High School Sophomore Advice

Try and do multiple varsity sports. Idk if you're big into football, but if you're doing it just cause, I'd do something more laid back like XC. That way you'll have more time available in the summer to work/volunteer and more time to study during the school year as practices end earlier. Leadership positions in clubs, such as student body, beta, and/or NHS president, vp, etc. Take as many weighted courses next year as possible along with AP/IB to boost your rank even more, but don't kill yourself with an overload. Try and find something military related to do if possible, can't hurt. Apply for as many summer programs as you can. You'll have boys state/sle next summer, find something for this summer. Keep stacking your resume, it's what you gotta do. Apply for everything opportunity that presents itself to you, take advantage of everything resource you can. Don't stress amount Nom interview now, but maybe try and familiarize yourself with your MOC. You can even reach out to your MOCs office and try an intern over the summer. This would be huge for USMA and for the Nom process while also capitalizing on your summer. Hope this helps. Any other questions?

Would you happen to know of any good summer programs for rising juniors? I've looked into my local CAP squadron and that is a possibility, but I'd like to maybe invest more of my summer time in preparing my resume. Just in general anything that would be military or government related interests me, and cost really isn't a huge issue.
Thanks
 
I'm going to throw another option out there that might give you a leg up and give you another path for a nomination. It's not conventional, and it forces you to "cross the Rubicon" as far as military service.
The Army National Guard and Reserves has something called the "Split Training" option. You enlist your junior year of high school as long as you are 17 or older. You then go to basic training the summer between your junior/senior year of high school. After that you drill with your unit one weekend a month. Most units will work with you if you have sports and such. You just have to come in and make up missed drills.

This would look good on an application and opens up another portal for a nomination.

https://www.nationalguard.com/careers/become-an-officer/west-point

It's a risk. Once you raise your right hand you're committed to the military. If you don't go to West Point they will probably expect you to go to AIT after you graduate from high school, though they may work with you if it's a long AIT and you have college. It will probably help your chances of getting an ROTC scholarship as well.
 
I'm going to throw another option out there that might give you a leg up and give you another path for a nomination. It's not conventional, and it forces you to "cross the Rubicon" as far as military service.
The Army National Guard and Reserves has something called the "Split Training" option. You enlist your junior year of high school as long as you are 17 or older. You then go to basic training the summer between your junior/senior year of high school. After that you drill with your unit one weekend a month. Most units will work with you if you have sports and such. You just have to come in and make up missed drills.

This would look good on an application and opens up another portal for a nomination.

https://www.nationalguard.com/careers/become-an-officer/west-point

It's a risk. Once you raise your right hand you're committed to the military. If you don't go to West Point they will probably expect you to go to AIT after you graduate from high school, though they may work with you if it's a long AIT and you have college. It will probably help your chances of getting an ROTC scholarship as well.
Keep in mind that, by exercising that option, you are also at risk of being activated (called up).
 
Keep in mind that, by exercising that option, you are also at risk of being activated (called up).

That is correct, though they normally won't do so to someone in high school who has not completed AIT. As a matter of fact, they normally must complete AIT before deploying, so they would complete high school, then go to AIT, then deploy. However once the person is accepted to a service academy the enlisted service obligation is exempted.
 
Make sure you know what you are signing up for as enlisting is at best a round-about way of getting to an SA, not the recommended path and has NO guarantees. Lots of older posts on that subject.
 
Make sure you know what you are signing up for as enlisting is at best a round-about way of getting to an SA, not the recommended path and has NO guarantees. Lots of older posts on that subject.
I agree. I tried to make that caveat.
As for "recommended path", however, there are many paths. I don't know that one is better than the other or "recommended".
 
A few others have hit on this but you need to ensure that you will be satisfied as an enlisted soldier in the ARNG. There are no certainties about your future and what might happen. While it MAY help you get a nomination, appointment, or ROTC scholarship; it is just as likely that that you will not get one and be committed to the military. This is not like joining a team or a club in high school to improve your application. You cannot just quit if it doesn't work out they way you planned.
 
Not to highjack the OPS thread too much, but I would also add that much of the information from previous threads is either inaccurate or out of date, at least as far as enlisted to USMA goes. There is a push to get more enlisted applying to USMA/MAPS to include one day RACE (Rapid Application Completion Exercise), where soldiers are brought in and given help to complete the application process in one day. I know at some posts they encourage soldiers with GT scores above a certain level to attend the event.
Granted, there is a difference between being enlisted and being an officer (I've been both). But either way, going straight to a service academy or enlisting you will serve in the military (at least if you stay past two years). There is NO guarantee if you enlist that you will get accepted to a service academy. But there is no "may" help you. Yes, it does help in your selection.
 
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