Prep school advice for USCGA/USAFA

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GoNavy2025

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My rising senior is a bit of a late bloomer academically. 3.2 GPA unweighted, 1210 SAT. Could potentially be recruited for USCGA, but not USAFA. Wants to serve--probably needs another year to finish cooking. Will apply to both, but I'm looking ahead a year. For self-pay prep school options---are those kids given the same support to apply for round 2 as the academy paid prep students? Northwestern Prep sounds great except that it is only one semester---does everyone go to a regular college for a semester or do people go find ways to play their sports in tournaments, etc.? How are statistics for admission for self-pay prep students? Thanks.
 
You will find lot of advice around 'self-prep' on the forum. Note that some 30% of cadets do not come directly out of high school, so your senior will be in good company. I recommend to my students in this situation to attend college as a freshman and select a school with an ROTC unit. Join the ROTC unit, and perform well as a student and as an ROTC cadet. Reapplying to USCGA/USAFA as a college freshman demonstrates a student's ability to do college-level work and his/her commitment to this career path. Also, in ROTC, you are on a path that allows you to earn an 'on campus' ROTC scholarship and continue your path to becoming an AF officer. There are college Coast Guard programs, but I will leave it to others to detail those.
 
Academician said:
You will find lot of advice around 'self-prep' on the forum. Note that some 30% of cadets do not come directly out of high school, so your senior will be in good company. I recommend to my students in this situation to attend college as a freshman and select a school with an ROTC unit. Join the ROTC unit, and perform well as a student and as an ROTC cadet. Reapplying to USCGA/USAFA as a college freshman demonstrates a student's ability to do college-level work and his/her commitment to this career path. Also, in ROTC, you are on a path that allows you to earn an 'on campus' ROTC scholarship and continue your path to becoming an AF officer. There are college Coast Guard programs, but I will leave it to others to detail those.
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Thank you---it sounds like you recommend the ROTC route over a self-pay prep school option?
 
Yes, but I'm sure there are others that would disagree. I like the ROTC route as it provides the option to continue at the school and earn the on-campus scholarship.
 
If you search in this forum, you'll find no shortage of parents extolling Marion Military Institute's Service Academy Program. I believe it is the largest self-prep program. Through last year they also had sponsored preps from all five federal service academies. My son's experience was outstanding. He went from an unsuccessful AFA applicant as a high school senior to receiving appointments to the AFA and West Point. (He chose West Point.) Incidentally, Marion's program includes Army ROTC on site, although it's also possible -- with some effort -- to do AFROTC at the University of Alabama.

Regarding the pros and cons of going to a junior military college vs. a ROTC unit at a regular school, for purposes of reapplying to service academies, it seemed to me that going to a JMC focused on prepping for all the service academies -- and which encourages applying to multiple academies -- had advantages that going to a 4-year school and joining a ROTC unit couldn't duplicate. The latter certainly requires more initiative, from choosing the right classes to obtaining recommendation letters, retaking the SAT/ACT multiple times, taking the CFA, getting the applications done, etc. etc. The flip side, of course, is that if the student decides that an SA isn't really what he wants, then it's certainly easier to stay at the four-year school vs transferring from a JMC to a four-year school.

In sum, my strong impression regarding Marion is that if a student does what they say to do, keeps his nose clean, and makes an earnest effort with studies, he stands an excellent chance of earning an appointment somewhere.
 
Regarding Northwest, students go to school the second semester and mimic a Plebe like schedule. Some will attend 4 year schools and others will attend local community colleges. Regardless, the focus is Chem, Calc, English and staying shape. The family that runs Northwest assists with this.
 
For our son, self prep at Georgia Military College was actually cheaper than going to a state college. He earned college credits, was part of the corps of cadets, and was surrounded by others who were on the same path (both sponsored by their academies as well as self-prep students). Since he was a USCGA self prep he did the PFE with the sponsored kids every time the CGA academy representative came down. They got to know him. He did PT 5 days a week, drastically increasing his PFE score. He took the same classes as the sponsored USCGA kids. In my opinion it was a better route than a private/public college, but who knows what would have happened if he had gone somewhere else and reapplied. For him, the connection to the academies seemed worth it. Tons of info on this forum if you search GMC, MMI, self prep.
 
Let me see if I can summarize a post I put up a few years ago:

1. While a senior - apply to any and all service academies of interest. In addition, if looking toward DoD service, apply ROTC programs and schools with ROTC programs. If declined by the academies but accepted by ROTC, you're on your path toward an officer's commission.

2. If the academy is the top goal and you're declined, try to get feedback on why you were declined. Also, if you don't think you're ready to take on a university level work (low ACT/SAT, for example), consider a two-year college or a prep program.

3. You can apply to an academy while attending your local community college. If so, enroll in the highest level math you place in, take courses in composition and lab based science, and be active in the college community. Retake the SAT/ACT!

4. If you choose a prep school, be aware that they fall into two categories. The first group is like NWP. They have excellent subject tutors, physical fitness instruction, and study skills instruction. They do not award college credit, but those skills go a long way to success in a collegiate environment.

5. The second group is the Military Junior Colleges. Each school awards associate's degrees so all the courses earn transferable college credit. In addition, you get exposed to a cadet lifestyle. Students also can participate in many college extracurriculars. Classes usually have a very low student/teacher ratio.

6. Often people ask "What are the self-prep appointment percentage?" That's an understandable question, but often hard to answer. A school can have a very high appointment rate by being very exclusive on who they let in. Also, students often change their goals once they get into a prep school. A better question may be, "What program will best address my weaknesses, and which one will I be most comfortable with?"

7. Finally, what is the plan B, C, D if academy admission is not in the cards. ROTC is a great path to a commission, and all services have an officer candidate path for students who already have earned their college degree.

Reach out to the admissions programs for each of the schools you're interested in. That's the best place to start the search.
 
Don't let the 1 semester at NWP dissuade you. The reality is, no matter where you go, even during HS senior year, your application is done by the end of the first semester. NWP's whole purpose is to get you through the application process. There are no frills, no distractions. Just eye on the prize. It's their one job, and they do it well. When you're done with that semester, you go home, and attend a college of your choice for the 2nd semester to keep your academics current. (Falcon Scholars are contractually required to take 15 credits at an accredited college of choice, self paid.) Should you not get an appointment, however, the NWP semester is not transferrable, but the 2nd semester, the one you take at a college of choice, should transfer. Another perk of NWP is there's a large contingent of NWP alums at USAFA. You'll be hard pressed to not run into one and have an instant bond and camaraderie with a fellow prepster. I don't know if that's the case at USCGA.

I can't speak for ROTC, but from what I've read here, scholarships have all but dried up and hard to come by.
 
Ept1983 said:
For our son, self prep at Georgia Military College was actually cheaper than going to a state college. He earned college credits, was part of the corps of cadets, and was surrounded by others who were on the same path (both sponsored by their academies as well as self-prep students). Since he was a USCGA self prep he did the PFE with the sponsored kids every time the CGA academy representative came down. They got to know him. He did PT 5 days a week, drastically increasing his PFE score. He took the same classes as the sponsored USCGA kids. In my opinion it was a better route than a private/public college, but who knows what would have happened if he had gone somewhere else and reapplied. For him, the connection to the academies seemed worth it. Tons of info on this forum if you search GMC, MMI, self prep.
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When my son was at GMC about half of the corp was Coast Guard, so there was definately some expertise there.
 
The CGA sends about 60 applicants each year to prep school, so there is the possibility that your son may be offered a spot. I would recommend he retake the SAT to try and bring up his score (or try the ACT to see if it's a better fit). CGA does superscore. The latest admissions briefing said they are looking for a score around 650-675 for each math and english on the SAT. If he has a strong PFE score and can demonstrate leadership, these all go into the holistic review. If he ends up looking at self prep, there is lots of information on that in the forums. CGA is not partnering with MMI starting this year. Their prepsters will be attending NAPS, GMC, and 2 civilian universities.
 
To piggyback on Ept1983's comments, my son just started at Georgia Military College as a self-prep after a close-but-no-cigar first application to USCGA. GMC has a long-standing relationship with USCGA and has an excellent reputation with them as well. USCGA knows the quality GMC produces so when a self-prep comes out of there they pay attention.

But the best part - and the best news my son could have received - came on Day One when we learned that USCG Captain Michael Fredie, recently retired from a 26-year career in the Coast Guard, with the last six as Director of Admissions at USCGA, just started in his new position as Vice-President of Junior College Operations at GMC. Captain Fredie is something of an institution at USCGA Admissions, and we are ecstatic to know he will be directly involved in my son's development over the next year, along with shepherding him through the application process.

Highly recommend Georgia Military College.
 
Would just like to add that your son should still apply and not rule out the possibility of USAFA Prep School. My oldest went to The P and that was the best year of his life and all his friends from The P are still incredibly close. Preppies for life. You never know who might get a slot so apply as usual and the cards may fall in your favor. Good luck either way.
 
VAcadetmom said:
CGA is not partnering with MMI starting this year. Their prepsters will be attending NAPS, GMC, and 2 civilian universities.
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Don't think the MMI part is accurate. My niece, a rising firstie at CGA, said the partnership with MMI is still on. (We had initially heard the same thing.)
 
Ghostjwm said:
CGAS website does not list MMI anymore.
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USCGA recently added UConn Avery Point to their slate of prep schools, and as a result has paused their formal relationship with MMI, likely only for one school year. The reason MMI was chosen was strictly logistics - it was the furthest away from USCGA. MMI will likely be brought back online as a sponsored prep school once the Academy is able to reorganize around managing five locations.
 
CHS2NL said:
USCGA recently added UConn Avery Point to their slate of prep schools, and as a result has paused their formal relationship with MMI, likely only for one school year. The reason MMI was chosen was strictly logistics - it was the furthest away from USCGA. MMI will likely be brought back online as a sponsored prep school once the Academy is able to reorganize around managing five locations.
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Of note: I'm Certain that MMI will still be an excellent supporting program for USCGA self-preps. Their relationships will remain strong.
 
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