New Member! (SLS vs. NASS)

[swissmann]

Hi! I have been reading the threads on this site for a long time now trying to get more information about the academies, the application process, and etc. I am a junior in highschool and my goal is to get into USNA but I would love to attend USMA as well.

I applied and was accepted into the Westpoint SLS program. But I have a problem. The letter says that I have to respond my March 1st in order to hold my spot. But applications for NASS do not open until February 1st. My parents say that I can only go to one program. Does anyone know when the letters for NASS come? And if it comes too late should I just forget about SLS? Any and all informations is welcome! Thanks!

 

[Casey]

I was accepted to both last year as well as USAFA's and what it came down to in deciding was where I wanted to be (I was heavily leaning towards either USMA or USAFA at that time).

That said, if you have a good deal of familiarity of either of the academies, maybe its a good idea to try and see the other to get a glimpse into its culture. The reason I went to USAFA over USNA's seminars was that my dad had housing at Annapolis before and I was familiar with the base, lifestyle, culture, etc as well as an uncle who graduated there who i could bug for questions while USAFA I didn't have that background. I chose USAFA's summer seminar over USNA's to help me make a decision. The point of the seminars, as the cadre at WP will tell you, is to help you figure out whether that particular Academy is the right place for you.

For what its worth, I've had a couple friends that went to all three seminars last year. WP's is by our consensus probably the best run out of the three with USNA's a second behind. USAFA, while fun and informative, was not at the same level organizationally as USMA's in our opinion. I don't think any of them were a waste of time, but USMA was definitly an amazing experience.

Would you be able to convince your parents to let you go to both if you were able to help with the costs or something of the like? They're both great experiences if you can get into both.