How to get into west point military academy?
I know several kids who have gone to West Point, Annapolis, and the USAF Academy. Your physical fitness and academic scores are very important. Lettering in a varsity sport certainly helps and your JROTC instructors will be able to get you up to snuff with the physical fitness requirements by the time you need to apply. I wouldn't worry about that just yet. Keep working out. Weights can help you build muscle for push-ups, sit-ups, and just about everything else. Add a lot of cardio as well! In addition to grades and sports you need to have a very strong and diverse portfolio showing extracurricular activities. Student government involvement is a very big plus. Community Service, Scouting, Civil Air Patrol, FBLA, Key Club, Interact, etc. etc. are things that show you do more than the average person and have taken on leadership positions. It also does not hurt to get to know politicians. You need a Congressional appointment to West Point. Each Senator and US House Member gets a certain number of appointments per year. Becoming involved with Mock Trial, Voter Registration, or some other organization that gives you access and insight into the world of politics will greatly help. It might be rather difficult to get direct access to a Senator or House Member, but through something like Mock Trial, for example, you will most likely meet the local DA and several judges who can write recommendations for you when it comes time to get your appointment. Good Luck!
Should I attend A&M or West Point?
If a long career in the Army is important to you, go to West Point, for a few reasons:About 40% of US Army officers are West Point alumni. The remaining 60% are split up across all the ROTC colleges and OCS. Considering that there are dozens of ROTC colleges out there, you’re much more likely to interact with West Point alumni than you are alumni from any other college. That gives you a common ground, and interactions are that much easier with peers and superiors alike (“West Point, eh? Which company? H-1 you say? Go Roothawgs!”)You get more choice in military training. West Point WILL send you to Air Assault School, Airborne School, you name it. ROTC programs generally have you try out for the schools first because they’re given very few, if any, slots. The more schools you have under your belt when you graduate the faster you can get up and running as an officer and the more impressive your ORB (Officer Record Brief) will look.The branch and post selection processes are more transparent. During your Senior year at West Point they’ll have Branch night and Post night. Prior to Branch night they’ll publish that there are say, 100 infantry officer spots, 200 artillery officer spots, etc. The spots are assigned through a purely merit-based system. If 100 people with a class rank higher than you pick infantry, you’ll just have to pick a different branch. With ROTC however it’s never clear why you get what you get. I’ve had friends who were part of a graduating ROTC cohort of only a dozen cadets get their 13th choice with no explanation provided whatsoever. Branch night is even more transparent for West Point cadets and more opaque for ROTC cadets. West Point cadets all form up in different rooms based on the branch that they got during branch night. On a wall they’ll have 3x5 cards with the units and branches printed on them. Then an officer will read down the class rankings list for your branch. When your name is called off you stand up and take your desired post from the 3x5 cards remaining on the wall. With ROTC you can put in your preferences, but your post is almost entirely based on the “needs of the Army.”Hope my insider’s perspective helps!
What happens when you leave West Point?
well first thing you are not going to become a run-of-the-mill army dog. When you graduate west point you become an officer and you'll have to lead your platoon. Compared to, OCS, ROTC or the other senior military college academies (ex: The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute) west point cadets get more choices and better advantages then the others. Thats why West Point is one of the hardest colleges to get into. Not trying to be picky but as an officer you don't become a medic but you can become an MP officer. "Medics" in the officer corp are people who are actually doctors and already obtained there medical degree then joined the army as an officer. And yes people from west point actually get choices of what MOS( Military Occupation Specialty) they want. So if you want to become an Infantry Officer then you'll become one. It also depends what's your MOS if your going to be shipped off to overseas. If your job is a Infantry Officer or Armor Officer you have a likely chance of getting shipped overseas. If you are a Medical officer(Doctor, Nurse, Vetinarian), Finance Officer, or Transport Officer, you are least likely to be shipped overseas. If you go to ROTC then you don't really have that luxury of picking your MOS like the West Point cadets do. You list what job you want then the army picks for you. Do your research!! Here go on this website. http://www.goarmy.com/about/officer.jsp
West Point Admission as Enlisted?
A little background on me: I was a straight A student in high school, was the president of a school club, obtained two varsity letters for tennis, and volunteered locally during summer. I was admitted into University of California Berkeley in 2007 (Engineering major). I dropped out in 2009 due to financial reasons and have since enlisted in the US Army in 35W MOS. I'm currently 21 years old. Since talking to my recruiter I realized that I can apply to West Point as an enlisted soldier, which means after basic training. I ship out at the end of September of this year for basic training. I have a few questions for those who are willing to give some advice, any would be appreciated. 1. How difficult is it to obtain your commander's nomination? Who generally is your direct commander at your post? 2. My birthday is before July 1, so does that mean I only have this year for a shot at West Point? Since I cannot be 23 before July 1 of the year of admission. 3. What advantages do West Point officers have over OCS officers? 4. What advice would you give someone in my circumstances? Tips, words of caution, etc. would be helpful. Anything is welcome.
Could I come out of West Point, be in the 75th Ranger Regiment and stay under the five year limit?
Sure. Why not? The active duty committment upon graduating from West Point is 5 years. 75th Ranger Regiment is just an assignment. By the time you graduate West Point you likely will have already been to airborne school. Assuming you're infantry as soon as you finish IOBC you will be sent to ranger school. After that a brief stint in another unit and then on to the 75th (they don't take straight out of OBC butter bars). Certainly it's not guaranteed but it's definitely possible. What some others seem to be missing is if you go in and announce to everyone "man I'm doing my 5 years then I'm outta here!" No, you will not go. But why would you do that? Even if it takes you 3 years to get there, then that's still 2 years left. If you're an infantry officer you WILL go to ranger school as soon as you finish your basic course. So you will already have all the training. Assuming you can hack it. I knew a guy at Benning who got airborne school towards the end of his enlistment and made E-5. Everyone assumed he would re-enlist since he'd just recently got back from airborne and had JUST made E-5. As soon as his ETS date came he was gone. He started his terminal leave about a month after he made E-5. He figured E-5 and airborne would look good on his resume, and he was right. Had he just come out and told everyone there was no way he was going to re-enlist there's absolutely no way the unit would have given him one of the airborne school slots and they probably wouldn't have even let him go to the E-5 board. He ticked some people off when he got out, but who cares?
Can you go to West Point for B.S., Harvard for JDA/MBA, and then join JAG (army)?
Yes, with a caveat. I graduated from West Point this year. No matter your major, you graduate with a BS from West Point (I studied Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy). After picking one of the Army’s 17 basic branches (Infantry, Armor, Military Intelligence, etc.), you can serve 2–4 (but up to 6) years in your branch and then apply for the Army’s Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP) to go to law school. You will acquire a 6 year Active Duty Service Obligation (ADSO) after graduating law school, Army Regulation 27–1 states that no obligation will run currently with the ADSO from law school, which means that you will serve however long you had left on your USMA ADSO after you serve six years on active duty after law school. For example, if you entered law school at 3 years of service, you would graduate at 6 years of service, serve the FLEP ADSO to 12 years of service, and then finish out the two years left on your USMA ADSO for a total of 14 years in the Army. Lastly, you would most likely only be able to have the JD paid for and not the JD/MBA. The JD takes three years whereas the the JD/MBA takes four and there is most likely not a compelling reason why you need both degrees to serve as a JAG. I hope that helps.