<p>The Citadel is a great school, but I promise you'll hate it more than you've ever hated anything right up to the second you graduate. As much as knob year sucks it's a walk in the park compared to the following three years. As far as using it as a stepping stone to an academy, I would think twice about that decision.</p>
<p>that's what life is all about buddy</p>
<p>is citadel the place where the rapes of female cadets happened a few years ago? hows the climate there?</p>
<p>i realize i could be completely deluded, so feel free to correct me. i mean no harm :)</p>
<p>jimbob,</p>
<p>Each of the service academies have had their honors challenges. The interesting thing about the academies is that they seem to aggressively try to resolve their problems and that nothing is hidden from the public. I'm convinced that problems of this type occur at a much smaller rate than they do at a civilian college. With 2 daughters in college, the one I don't worry about (too much) is the one at West Point.</p>
<p>Some of the safest institutions are our service academies. As to The Citadel, public record shows they're safe as well. I don't recall anything about rape at the Citadel a few years ago. Perhaps someone else could chime in here if they have knowledge of it.</p>
<p>The climate is hot & sticky at the moment. No worse than NYC in the summer actually. BUT on Christmas day, you can count on it being 40 to 50 degrees sometimes warmer. :)</p>
<p>true, you cant beat the academies for honor :) and you tend to hear about these things in the media because it loves to bash the military...as if such things don't happen all the time in civilian schools</p>
<p>The only thing I vaguely remember is that a few years ago with one of the first females at the Citadel there were some accusations of making too difficult for her ---supposedly so that she would drop out. Can't even remember if she stayed or not.</p>
<p>She left. If I recall, she worked through the courts to gain admission to the Citadel. So when she left it made big news. There was quite a backlash against her. Believe it or not, some people thought she was taking the place of a male candidate who would have been more deserving. :rolleyes: There was also some controversy about cutting hair.</p>
<p>My son is considering The Citadel. He wants to be an Officer in the Army. He is applying for an Army ROTC scholarship. His concern is: Is The Citadel as good as West Point. Is it as tough physically, academically and militarily? He wants to be pushed and stretched beyond his limts. Also, is it as respected as West Point? Will he have the same opportunities at The Citadel as West Point? We see that they do not require as much time in the summers as West Point. This concerned us. I appreciate your thoughts to these questions. Thank you! Calder</p>
<p>Calder,</p>
<p>Welcome aboard! The Citadel is highly regarded. So are a number of ROTC programs. West Point is a total immersion experience (like Citadel's) in what many consider to be the #1 Leadership school in the world. That being said, an applicant's decision should be based on what they want to do. There are many threads on these boards that compare ROTC programs to service academies. They always go back to the same question. What does the student want? Total immersion? Normal college life? An opportunity to major in a subject not offered at the academies? </p>
<p>The best bet is to visit both WP and the Citadel. At the same time, your son should do some research on civilian colleges with strong ROTC programs. (We really liked the U of I program in Champaign.) If he is a rising senior, then he should also begin the process of applying for nominations is he is considering WP. </p>
<p>Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.</p>
<p>Guess I should change my name since I am no longer "anxious".
My son received a LOA from USNA, but the appointment never came through. He was accepted to VMI, George Washington Univ. and Univ. of WA.
He was also accepted at The Citadel where he was accepted and offered a full 4 year academic scholarship. He was disappointed that he would not be going to to USNA, but sees The Citadel as a way to accomplish his goal of being an officer of Marines.<br>
He laughs at me, when he sees me still reading posts on CC. It's hard to break away! I'll have to check out the new link.
Thanks for all the help and support that all of you CC folks gave during our "anxious" period. We are making plans for our trip from Seattle to Charleston in August.</p>
<p>Dear momoftwins,</p>
<p>Thank you. Did you mean that The Citadel or West Point was considered the #1 Leadership school in the world? </p>
<p>Is The Citadel as hard physically, academically and militarily as West Point? My son is very interested in going there. Will it push him? He wants a military experience to prepare him for a military career.</p>
<p>Thank you and would love to hear anything about The Citadel from you and others in the know!! Calder</p>
<p>Anxious mom, congrats to your son! Why would you not want to contribute here! You have to stay! You're gonna be a Citadel mom! Much of what you learn this year can surely help out others looking into the process like Calder. This board doesn't have enough military college folks here to answer questions.</p>
<p>Welcome Calder. Yep, West Point is considered the #1 place for leadership. That said, the kids at The Citadel lead a very similar life. It is tough & its challenging to the extreme. They will graduate with dual majors. One will be in Leadership. He would live a tough regimental style life at The Citadel & have many many opportunities. He'll train in many of the same ways that WP does. The Knob year is just that. It lasts the entire year. They have an awesome web site to do some research. I'd suggest him applying to several places so there will be choices down the road. WP or The Citadel would be a perfect fit if his goal is to be an Army officer. The Citadel has a strong Army ROTC program. Follow Momoftwin's advice & hop on getting info on the application process to WP. Especially the nomination process. At both places, they have to have medical issues done. </p>
<p>Safe travels anxious mom! Good luck to your Knob! Keep in touch.</p>
<p>Jamzmom,</p>
<p>Thank you! This is really helping. My son scored very well on the Reading part of the SAT but it is the math part that is the struggle. He is only at 520 on the math. He scored 670 on the reading. Army ROTC is showing interest as well as The Citadel. We are afraid if we applied at West Point he wouldn't get past the first gate because of his low math scores.</p>
<p>Right now we are putting all of our energy into Army ROTC and The Citadel. Do you think this is a good idea? </p>
<p>Is The Citadel as respected as West Point in your opinion? Do you have a son/daughter there? What is your experience? </p>
<p>Also, another concern is that my son doesn't want to go into engineering. He wants to be a linguistics and English major. Is The Citadel a better fit for this than West Point? </p>
<p>Sorry for all of the questions? And I do really appreciate all of your help! The bottom line is that my son wants the hardest and best military school he can get and wants to be sure The Citadel will provide this, if he is accedpted.</p>
<p>Also, I will take any advice on getting accepted into The Citadel and Army ROTC. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Anxious mom: I'm curious, and if it's not too personal, having gotten an LOA, did the USNA give a valid reason for not offering an appointment? I was under the impression that if you got an LOA you were nearly in the door and that much of the remaining application process was just that; a process to be completed.</p>
<p>If the USNA didn't have a good reaon, that largely negates the value of LOAs.</p>
<p>Calder, since you asked I will attempt to tackle your question regarding Citadel vs. West Point. In the grand scheme of things West Point is "more prestigious" than the Citadel. This is due to the fact that it is a national service academy, more competitive to get into, and better known. That is not to say that The Citadel is not a great place. It is a widely respected school especially as far as Army ROTC is concerned. It is very "hard core"...have you seen the movie "Lords of Discipline" which is based on Pat Conroy's experiences there? It is a very tough and demanding place, particularly in the first, or knob, year.
Low math scores will definitely hurt your son's chances of getting into West Point. All the service academies have required courses in Calculus I and II, which have proved to be the downfall of many kids. Many end up in summer school or being dismissed due to problems with math.
The Citadel may be a better choice for your son. Especially if he seeks to challenge himself physically and mentally. I wish him well and keep coming back here for more assistance and support.</p>
<p>This message is a reply to WPSON2010.
We were given no reason for not receiving an appointment.
The LOA came as late as March so we had felt encouraged that he received it that late, as if it was their way of saying, "hang in there, we still want you". But, it was not meant to be. He received the dreaded small envelope the first week of April.
He moved ahead with plan B. He will be a part of the Honor's Program at
The Citadel. We can't dwell on what might have been, but moving ahead on another path to the same goal. </p>
<p>We had been told on this forum that a LOA was NOT a guarantee of an appointment. We can now attest to the truth of that statement!</p>
<p>Not that I'm selling the place :) but the Citadel leadership is excellent. The new President Rosa came from USAFA. You don't know how many times I've heard my son say, "I wish I could pick up my academy & move it to Charleston". Southern boy misses the mild winters..... </p>
<p><a href="http://inauguration.citadel.edu/node/2%5B/url%5D">http://inauguration.citadel.edu/node/2</a></p>
<p>Thank you Bossf51, </p>
<p>That was most helpful. I take it that The Citadel is as physically challenging as West Point then? </p>
<p>How would you compare The Citadel and West Point when it comes to toughness physically?</p>
<p>Also, does The Citadel do as much military training as West Point?</p>
<p>As for being a better fit, I had wondered about that in the realm of academics. Am I correct in my thinking, that if you are not a math wiz and do not want to go into engineering or a related field that perhaps The Citadel might be a better fit? It had understood that at West Point even if you are an English major you will still come out an engineer. I understand this is not the case with The Citadel. Am I correct? </p>
<p>The only other concern we have is: will he have as much military opportunity coming from The Citadel as he would from West Point? </p>
<p>Thank you again and especially for everyone's patience. I have a lot of questions as you see. Sorry if I am redundant.</p>
<p>They are both very tough physically. I can't say which is tougher.</p>
<p>I think WP probably has more military training but not by much. Remember training for the military is WP's number one mission.</p>
<p>An English major at WP doesn't come out an engineer. He/she takes engineering courses but all WPers as engineers was the old model. A non-engineering major can thrive at either school I believe.</p>
<p>As far as military opportunity, I think it is again very close between the schools. Many Citadel grads are generals in the regular Army. This is also the case of ROTC grads from many other colleges.</p>
<p>Bottom line:visit both schools, apply to both, and if admitted work as hard as possible and one will succeed. Best of luck</p>