What is the best way to get into USMA if I don't get in for the class of 2024?

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willrb2024

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May 29, 2019
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Hi guys,
I'm applying to USMA 2024, but with a school like WP, you can't be sure of your admission without a LOA. If I don't get an appointment, what is the best way to re-apply?
I've heard people say everything from enlisting to going to a civilian college. I have been admitted to Texas A&M (corps of cadets), but I'm not sure if I want to go there. Thoughts?
 
ALWAYS move onward and upward. Maintain a steady rate of personal growth. One cannot "Count" on admission to USMA. Too many variables. But, have and pursue Plans B and C. In the midst of all this, re-apply to USMA. Show and accentuate that personal growth in each re-application. Do Not underestimate the value of an ROTC scholarship. At the end of that same four years you will still commission as a 2nd LT and will make no more or less than a USMA Grad. Ten thousand new 2nd LT's every year, only about one thousand are from USMA. Consider the end goal, prestige? Or the US Army?

Best.
 
Walman888 said:
ALWAYS move onward and upward. Maintain a steady rate of personal growth. One cannot "Count" on admission to USMA. Too many variables. But, have and pursue Plans B and C. In the midst of all this, re-apply to USMA. Show and accentuate that personal growth in each re-application. Do Not underestimate the value of an ROTC scholarship. At the end of that same four years you will still commission as a 2nd LT and will make no more or less than a USMA Grad. Ten thousand new 2nd LT's every year, only about one thousand are from USMA. Consider the end goal, prestige? Or the US Army?
Click to expand...


This is gold!

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
I agree with the comments above. There are several paths that lead to the same result. Even if your goal is to attend USMA, keep progressing along an alternative route. Go to a college you want to attend and choose a major you want to study. And remember that there are many superb colleges with ROTC programs.

Many cadets have one or more years of college. A former First Captain and General Officer had a degree from Georgetown. If your goal is an appointment to USMA and you fail on your first try:
  • Attend college and take a course schedule similar to the Plebe year schedule. It does not have to be exact, but should include English Composition and STEM level math and science courses. The Plebe year schedule is General Education course and should fit into almost any major.
  • Join ROTC
  • Ask your RC for advice on how to strengthen your application.
 
If you have already been accepted to A&M, then that means you likely have the academic chops since you are almost certainly an automatic (top 10%) or academic (top 25% and 1360 or better SAT/30 ACT) admit. With that premise, if you don't get in to USMA, I'd recommend -- as I would to my own kids -- driving on elsewhere. I commissioned through AROTC at Notre Dame a hundred years ago, and one of my classmates had been turned down at WP and was considering applying again after freshman year. Well, we commissioned together, and he retired a few years back as an SF O-6.
Now if academics were the problem, i.e. bright but unmotivated HS student (high SAT/poor GPA), I might recommend a different course of action, but, again, that doesn't seem likely to be your situation.
Anyway, good luck with your app.
 
Direct answer to your question without any other advice:

Enlist in Army then pursue an appointment. Several of these slots go unfulfilled every year. If you enlist in cyber or Defense language Institute they will actively recruit you from there.

This may not be the best path for you but this path is viable and open to the motivated candidate.
 
You have to do an honest self-evaluation as to why you didn't get in the first time and work hard to improve that part of your application.

Please make sure you find all the information possible before you chose to enlist in the service to chase an appointment. It is true that this is a viable path but it is also the path that has the most factors outside of your control. Will you be satisfied with completing your initial enlistment contract as an enlisted soldier if you do not get an appointment?

The semi-official position of admissions is that a strong candidate that does not gain an appointment in high school should go to a four year university, take a challenging "plebe like" schedule and do well. They should also stay involved in leadership and extracurricular activities.
 
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