Military academies may be option for higher education

With the cost of higher education skyrocketing, it's no surprise that resourceful college-bound students and their parents are looking for ways to finance college, and in some cases, will look no further than Uncle Sam. For the best and the brightest, the federal government will pay for a four-year education, including a salary, at one of its highly selective military academies.

However, it won't be completely free; men and women who agree to accept a free education are obligated to serve in the branch of the military that educated them for a minimum of five years after graduation.

There are three service academies affiliated with the armed services: The U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy. All academies encourage potential applicants to begin the admissions process early in their high school careers.

The academies are choosy. At the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., prospective young women and men, or "cadets," typically have minimum verbal and math SAT scores of more than 600 and GPAs averaging 3.8. If that part seems easy, consider that a member of Congress, the president or vice president, or a member of the Department of the Army must nominate applicants. Applicants must be personally unencumbered — that is, they can't have legal dependents and must be in good health. At present, women make up fewer than 20 percent of the cadets.

Cadets can major in a variety of areas, ranging from sciences and engineering to languages or humanities. The U.S. Military Academy emphasizes "intellectual, physical, military and moral-ethical development" for all its cadets. It believes that those traits and skills make the best officers and will benefit graduates who later enter the business world.

However, it's not all academics at the academy. Summers are spent in military training, and as upperclassmen, cadets go all over the world serving in active units. Graduates must serve in the Army for at least five years.

The U.S. Air Force Academy, located near Colorado Springs, Colo., is also highly selective; the average GPA and test scores of applicants are very similar to the U.S. Military Academy, and applicants must be nominated. Summers are spent in military training; during the academic year, cadets take courses in areas such as engineering, science, social science and humanities. Later, they choose from 32 majors, including aeronautical engineering, foreign area studies, military strategic studies or meteorology.