I can tell you from personal experience that NWP is a fantastic, fantastic opportunity to grow in every aspect of your life. I would not trade the time I spent up on that little mountain top for anything, regardless of the outcome of my appoint to USAFA. Now; all of the official civilian prep schools would be a marvelous experience. Being a little biased: No school will prepare you for life, either civilian or military, as well as Northwester Preparatory (Pronounced Prepare-a-tory) will. The Durbecks are among the greatest people I have ever met in my entire life. Mr. and Mrs. D, along with the rest of the NWP staff, is fully commited to helping you accomplish your goals. I can also guarantee with 99.99% certainty that a semester at NWP will put you miles ahead of your non prepster competition. All of that being said: NWP is not an accredited academic facility. That being the case, you will not earn transferable credits. You will however, come to master your academics to a point where retaking the courses will seem like you are in pre-k all over again.
Besides the academic growth, you will grow as a person. Being cramped into a small(ish) dormitory with a group of random strangers forces you to learn how to adapt. This is a very valuable ability to have regardless where you are in life. I have maintained an extremely close friendship with the guys I met out on that itty bitty mountain top, and I plan on maintaining that friendship no matter what happens in my life.
Okay now that I rambled for so long let me condense this down. IF you are unfortunately not accepted into the class of 2017 AND you have an opportunity to attend NWP, TAKE IT! I promise you that you will not regret it. You will come to a point where, even when you are home, you will wake up saying to yourself: Oh Goody, Another Day in Which to Excel!!!