Not everyone is aware of the fact that Uncle Sam offers a limited number of applicants a four-year college education in its military academies at absolutely no cost to the student. A diploma from any one of these colleges is almost a lifetime guarantee to an excellent civilian career if the student elects to leave the military after fulfilling his or her service obligation.
How would you like to obtain a $100,000 plus education free? This is the approximate cost of educating each graduate of the four military service academies, which prepare officers for the armed services. There is a catch, of course, but it may not prevent you from winning appointment to one of these schools. You must have exceptionally good grades in school and be a well-rounded individual. Did you participate in extracurricular activities? Are you in excellent physical condition? Would you agree to remain with the service for at least five years after graduation from a military academy?
THE FOUR ACADEMIES
The air force, army, navy, and Coast Guard all operate academies. These are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado; West Point, New York; Annapolis, Maryland; and New London, Connecticut, respectively. Each college has a four-year program leading to a Bachelor of Science degree. Each is open to men and women. Student cadets and midshipmen receive tuition, room and board, medical care, and a monthly allowance for incidental expenses. Upon graduation, students are awarded commissions for active periods of at least five years. Air force graduates who take pilot training after graduation must serve eight years.
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The United States Military Academy, established in 1802, was originally a school for army engineers who were stationed at West Point. As it became evident that there would be war with England again, Congress expanded the academy and enlarged the corps of engineers. Subsequently, the academy became famous for the civil engineers it trained. After the Civil War, the school dissolved its tie with the corps of engineers. Today, by law the number of cadets is set at 4,417, about 10 percent of whom are women. It is considered one of the leading institutions of higher education in the nation.
The Naval Academy at Annapolis trains young men and women to be officers of the Marine Corps and the navy. Founded in 1845 by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, the campus has always been at Annapolis except during the Civil War, when it was moved to Newport, Rhode Island. The four-year course offers general studies as well as scientific and technical courses on naval subjects and practical experiences on seagoing cruises.
The next academy to be authorized was that of the United States Coast Guard in 1877. It gave cadets an academic and military education. It also offered practical training at sea prior to receiving an officer's commission. The academy is the only one for which admission is by nationwide competition based on how well you place on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Test (ACT), plus your class ranking and leadership qualities. Deadline for applications is December 15. SAT or ACT examinations must be taken prior to or during December. In this school a choice of nine majors which lead to a B.S. is offered in the fields of marine engineering, ocean engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, marine science, mathematical science, physical sciences, management, and government. Of the 3,000 applications received each year, 300 are accepted and half are thrown out because they are not filled out properly, even though most of them had a chance of meeting minimum standards.
The youngest of the service academies, the Air Force Academy, is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Congress authorized establishment of the Air Force Academy on April 1,1954, and the first officers were commissioned on June 3, 1959. Enrollment is limited to 4,546; 15 percent of the cadets are minority members and 12 percent are women. The academy is well known for its science and engineering programs, but majors are also offered in the humanities and social sciences that prepare cadets for air force career fields other than engineering.
Life at the Coast Guard Academy
Academy life is highly disciplined. All cadets are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Cadets live under an administrative disciplinary system that is prescribed in cadet regulations. New cadets come under the "Fourth Class System" for their training and indoctrinating. This means that they take orders from upperclassmen as well as commissioned officers. A number of rules are established for the behavior of fourth classmen, or "swabs," to help make the transition from civilian to military life. This system is designed to teach discipline, respect for authority, and self-control. Each class is given increased authority annually until one day a former member of the fourth class will be a regimental commander.
Have you wondered what a typical day might be in a military academy? Here is how the Coast Guard described its routine:
All cadets live on campus at the academy. Each cadet shares a room that is neatly furnished with everything required for comfortable living and studying.
There are daily inspections to make sure the rooms are clean and orderly. Cadets follow a carefully planned routine of activities.
A typical day begins at 6:10 A.M. when reveille is sounded. The cadet is awakened and begins preparation for the day. Morning classes start at 7:50 and go until 11:40. Personnel inspection is held before lunch on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Lunch is at noon. It is followed by afternoon classes from 12:45 until 3:35. The hours between 3:35 and 6:30 P.M. are devoted to intramural or varsity sports, extracurricular activities, or extra classes if cadets need individual help.
Dinner is at 6:30. From 7:00 to 8:00 cadets may work on extracurricular activities or begin their studies. Study time is from 7:00 to 10:00. Taps mark the end of the day at 10:15. Study is permitted until midnight.
It's a full life, as you can see. It's one reason why Coast Guard officers are tough, disciplined, exacting leaders.
On Friday afternoons in the fall and spring there are formal regimental parades. Saturday mornings are devoted to professional training. Liberty, which means permission to leave the Academy grounds, is granted on Saturday afternoons and evenings and again on Sundays. Senior upper-classmen are also given liberty on Wednesday and all upperclassman on Friday afternoons at 4:00 P.M.
Here is how you may spend your summers while at the Coast Guard Academy:
After a few weeks' leave, your summers will be mostly devoted to professional training. The first summer is mostly spent at the Academy, where the emphasis is on orientation, physical fitness, and competitive sports. The big highlight of the summer is a one-week cruise aboard the Eagle, the Coast Guard's three-masted bark.
A long cruise occupies most of the second summer aboard Coast Guard cutters or the Eagle. Your third summer is spent learning seamanship, navigation, and fire fighting. Then there are two weeks learning the theories and operation of aircraft.
The final summer is usually spent on cruise to foreign ports with additional time spent in actual Coast Guard operations in special fields of interest.
Nominations
If you are interested in obtaining an education at one of the academies, the first step is to apply for a nomination to the air force, army, or naval academies. (Should the Coast Guard be your goal, you need not seek nomination because appointments are made on the basis of nationwide competition, as already stated.) Write to your congressional representative in Washington, D.C., either your senator or representative. (Ask your school or the library reference librarian for the names and addresses.) State which academy or academies you are interested in attending and ask your representative to send you information about securing a nomination. At the same time, write to the academy and request a pre-candidate questionnaire.
Each member of Congress may have five of his or her constituents at each of the academies and nominate as many as ten applicants for each vacancy. You should apply for a congressional nomination during the spring of your junior year in high school. Some members of Congress will accept requests for nominations as late as November or early December of your senior year, but it is wiser to apply earlier.
Although the nomination process varies slightly in each service, nominations may be available if one of your parents is a career member of the military services, is on active duty and has served for at least eight years, is retired from active duty, or is a deceased retired veteran. If your parent was service connected, or your parent was a federally employed civilian who is in a missing or captured status, you may request a nomination under this category. Children of Medal of Honor recipients may seek separate appointments to the academy of their choice without regard to vacancies, provided they meet minimum qualifying standards.
Appointments may be made also for residents of American Samoa by the governor; for residents of the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the District of Columbia by their delegates to Congress; and for residents of Puerto Rico by the governor and resident commissioner.
Remember that if you obtain this free education, there is that five-year service obligation following graduation.
For further information write to the following: Director of Cadet Admissions, HQ USAFA/RRS, 2304 Cadet Drive, Suite 200, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80840-5025; Office of Admission, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY 10996; Director of Candidate Guidance, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 21402; Director of Admissions, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT 06320-4195.
Mention should also be made of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, which trains officers who operate the merchant marine ships of our country. Graduates of the school also serve in such other capacities as ship designers (naval architects), maritime lawyers, port engineers, shipping-company executives, naval officers, Coast Guard officers, and oceanographers.
The academy, located at Kings Point, New York 11024, was established in 1943 under the Maritime Administration, which is now under the Department of Transportation. The academy ranks as one of the foremost institutions in the field of maritime education. The government provides a four-year scholarship covering tuition, room, and board for all midshipmen. If interested, write for information.
MILITARY PREP SCHOOLS
Did you know that three of the services have operated preparatory schools to help young people meet the very high admission standards of the military academies? Essentially, the schools have strengthened students' backgrounds in English, mathematics, and science as a foundation for entrance into one of the service academies.
In the case of the army's Fort Monmouth school, the ten-month course starts in August of each year and ends on June 1 of the following year. Applicants must be at least seventeen and not more than twenty-one years of age on July 1 of the year of entrance; a United States citizen, unmarried, with no dependents; in good health; and a high school graduate or the equivalent.
In the army's school each weekday starts at 5:45 A.M. and ends at 11.00 P.M. Studies include two one-hour sessions in English and two in mathematics each day, as well as a study period from eight until eleven at night. There is time for sports and physical training too. While in school the students become members of the army's enlisted reserves and receive pay in accordance with their rank.
Students live in dormitory double-bunk rooms and find that the discipline is strict. There are a library, video games, television, pinball machines, and a gym with exercise machines and weight-lifting equipment for recreation. Permission is granted for weekends off the post if a student is in good academic standing.
The air force starts its ten-month course in July and ends classes in May. The Naval Academy Preparatory School provides a nine-month course that runs from mid-August to late May.
In the case of the navy's school, every application for appointment to the Naval Academy is also considered an application for the Preparatory School; no separate application is possible. If you are not accepted for the Naval Academy, it is possible you may be offered an appointment to the Preparatory School. The Coast Guard Academy also selects its students for assignment to the Naval Academy Preparatory School in a similar way. If you are accepted for the Preparatory School, you will be enlisted in the armed forces and be paid according to the pay grade for that position. You only need pay for your personal expenses.
For further information write the following: Director of Cadet Admissions, USAF Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80840; Commandant, U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School, Attention MAPS-AD-A, Ft. Monmouth, NJ 07703; Director of Candidate Guidance, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 21401.
RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS
Should you not be interested in trying for one of the military academies, it is possible you might qualify for financial assistance to pay most or part of your college education. You may be able to achieve this goal through the ROTC scholarship program (the best-known financial aid program) or one of the other plans designed to help young men and women obtain a college or university education while preparing for military service. The provisions of these aid plans vary somewhat from service to service and also are subject to change without notice. Therefore, to avoid giving misleading information, we suggest that if you are seeking help in order to go to college and are ready to agree to a service commitment of several years after you complete your education, take the following steps:
- Select the service or services which interest you.
- Think carefully about your career goals, bearing in mind what each service does and that if accepted, you will have a job which could become your lifetime career.
- Prepare to explain and discuss your educational and vocational plans and expectations.
- Contact the local recruiting office listed in your telephone book under U.S. Government, or write to the office listed on the next page.
- After talking with the recruiter and learning more about the opportunities available to you, be ready to modify your plans, if necessary, in order to fit your educational goal and preference into the appropriate ROTC or other government program.
ROTC programs are not available at all colleges, and some have only a two-year program while others offer both two and four-year programs. Each of the services will send you a list of colleges which offer their ROTC programs and information about its admissions standards. Standards usually include passing the service physical examination and achieving a minimum grade on the SAT or ACT examinations as well as the officers' qualification tests. Obviously you must maintain certain grade averages while in college.
For the latest information about ROTC and how you might best fit into the program, contact the nearest recruiting officer of the air force, army, navy, or marines, or write or call the following:
- Air Force: USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4527
- Army: U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Ft. Knox, KY 40121-2726
- Navy and Marines: Call the navy's toll-free information number, (800) 424-8883, and ask for a referral to the nearest officer programs officer.
OFFICER CANDIDATE TRAINING SCHOOLS
If you are in college and not interested in taking ROTC or it is too late for you to enroll, but you want to enter one of the services as an officer, it is still possible. After graduation from college you can apply for officer candidate training. The general requirements are a degree from an accredited institution, United States citizenship, and ability to pass the service physical examination. Age limits are generally from eighteen to twenty-nine, and waivers may be granted for those who are older. Applicants for flight training may find a slightly lower age limit.
As mentioned elsewhere, direct appointments are available to professionals in the medical and allied health science fields, attorneys, chaplains, and engineers, as well as certain other scientifically or professionally trained personnel.
Again, for further information, contact the local recruiting officer of the service that interests you.
