USMAPS, USNA or ROTC scholarship?

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oneandfive

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Hello to all! I'm new to this and just found this forum earlier this week. I hope I do this right.

My daughter currently has an Army 4yr ROTC scholarship (at A&M which is a great school), an appointment to USNA, a USMAPS appointment and hasn't heard anything from USAFA. Last summer she had the opportunity to attend summer seminars at both USAFA and USNA but didn't get into USMA's. She totally loved both schools and said that she could be happy at either, but that her heart is really in the Army at USMA (she's been in Army JROTC for four years).

As of today, she is on a paid trip to USMAPS/USMA but needs to answer her appointment to USMAPS by April 19th. Like most teenagers, the whole 5 year prep route seems too long, but she is going to use this weekend to help her decide. I have told her that I think she should accept the appointment to USNA because this type of opportunity doesn't come along too often in a lifetime. However, I will accept whichever choice she makes, even if she goes to A&M. she still has it in her mind that she might still get a last minute appointment to USMA and I think it might be possible too (are we dumb for thinking this?). What do you think we should do? Will it hurt her chances for getting an appointment to USMA if she turns down USMAPS? I just don't know.:confused:
 
If the Army is her dream, I wouldn't settle for the Navy or Air Force. Go for the dream, five years does seem long considering that high school is only four, but I can attest to the fact that those four years at an academy seem to fly by. They gave her USMAPS for a reason. Turning that down would seem to me to be turning down USMA as well, however I may be wrong about that.
 
Her admissions officer indicated that her math ACT score was 1 point too low. That's it. CFA, DODMERB and other scores were great. I guess that is why it's so hard for her to accept the situation, one point. It seems you are more in favor of staying with the branch of choice more than an appointment. If she doesn't get an appointment to USMA and turns down USMAPS, do you think that the ROTC scholarship would be better than USNA?
 
Is she a recruited athlete?
There is an ACT test on April 12th - perhaps she can take it then?

I totally agree with LITS - if she wants Army then she should choose USMAPS or A&M.
Do you know that nearly 1/3 of all USMA plebes do NOT come to West Point right out of high school? There is tremendous value to the "prep" year. Perhaps she will see that value when she visits.
Also - Many, many kids take 5 years to graduate from college - another year in the grand scheme of things is not a lot - hard to convey that to a 17 year old, I know.
Bottom line - if she really really wants West Point then she should take USMAPS. If she wants a commission in 4 years - then A&M - IMO.
She has excellent options. Congratulations!
 
LineInTheSand said:
If the Army is her dream, I wouldn't settle for the Navy or Air Force. Go for the dream, five years does seem long considering that high school is only four, but I can attest to the fact that those four years at an academy seem to fly by. They gave her USMAPS for a reason. Turning that down would seem to me to be turning down USMA as well, however I may be wrong about that.
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I agree completely.

If Army is her dream then MAPS is the way to go. To add some meat to LITS comment above, USNA was everything to me, so when they offered NAPS I jumped all over it. That year at NAPS made me a better person, IMO, and helped me a lot at USNA. I can't imagine MAPS/USMA would be any different.

And just to be perfectly clear, I would choose MAPS over ROTC any day of the week.

I'd also pick USNA over MAPS, but I'm a bit biased in that regard. :thumb:

Congrats to your daughter! You done good! :smile:
 
Just A Mom, I must say that your username does not do you justice. I am in the same business and I know what the job entails. Now, to your questions. No, she is not a recruited athlete. We didn't want her future to be based on sport performance so we didn't actively go this route but she does excell in marksmanship, x-country and track. About re-taking the ACT, it's too late. The February 9th test was the last one accepted for this year.

I'm surprised by the responses I've received. I guess I've only been thinking in the "academy mode" for too long. I will share all of your thoughts with her.
 
Zaphod, thank you for your thoughts. Since you are a "Navy guy", maybe you can give me a little imput on that route. My daughter loved summer seminar there (including sea trials) and her candidate visit too. She just has a really hard time with thinking about a future in boats. I know that this is a huge sticking point when it comes to a Navy, but how much time would she be at sea with her commission after USNA?
 
USMAPS is not anti-Academy mode though, it is a program for the academy.


I had classmates who attended NAPS (USCGA uses NAPS as its Prep school). NAPS definately helped them with that first summer, because they had seen some of the stuff before, understood how to wear the uniform, take orders, and memorize everything. NAPS and MAPS, they aren't so easy to get into either and USMAPS will lead directly to West Point, so it seems like this is a good route.


Do you want the school or the branch? It's definately early enough to want the school, but in the end, you will also really need to want the branch. If you don't want to be in the Navy, I would highly recommend not attending the Naval Academy. The same goes for the Air Force Academy.
 
oneandfive...


On a side note, when talking about Navy units, ALWAYS call them boats...you are correct!
 
USMAPS is not anti-Academy mode though, it is a program for the academy.
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Yep USMAPS is part of the academy. She will be in the Army Reserves and have a rank - private. She will learn about and be a soldier.
She will help the cadre on R-Day - many many things will be "easier" because of her USMAPS experience.
USMAPS grads do very well and are highly respected at the academy.
She will discover all of this when she visits.
 
After she returns from her visit maybe making her choice will be easier. I think she needs to look at what she wants to do after college or the academy instead of how long it will take her. If she really wants Army then do USMAPS or the ROTC scholarship, if she wants Army and the academy experience then do USMAPS to get there. As JAM pointed out, most kids need longer than 4 years to get their degree anyway. She will already have a leg up on the other plebes if she has spent a year at USMAPS.

My son had a 4 year AROTC scholarship at WSU but turned it down to take the AOG civil prep option. He spent a year at NMMI and is now a successful plebe at USMA. So far he has no regrets about going this route.
 
Line in the Sand, thank you. I didn't mean to imply that prep school isn't "academy mode". I guess I just meant direct appointment route only. Good thing about the boats, I hate looking like an ill informed idiot (it was just luck though to be honest). Also, thank you for your info about prep school. Wow, I sure hope my daughter knows what she wants when she gets back because this is all so hard for me. I don't want to push her too hard in one direction or another because sometimes a kid will do just the opposite of what you want just becase that is what you wanted.
 
Since my son received his "dis-appointing" letter from USNA last week, he will be going the NROTC route. He is grateful he has a great backup plan. But, given the opportunity for NAPS (Navy prep school), I think he would have taken that route to get into USNA.

Even though we personally favor Navy, my recommendation to you is to suggest she follow her heart with Army.
 
oneandfive said:
Zaphod, thank you for your thoughts. Since you are a "Navy guy", maybe you can give me a little imput on that route. My daughter loved summer seminar there (including sea trials) and her candidate visit too. She just has a really hard time with thinking about a future in boats. I know that this is a huge sticking point when it comes to a Navy, but how much time would she be at sea with her commission after USNA?
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SHIPS, madam! SHIPS! The only boats in the Navy are the little ones carried on ships, and submarines. Please make a note of it. :biggrin:

As to the question of how much time a Naval Officer spends at sea, it depends. For example, SWO's make their living going out to sea, and can reasonably expect to spend a good six to eight months of the year underway. In many cases, those six to eight months are a single deployment, so you have to throw in workups, local operations, etc. On the flip side, you also have things like planned maintenance availabilities and shipyard periods that can last from weeks to months (even over a year for carriers), where you are in port. The trick is, it may not be your HOME port...

There are USN pilots here who can give you far better information on how often that branch of the service is out on the water, but when you consider that Seahawk squadrons deploy on both ships and carriers and that fixed airwings go out for those months their carrier is out, it's not like they are always home, either.

Even when you throw in the support services: Disbursement, Supply, CEC, Chaplain Corps, etc., they ALL go out to sea at some point.

So, in short, if your daughter has real issues with being out at sea, then the Navy isn't for her. She'll have to get used to sleeping in mudholes and such. :biggrin:
 
oneandfive said:
Zaphod, thank you for your thoughts. Since you are a "Navy guy", maybe you can give me a little imput on that route. My daughter loved summer seminar there (including sea trials) and her candidate visit too. She just has a really hard time with thinking about a future in boats. I know that this is a huge sticking point when it comes to a Navy, but how much time would she be at sea with her commission after USNA?
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the problem is that most things in the navy do involve ships since the navy is all about seapower. as i understand it, there are really only a few things you can select from the USNA or NROTC as unrestricted line (URL) officers:

student naval aviator (SNA)
student naval flight officer (SNFO)
surface warfare officer (SWO)
surface warfare officer-nuclear (SWO(N))
SPECWAR (SEAL)
SPECOPS (bomb squad diving stuff)
subs

as a female, we can't do subs or SPECWAR, so that leaves flying things (which involve ships), SWO stuff (obviously ships), and SPECOPS stuff (which probably involves ships since there is a lot of diving).

so if your daughter doesn't like ships, she should definitely not go navy!

from the USNA, there is another big possibility though, which she should consider if she is thinking army anyways, and that is the marines. there are a lot of students selecting marines from USNA. unfortunately, the marines also operate from ships, so whether navy or marines, you just can't get away from the water!
 
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Most students take 5 years to get through traditional colleges these days (especially athletes). I know some great kids who are going USMAPS or civilian prep school route...they will all end up at WP, which is what your daughter really wants. I vote USMAPS!

Go Army, sink Navy!!
(mom of 2012 appointee)
 
Inthe navy2008. Thank you for your thoughts on going with your heart. About your son, I'm sorry. I know that as a parent your kid's disappointment is your disappointment. We as parents want nothing but the righteous wishes of our kids to come true. I also know how hard you both worked to get everything in order to try and get his appointment. It is truely overwhelming and time consuming.

The good news is that he does have his NROTC scholarship and this is something to be very proud of. He had to work very hard for it as well. When my daughter was on a college visit at A&M, she had the chance to visit with cadets in her dorm. There was one guy there who chose A&M over his appointment to USMA and this was something she couldn't understand. He told her that the end result would be the same but that he got to have a "normal" college experience with a little fun too. He had no regrets. Although your son wanted the academy, I'm sure he will be successful in NROTC and he might just end up having a really good college experience.
 
inthenavy2008 said:
Since my son received his "dis-appointing" letter from USNA last week, he will be going the NROTC route. He is grateful he has a great backup plan. But, given the opportunity for NAPS (Navy prep school), I think he would have taken that route to get into USNA.
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There's always next year! :thumb:

One guy in my company and in the Class of 1992 had finished his junior year at Purdue when he started all over again at USNA. THAT is what I call determination! :eek:
 
YIKES ZAPHOD! I stand corrected! SHIPS! I can see that this is a sensitive subject for you. I will not make the same mistake twice (unless I'm responding to line in the sand who prefers the term "boats"). I this what we call dissention in the troops?

VMINROTChopeful, thank you for bringing up the Marine option. I had forgotten about that. My daughter has indicated that she would like that option if she went to USNA since it is more like the Army. However, why does everybody I talk to seem to discourage her from the Marines? She loves O course, PT, marksmanship and playing in the mud. Are they really that bad?
 
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