Also, I think the 85 slots for USMAPS reserved for enlisted soldiers are only for active duty and not National Guard/reserves, I could be wrong though. If you really want to enlist in the NG/reserves and become an officer, you could be in the national guard/reserves and do ROTC in a normal college (or a SMC if you wish). A lot of people in Norwich are in the Vermont National Guard.
As another user already stated, there are 85 slots for Active Duty soldiers, and another 85 slots for Reserve and National Guard soldiers.
Furthermore,
any (yes, AD, AR, or NG) soldier who is physically qualified, but not academically/leadership qualified, still has a chance of being accepted to the Preparatory School. See this soldier: gxonline.com/careers/west-point-way
If you get Basic Combat Training done before senior year and Advanced Individual Training immediately after graduation, you
might be at West Point just one year after graduating from high school.
Becoming an enlisted soldier first might give you a bit of a mental/physical advantage. You will have been broken down and rebuilt into a soldier already, and you'll at least have some
real idea of what you're getting yourself into before you apply to West Point. Enlisting before doing ROTC is quite common, and probably for good reasons.
Plus, if you end up feeling like the Army just isn't your thing, it's only a weekend per month and two weeks each summer. If you do like it, though, you can find fulltime military work, too. The downside is if you're always busy with school or work during the week, losing a weekend each month really sucks.
There's no actual minimum amount of time you have to be with a unit before they're allowed to recommend you for West Point. If you're a good soldier and make a good impression with everyone, they should be glad to help you. Just a month after meeting my unit, my NCO was thrilled to hear about the possibility of me going to West Point. If your company commander doesn't know you well enough, he or she can have an interview with you then. Not every officer and NCO will be supportive of your decision, but if they're good leaders, they should be doing their best to help their soldiers succeed - no matter what.
Does enlisting make it easier to get appointed? Sort of, but it also kind of balances out with the extra time spent training/drilling/working until you get there. I didn't plan on West Point or ROTC when I enlisted. I already wanted to be a soldier, and I already made a commitment. Then, I got an email that piqued my interest. If my sergeant hadn't been so supportive, I might not have applied. Now, I'm a month away from starting at West Point.
If you
want to enlist in the National Guard, I encourage it. Should you listen to me?
lel, i dunno
I'm just some random Guard soldier, throwing my two cents at you.