usna vs usafa

beothebestia

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for any USNA/USAFA grads/currently attending

i am currently in the process of deciding between the two schools and i have spots at both because of sports recruiting.

my main question is
why usafa? why usna? what compelled you to choose one over the other and what info should i know before making this decision?

thanks for your help!
 
Please clarify so people know where you are in the process.

Have you been offered an appointment as a fully qualified candidate who has passed DoDMERB, CFA and have at least 1 nomination? Or you have offers to NAPS or USAFAPS prep school? Or you are being offered the service academy equivalent of “committing,” but of course still have to fully qualify for the appointment or prep school offer and get a nomination?

And the answer I would give you as a former USNA staff officer and career Navy officer is the same as I would give to a non-recruited athlete.

The service academy is a way station to your career of at least 5+ years on active duty as a commissioned officer in the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Space Force. Have you done the research on the service academy websites to see what career paths appeal to you, at least a few, should you not get first choice. The Navy does its work on the sea, below the sea, above the sea, close to the sea, around the world and often out of sight of land. You have to be good with that. Each of the services has unique missions, career paths, cultures, operating environments. Take the time to really think about that, because you will spend more years working as an officer than at the service academy. Reverse engineer from potential end goals to the service academy path that leads you there.

If you have made official visits, what feels like your best fit? Evsluate with head, heart and gut. There is no wrong choice if the service academy experience is what you want, plus an opportunity to play your sport at the D1 level.
 
First question you need to ask yourself: Do you want to be in the air or on the sea?
i would be fine with either. something about being more hands on in the navy and being in the water is intriguing and being at sea. but land is definitely favorable for most, but i would genuinely be happy with any opportunity.
 
And welcome new member of < 40 minutes!
ahah thank you! i just got off my trip to usafa and need to make a decision ASAP so i figured this is the best place to turn. i have been frantically searching this entire website throughout the entire process but only recently needed an account to post this.
 
Please clarify so people know where you are in the process.

Have you been offered an appointment as a fully qualified candidate who has passed DoDMERB, CFA and have at least 1 nomination? Or you have offers to NAPS or USAFAPS prep school? Or you are being offered the service academy equivalent of “committing,” but of course still have to fully qualify for the appointment or prep school offer and get a nomination?

And the answer I would give you as a former USNA staff officer and career Navy officer is the same as I would give to a non-recruited athlete.

The service academy is a way station to your career of at least 5+ years on active duty as a commissioned officer in the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Space Force. Have you done the research on the service academy websites to see what career paths appeal to you, at least a few, should you not get first choice. The Navy does its work on the sea, below the sea, above the sea, close to the sea, around the world and often out of sight of land. You have to be good with that. Each of the services has unique missions, career paths, cultures, operating environments. Take the time to really think about that, because you will spend more years working as an officer than at the service academy. Reverse engineer from potential end goals to the service academy path that leads you there.

If you have made official visits, what feels like your best fit? Evsluate with head, heart and gut. There is no wrong choice if the service academy experience is what you want, plus an opportunity to play your sport at the D1 level.
sorry i have been offered the service academy equivalent of “committing” which means whatever i end up choosing will support my application no matter what and then will proceed to help me in my pursuit of getting a nomination. i felt especially drawn to the naval academy yard, felt extremely at home with the team and the midshipmen, but family is urging me to stay closer to home and go to usafa.

in terms of careers, i’ve looked mostly at being a pilot if i go to usafa and going to flight school. that has been their main selling point, that if you want to be a pilot, you are going to be a pilot. but ive come here to get away from the “car salesman” pitch i’ve received there to get actual cold hard facts.

but for navy, ive researched all types and would be happy with a lot. (cyber warfare, pilot would be tricker but ive talked about it with my B&G officer and he highly recommends it and says it was some of the best flying he has ever done if i am committed to it, submarines, or a navy flight officer) all are extremely appealing to me and i feel like i could excel at and many options that ive researched and have been interested in.

if i wanted to elaborate on the sporting factors that contribute to the decision, it is the patriot league vs swimming in an actual conference. usafa goes up against more serious colleges in my sport, and you travel more by mil air and get more opportunities such as the ability to go pro post grad. usna is slightly less competitive, competing in the patriot league, and stays mostly on the east coast and travels completely by bus with no opportunity to pursue the sport post grad. both had about equal resources in terms of sports and recovery/athletic help.

like i said above, ive come here to get away from the cars salesman’s pitch i have received at both academies so any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Thoughtful reply, thank you. Glad you are thinking about “what comes after.”

Love your parents, but staying closer to home will evaporate after 4 years, and if you are in a place that you dutifully went to because of this reason but it was not the preference of heart or gut, then it may make a hard path harder. In my time at USNA on the staff and the years we have sponsored mids here at the house, many of the mids who chose USNA because of parental influence often felt the least committed, and voluntarily left or allowed themselves to self-destruct academically or in other ways, so they were involuntarily separated. It is certainly okay to factor this into your decision-making, but weight it according to how YOU feel about being closer to home. I will note that parents of all backgrounds seem to fall in love with Annapolis. Then again - all the SAs offer great locations, all very different.

The rules about going pro out of a service academy have changed back and forth over the years. No guarantees. One of our sponsor family midshipmen, track athlete, went to the Olympic Trials. His record there for Navy in his event stood for 24 years, until it was broken by another Navy athlete the past summer. There were I think 2 Navy swimmers who made it to the Trials this past summer. If you are good enough to do something like that, that’s a win-win all around.

All the SAs have both similar opportunities as well as unique opportunities for experiences during the 4 years. There are plenty of opportunities for post-grad education, which is baked into the officer community career paths, with some opportunity right after USNA. You will not lack for a wide array of amazing things to do at any SA.

Choose the path that feels right to you. In both paths, you will receive a superb education and preparation for a career as a professional military officer, make lifelong friends, do your sport and have a team family, have amazing opportunities you could never imagine, and then another entire set of adventures when you commission (and hard work, challenges, not fun stuff, but that is life). If you feel you are in the right place, when it’s time to Embrace The Suck during tough times that occur at all SAs, it is that much easier if you are also not realizing you allowed yourself to ignore head, heart, gut when you chose the other place.

Lastly, if you haven’t seen these videos…









 
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CAPT MJ is, as always, spot on. A few other thoughts.

If you are really, really serious about being an Olympic swimmer, you don't go to a SA. As a BGO, I worked with a recruited swimmer not too long ago. This person set all sorts of records at USNA. Went to Nationals and finished in the top 16. Finished in the top 50 of the graduating class. That person is now a submariner.

A family friend swam at an ACC school. He was on (and briefly captain of) the US national team. After a few years, he realized that he wasn't good enough to win at the Olympics (he swam in the time of Matt Biondi :)). He is now an executive with a major bank.

The point is that, especially today, being a world-class swimmer is a profession. If that is your ultimate goal, you should go to a civilian school that is known for producing world-class swimmers. You focus on that morning, noon and night while hopefully getting an education that will set you up for the long term. When you graduate, you continue swimming as a profession (assuming you're good enough to get endorsement deals).

The overwhelming majority of swimmers aren't in that elite class and never will be. They love the sport and want to do it in college but know that, when they graduate, they're going to do something else for the rest of their lives. They have great college careers, make lots of friends, maybe set a few records. But then they move on.

You mentioned traveling. I can't speak for USAFA, but at USNA, academics are hard. Being away from class is tough -- while traveling is nice to an extent, it's definitely not glamorous and takes you away from valuable class time. I traveled with the swim team (as a non-swimmer) and everyone studied on the bus. They studied on the pool deck. They studied in the motel. They all loved swimming, but they were at USNA to become officers not professional swimmers. And, all in all, they'd rather swim at home than away.

I suggest you start by evaluating whether it's more important to have an elite swimming career or to prepare to be an officer, assuming you're good enough to be an elite swimmer. I'm not being sarcastic or flip, just realistic, b/c it's very hard to do both at any SA.

If you want to attend an SA, next is which one. There are many good reasons to choose one SA over another. Being close to home is a terrible one.

I would start by asking yourself: if I weren't a swimmer (or varsity athlete), which SA would I want to attend and in which service would I want to serve? See how strongly you feel about that decision. If it's USAFA AND you think your swimming experience will be better as well . . . decision made. The fact that you're debating tells me you're more interested in USNA as a SA and service. If that's the case, you have to weigh 4 years of a perceived "better" swimming experience at USAFA with 4 years of being a mid and 5+ years as an officer.
 
CAPT MJ is, as always, spot on. A few other thoughts.

If you are really, really serious about being an Olympic swimmer, you don't go to a SA. As a BGO, I worked with a recruited swimmer not too long ago. This person set all sorts of records at USNA. Went to Nationals and finished in the top 16. Finished in the top 50 of the graduating class. That person is now a submariner.

A family friend swam at an ACC school. He was on (and briefly captain of) the US national team. After a few years, he realized that he wasn't good enough to win at the Olympics (he swam in the time of Matt Biondi :)). He is now an executive with a major bank.

The point is that, especially today, being a world-class swimmer is a profession. If that is your ultimate goal, you should go to a civilian school that is known for producing world-class swimmers. You focus on that morning, noon and night while hopefully getting an education that will set you up for the long term. When you graduate, you continue swimming as a profession (assuming you're good enough to get endorsement deals).

The overwhelming majority of swimmers aren't in that elite class and never will be. They love the sport and want to do it in college but know that, when they graduate, they're going to do something else for the rest of their lives. They have great college careers, make lots of friends, maybe set a few records. But then they move on.

You mentioned traveling. I can't speak for USAFA, but at USNA, academics are hard. Being away from class is tough -- while traveling is nice to an extent, it's definitely not glamorous and takes you away from valuable class time. I traveled with the swim team (as a non-swimmer) and everyone studied on the bus. They studied on the pool deck. They studied in the motel. They all loved swimming, but they were at USNA to become officers not professional swimmers. And, all in all, they'd rather swim at home than away.

I suggest you start by evaluating whether it's more important to have an elite swimming career or to prepare to be an officer, assuming you're good enough to be an elite swimmer. I'm not being sarcastic or flip, just realistic, b/c it's very hard to do both at any SA.

If you want to attend an SA, next is which one. There are many good reasons to choose one SA over another. Being close to home is a terrible one.

I would start by asking yourself: if I weren't a swimmer (or varsity athlete), which SA would I want to attend and in which service would I want to serve? See how strongly you feel about that decision. If it's USAFA AND you think your swimming experience will be better as well . . . decision made. The fact that you're debating tells me you're more interested in USNA as a SA and service. If that's the case, you have to weigh 4 years of a perceived "better" swimming experience at USAFA with 4 years of being a mid and 5+ years as an officer.
What she said too, excellent points all. ^^^

I brought up the Olympics only to mention the Navy wouldn’t stand in the way of one of their own having that opportunity. Great PR. I absolutely agree if you want to be an elite swimmer, you go to the powerhouse swim team colleges. The varsity athletes at service academies and in college ROTC programs want to become military officers, and choose to enjoy playing their sport at a high level and representing their SA.
 
GREAT stuff, already. Overarching advice, if you were my own:

-go where YOU want. Your parents will accept a well thought out decision.

-you aren’t ‘in’ either place, until you are. Even as a recruited athlete.

-don’t choose based upon the conference competition. You may decide you don’t even want to do your sport anymore (mine did). Every athlete can walk away and still stay scholarshiped. It happens a lot.

-continue to look at the ‘big picture’. What would you want to do? Navy has it all!! What would you want to do, if you don’t get your first choice? It happens at each academy.

-which culture seems to be a good fit? Go Navy, is vastly different than Air Force. You felt them both. Which ‘felt right’? Culture matters. Those are ‘your people’.

Congrats, and good luck on your journey. Hope to see you on a DIY appointment thread for c/o ‘29!
 
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Just a couple random thoughts --

i’ve looked mostly at being a pilot if i go to usafa and going to flight school. that has been their main selling point, that if you want to be a pilot, you are going to be a pilot.
As my BGO told me > 40 years ago now,,,, Air Force is great if you are a pilot, but Navy gives you many more opportunities if you can't fly for one reason or another (back then it was mostly vision), including subs, surface, USMC etc. Bottom line, you can do whatever you want out of Navy ... look into the non -flying assignments at AF , back then the perception was that you were a second class citizen if you didn't have wings in the Air Force.

Also, Air Force has an entirely different culture, both USAFA and the fleet. As I only half jokingly comment from time to time, the Air Force is an honorable alternative to military service. Seriously, there are alot of threads on SAF about going Navy v. Air Force. Read both USNA and USAF boards to get the flavor, but more important , reach out and speak to USNA /USAFA midshipmen/cadets (and grads) and decided which one responates with you.



you travel more by mil air and get more opportunities such as the ability to go pro post grad.
I'm not sure flying Mil Air is a benefit ..just saying ! :)
I can't say whether Air Force has more post grad opportunities than Navy, but can assure you that for those that qualify and do well as USNA, the the post grad opportunities in the Navy are more than you ever need.

If you are really, really serious about being an Olympic swimmer, you don't go to a SA.
True -- but beyond that, be honest with yourself about expectations and competitiveness. I have a niece who went on scholarship to a top tier swimming school. She was good, but quickly realized that once she got into that highly competitive pool, swimming wasn't as hot as she thought it was. She stuck it out (probably because of the scholarship), but someone swimming at a Service Academy doesn't have to stick it out if they aren't competive any longer. As noted above, which Service Academy speaks to you independent of the swimming ? (Don't get me wrong, not trying to be negative or discourage swimming, the comradery and accomplish of competing at intercollegate level in any sport is great, and I would encourage even if you recognize that you aren't world class).
 
My niece was a D1 quality swimmer. When she was young and doing travel swimming around the country, there was a kid on her team who everyone admired when he showed up. He was clearly the best swimmer.

I watched him just miss out for the Olympics at the trials.

The various levels of competition are insane.
 
If I remember right, there were quite a few mids who went out for the trials this year. Don't think any made the team though, but I do not follow the sport much, so I'm not sure.
 
I think the OP is talking about going "pro" as in becoming a pro athlete upon graduation. The "rules" on being able to do a sport post-SA tend to change depending on the President (of the US). Not sure where it all stands now, but it could easily change since someone else will be Pres. next year and maybe yet another person by the time the OP graduates.

I would say that, if you're the next Michael Phelps, the military is going to help you become a successful pro athlete (a la David Robinson). If you are just a very good swimmer, your chances of continuing that post SA time aren't great. And you shouldn't expect it.

I would say that USNA is more "military" than USAFA (and USMA more military than USNA). That is not necessarily a good or bad thing, just a difference. USNA is a water-based SA and USN/USMC are water-based services. USAFA is not. Yes, you deploy if you're in the USN. But there are USAF bases in some very remote locations. There's not a "better" service -- one is probably better for you.
 
i would be fine with either. something about being more hands on in the navy and being in the water is intriguing and being at sea. but land is definitely favorable for most, but i would genuinely be happy with any opportunity.
I think you need to sit down with an air force officer, and a navy officer and really look at what their careers look like, and if it is something you want to do.
 
for any USNA/USAFA grads/currently attending

i am currently in the process of deciding between the two schools and i have spots at both because of sports recruiting.

my main question is
why usafa? why usna? what compelled you to choose one over the other and what info should i know before making this decision?

thanks for your help!
When I looked at all the academies I came to the conclusion that you really cant go wrong. You will get a great education, fantastic athletics and some of the best friends you will ever meet. So what made my decision? Well, the only major difference between any of the service academies (USMMA excepted) is the job you will do after graduation. High School me had no clue what I wanted to do after the academy. So why close doors? Want to be in the infantry? Commission as a Marine. Want to fly planes? The Navy can help you there. Want to explore the high seas? That's our specialty (We are making the headlines right now). Most jobs you might want to pursue in the Air Force, the Navy/Marine Corps offers some equivalent. Suppose being an officer at a minuteman silo in North Dakota might be truly unique to the Air Force but... yeah. An additional benefit for going navy (surface) is that all of our bases are minutes away from a highly populated city near a beach. Same cant be said about the chair force.
 
I'm a plebe here at USNA and I from the things I hear about the Doolie (oh wait you can't even call them that) experience, some part of me can't help but wish I accepted my USAFA appointment. Plebe year is rough, everyday is a battle.

In all honesty I'm losing sight of why I chose USNA. The only real reason I can come up with consistently is the fact that I can visit home some what regularly.
 
I'm a plebe here at USNA and I from the things I hear about the Doolie (oh wait you can't even call them that) experience, some part of me can't help but wish I accepted my USAFA appointment. Plebe year is rough, everyday is a battle.

In all honesty I'm losing sight of why I chose USNA. The only real reason I can come up with consistently is the fact that I can visit home some what regularly.
Hey shipmate (really) -- I hear you, I really do. I'm a youngster aka superplebe. It's a slog, definitely, and it's totally normal to be where you're at right now especially on the downslope of 6-week exams. Plebe year isn't really HARD, except for academics maybe -- it's annoyingly, constantly inconvenient. It's like all those cute lil dinosaurs in Jurassic Park just peck peck peck pecking at you. FWIW last year I found that I was most grumpy and cynical when I was letting all the little petty inconveniences stack up and bug me.

Use your outlets! Can you get to your sponsor's? Talk to a chaplain? Go for a run, that's my uncorking time, all my own. How's your squad leader or platoon leader? How's your youngster mentor? I'm staying anonymous here, but PM me if you want to just vent. I won't try to fix anything unless you ask for suggestions, you can just yark it all up if you want!
 
I'm a plebe here at USNA and I from the things I hear about the Doolie (oh wait you can't even call them that) experience, some part of me can't help but wish I accepted my USAFA appointment. Plebe year is rough, everyday is a battle.

In all honesty I'm losing sight of why I chose USNA. The only real reason I can come up with consistently is the fact that I can visit home some what regularly.
another not-a-plebe here, it really does get better after first semester. After winter break you should be basically family with your '28company mates making spring semester much easier, and then youngster year is much better, and you are finally able to develop your own interests, skills, and leadership traits.
 
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