United States Military Academy—West Point

Inside the Classroom

The "West Point Experience"" lasts about ten years: one devoted to the application process, four in the academy, and five in military service. The top-notch education is free, but the military obligation, the strict admissions standards, and the rigorous academic, physical, and mental requirements can all make you forget you're going for free in a hurry. Most cadets at West Point didn't go there for the free education. As one cadet said, "I'm at West Point because I always wanted to go to West Point."

Because USMA is devoted to training cadets to serve as officers, it is highly selective in its admissions standards. An applicant must be nominated by a member of Congress or by the Department of the Army; children of a parent who has received the Congressional Medal of Honor are also eligible. There are rigorous academic requirements—SAT/ACT scores are quite high—and extensive physical testing.

Life as a cadet involves studying, exercising, and plenty of drilling, with little time for anything else. The academic workload is strenuous, and consists of a core of 31 courses in the arts and sciences, with a required sequence of engineering classes. About 75 percent of cadets select one of 22 majors, and follow a structured series of "electives" in their discipline ("you pick the major, the military will pick your electives"). West Point's engineering programs are "the best in the U.S.," according to an Alabama guidance counselor, and programs in natural sciences, political science, history, and government are quite strong.

Classes at West Point are small, usually less than 18, and the faculty/student ratio is 1:8. Cadets rave about the attentiveness of the faculty, which include both senior commissioned officers with Ph.D.'s and civilian professors. Cadets receive a bachelor of science degree, and earn a commission as a second lieutenant upon completion. West Point ranks in the top four in both Rhodes and Hertz Scholarships.

Cadets learn basic military skills, including leadership, through a demanding military program which begins on their first day. Most military training takes place during the summer, with new cadets undergoing Cadet Basic Training (fondly nicknamed "Beast Barracks"), the same basic training that soldiers get in boot camp. The grueling basic is followed the next summer by field training. Cadets spend their third and fourth summers serving in active Army units around the world; attending advanced training courses such as airborne, air assault, or northern warfare; or training the first- and second-year cadets. Military training is combined with military science instruction and a thorough grounding in the West Point ethical code, stated in the Academy's motto, "Duty, Honor, Country."

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