USNA or Vanderbilt University?

[proudmamaof4]

I am in a very similar situation to the OP. My son is still waiting to hear back from USNA, but has already been accepted at USMA as well as received the NROTC scholarship and admission to USC (University of Southern California). Either way he commissions and serves after graduation.
It is a tough decision for sure. Vandy and USC are the ultimate "college experience" types of places. USNA and USMA are just so honorable and character-forming. Probably can't make a wrong decision either way, so just letting our son decide.

 

[ads9]

I am in a very similar situation to the OP. My son is still waiting to hear back from USNA, but has already been accepted at USMA as well as received the NROTC scholarship and admission to USC (University of Southern California). Either way he commissions and serves after graduation.
It is a tough decision for sure. Vandy and USC are the ultimate "college experience" types of places. USNA and USMA are just so honorable and character-forming. Probably can't make a wrong decision either way, so just letting our son decide.

It really does come down to what kind of college experience they want. Good plan. Best wishes to you all!

 

[ads9]

USNA decision pending.

Accepted to Vanderbilt, awarded 300k AROTC scholarship.

Three years ago my son made USNA his top college goal. We toured USNA, he went back to summer seminar, he was invited to CVW.

He was sure a military type college environment was the perfect fit for him.

To our surprise he came home from CVW less inspired to attend USNA. He said the midshipmen he interacted with seem unhappy and spoke negatively about being a midshipmen. Several of them told him if they had to do it again they would have gone ROTC scholarship instead of USNA so they could have more life balance.

Wow...what a shock. I've heard plebe year is hard but I didn't expect the feedback.

My son is very self disciplined and a natural leader. While I believe in the service academys for being superior maybe the military style college environment isn't necessary for some? I suppose no matter what college they go to they all end up as military officers. Right?

Are we sane!? Considering Vanderbilt over USNA!?

When the decision comes should my husband and I be encouraging him towards USNA instead of Vanderbilt?

What reasons/differences can we consider when weighing that decision?

Any advice appreciated!
Our son is a first generation college student. Homeschooled since preschool (Veritas Scholars Academy), 4.0 GPA, excellent student resume, nominations to USNA from JROTC, congressman and senator.

USNA decision pending.

Accepted to Vanderbilt, awarded 300k AROTC scholarship.

Three years ago my son made USNA his top college goal. We toured USNA, he went back to summer seminar, he was invited to CVW.

He was sure a military type college environment was the perfect fit for him.

To our surprise he came home from CVW less inspired to attend USNA. He said the midshipmen he interacted with seem unhappy and spoke negatively about being a midshipmen. Several of them told him if they had to do it again they would have gone ROTC scholarship instead of USNA so they could have more life balance.

Wow...what a shock. I've heard plebe year is hard but I didn't expect the feedback.

My son is very self disciplined and a natural leader. While I believe in the service academys for being superior maybe the military style college environment isn't necessary for some? I suppose no matter what college they go to they all end up as military officers. Right?

Are we sane!? Considering Vanderbilt over USNA!?

When the decision comes should my husband and I be encouraging him towards USNA instead of Vanderbilt?

What reasons/differences can we consider when weighing that decision?

Any advice appreciated!
Our son is a first generation college student. Homeschooled since preschool (Veritas Scholars Academy), 4.0 GPA, excellent student resume, nominations to USNA from JROTC, congressman and senator.

Update!!! He just checked his USNA portal. Turned down. Not sure the details, medical waiver denied? Either way a hard decision was made for him. He has excellent opportunity ahead at Vanderbilt.

I learned a lot from you all and I hope it helps others in similar situations!

 

[Heatherg21]

Definitely NOT a cakewalk. But unless something's changed recently I don't think the Marine option mids have to take the required 2 semesters of physics and calc and can major in whatever they want. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, would hate to mislead anyone.

I can’t speak to the specifics of MO ROTC but would caution about being very clear about the academics required to stay on program. I’m not one to know what that would is, but this feels like a grey area that needs clarification.

 

[Holden100]

I can’t speak to the specifics of MO ROTC but would caution about being very clear about the academics required to stay on program. I’m not one to know what that would is, but this feels like a grey area that needs clarification.

Not really a gray area. There are different curriculum requirements for Navy and Marine Option mids. MO have no tiered system for their majors and are not required to take 2 semesters of calc and physics for the Marine scholarship. Of course, if you're a physics major, you'll take physics. For Navy option, regardless of major, you're required to take calc and physics. However, at some schools (like Vandy) there are different tracks for math and physics depending on your major (and one is typically 'easier' than the other). Each MIDN will have a academic advisor at the unit who will walk them through their degree plan early on their first year and then meet with them each semester thereafter. This is in addition to their faculty advisor. I have not heard whether the requirements for calc and physics had changed and was asking for clarification on that.

 

[Holden100]

Update!!! He just checked his USNA portal. Turned down. Not sure the details, medical waiver denied? Either way a hard decision was made for him. He has excellent opportunity ahead at Vanderbilt.

I learned a lot from you all and I hope it helps others in similar situations!

Good luck to your son and fingers crossed for that medical waiver for NROTC-MO!

 

[Ivy22]

The Marine options are not required to take the 2 sems of both calc and physics last time I checked. No major tiers either for them.

Vandy is a great school, OP! Know of several people who have gone there, and they loved it. Nashville is a fun city too.

 

[Dr. Strange Love]

… USNA and USMA are just so honorable and character-forming. …

.
This ^^^ is why we’re here …. We all know and continue to him-haw about the commissioning path and how it doesn’t matter …. But these SAs have their mystique and time honored tradition, and they are so much more than College-U …. The SAs are Square Pegs, and we like it that way.

So in this respect, where you are and how you are formed, does matter. It doesn’t mean that you are better, but you come from a different “Lot” that does things a certain way …

“This is how we do things around here …”
.

 

[usna1985]

One thing that I considered in making my decision many years ago . . . If I go to USNA and don't like it, I can always go to civilian school. If I go to civilian school and wish I'd attended USNA, it's gong to be pretty hard to go to USNA.

While at USNA, I not even once wished I were at a civilian school (there were MANY times I wished I were not at USNA but not that I had made a different decision, if that makes sense). Only years later did I wonder how my life would have turned out had I taken a different path. More whimsical than wishing I'd done something different.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

To our surprise he came home from CVW less inspired to attend USNA. He said the midshipmen he interacted with seem unhappy and spoke negatively about being a midshipmen. Several of them told him if they had to do it again they would have gone ROTC scholarship instead of USNA so they could have more life balance.

The saying is “Bad place to be, great place to be from.” They are embracing the suck, because it is a 4-year pressure cooker of 24/7 effort, stress, frustration.

CAPT MJ is right on (as usual). Plebe year is supposed to suck, and it does much of the year. The next 3 years aren't a walk in the park either. (There is a reason that my DW of almost 39 years still refers to USNA as "The Jail School.") . That said, there were times when it's great ... like the epic snowball fight posted above, or the "rumble" we had with upper class, or Army week antics, or weekend road trips, all of which help mold the class into lifelong brothers and sisters. It is also those good times we remember when we gather almost 40 years later , and even the bad times are spoken of as getting through a rite of passag.

 

[Capt MJ]

CAPT MJ is right on (as usual). Plebe year is supposed to suck, and it does much of the year. The next 3 years aren't a walk in the park either. (There is a reason that my DW of almost 39 years still refers to USNA as "The Jail School.") . That said, there were times when it's great ... like the epic snowball fight posted above, or the "rumble" we had with upper class, or Army week antics, or weekend road trips, all of which help mold the class into lifelong brothers and sisters. It is also those good times we remember when we gather almost 40 years later , and even the bad times are spoken of as getting through a rite of passag.

Every year, on the anniversary of their I-Day, DH and any classmates in the area gather at the columbarium and the cemetery in the Yard, and “visit” departed classmates. Hip flasks and toasts are involved. Stories and memories are shared. They acknowledge the names of classmates lost that year but who are not at the Yard. Widows often stand in for their departed husbands. They then have lunch together. Who does that at an Ivy or Notre Dame or Stanford? College friendships, Greek organization friendships, sports team bonds, etc., can be strong and powerful and long-lasting. This is class-wide, though. And probably not uncommon at service academies. Class bonds stretch far beyond a reunion weekend football game.

 

[Hummingbird]

My daughter is in a very similar situation right now. She was accepted to USNA and also has an NROTC-MO scholarship to University of Virginia. My husband is USNA 2004, and her brother is currently a plebe at USNA. Does she want to follow in their footsteps, or forge her own path??? Right now she isn't sure. We visited UVA and she really liked it, but the Naval Academy is well, the Naval Academy. We've told her she needs to do what will make her happy, because at the end of the 4 years she will be a military officer either way. It is such a hard decision for them. We've laid out all our pros for the Academy, but ultimately it is her life and her decision.

 

[Holden100]

My daughter is in a very similar situation right now. She was accepted to USNA and also has an NROTC-MO scholarship to University of Virginia. My husband is USNA 2004, and her brother is currently a plebe at USNA. Does she want to follow in their footsteps, or forge her own path??? Right now she isn't sure. We visited UVA and she really liked it, but the Naval Academy is well, the Naval Academy. We've told her she needs to do what will make her happy, because at the end of the 4 years she will be a military officer either way. It is such a hard decision for them. We've laid out all our pros for the Academy, but ultimately it is her life and her decision.

Your daughter sounds just like my son. Very close with his older brother, but wants to cast his own shadow. So much so, that he's headed in completely different direction. Finally felt like I was getting a decent handle on the Navy, and now I have so many things to learn about the Army!

 

[MidCakePa]

USNA is N*ot College: On Halloween night of plebe year, DD and her company mates dressed up, competed in the costume contest, ate munchies and yucked it up. At 8pm, the party abruptly ended and it was back to the books. Meanwhile, at civilian college, the students were just heading out for the real fun.

USNA is N*ot College: At civilian college, most students follow their freshman year with some kind of hourly job. If they're enterprising, they may have an internship, hopefully paid. After plebe year, DD spent a few weeks sailing the Pacific on an amphibious assault ship, a few weeks on the Yard immersing in a foreign language, and several weeks in a foreign country immersing in the culture.

USNA is definitely N*ot College. You just need to decide which experience means more to you.

 

[Holden100]

USNA is N*ot College: On Halloween night of plebe year, DD and her company mates dressed up, competed in the costume contest, ate munchies and yucked it up. At 8pm, the party abruptly ended and it was back to the books. Meanwhile, at civilian college, the students were just heading out for the real fun.

USNA is N*ot College: At civilian college, most students follow their freshman year with some kind of hourly job. If they're enterprising, they may have an internship, hopefully paid. After plebe year, DD spent a few weeks sailing the Pacific on an amphibious assault ship and several weeks in a foreign country, learning the language and culture.

USNA is definitely N*ot College. You just need to decide which experience means more to you.

If they're in ROTC they're also doing those cool summer things. Well, NROTC anyway. I've got a lot to learn about the Army summers still.

 

[Rach3]

Update!!! He just checked his USNA portal. Turned down. Not sure the details, medical waiver denied? Either way a hard decision was made for him. He has excellent opportunity ahead at Vanderbilt.

I learned a lot from you all and I hope it helps others in similar situations!

Lots of congrats on the Vanderbilt NROTC acceptance!