Advantages of going to the Coast Guard Academy versus the Navy Academy? difficult choice.

A hard choice indeed. Both schools offer an outstanding education. The real differences will lie in life after the Academy. Does one offer a career field of particular interest to your son? While there are some international opportunities for USCG, the vast majority of duty assignments will be US State side - is that a good or bad thing for your son? There are big differences in their overall mission and the lifestyle is different as well. Do you have contacts serving in both branches?

Congrats on having two fantastic options! Admittedly, this is a large decision for an 18yr old and it is further complicated for families without a military background or from areas with little to no military presence. I think you will find great value in diving deeper into what a day-in-the-life of both paths would entail to see if one more closely aligns with the aspirations of your son.
 
Similar choice with our DS - USMA or USCGA.

The obvious difference is ultimately the MISSION of the service. However as for the "college" experience, there's the big fish, small pond vs. small fish, big pond argument. Definitely a "great problem to have", but clearly presents a layer of angst that a lot of kids (and parents) don't have to contend with.
 
Moderator note: I merged two identical threads.

Stealth_ 81
 
TexasAggie204 said:
Similar choice with our DS - USMA or USCGA.

The obvious difference is ultimately the MISSION of the service. However as for the "college" experience, there's the big fish, small pond vs. small fish, big pond argument. Definitely a "great problem to have", but clearly presents a layer of angst that a lot of kids (and parents) don't have to contend with.
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The more I learn about USCGA I wonder if it's A LOT OF BIG FISH in a small pond.
 
This is pro-USNA

Majors-The Naval Academy has 25 majors (was 26 but combined Economics and Quantitate Economics), Coast Guard has 9. You have much more choice from the Naval Academy.
Choices after graduation- One of the biggest pulls to the Naval Academy for me was the choices after graduation. I can go into aviation, SWO, Special warfare or even the marine corps. To me, it had all of the service academies and all of the options from the various service academies into one.
Annapolis is a much more vibrant place than New London. DC and Baltimore are within reach (30-45 minute drive based off of traffic) and Annapolis isn't exactly a small town either.
The Naval Academy is larger as well. I found CGA too small for my taste. The Brigade is perfectly sized for me. Army vs Navy is a unique experience as well as other D1 sports. Your DS can't go wrong with this pick... but he can be more right if he picks Annapolis. Best of luck.
 
I think this may be coming up for my son. My other son (his brother) is a 3rd class at USCGA. This son just got his appointment to USNA, and is waiting to hear from USCGA and USAFA.

The more research I do and from what I see with my boys, going to the USNA is the sexy choice. But like a relationship, there must be more than sexy and sex. IMHO, the CG offers a better long term career and overall lifestyle. HOWEVER, the USNA is very, very sexy.

My 3rd class son is loving the USCGA and is thriving. As for what he shares with his brother at this point, well, those conversations are off-limits to dad, lol.

Either choice is great on the surface. It really comes down to life after the academy, IMHO.
 
@Gunny@143 congrats to your DS! My DS applied only to USCGA, but a visit to a base before junior year was critical in his decision to even apply. The academy has been open to having him talk further with those now serving to help answer questions as he chooses between CGA and civilian college. Is there a chance that your son can do the same both for Coast Guard and the Navy -- talk with people serving now, perhaps even visit a base to see their lives first-hand? (@TexasAggie204 I'd suggest the same for your DS making his choice)
 
My DS has visited both. I just want him to make his own decision, that he feels awesome about!
 
mamabear2023 said:
@Gunny@143 congrats to your DS! My DS applied only to USCGA, but a visit to a base before junior year was critical in his decision to even apply. The academy has been open to having him talk further with those now serving to help answer questions as he chooses between CGA and civilian college. Is there a chance that your son can do the same both for Coast Guard and the Navy -- talk with people serving now, perhaps even visit a base to see their lives first-hand? (@TexasAggie204 I'd suggest the same for your DS making his choice)
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So, that's kind of what we're trying to do with our son with Academy visits. He spent an overnight at USMA back in January, but the Cadet he got assigned to wasn't a great"fit" for my son and I would say the experience left him a little bit underwhelmed. That whole scenario was very unfortunate considering the effort that was put in to the trip. He has signed up for the USCGA AEP on March 19th, so that he can get a feel for how he might see himself in that environment (AIM notwithstanding) . Again, there is obviously some cost/effort involved (though not like coming from Montana, etc.), however as a family we think it is extremely important for our son to be as informed as possible before he ultimately makes his decision.
 
TexasAggie204 said:
So, that's kind of what we're trying to do with our son with Academy visits. He spent an overnight at USMA back in January, but the Cadet he got assigned to wasn't a great"fit" for my son and I would say the experience left him a little bit underwhelmed. That whole scenario was very unfortunate considering the effort that was put in to the trip. He has signed up for the USCGA AEP on March 19th, so that he can get a feel for how he might see himself in that environment (AIM notwithstanding) . Again, there is obviously some cost/effort involved (though not like coming from Montana, etc.), however as a family we think it is extremely important for our son to be as informed as possible before he ultimately makes his decision.
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MY DS is going back to the NAVY CVW to get another visit. First one was similar to your experience. Hopefully this next visit will help him decide. I think it is worth taking them to visit multiply times. It is just not college it is a long commitment.
 
Gunny@143 said:
MY DS is going back to the NAVY CVW to get another visit. First one was similar to your experience. Hopefully this next visit will help him decide. I think it is worth taking them to visit multiply times. It is just not college it is a long commitment.
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I'm not sure if the Navy CVW is an acronym for the accepted-students event that's kind of like the USCGA's accepted-students AEP, or that you mean your DS has gone to a Navy carrier air wing base. But the latter is the kind of thing I mean. (and that sounds awesome!)
We have relatives near a CG base, for example, so two years ago my DS went and got a base tour. He got to see what it looks like when you're in the service, working on airplanes, and he talked to people who'd spent their careers as Coast Guard officers. And when he was interviewed last fall, the CGA interviewer said he'd be happy to put my DS in touch with a current officer serving who could talk by phone about their career.
That said -- yes! visiting the academies' campuses is great and I agree that it's worth it to go more than once if they can. And @TexasAggie204 we'll see you in March. :)
 
One thing I believe my daughter told me (USNA 09 and currently active duty) is that the tours are longer with Navy. So if he wants a family life and not moving every 2 years (instead of 3), it could be a consideration. If he wants to continue to play a sport but might not be competitive enough for Navy, that could be a sway to USCGA. If he likes D1 football and the rivalry of Army/Navy, that would pull that way. Good luck and congratulations.
 
As others have pointed out, its all about the mission. If you want to be "Active Duty" all the time instead of being deployed, Coast Guard is likely going to be better. Coast Guard also has more of an Emergency Services focus than navy. Both however have career fields which are similar, depends on their goals and where they feel they would best be able to serve.
 
txfwindian said:
Would you please help elaborate on the long term, lifestyle part of it?
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The number one thing is time at sea and away from family. It seems that Coasties generally are able to spend more time with family and have a more normal life than those in the Navy. It seems deployments in the Navy are longer than in the CG. That is a big one, and I think it leads to Coasties wanting to stay in vs wanting to get out.
 
"If he likes D1 football and the rivalry of Army/Navy, that would pull that way. "

Separately from the life after Academy issue, USGCA rivalry with USMMA is real. Varsity and club sports all count to the cup at the end of the year. More cadets (percent of the Corps) will play varsity at USCGA than at the big three. The football team (I quote my son's classmate, FB quarterback) that they would be willing to lose every other game of the season as long as they beat KP. When my son was at CGA he talked with a Mid/Cadet exchange from Annapolis/West Point (I forget which). He was told "We have a great rivalry with (Annapolis/West Point), but we basically respect each other. You guys (USCGA/USMMA) just hate each other."
 
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