You seem to have a perfect balanced attitude! We always counseled DS to reach for the SA as that was a lofty goal, but keep his eye ultimately on the prize of becoming an Officer and having the military career he so desired. The pathways to that end are varied. He really wanted the military college experience so we looked at VMI and VT Corps of Cadets and he was thrilled to see the other options beyond the SA route. He applied to ROTC - got the 4 YR scholarship to both Universities and chose VMI as his A Plan V2 (I don't consider a 4 YR ROTC to a great school a plan B....just a different route to the same end...somewhat like WAZE gives you options on routes that all arrive within a minute of each other and are ultimately dependent both on how you drive and what happens as you move down that path). As it turns out - he has been offered a DA to USMA (he is an athlete) but I can honestly say he would have slayed VMI ROTC and was/is thrilled to have that opportunity. We don't count chickens hatched until July 1 and he emancipates
On another note - I don't understand anyone who doesn't apply to ROTC while applying to Academies....but that is just me. I think it demonstrates heightened commitment and I hope the SAs and ROTC application systems talk to each other.