2004FIGHTINTXAG said:

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Results are the same. A commission and a degree. I prefer not to be in prison from 18-22 years old.

As far as schools while in school. Plenty of guys in the Corps go to Airborne and Air Assault School during the summer. If they don't then go after commissioning. Not a big deal. A monkey can graduate from Airborne.

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Hopefully potential summer training opportunities is pretty far down the decision tree, but I guess scare badges are sexy.

There are cool summer training opportunities at both. A&M gets ~25ish Airborne spots and a couple of Air Assault spots, plus a sprinkling of Mountain Warfare, Northern Warfare, etc. USMA gets 5-8 Sapper spots, 5-8 Special Operations Dive spots, and runs an Air Assault school on post that has an unlimited number of spots - so much so that even instructors can walk on. The only difference (besides the Sapper spots and the 1-2 kids that go to the 10th Mountain pre-Ranger and the 1-2 kids that go to the French Commando course and the 1-2 kids that go to the Chilean Mountain course) is the volume. Kids at West Point are required to go to at least 1 summer badge school and a lot do 2 or 3. There is no scare badge requirement to graduate from ROTC. Together, Airborne school and Air Assault school are 4 of the more useless weeks I spent in the Army.

Also hopefully irrelevant is the branch options. Each year the Army breaks down the ~6000 new lieutenant requirements by commissioning source. USMA gets the first ~1000 allocations, ROTC gets the next ~4500 allocations, and then OCS is used to fill whatever holes are remaining. USMA by law has to fill 75% of their spots in combat arms. So, 750 (or more, depending on the top 3 requests, needs of the Army, etc) combat arms spots are off the board before ROTC starts their OML. I don't know if it's fair or not, but it is what it is. At both USMA and ROTC, 75% of the rank ordering of cadets is by grades, so wherever you go getting good grades is the way to get what you want when you graduate.

I didn't read the whole thread so maybe it was covered but what area does your son want to major in? I'm an Army Warrant Officer that has mentored a lot of Lieutenants. I've had great and not so great officers from both A&M and West Point. I cant speak to the effect on career progression but I would focus on which school offers the best educational program that interests your son.

I second LewisChilds question there are some super important things to think about:

What do they want to study? - A previous poster pointed out the difference in faculty qualification of the faculty at USMA vs. A&M. That may be less of an issue in some fields but in STEM it can be a big issue. Also USMA has a limited number of majors compared to A&M so it's something to consider.

What kind of college experience do you want?: Having been a member of the Corps and with over a decade in the Army I think super high speed training in college makes little difference in what kind of officer you will be. I've known great officers from both schools who have done the minimum required military training while in school. I've also known terrible officers from both schools who did airborne, sapper, and all manner of special courses while in college. Focus on getting your degree while in school, the Army will teach you what you need to know to get started in BOLC/OBC. You'll only really start learning how you are supposed to do you job when you get to your first unit.

While you may have an idea about how long you want to stay in the military, you don't really know until you're their. I can't tell you how many people I knew in OBC who boasted about being in it for the long haul who have since gotten out. The point being is don't make a decision now based what decisions you think you will make in 8-10 years.

With that being said, make the decision that sets you up best for staying in or getting out. From where I am in life it would be in this order:

1. quality of education (in your major field, military stuff really doesn't count)
2. future career prospects in the field
3. future financial goals (is college debt something that you might have to deal with?)
4. quality of life for the next four years (what kind of freedoms and responsibilities do you think you want?)

Neither on is a bad choice however I will say this, when my best friend (who was a USMA cadet) came down to TAMU with his friends from USMA for a football game and I took them around the school, told them about the Corps, and explained how everything worked they wished they would have gone to A&M. They liked the "best of both worlds" opportunity that TAMU was and wished they had done that. Knowing what I know now, and having spent a significant amount of time at USMA, I would still choose A&M. Some of the advantages that you have at USMA just don't matter to me in the long run. I'm not sad that I didn't get to go to more cool guy schools while I was a cadet. I would have never had the opportunity to develop some of my life long friendships with people outside of the Corps had I gone to USMA.

AGhistorian said:

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I second LewisChilds question there are some super important things to think about:

What do they want to study? - A previous poster pointed out the difference in faculty qualification of the faculty at USMA vs. A&M. That may be less of an issue in some fields but in STEM it can be a big issue. Also USMA has a limited number of majors compared to A&M so it's something to consider.

What kind of college experience do you want?: Having been a member of the Corps and with over a decade in the Army I think super high speed training in college makes little difference in what kind of officer you will be. I've known great officers from both schools who have done the minimum required military training while in school. I've also known terrible officers from both schools who did airborne, sapper, and all manner of special courses while in college. Focus on getting your degree while in school, the Army will teach you what you need to know to get started in BOLC/OBC. You'll only really start learning how you are supposed to do you job when you get to your first unit.

While you may have an idea about how long you want to stay in the military, you don't really know until you're their. I can't tell you how many people I knew in OBC who boasted about being in it for the long haul who have since gotten out. The point being is don't make a decision now based what decisions you think you will make in 8-10 years.

With that being said, make the decision that sets you up best for staying in or getting out. From where I am in life it would be in this order:

1. quality of education (in your major field, military stuff really doesn't count)
2. future career prospects in the field
3. future financial goals (is college debt something that you might have to deal with?)
4. quality of life for the next four years (what kind of freedoms and responsibilities do you think you want?)

Neither on is a bad choice however I will say this, when my best friend (who was a USMA cadet) came down to TAMU with his friends from USMA for a football game and I took them around the school, told them about the Corps, and explained how everything worked they wished they would have gone to A&M. They liked the "best of both worlds" opportunity that TAMU was and wished they had done that. Knowing what I know now, and having spent a significant amount of time at USMA, I would still choose A&M. Some of the advantages that you have at USMA just don't matter to me in the long run. I'm not sad that I didn't get to go to more cool guy schools while I was a cadet. I would have never had the opportunity to develop some of my life long friendships with people outside of the Corps had I gone to USMA.

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Great perspective, here and all around.

Thank you all for your valuable feedback. I'll show this thread to my son if he ends up having to make this decision.

I lived in west point for 3 years- dad thought pre law there. I could have gone there.

I went to A&M. Best decision ever.

Just saw this post. I'll share two quick points.
1. I had an appointment to USMA but turned it down in favor of coming to A&M. Never regretted it one moment. The leadership training I got at A&M has served me very well all these years.
2. I served with many USMA grads. The biggest difference I saw was that USMA relies on an Order of Merit list relying soley on you beating out the next guy; sometimes with questionable activity. A&M was all for one mentality. At A&M, if your fish buddy fell back, you helped him, not enjoying the opportunity to push ahead of him/her.

My son has a chance (11.7%) at getting into West Point. Automatically qualifies (57.8%) for A&M admission.

That sentence should answer your question.

Well?

Social life over 4 years ? Better at A&M or WP?

AGhistorian said:

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I second LewisChilds question there are some super important things to think about:

What do they want to study? - A previous poster pointed out the difference in faculty qualification of the faculty at USMA vs. A&M. That may be less of an issue in some fields but in STEM it can be a big issue. Also USMA has a limited number of majors compared to A&M so it's something to consider.

What kind of college experience do you want?: Having been a member of the Corps and with over a decade in the Army I think super high speed training in college makes little difference in what kind of officer you will be. I've known great officers from both schools who have done the minimum required military training while in school. I've also known terrible officers from both schools who did airborne, sapper, and all manner of special courses while in college. Focus on getting your degree while in school, the Army will teach you what you need to know to get started in BOLC/OBC. You'll only really start learning how you are supposed to do you job when you get to your first unit.

While you may have an idea about how long you want to stay in the military, you don't really know until you're their. I can't tell you how many people I knew in OBC who boasted about being in it for the long haul who have since gotten out. The point being is don't make a decision now based what decisions you think you will make in 8-10 years.

With that being said, make the decision that sets you up best for staying in or getting out. From where I am in life it would be in this order:

1. quality of education (in your major field, military stuff really doesn't count)
2. future career prospects in the field
3. future financial goals (is college debt something that you might have to deal with?)
4. quality of life for the next four years (what kind of freedoms and responsibilities do you think you want?)

Neither on is a bad choice however I will say this, when my best friend (who was a USMA cadet) came down to TAMU with his friends from USMA for a football game and I took them around the school, told them about the Corps, and explained how everything worked they wished they would have gone to A&M. They liked the "best of both worlds" opportunity that TAMU was and wished they had done that. Knowing what I know now, and having spent a significant amount of time at USMA, I would still choose A&M. Some of the advantages that you have at USMA just don't matter to me in the long run. I'm not sad that I didn't get to go to more cool guy schools while I was a cadet. I would have never had the opportunity to develop some of my life long friendships with people outside of the Corps had I gone to USMA.

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I think this is a good well rounded view. I would only add one more thing. Does your kid want a college experience or an academy experience? Two family members that went to West Point and Annapolis. Both indicated in hindsight, knowing what they found out later, they would have chosen A&M. At the academy, they never felt like a college student and never got to be a college student. I think this will especially play in later on as well when thinking about the Aggie network and long run. My son had a WP appointment; but chose A&M...a big factor was listening to his cousins.

His experience vs Academy folks has served him well. Good grades, DMG, got Infantry, got a top 3 duty station selection.

As a guy who used to run a big business ($13B); I've seen bright folks with Academy degrees and Aggie degrees. These get you interviews....not jobs.

Your kid has two really good choices in front of him.

If you want a college social life with your summers to yourself, weekends off, extended time off between semesters, partying, chasing girls and getting a great education, don't go to WP!

I was born there, my Grandfather, Dad and 3 Uncles went there. I hold the Gray Line dear but turned down my appointment not only for the above reasons, but I did not want to be limited to the Army.

I graduated from A&M after enjoying the Corps and flew jets in the AF.

PS. Did I say I was born at West Point while my Dad flew fighters at Stewart Field? And my Grandfather is in the basketball Hall of Fame from West Point. I was actually recruited by Coach K to play hoops.

You can imagine the pressure I was under to go.

But, Texas A&M is one of the defining points of my life.

Gig em!