Switching Academies?

AcademyHopeful_50

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How likely and/or feasible is the prospect of a Cadet/Mid at one Academy trying to get into another Academy during their Plebe year? In other words have there ever been instances of young men or women doing a year at one Academy but decided to reapply to another and do their whole first year over again?

I ask simply out of curiosity. DoDMERB would not be an issue, Nom interviews could be done via telephone... No BGO or Liaison though, as the student would have to get a recommendation from the CO of their Academy.

Any thoughts?
 
If you don't like the Academy you have requested and are attending, it will take about 5 short days to send you home.
 
I wouldn't put too many eggs in that basket. Funding is going to get much tighter and the SA's are not likely to look favorably on being a experiment. Candidly, there are enough prospects out there that someone who already has shown that he/she isn't willing to make the necessary commitment is likely to become damaged goods.
 
How likely and/or feasible is the prospect of a Cadet/Mid at one Academy trying to get into another Academy during their Plebe year? In other words have there ever been instances of young men or women doing a year at one Academy but decided to reapply to another and do their whole first year over again?

A West Point football player got a lot of press 2 years ago when he started out at USAFA and left after 1 week of classes.

He "transferred" to West Point (had to sit out a year of athletics due to NCAA rules) and played in 2010 and 2011 and was one of their better running backs.

(In reality, I don't think he "transferred" but dropped out of USAFA and was given an appointment to USMA the following year as a recruited football player.)

Not sure if he is still at USMA, he is not on the football team anymore.
 
I would say the mid/cadet has to consider why he/she doesn't "like" the current SA and how/why a new SA would be "better."

Although the SAs are certainly different in many ways, at their core, they are academic institutions that also prepare men and women to be officers. Yes, there is greater focus on field exercises at USMA than at USNA and more emphasis on aviation-related activities at USAFA, etc. But it's not as if one would be going from a SA to ROTC.

IOW, there isn't THAT much difference in terms of what will happen over four years such that someone unhappy at SA A will be completely changed at SA B. One option, BTW, is to be an exchange mid/cadet for a semester, but that only works if one stands very high in his/her class.

If the cadet/mid isn't happy about the career options in the service selected, there is a possibility of inter-service transfer. These are also exceedingly rare today but they do happen.
 
I don't know about switching academies, but Lance Sijan went to NAPS before going to USAFA and becoming an Air Force officer.
 
I don't know about switching academies, but Lance Sijan went to NAPS before going to USAFA and becoming an Air Force officer.

All USAFA prepsters did at that time, as USAFA Prep was not established until 1961.

In fact, every academy except USMA used NAPS as a prep school at one time.

USCGA used it as recently as 5 years ago, and USMMA may still use it (not sure).
 
Has it ever happened is a different question from how likely will it be for the average person to switch. For those accepted to more then one academy, it would be best to make sure you are making the right decision before you begin. As some as mentioned above, you are joining the military to become an officer regardless of which academy you choose.

The chance to transfer is slim to none.
 
How likely and/or feasible is the prospect of a Cadet/Mid at one Academy trying to get into another Academy during their Plebe year? In other words have there ever been instances of young men or women doing a year at one Academy but decided to reapply to another and do their whole first year over again?

I ask simply out of curiosity. DoDMERB would not be an issue, Nom interviews could be done via telephone... No BGO or Liaison though, as the student would have to get a recommendation from the CO of their Academy.

Any thoughts?

While a cadet/midshipman, quitting and going to another academy, is very rare and highly unlikely. Personally, I've never heard of it.

There is an exchange programs between the three academies where cadets/midshipmen spend an entire semester at the other academy.

Also, every year there seems to be a few graduates who get commissions in another service. They cannot do this on a whim, however. They have to make a compelling case as to why this would make sense for them.

My roommate, in fact, wanted a commission in the Air Force in order to fly. He did not have 20/20 vision and the Navy would not give a waiver for vision. The Air Force did. It didn't hurt that his father was a high ranking Air Force officer. They allowed him to get a commission in the Air Force. Sadly, they later discovered that he had some kind of hearing issue and he never did fly in the Air Force.
 
Also, every year there seems to be a few graduates who get commissions in another service. They cannot do this on a whim, however. They have to make a compelling case as to why this would make sense for them.

Yes and this is also governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between all of the Service Assistant Secretaries for Manpower & Reserve Affairs (M&RA). I haven't seen the MOU, but I believe there must be a one-for-one transfer (i.e. a MIDN wanting to commission into the USAF would have to have a cadet at USAFA wanting to commission in the Navy). So even if one wants it badly, if there isn't a counterpart, it isn't likely to happen.
 
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