Good discussion already. I’ll add more. DS received NROTC and USNA pretty early in the process. He initially was all in NROTC. We are non military fam sans one uncle, retired AF reserves Colonel (who attended AFROTC through the same college as DS was headed for NROTC). DS spoke with him during Thanksgiving. Uncle pointed out 2 points to think about: leadership development, and the caliber of classmates/student body at USNA. He was very pro-USNA despite personally attending AFROTC.
Fast forward to current Plebe year, and what uncle was talking about is quite clear. A SA is a whole leadership bubble. Everyone attending is developing their/others leadership for 4 years. The whole place is committed to developing future leaders. This is not the case at regular college. And just LOOK at the leaders that have come from USNA (see above for who has hung out on the yard lately. DS met and has talked to Roger Staubach, Admirals, AND Medal of Honor recipients, beyond others in his short 8 weeks as a Mid). The place oozes leadership!
And to uncles other point, DS’s whole school student body is made up of students focused on the same goal. Which he believes makes it easier in a sense for him, bc he doesn’t have to make decisions/choices that his friends attending regular college do. He doesn’t have to decide about whether to go to the college party his friends are attending (complete with underage drinking) or not. At USNA, all his friends are doing the same thing. Much less pressure in the sense that all his friends are in the same boat. With the same goal. And everyone supports that same common goal. The entire school is made up of exceptional students (always a bad apple, but generalizing a point about the caliber
Is student it takes to obtain an appointment here). That is not the case at regular college/NROTC, a student body of 30k where DS was looking to go.
The intangibles are also important. As I looked back on DS’s first month of the academic year, he had participated in Senator McCains private burial on the yard, met Medal of Honor Recipients, talked and got a picture with Roger Staubach, marched through the streets of Annapolis for home football games, where people line the street to see them (and captured on tv...that was cool for mom!), participated in brigade wide 9/11 memorials, was part of Honor Flight reception at the airport (a very moving highlight), and is treated as almost a celebrity in the area (people have
given up their spots in line, paid for his meals, asked to take a selfie with him when out and about). NONE of those are
things we ever could have
Imagined would be part of his student life, and in only his first month. Up next is the commissioning of the next new Navy ship there on the Yard.
DS knows he chose right for him. But he was all NROTC at
this point last year. As others have stated, visit, visit, visit. Talk to people who have gone both routes. Think about what they say, and also what they DONT say. Think about which route will help you achieve your goals, and how to beat get you there. Also think about the kind of life you want. I added thing that we discovered about USNA choice that we hadn’t really thought about: the leadership bubble, and student body makeup. And congrats for having to make this decision! Will be interested to hear what you decide!