JShawshank
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Military background is well respected, yes. IMHO, USNA even more so....
USNA vs. UPenn (Wharton) NROTC
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Military background is well respected, yes. IMHO, USNA even more so....
@Craigb21 and SuaSponte, I am sensing a troll… two months ago would have brought us to early November and the binding early decision notification for UPenn was indeed December. If it is true that OP has been accepted, he would be required to attend UPenn seeing as that is the only decision option that would have yielded a notification already (there is no EA, only other option is RD and that notification isn't until March).
I'll hold further assumptions until OP replies...
I'll hold further assumptions until OP replies...
This OP's story is shady. Not only do Ivy's not give merit money-(all of their financial aid packages are need-based), but early decision applicants only heard a few weeks ago, not months ago as he claims. And as someone also mentioned, applying early decision to Penn enters you into a binding commitment.
Ahh, well that was kind of an important detail... No worries, gotta go where your heart is
StayingPositive
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you should also try another forum. Sorry, sorta sounds rude. But what i meant is that you should try a more general forum. I mean, you came to the Service Academy Forums to ask whether you should choose USNA or UPenn. I'd guess that most people on this forum are here because they are USNA mids, grads, relatives, supporters, Navy vets, etc. and asking a question like this would probably give you very biased answers.
As for my opinion.. If i were you, I would probably go to UPenn and take NROTC. Can't say much more than that, but from what I have read in these 7 pages, if your ultimate goal is to make money, UPenn would probably be the better choice. Not necessarily because its directly correlated with grads making bank right out of college, but because if your ultimate goal isn't something related to Navy, a full immersion of the Navy life will probably disagree with you during college. By no means am i saying you won't excel, but rather that you wouldnt enjoy it i guess. If you take NROTC at UPenn, you would still serve in the Navy after graduation, you would still participate in all the activities over the summers, but during the 4 years of college, you would be a midshipman for 2-3 days out of the week. So not necessarily a full dedicated military lifestyle immersion like USNA. You can have more freedom to chase down that goal of making money, go out, make more connections. Also you said you were going to double major at the Academy if you chose to go there, but from what i hear, it is quite quite difficult to double major. Due to the regimented schedules, you would have to pass a lot of validation tests to make space for the extra classes. But hey, i don't know, lol maybe you're a super genius.
Anyways, good luck and godspeed! I'm sure in the end, you will make the best decision for yourself! If you choose USNA, we'll probably run into each other quite soon
As for my opinion.. If i were you, I would probably go to UPenn and take NROTC. Can't say much more than that, but from what I have read in these 7 pages, if your ultimate goal is to make money, UPenn would probably be the better choice. Not necessarily because its directly correlated with grads making bank right out of college, but because if your ultimate goal isn't something related to Navy, a full immersion of the Navy life will probably disagree with you during college. By no means am i saying you won't excel, but rather that you wouldnt enjoy it i guess. If you take NROTC at UPenn, you would still serve in the Navy after graduation, you would still participate in all the activities over the summers, but during the 4 years of college, you would be a midshipman for 2-3 days out of the week. So not necessarily a full dedicated military lifestyle immersion like USNA. You can have more freedom to chase down that goal of making money, go out, make more connections. Also you said you were going to double major at the Academy if you chose to go there, but from what i hear, it is quite quite difficult to double major. Due to the regimented schedules, you would have to pass a lot of validation tests to make space for the extra classes. But hey, i don't know, lol maybe you're a super genius.
Anyways, good luck and godspeed! I'm sure in the end, you will make the best decision for yourself! If you choose USNA, we'll probably run into each other quite soon
give this kid some slack man. theres no need to bash on a kid when you dont know everything about him so just answer the question he asked.
as for my 2 cents, i think either path you choose, its all up to you. you make the connections, you make the experience, and you decide the future. you make it or break it. if you're willing to give up a lot of freedom and fun, go to usna. if youre not, dont come as usna is not the place to be haha. from what ive heard and read, usna will have cooler training opportunities during the summers compared to nrotc.
as for my 2 cents, i think either path you choose, its all up to you. you make the connections, you make the experience, and you decide the future. you make it or break it. if you're willing to give up a lot of freedom and fun, go to usna. if youre not, dont come as usna is not the place to be haha. from what ive heard and read, usna will have cooler training opportunities during the summers compared to nrotc.
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I bounced your question off of my DS. Although he thinks you would be successful at USNA or NROTC, he also think you would be miserable once you got to the fleet. Thought I'd pass it along, especially since life at USNA or NROTC is NOT life in the fleet. Think about it.
Pima
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I would say you should talk to LITS about transitioning, and your rose colored glasses view.
I would also say to posters that when you say base pay of 2900, they (non-militay) won.t understand that BAH and BAS are not included. Nor did you add in sea pay, jump pay, flight pay, or combat pay. For Earle, in NJ, they would get about 18K in BAH alone, which is not taxed federally and in some cases state.
~~~ In the 20 yrs. Bullet served we never paid state taxes. Our DS in TX does not pay VA taxes.
The OP is young, and I highly doubt he knows that working on Wall St. with a 125k salary means he has a clue when it comes to his net.
~ Fed...6 figure= 28-31%
~ NY state tax, even as An NJ resident
~ NYC tax
~NJ state tax
~ Commute costs even if they live with the folks will be several thousand peer yr.
At the end of the day the O1 stationed at Earle, living in Bordentown, commuting 15 minutes each way may have the same net, as him at 100K, because there is that military loophole for most regarding state taxes.
It is not what you make IMPO, but what you keep that makes the bank.
Personally, I believe as someone from NJ he is not bluster when it comes to attitude. Most parents leave at 6 a.m and get home at 6:30 p.m. I believe that is just a Jersey attitude.
However, I don't believe his heart is in it.
~ Sorry.
Again as someone born and raised in NJ, with family there to this date, I think your question is more aligned to that lifestyle....keeping up with the Jones's.
~~~ Not trying to flame, I am proud of Jersey. Just saying, after living the AF world for 20 yrs. (NM, ID, NC- Fayetteville and Goldsoro, KS, VA, AK, NJ and England). NJ was the only state that named dropped at every opportunity.
~~~ I.E. you dropped....competitive in your opinion because 1450 is the avg.
~~~~~~ Unfortunately you didn't realize that from a nom. purpose that really is not what most consider competitive. Competitive for most is when MOCs talk and spread the wealth. I'm VA Send can have 700 for 10 spots.
I believe NJ and VA are equivalent academically, I just believe NJ is not as competitive as NU since the last I knew NJ MOCs don't spread the wealth or talk.
You need to do what is good for you.
Our DS went AFROTC because he wanted the college program, and ROTC gave him that option.
I would also say to posters that when you say base pay of 2900, they (non-militay) won.t understand that BAH and BAS are not included. Nor did you add in sea pay, jump pay, flight pay, or combat pay. For Earle, in NJ, they would get about 18K in BAH alone, which is not taxed federally and in some cases state.
~~~ In the 20 yrs. Bullet served we never paid state taxes. Our DS in TX does not pay VA taxes.
The OP is young, and I highly doubt he knows that working on Wall St. with a 125k salary means he has a clue when it comes to his net.
~ Fed...6 figure= 28-31%
~ NY state tax, even as An NJ resident
~ NYC tax
~NJ state tax
~ Commute costs even if they live with the folks will be several thousand peer yr.
At the end of the day the O1 stationed at Earle, living in Bordentown, commuting 15 minutes each way may have the same net, as him at 100K, because there is that military loophole for most regarding state taxes.
It is not what you make IMPO, but what you keep that makes the bank.
Personally, I believe as someone from NJ he is not bluster when it comes to attitude. Most parents leave at 6 a.m and get home at 6:30 p.m. I believe that is just a Jersey attitude.
However, I don't believe his heart is in it.
~ Sorry.
Again as someone born and raised in NJ, with family there to this date, I think your question is more aligned to that lifestyle....keeping up with the Jones's.
~~~ Not trying to flame, I am proud of Jersey. Just saying, after living the AF world for 20 yrs. (NM, ID, NC- Fayetteville and Goldsoro, KS, VA, AK, NJ and England). NJ was the only state that named dropped at every opportunity.
~~~ I.E. you dropped....competitive in your opinion because 1450 is the avg.
~~~~~~ Unfortunately you didn't realize that from a nom. purpose that really is not what most consider competitive. Competitive for most is when MOCs talk and spread the wealth. I'm VA Send can have 700 for 10 spots.
I believe NJ and VA are equivalent academically, I just believe NJ is not as competitive as NU since the last I knew NJ MOCs don't spread the wealth or talk.
You need to do what is good for you.
Our DS went AFROTC because he wanted the college program, and ROTC gave him that option.
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Yeah PIMA, I agree with some things, but we're inflating O-pay, regardless of BAH. When I got out I think I was somewhere in the $58,000 range, in D.C., with a pretty nice BAH. I saw more of that than the $67,500 at the first job I took when I got out. That said, it got much better later, with a new job. BAH, and other benefits, do make a difference, but I don't see that translating an O-3 into a $100K/year job.
$125K in NYC won't go very far. In NJ, sure, but you'll look at a pretty good commute. OR, you could live in a tiny box.
$125K in NYC won't go very far. In NJ, sure, but you'll look at a pretty good commute. OR, you could live in a tiny box.
In my opinion the OP was intentionally looking to stir the pot. There is no reason to give this person slack as their comments are so against what the military and USNA is about ( I am a proud Navy veteran). Below are the highlights and the last comment was made because the OP knew what the responses would be. Please do 5 somewhere else and dive somewhere else because the most important thing in life is to be happy and you wont be happy the first time you get ripped for poor attitude and lack of teamwork.
1. I didn't want to burden myself with college loans and USNA was free, so that's why it was my goal for most of high school.
2. I know that if I go there I could endure it (probably better than most other people),
3. Seeing as I never intended to be in the Navy, I figured I'd five and dive.
4. To be honest, my goal in life is to make bank
5. I'd also stand out among other candidates to big finance firms (later, after).
6. Please don't post anything negative or redundant; opinions are well appreciated.
1. I didn't want to burden myself with college loans and USNA was free, so that's why it was my goal for most of high school.
2. I know that if I go there I could endure it (probably better than most other people),
3. Seeing as I never intended to be in the Navy, I figured I'd five and dive.
4. To be honest, my goal in life is to make bank
5. I'd also stand out among other candidates to big finance firms (later, after).
6. Please don't post anything negative or redundant; opinions are well appreciated.
Hard to argue with those points! The OP has no business being in the armed forces... Good luck making your millions, but don't go to the Academy.
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What I don't understand is why the want to be fiscally successful later in life (and actively setting yourself up for that now through your major, choice of school, by securing "free" or almost "free" education, etc) and the want to serve in the military have to be mutually exclusive.
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Except that there are many serving now who had the very same goals.... without the guts to post them. Of course there are also the "I needed a job" or "I needed to straighten myself out" reasons, which have nothing to do with service.
At my first Academy Fair, before I went to college, the Naval Academy midshipman honestly said "I like to surf, and the Navy is on the water, so I figured I'd be near a beach, and that's why I went to the Naval Academy."
If you don't think that affected my opinion of the school.... kid looked like an idiot. BUT he was there, "serving" and may have even graduated.
USNA grads average starting salary
The referenced article from an earlier post in this thread "Colleges with Highest Paid Grads" is somewhat misleading. $77k is the average starting salary for USNA Graduates AFTER their 5 year Navy commitment has been completed. The info in this article was obtained from PayScale. PayScale has this as a reference notation.
The reader should not think that a Mid graduating from USNA will immediately make $77k as their first salary. The article is misleading for comparison sake with civilian colleges where PayScale is measuring civilian colleges first year salary in year 1 immediately after the bachelors degree was obtained.
The referenced article from an earlier post in this thread "Colleges with Highest Paid Grads" is somewhat misleading. $77k is the average starting salary for USNA Graduates AFTER their 5 year Navy commitment has been completed. The info in this article was obtained from PayScale. PayScale has this as a reference notation.
The reader should not think that a Mid graduating from USNA will immediately make $77k as their first salary. The article is misleading for comparison sake with civilian colleges where PayScale is measuring civilian colleges first year salary in year 1 immediately after the bachelors degree was obtained.
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