry, history, and some English (literature / writing) at any of these schools, which path would the USNA look upon most favorably? Is there a benefit to getting a "cadet" experience at one of these smaller schools prior to re-applying to USNA?
The best outcome (in his mind) would be admission to USNA this year, but we are realistic about the level of competition and think he might benefit from a freshman year where he can raise the GPA and then re-apply next year. My wife and I want to do our best in guiding him and would welcome any thoughts -
My question is this: if our son does not secure an appointment this year, how best should we counsel him on another college choice? He has been accepted to a couple of good Big Ten schools where he could also play lacrosse and pursue ROTC, and has also visited and been accepted to a couple of small private colleges with military focus, e.g. Norwich University and Virginia Military Institute. Assuming he takes a freshman course load that includes calculus, chemistry, history, and some English (literature / writing) at any of these schools, which path would the USNA look upon most favorably? Is there a benefit to getting a "cadet" experience at one of these smaller schools prior to re-applying to USNA?
The best outcome (in his mind) would be admission to USNA this year, but we are realistic about the level of competition and think he might benefit from a freshman year where he can raise the GPA and then re-apply next year. My wife and I want to do our best in guiding him and would welcome any thoughts -
