USNA or USAFA? Objective advice requested

[falcongrad]

With 5 days before decision day my DS is seeking all data he can consume to make decision. He does want to fly and despite the great heritage and prestige of USNA and the great support of USNA from Annapolis, USAFA flight options are very strong. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[AFrpaso]

USAFA hands down. I've visited the Naval Academy twice this semester. They have extraordinary heritage, but the quality of life is much better in Colorado. My two cents.

 

[rkv]

He should review some of the other threads on this. I've listed some of those below.

The key issues he should be looking at for both USAF and USN are:
(1) which careers including non-pilot appeal to him,
(2) his expectations and hopes in terms of length of time he hopes to spend in the service, and
(3) the lifestyle including family life he aspires to have.

In my DS' case he ultimately decided USAF was where he wanted to have a career. He liked that:
(a) flying is more central to all their activities,
(b) liked that USAF pilots spend more time flying as opposed to practicing carrier landings, and
(c) felt that if one wanted to spend ones entire professional career in the service that USAF was considerably more family friendly.

Of course all of those conclusions were totally based on hearsay as opposed to his having any direct knowledge. He did have family members who had been in the USN both on submarines and carriers and ultimately left over the family issue. He also spoke with a couple of current USAF officers. One of the later really sold my DS on USAF.

Here are the other threads he should review, there are undoubtedly more he can find in the forums with some patient searching:

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/usafa-vs-usna.54676/

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/usafa-vs-usna.54392/

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/usna-or-usafa.54512/

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/choosing-between-usafa-and-usma.53519/