I have been in the difficult position of deciding between the West Point and USNA for quite some time now (LOAs September, WP Appointment in October, USNA Appointment Early November) and it is not getting any easier. It seems that every week I am leaning one way and change the following week after learning new information regarding one SA. When I began the application process I was Navy 100%, but after my visit to West Point I have fallen in love with USMA, yet Navy is still in the back of my mind.
I was in the same situation as you all through the Fall and into the first part of this year. Consider yourself one of the luckiest high school students in the world right now, with two fine choices in front of you. I ended up accepting my appointment to WP. Now, if someone came to me tomorrow and said the WP thing fell through for some unforeseen reason and I had to attend USNA instead, I would be heartbroken about WP, but proud as well to attend USNA. But USMA is my clear choice at this point. Will I ever harbor
some doubt? Of course! Honestly, I think it is human nature to play the second-guessing game in our heads, and you will have some doubt right up until you get to campus on the first day - then you will realize it is the place for you, and it will become your home. That makes you no different from most other college-bound 18 yr olds who, somewhere in the recesses of their brain, ask "I wonder if college Y would have been better than college X". Recognize your misgivings as normal and move past it.
Both my BGO and ALO have been extremely helpful but I feel that I will let one down regardless of my decision because of how hard each has worked in helping me to receive the appointments.
That's their job, and although BGOs and MALOs do an incredible job -- far far beyond the efforts of admissions drones in typical universities -- they realize from experience that USMA and USNA are usually competing for applicants from the same group of exceptional students. They are completely prepared to have you pick one and say no to the other. Their job is to help you make that
informed decision and to find the
personal hook in their institution that will make you pick them if they pick you.
The decision for me is so close that I jokingly say that I will just flip a coin; however it seems to actually be the best course of action. I have been told that when I flip the coin I will know which one I really prefer, I just don't think that will happen because I have no preference. .
Yeah, I've seen that coin flip/dart throw advice on here and for me it doesn't work. I wouldn't pick my future wife that way, and this decision is similar in impact. I am much more of a Decision Matrix person. Also a big fan of the "OK let's pretend I can't go home for the weekend until I resolve this" method. However, the matrix method only works if you have all the parameters and weightings, which is tough in this case. And the "4:30 on a Friday" method only works if either decision is pretty much acceptable, which after some further soul searching may not be the case here for you.
And of course then there is the old "signs" (a.k.a. "hand of God") method, where you simply say "Whatever is best will happen" and then wait for a sign to point you. I remember reading on here about one applicant who was deciding between USMA and USNA; he went to the chapel somewhere (maybe on his high school campus, I can't recall) trying to get his head around his decision, and as he exited the chapel door just then a fighter jet, seemingly from nowhere, screamed by right overhead. He chose USNA. Now, I'm not saying you should wait for a member of Army Special Forces to parachute into the middle of your front lawn in order to make up your mind, but if you stop thinking about it and kind of avert your gaze from the problem, you may in fact suddenly have some kind of epiphany. Stop trying to decide and maybe your mind will make it evident.
I feel that I would be more academically successful at West Point and have a better opportunity for the branch that I want, or should I attend USNA where I have more choices for branches (service selection) that I would enjoy and just the fact that for some reason it is still in my mind even after the research that, for me, has made West Point a better choice for me.
I think the fact that you posted this in the USMA forum should be one clue that you are looking at USMA as the 'incumbent' that needs unseating (unless you cross-posted to USNA as well -- I did not check that). And I have myself posted on here in the past, asking for similar advice at one point. But it really does become akin to you posting "Strawberry or chocolate?". The answer is "What flavor do you like better?". For me, in the end, I based a lot on my experience on overnight visits, and really getting a close-up view of the cadets/mids, as people, as men and women, and the lives they were leading at their SA, and their interactions with upperclassmen, and the overall environment. I was going ground either way, so career paths, per se, was not in the mix for me. I realized that when I looked around both USMA and USNA, I saw some amazing people -- startlingly amazing people -- at both locations, but I found myself looking at the WP cadets with more of a feeling of "that's who I want to be like, that person is someone who I would be proud to emulate". My personal view, my own feeling, my own head. For you, the tipping point will be something else, but you need to get there.
Thank you for reading and any response you may have.
You're welcome. Sory for the long-winded response, but I had a whole study hall to work on it so figured I would give you everything I had on my mind. Maybe we'll see each other on the Hudson next year. If so, I'm sure I will be proud to know you and serve with you. Good luck.