<p>I have just received confirmation on the AOG Civil Prep and have until late March to accept/decline. I heartily plan on accepting this wonderful opportunity, but am divided on which institution to attend. Living in Southern California, I have no real ties to any of them and as such will be blind in my ultimate decision. Please advise on pros and cons of the various institutions mentioned by the AOG. As well, what will come about with the academic portion. I most definitely haven't any deficiency academically (not to be a prude), as I have been extremely strong in mathematics, chemistry and history courses (IB and AP scores well above 4/3 resp.). Will I be forced into these classes all over again, or will I be permitted into classes above my HS level (ie Calc. III). The only qualm I could perceive was slight physical deficiency (CFA scores passing, but not exemplary) and a lack of Varsity Sports (dedicated to other physical programs). Please advise on my soliloquy of WP woes.</p>
<p>I am currently a prep at NMMI. To answer your first question I too am not deficient at academics; however I was still required to retake Chemistry, US History and Pre-cal. The academy likes to confirm academic excellence in those areas, on the bright side this will but me in good shape to validate courses at the academy. NMMI has corps PT three days a week Monday, Wednesday and Friday for an hour to an hour and a half. Preps have additional PT on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Be advised NMMI is no were near the academy, we have three formations a day and the corps side of things are in disarray right now. The commandant and Sup. are under scrutiny from alumni association. Academics are quite good here. NMMI is what you make. If you can deal with all the stupid crap here ie. taking orders from young kids and having much of your time micro managed than you will be well prepared for the academy. Additionally all the basics of cadetship will be mastered as long as you stay high speed:) as well as lessons in how not to lead. Anyway I can't tell you if it's better than Marion because I've never been there. Feel free to ask more questions or PM me.</p>
<p>there are three or four cadets here at marion on AOG scholarships that use this board, pm me if you want to know anything specific...other than that nost of the people here are great, the academics will allow you to validate chem, us history, calc or pre calc, and english lit and composition if you do well enough</p>
<p>the facilities here are not much to speak of but we just became a state school and they are throwing money at us as I understand it so things will be getting much better...again great people, you will know alot of little skills like at nmmi that will help at wp, etc, plus we are pretty close to Tuscaloosa (45 minutes) birmingham (hour-ish) montgomery (hour-ish) and the beaches at places like mobile (two hours maybe)</p>
<p>sorry that was kinda rambling but there ya go</p>
<p>The most important thing to remember is that Marion and NMMI are not West Point. They are only a means to getting to West Point. Both schools are older military schools in somewhat rural areas of the country that train cadets to become military leaders. If you visit either campus you will come away with the belief that the two schools have little relationship to a civilian college, much less a major university.</p>
<p>My son is at Marion this year as an AOG sponsored cadet and he has received his nomination to West Point for the Class of 2011. My take is that he genuinely likes the faculty and the other students. I think that the SAP cadets (Service Academy Program cadets: sponsored cadets by West Point, USAFA, USNA and Coast Gaurd) at Marion stick together. All AOG sponsored cadets take the same basic classes as a group. The rationale behind everyone taking the same, somewhat basic classes, together is to help increse your academic foundation and to improve your chances of validating classes at West Point. Marion has physical training three mornings a week and generally all the AOG cadets improve their scores on the CFA. Most of the SAP cadets that I met at a welcoming reception and over parents weekend were not in any way academically deficient. Some came from overly competitive congressional districts, some had DoDMERB issues that were not resolved until late and some needed to improve their CFA scores. My son was a National Merit Finalist. I can honestly say that I did not meet any SAP cadets that were not impressive.</p>
<p>I think the biggest difference between Marion and NMMI is that Marion is phasing out its high school program to concentrate on its college program. The upside to you of that decision is that there are fewer high schoolers to give you orders and the overall programs are more geared to someone in college. In my opinion, Marion is the better choice, but in the end you won't go wrong with either school. Just remember to keep your eye on the prize...West Point!</p>
<p>MY son was a nmmi prep last year. I have become a strong advocate of NMMI and the prep program. As noted academics were very strong, S validated out of History and Chemistry in large part due to NMMI grades, thus becoming eligible to take other classes instead. The comment from his WP advisor was along the lines of " oh you made an A at NMMI, thats all I need to validate you out of History/Chemistry" be advised there were other things like HS background and test scores... but still good background</p>
<p>In addition it was very helpful for Military feel and Physical Training. MY S was good with his NMMI experience, I still try and understand what the Supe/Commandant and alumni issues are as well as the internal corps dealings, hopefully that will straighten out, if it needs to.... </p>
<p>Dont know MArion, it was also recommended by AOG/WP. Probably the determinign factor for most is geography. In the West / midwest and most of Texas -NMMI... South , probably East MArion</p>
<p>Like airborne101, I too am a prep at NMMI. To emphasize what he said earlier, the academics here are top notch. All the teachers here care about their students and the courses here are challenging, but manageable. You will have to take the same basic core classes over again, but ultimately, they will help you out if you plan on validating.</p>
<p>My biggest gripe with NMMI is the Corps. leadership and the current administration. The cadet cadre here is a joke and they seem to adhere to the complete OPPOSITE of NMMI's motto: "One Corps, one standard." Additionally, several faculty members who I have come to respect seem to have nothing good to say about the current administration. I don't know too much about the conflict between the administration and the Alumni Association, but I personally have lost a great deal of respect for people who arbitrarily change/make rules on a regular basis. Additionally, pomp and ceremony seem to be a big deal to the current administration, so don't be too surprised if you are standing at attention at some inane ceremony wondering: "Why the heck am I wasting my time standing here?"</p>
<p>Before you get completely turned off to NMMI due to my somewhat inflammatory remarks, just remember that none of your AOG options will ever come close to West Point in terms of quality. I chose NMMI because it was the cheapest option and its academic program was very strong. Ultimately, the main focus of your prep year should be your academics (sure, you'll learn how to march and shine your shoes, but anyone can learn that in a matter of days). Moreover, you will probably have to retake your standardized tests. Study for them! I cannot emphasize this enough. I did well on my SAT's while I was here and I was one of the first ones to get an appointment.</p>
<p>If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>to add to what cesare wrote, definitely try your hardest to prepare for the SATs and ACTs. Doing well on them early in the school year will speed up the process of getting your appointment. As for the NMMI corps... well, I'm CONSTANTLY reminding myself that this place is a means to an end.</p>
<p>I know I always say this when NMMI gets brought up, but I'll throw it out there again. The year I spent in Roswell 01-02, was the worst year of my life. It was also the best decision I ever made. I have no doubt that I would have never made it at the academy had it not been for NMMI. I wasnt that strong academically, like 1050 SAT, yet I graduated as a "star man" in May from West Point. It will get you ready academically.
Like everyone else has said, NMMI is what you make of it. Coming from Massachussetts, I hated NM and still abhor it to this day, mainly because of NMMI, but it will do the job to get you ready for the academy. Some of my best friends in the Army and at the Academy were guys and girls from NMMI. I saw my West Point advisor from NMMI just before graduation (he came to the academy for it), and I was brought to tears when I thanked him for all he and NMMI did for me to get ready for West Point.
One huge advantage NMMI gives you is that you wont be homesick as a plebe at WP. Being out in the desert makes you homesick, so when you get to West Point, it seems realy easy. The biggest thing I thought NMMI gave to me, however, was that whenever things were sucking at West Point, and not just plebe year, the entire time, I sat back for a second and said to myself 'well, at least it's not NMMI,' and everything seemed ok. If you can get into NMMI and are serious about West Point, I think it's the best thing you could do.</p>
<p>And for those of you still at NMMI, keep grinding away, plebe year is much better than Roswell, believe it or not.</p>
<p>Yup, this all sounds familiar for NMMI, where my son Spider currently resides (Naval Academy Prep). He just rolls with the disfunctional situation with the leadership. It doesn't seem like if has much to do with his daily life as a cadet. The academics, on the other hand, have been amazing for him. He was one who cruised through HS and didn't have really wonderful study habits. He had never been pushed and stretched and challenged despite taking AP everything. The professors there have definately engaged his mind. Parents weekend, I sat in on some of his classes (and met Cesare, Astrodude11 and WAMom's son!). The high level of expectations and the class discussions blew me away. Spider's working very hard (he tells me) but enjoying it. Also, he has made some really amazing friendships there and has grown so much as a young man....I can't say enough good about the place although I'm sure he's sick of it by now.</p>
<p>Ahh yes, that is the way of the civil prep. Every once in a while I start to think about how much I miss NMMI, then I stop, and realize I graduated the academy, and that I would rather go through SFAS about 9,000 times than do another year in Roswell, and then, all is well...</p>
<p>Come on, Roswell's got a Super Walmart now! Such a cool hang out. And the mall there just can't be described, hehehehe.</p>
<p>Ah, Spidermom, you must be taking about our lovely mall with its three stores and its very own hot dog stand! :)</p>
<p>Yes, the thrill-a-minute, 3 stores open 17 stores boarded-up, masive Roswell mall. At least there's still a movie theater and you can always entertain yourself by looking at the cool posters in the recruiting office there.</p>
<p>Hey...I just got academically DQed from USMA 2011...so it looks like I'm going to have to go to prep school. </p>
<p>How does prep school work?</p>
<p>Mulan - are you thinking you'll do a year of prep on your own and reapply or did admissions offer you USMAPS? </p>
<p>I don't know if they will offer the civil prep option if you are academically DQed. I believe they use civil prep for candidates that are academically qualified but don't make it in due to other reasons.</p>
<p>I'm going on my own, my file will be rolled over. I do not have a civil prep option, I don't know what that is. I would have been offered the prep school offer by USMA had I not been principle nominee, but they thought I had a shot. I was given conditional admission last year- missing the medical qualification (which arrived 5 months too late)</p>
<p>Hang in there Mulan. I'm pulling for you. You can self-prep at several places. I've heard it said that prepping at a place where you can earn college credits is a good idea. Makes sense to me. On the other hand, I've heard nice things about Northwestern Prep as well:
<a href="http://www.northwesternprep.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.northwesternprep.com/</a></p>
<p>I'm really hoping they'll take my AP credits...I had 5 4s...and a 2 on Physics C, which I know they're not gonna take, lol...</p>
<p>Thanks Spidermom for showing me northwesternprep... In terms of academics right now I'm leaning toward NMMI as opposed to attending say Norwich or the Citadel for a year. I'm just exploring options for now.</p>
<p>WP will want you take the course they make all the preps take I tryed to get some of my classes validated but no dice.</p>
<p>...well, at least you said the chem department is good...I'm a chem and polysci double major. I'm not being sponsored by USMA but I am going to talk to COL Shiel today.</p>