I am not exactly looking for a solution to my problem but more looking to see if anyone has been in the same situation as me or can offer some advice. Plus, mostly venting out stress from trying to decide.
My name is Rhett. I am a student in high school who since about 7th grade has wanted to go to West Point or the Air Force Academy. At first, it was more of a thing of seeing Officers in the military as amazing people (Which they are!) but, as I got into high school I started to learn more about how much of a commitment it actually was. This caused me to lose a bit of interest in going to the Academies and my grades drop lower than they ever have before. I also started to believe that I couldn't make it because I was just a kid out of a little double A high school in West Virginia. This isn't true, my cousin T, and his friend J both went to my school and made it. So I once again decided to go to an Academy this time West Point but, my family seems less supportive this time around. My father supports me 100% but, my step-mother is questioning whether I am getting pushed into it and my Grandfather is begging me not to go to West Point but, go the Air Force Academy instead. This is making my decision to go to West Point even harder. I want to go but, I do not know if i can make it mentally. I have the brains (not to brag but I scored 2nd highest in my school on the P-SAT last year) and I have the physic ( I play baseball and have been active all my life.) I just do not know if I can mentally handle it. I try to not force decisions early but if I want to go to the academy, since I am in my junior year now, I kinda have to decide. Another thing that is bugging me is losing the friends. I don't have many friends being a huge nerd and fan of Japanese anime but, the ones I do have do not plan on doing anything other than going to a local college. This makes me want to go there and be with them but, I want to go to the Academy to be the best I can. I just do not know what I should do or if I can handle it.
TL;DR: I want to go to West Point but, I don't know if I can make the choice. I am just a big kid and need to mature but, the time is fast approaching. I just want to know if this decision is normally this hard to make. As I get closer to crunch time the choice is harder to make. Is this normal?
While you can still edit your post, take your name out, for Pete’s sake. People can find you EASILY with a full name and a school.
ETA: Good, always best to be “confidential” 
Good luck!
Okay Thanks!
This is old info, but used to be service academies gave you a regular commission on graduation and a 5 year commitment. You also got to bang your ring on a table to win any argument you were losing on logic.
The general expectation was that a service academy grad was going to be a career officer.
This meant different things in the three main branches, but in the Air Force at least you used to have to be pilot qualified, and candidly, the promotion prospects for non-pilots wasn’t all that great. Still worth doing, and very rewarding, just don’t expect a lot of love if you’re over 5’10’ or so.
Two other options to consider: Coast Guard Academy (or Merchant Marine Academy) or ROTC of some flavor.
Most ROTC grads got a reserve commission with a few top candidates getting a regular commission. You can do this at whatever school you like and have potential to get a scholarship to cover tuition for some part of it.
RIT or RPI, I believe, also has a room and board scholarship available if you enter as a freshman with a 3 or 4 year scholarship. The scholarships aren’t guaranteed, and the commitment is 4 years (?) instead of 5. Also, depending on the regs in place at the time, you may have options to go into the reserves or guard instead of extended active duty on graduation.
I graduated from West Point in the early 1980s. Your really asking two questions - can you handle West Point and the service commitment. I got out of the service after 6 years and landed a job as a plant manager in the chemical industry. It seems like a big commitment but the 5 year service commitment passes quickly and when you enter the civilian workforce you have years of leadership experience at a young age. I certainly don’t feel like I “wasted” 6 years. As to whether you can handle West Point l will say it took some adjustment in my case. Being a plebe is not easy