USMMA is on the radar. Lots of options at KP but may require exceptional dedication to study marine engineering for 4 years when your thinking about AF. I did see a few went to the AF out of last years KP class.
Eureka! The forest is seen through the trees. Good response, Packer.
USMMA is great if you have an interest in studying the subjects surrounding the commercial shipping industry. I'm not saying that you have to end up in that field, but you must at least be interested in it enough to study it for four years (including one full year at sea on commercial ships). The school is not a "catch-all" SA.
Indeed, the SA "advantage" is service-specific. The "Academy" in the USAF is USAFA. Just because USMMA is a Service Academy, you don't get any special advantages if you go onto active duty in the Air Force. The same cannot be said of USAFA, where you do get a bit of a leg up. In fact, for the USAF anyway, Bruno's point about the SMCs giving a little help is also true. I met a few VMI grads in the USAF which, while nothing compared to the amount of USAFA grads I met, was more than the USMMA grads I came across (zero).
The truth is that USMMA is the best place for those kids interested in the maritime industry, with thoughts of spending some time working in that field, or, alternatively, going onto active duty. The key is that there must be an interest in what is taught there. I visited USMMA (and Maine Maritime) when I was a high school kid, as I wanted to go onto active duty and had heard of all these "options" that USMMA offered. I was lured by USMMA being a Service Academy, and erroneously felt that the school must be more esteemed than ROTC schools in the eyes of the Armed Forces because of this. After visiting KP and Maine Maritime, I realized that I had no interest in studying shipping, and I didn't even apply. To me, all the "options" in the world could not make up for the fact that I would be studying a subject for which, I realized, I had no passion or interest. I wanted to be a humanities major, and those places couldn't offer it to me.
Please know that USMMA is great at what it does...but don't be seduced by the SA status and think it's somehow a "better" path to a commission than going through ROTC (SMC or not). Clearly, the service-specific SAs do give you an advantage in the respective branches, but USMMA's curriculum is set for a specific purpose. It's the best place in the US if you want to go to sea, and it's great if you have an interest in shipping and also want a commission. It is NOT a panacea for those holding TWEs from the other SAs.
I feel safe in posting this on the SMC forum, as if I did on the USMMA site I'd be flamed and called nasty things (no rational criticism is allowed with a few of USMMA's most zealous defenders). I want it known that I think that USMMA is a great school for what it does, but I also want to commend Packer for seeing that, despite the "options" promised, it still requires a very focused level of interest in a VERY specific field.