I have recently gained interest in attending a US service academy and being stuck between USNA and USMA, I believe USMA would be a better fit because it has a major I am interested in, Kinesiology, unlike the USNA. Just for some extra input, I am a female and a current junior.
I did have a few questions, and I apologize in advance if they seem idiotic in any way because again, I have only done about a day of research thus far.
First of all, how would a kinesiology major serve in the army after achieving a bachelors degree? The reason I am choosing kinesiology is because I have always wanted to be a physical therapist and this dream still lies with me today. If not physical therapy, sports medicine and exercise psychology also interest me. My question is though, with this career path, how would I serve in the army as an officer?
My second question is that I do have a greater longing towards the USNA in terms of location and other aspects as well. I know there is not Kinesiology major offered there but are there any somewhat related majors?
I would really appreciate all input as I do feel very lost as of now and research has been coming to a bit of a halt. Thank you very much
when you attend a military academy your class rank senior year dictates what “branch” you enter. For West Point that might be transportation, quartermaster, field artillery, I think medical services corp and so forth. The higher your class rank, the greater your options. Females today have very few branches they can’t serve in, perhaps no limits by the time you would graduate. Then after you have picked your branch where you spend your first three years will again be dictated by your class rank but this time within the subset of cadets who have chosen your branch. I went to West Point and one of my colleagues at work went to Annapolis. The town/area of Annapolis is definitely “nicer” than Highland Falls but to be honest neither cadets or midshipman have a lot of free time to spend off base and when they do they go to NYC. There are opportunities mid-career to change branches or career fields in the Army. I strongly suggest you apply to both the USNA and USMA summer leadership programs now. These are competitive one week programs, you could go to both academies in early June this summer and figure out which academy is the best fit. I help West Poin’s field force and have sat on two congressional selection boards. My advice is to apply to both academies in case your congressman has spots at one but not the other