<p>Hello. My son has his heart set on attending the US Naval Academy, but since he has Crohn's disease, he doesn't have much (or any, really) chance of acceptance. What are other universities or colleges that have a similar type of environment but that would not require medical clearance? (As far as I've been able to determine, VMI and The Citadel are also out.) Thank you!</p>
<p>Would he have similar issues with ROTC programs? What does he want to study/do? What about service academies appeals to him since I’m assuming he won’t be able to serve in military for same health reasons?</p>
<p>Could he try one of the universities that have a Corps of Cadets? Virginia Tech and Texas A & M come to mind. I know at VT one doesn’t have to be joining the military to be in the Corps.</p>
<p>Possibly Norwich U in VT.</p>
<p>North Georgia also has a corps. You could look into their physical requirements.</p>
<p>So, I had a chance to ask my son more about what appeals to him about the Naval Academy over lunch today (an early release day at his high school). It turns out that he just really wants a career in the military (he’s always been interested in military strategy and history but this was the first I heard about him making it a career) and he saw the Naval Academy as a means to that end. When I pointed out that his health issues would likely preclude a military career, he was finished with the conversation.</p>
<p>Obviously I should have clarified things with him first – I assumed he was drawn to the rigor and structure of academy life, and I was looking to see if he could find that elsewhere when that wasn’t his real interest after all.</p>
<p>Thanks anyway for all of your suggestions. He’s only 14 and a freshman, so I’m sure we’ll be back with more questions as time goes on.</p>
<p>KimGoBlue -</p>
<p>Even if his health precludes a military career, there are certain career paths that can lead to a civilian job working with the military. Encourage him to think about that option.</p>
<p>There are schools with where he could take classes in military history if that is an interest. Or research schools that are good at providing interns to programs that would be useful to government/military - math, stats, language.</p>
<p>Of course, it is very early to think about this. But various branches may be a lot more flexible about physical standards if you acquire some critical skill they need. For example, members of some medical specialties are precious recruits, and all kinds of exceptions may be available to bring someone in. So I wouldn’t assume that there is no hope if he continues to view military life as his ideal career.</p>
<p>In addition to the good suggestions above about learning stats and languages as a path to a civilian job in the military, certain engineering degrees can lead to jobs with defense contractors. This kind of career could mean working closely with the Department of Defense at home or abroad and sharing a workplace with military decision-makers.</p>
<p>This place isn’t a military school, but it seems to offer a unique outdoorsy/team-oriented/close-knit experience that reminds me of some aspects of military life:
[Paul</a> Smith’s College - The College of the Adirondacks](<a href=“http://www.paulsmiths.edu/]Paul”>http://www.paulsmiths.edu/)</p>
<p>Hanna, I believe virtually all skill codes in all services are now considered deployable, including medical personnel. And all recruits have to go through some sort of basic training.</p>
<p>Kim–With that diagnosis I really doubt your DS would be able to go into the military, sorry. But as others have said there are ways to work around it. He might have better luck with some National Guard positions–not sure how they look at deployability these days, but my brother was able to join the Texas NG when no regular service branch would touch him.</p>
<p>VT and Texas A&M would allow him the military experience during college through their Corps of Cadets programs. You can do CoC without going into the military. If you DS is a Boy Scout, earning Eagle Scout will provide him the ability to qualify for an in-state tuition scholarship from Texas A&M.</p>
<p>Hope he finds his passion. He has plenty of time!</p>
<p>You might want to look into the state run maritime academies. I believe they have laxer medical requirements (assuming he’s not seeking commission as an officer into the Navy or Coast Guard), but I’m not positive. Here’s the list of state maritime academies <a href=“http://www.marad.dot.gov/education_landing_page/state_maritime_acadamies/state_maritime_academies.htm[/url]”>http://www.marad.dot.gov/education_landing_page/state_maritime_acadamies/state_maritime_academies.htm</a> I believe that Cal Maritime has the best reputation of any state maritime schools, and if you’re a resident of a WUE state, you’d get 150% tuition.</p>
<p>But again, I’m not sure if Crohns is a disqualifying condition.</p>
<p>“Hanna, I believe virtually all skill codes in all services are now considered deployable, including medical personnel. And all recruits have to go through some sort of basic training.”</p>
<p>Some sort of basic, sure, and deployable, sure. That doesn’t mean that a condition that bars a high school graduate from joining the Marines will necessarily bar a board-certified psychiatrist from entering the Navy. They’re never going to take a blind person or paraplegic, but someone with well-controlled Crohn’s? Unless a recruiter says otherwise, I don’t think we know that this person will never be welcome in any branch regardless of their in-demand skill set.</p>
<p>Hanna, all branches of the military have the same medical standards, but you can obtaina waiver for certain conditions, and some branches make it easier to obtain a waiver than others, but for something like the OP’s son has, most likely not. Common waivers are granted for issues that recruits have a history of, but no longer have, or something that would not effect military service at all. All branches could potentially see danger, as Erin’s Dad pointed out. Of course, we cannot say for certain, no one ever knows if a waiver will be granted, but it’s fairly unlikely. The way the medical board that makes the waiver decisions thinks is, “Will the issue this person has/had ever affect them at all in the military?” If the answer is yes, a waiver will not be granted.</p>
<p>Also, these days, it’s a peace time military, so they have stricter standards than back in '03, when we were in the midst of a war. They have people lining up to join with no issues at all, so it makes it even more unlikely.</p>
<p>
Actually the DoD employs many civilian engineers directly. In addition to military, they employ 718,000 civilians overall. <a href=“https://dod.usajobs.gov/[/url]”>https://dod.usajobs.gov/</a></p>
<p>The pentagon is filled with civilians. He can still work with the military and have a direct impact.</p>
<p>As far as the schools listed above with cadets, they are all classified by Congress as Senior Military Colleges and they require the physical requirements. In addition, ROTC would be out of the question. [Military</a> Colleges | GoArmy.com](<a href=“http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/courses-and-colleges/military-colleges.html]Military”>Army ROTC | goarmy.com)</p>
<p>Want to have the largest impact in the military? Become a politician (or work for one). His dream is far from lost; though he won’t be raiding any compounds to free prisoners of war.</p>