Last week, I reviewed what motivates some students to pursue service academy appointments and ROTC scholarships. 

For some, it was a call to serve, others wanted world-class leadership training, international travel, personal challenge, real-world experience, or the generous financial assistance. 

If these reasons weren’t so compelling, not many students (or parents) would be willing to endure what it takes to get to the finish line. 

Applying to one of these programs is...

Over the last few weeks, we’ve reviewed the basics of the service academies and ROTC programs.

This week, I’d like to do a side-by-side comparison of the two options so you can start to appreciate their similarities and differences.

Despite the differences, these programs can be so competitive that it’s often a good idea to pursue both options at the same time.

SIMILARITIES

The biggest similarity between service academies and ROTC programs is that once you graduate from...

Back in the summer, I encouraged you to start thinking about whether you have what it takes to be a recruited athlete at one of the service academies.  After all, this is one of the most direct and reliable ways to get an appointment to one of these schools. 

Remember, this spans Div I-level athletes looking at the Naval Academy and Div III-level athletes looking at the Coast Guard Academy, for instance.

At this point, midway through your sophomore year, if you think you have a shot...

In today’s post, we’re discussing a question that I hear often from the ServeWell community:

“Should I consider applying to multiple service academies and/or ROTC?”

The short answer is, yes.

The longer answer is, it depends.

Let’s start with the “yes” answer.

YES

You should absolutely at least consider applying to multiple service academies as well as ROTC programs. 

The selectivity of service academies is so high (and often unpredictable) that...