First, I agree that re-applicants are very favored by the academies. We were told both at West Point and at USNA that they love re-apps, and that they have an advantage over equally qualified first apps. And the numbers reflect that, as I am sure that the vast majority of applications for any class are first-apps, but if 30% of those admitted are re-apps, the re-apps really do well.
The other thing I wanted to suggest, and probably with some others objecting, is for kids to apply to multiple academies, rather than applying only to their dream academy. If you want to lead in the defense of America, there are a lot of avenues to get there, and there are actually five academies specializing in training men and women to become great leaders. Each of these academies is a fantastic place, and will provide its graduates with countless opportunities. I understand that many believe these 18 year old kids should determine right now what he or she wants to do for potentially the rest of his/her life, and then select the specific service to do that in, then choose that services academy. Respectfully, I think that is putting a lot of trust in the long and short term foresight of people who are most often not even out of their parents nest. Moreover, it limits the opportunities to attend one of these great and historical institutions.
My son didn't really ever contemplate attending an academy until about a year ago. He got a decent ACT score, and at that moment figured West Point might be a reachable dream, so he decided to pursue an appointment. He talked to me, and we both researched what had to be done, and realized that both USAFA and USNA had virtually the same admissions processes, and also offered the same high level education and opportunities. A little more investigation led to the conclusion that the ROTC options were a different experience, but also a terrific commissioning source; and a heck of a good deal. And although the application process was a little different, it was still very similar. Most of the processes were exactly the same for each of the academies and the ROTC scholarships, and you have to seek nominations regardless, so might as well seek them for multiple academies. CFA only needs to be done once, and the next day you do the ROTC fitness tests. Training is the same for all.
My son applied to USMA, USNA, and USAFA, as well as AROTC. He took the ACT many times, studying with two different ACT study books, and improved his super-score each time he retook the test. He took a few days to write essays for each academy and for ROTC, as well as the MOC applications. He got a group of teachers, school administrators, and coaches, as well as others to write letters, which were modified only slightly for each academy, MOC and ROTC. He followed up with teachers during the summer, and politely nagged them to complete the academy evaluations. The exercises were redundant, but that actually helped to refine things. He had so many interviews that I cant count them, and he got better with experience. We even visited multiple academies (WP, NA, and USCGA) in one trip, speaking with admissions officers at each school after practicing fort he meetings in the car.
In the end, while we were never over confident on anything until he was awarded an appointment or scholarship, he was given an appointment to both USMA and USAFA, as well as a four year ROTC scholarship to two schools, and is wait listed at USNA. He accepted his appointment to USMA in January, but I can truthfully say that he would have loved an appointment to any of the SA's, and for many weeks couldn't decide which one he preferred, as there were so many things he would love to do in each of the branches, and he understood that each school was beyond his best desires.
Although I love to brag about my kids, and do so with tremendous frequency, I write this primarily to suggest that kids who applied to only one SA, and did not receive an appointment, should really consider applying to all of the academies. If you get an appointment to the first choice school, great, but if not, I bet most kids would find a lot of enthusiasm for any of these other academies. I know mine did, and although he ended up with his first choice, he certainly would have been delighted with the others as well.