hello fellow forum members. i am a high school senior in the process of deciding colleges and i want to share my complicated thoughts and perhaps get some insight from you guys.
i am conflicted between going to the air force academy or doing afrotc at UCLA or Berkeley. i know that all of these are good options, and that there are hundreds of kids whose dream is to attend the academy, so im truly thankful to have these choices; at the same time, it has given me truly a lot to think about when considering my fit and opportunities at both routes. i plan to study psychology, economics, or political science at any institution.
i learned about the academy with the help of my parents. they introduced me to the prestige as well as the valuable paths and options that the academy opens up after service, especially in my interested field in law. another major benefit i think the academy provides is the tight bonds that cadets develop with each other. as for these, i definitely agree and understand the value of these aspects. i fully agree that there is nothing more valuable or honorable as military service and that experiences in information operations or military intelligence would be invaluable when im considering law school and such.
however for me, i am not sure if i am ready to make that commitment right now. i think a major part of this is because the idea of going to a military school and service after was pretty new for me, something that ive only seriously considered since a couple of months ago. i think that the traditional college experience and the freedoms that comes with it was something that i was really looking forward to throughout my childhood and high school experience. in that regard, i learned about the rotc option. for me, this seemed like a compromise between the college experience i wanted and the opportunity to pursue service in the air force. even though it might be a different route than academy cadets, i think that the afrotc program would still give me the opportunity to pursue a career in military intelligence or information operations additionally, because afrotc cadets have until junior year to contract, i believed it would give me a little more exposure and time before i know this is for me.
in my parents' perspective however, going the rotc route would lose a lot of the prestige and societal honor that comes with the academy. because its commonly known that air force academy cadet usually have first choice before afrotc cadets in their career choice, they are also worried about the possibility that i may not be able to go into the career field i want. lastly, they are worried that the academic rigor would be a lot harder to manage at a regular public college and that rotc would provide even further burdens with pt and labs and such.
i think the most difficult part of this decision-making process is that there is no real "right" or "wrong", and why ive decided to reach out to fellow forum members here for their insight. i have a path that i have in mind right now, but i want to make sure that my naivety or my desires don't diminish my future as well. i know this was a tremendously long post to read, so thank you for reading through all this and i would love to hear your insight.
i am conflicted between going to the air force academy or doing afrotc at UCLA or Berkeley. i know that all of these are good options, and that there are hundreds of kids whose dream is to attend the academy, so im truly thankful to have these choices; at the same time, it has given me truly a lot to think about when considering my fit and opportunities at both routes. i plan to study psychology, economics, or political science at any institution.
i learned about the academy with the help of my parents. they introduced me to the prestige as well as the valuable paths and options that the academy opens up after service, especially in my interested field in law. another major benefit i think the academy provides is the tight bonds that cadets develop with each other. as for these, i definitely agree and understand the value of these aspects. i fully agree that there is nothing more valuable or honorable as military service and that experiences in information operations or military intelligence would be invaluable when im considering law school and such.
however for me, i am not sure if i am ready to make that commitment right now. i think a major part of this is because the idea of going to a military school and service after was pretty new for me, something that ive only seriously considered since a couple of months ago. i think that the traditional college experience and the freedoms that comes with it was something that i was really looking forward to throughout my childhood and high school experience. in that regard, i learned about the rotc option. for me, this seemed like a compromise between the college experience i wanted and the opportunity to pursue service in the air force. even though it might be a different route than academy cadets, i think that the afrotc program would still give me the opportunity to pursue a career in military intelligence or information operations additionally, because afrotc cadets have until junior year to contract, i believed it would give me a little more exposure and time before i know this is for me.
in my parents' perspective however, going the rotc route would lose a lot of the prestige and societal honor that comes with the academy. because its commonly known that air force academy cadet usually have first choice before afrotc cadets in their career choice, they are also worried about the possibility that i may not be able to go into the career field i want. lastly, they are worried that the academic rigor would be a lot harder to manage at a regular public college and that rotc would provide even further burdens with pt and labs and such.
i think the most difficult part of this decision-making process is that there is no real "right" or "wrong", and why ive decided to reach out to fellow forum members here for their insight. i have a path that i have in mind right now, but i want to make sure that my naivety or my desires don't diminish my future as well. i know this was a tremendously long post to read, so thank you for reading through all this and i would love to hear your insight.
