My DS is very steadfast in his desire to attend an SMC for the purpose of obtaining a commission in either the Army or Marines. A USAF retiree myself, with yet another son serving in the Army as a warrant officer, I'm very pleased and extremely supportive of his decision. That being said, the cost of OOS tuition (we live in Florida) is enough to keep me up at night as I calculate the megaton hit to my retirement account. Unfortunately, our household income all but eliminates any chance of federal or "need based" aid so I'm curious if anyone from the forum has successfully whittled down the cost of tuition via some form of institutional aid not tied to household income? My interest pertains to all SMC's, but particularly to the cost heavy Citadel, VMI, and Norwich.