Questions about Marion Military

goldfarb1

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
357
Okay...today, lets just say I had a slight awakening. My academics are probably not as strong as they should be. I'm sitting at about a 3.4 GPA. My SAT is 590CR 580M. I do believe my extracurriculars are quite strong, however. 350+ volunteer hours at a single organization, a bit of other dedicated volunteer service including organizing a run that raised several thousand dollars, designed and managed a website, held several law firm internships, worked as a congressional page, captain of debate, work at a legal aid society during the school year, on a semi-pro cycling team, etc. I still plan on putting 110% forward with my SA and ROTC apps, but I want a backup plan so I can hit the ground running if I do get a TWE.

Now I heard about Marion Military Institute through a friend of my moms. Her husband had gone there. Before that, I knew a bit about it through the SAP program. My question deals with the SAP program for people who are not sponsored by a SA. I'm not worried about cost, so let's take that out of the equation. My main focus is success on getting accepted from Marion to USNA, specifically. If I were to attend and take the academy's recommended college courses, work hard, and pull solid grades...is there a strong chance of recieving an appointment? I know its a bit early to be planning out a backup, but I like to feel comfortable and tend to always have a few options in the background.

Additionally, for those with direct experience with marion...what do you feel about the school? I know its a broad question. But any comments are greatly appreciated. I've been looking, but haven't been able to find tons of information. If you can direct me to some info as well, that would be greatly appreciated!
 
There are several threads on Marion... just do a search.

Check out Marion's web site and then give COL Lewis a call as he heads up the SAP program. Based on the numbers Marion posts on their web site, I would say not a lot of unsponsored kids get into the Naval Academy. Of course, don't let the numbers sway you because averages have nothing to do with the equation of whether you get a USNA appointment or not. One important question is what you will do if you don't get an appointment. MMI would say come back for another year and get a AA degree and reapply. If USMA was a consideration then MMI is definetly a good choice since they have the Army ROTC Early Commissioning Program. This is a great option for those who don't get an appointment.

MMI is in a very small poor town. This might be a shock to those who come from a high income area. Not much to do, but that can be viewed as a good thing.

Does this cover what you are looking for or do you have specific questions?
 
There are several threads on Marion... just do a search.

Check out Marion's web site and then give COL Lewis a call as he heads up the SAP program. Based on the numbers Marion posts on their web site, I would say not a lot of unsponsored kids get into the Naval Academy. Of course, don't let the numbers sway you because averages have nothing to do with the equation of whether you get a USNA appointment or not. One important question is what you will do if you don't get an appointment. MMI would say come back for another year and get a AA degree and reapply. If USMA was a consideration then MMI is definetly a good choice since they have the Army ROTC Early Commissioning Program. This is a great option for those who don't get an appointment.

MMI is in a very small poor town. This might be a shock to those who come from a high income area. Not much to do, but that can be viewed as a good thing.

Does this cover what you are looking for or do you have specific questions?

Thanks. I just looked and found a very good thread on here regarding MMI. I saw those numbers on their website, but I wonder how many people were unsponsored for USNA. If no one went unsponsored than obviously 0 would get it.

The thread I found seemed to have a decent amount of information. The ECP program seems like a solid option. I guess the only other question I have, and maybe you can't answer it would be if I were tracked for Navy's SAP but didn't get in...would it be possible to switch to ECP and only have to finish off the second year?
 
Many of the unsponsored kids go with a dual enrollment in both the SAP and
ECP. Realize that ECP is Army only, and yes, it will allow you to commission as a 2LT after only two years at Marion (even if you participate in the SAP program the first year). As an unsponsored you'll have the flexibility to do pretty much everything. You can apply to any or all of the service academies while still doing Army ROTC. I am aware of at least a couple of kids that were in the SAP program for the Naval Academy even after they signed an Army ROTC contract.
 
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