Tag Archives: coast guard academy

Military Chaplain Inspires Young Cadet to Teach the Faith

An article at CatholicPhilly has an interesting story about the small things that can have a big impact on a young military troop’s walk of faith.

Miguel Melendez was cadet at the US Coast Guard Academy when he saw the example of other Catholic cadets:

One of the Catholic cadets stood up at lunch and announced that a group of students would pray the rosary every Monday.

The announcement piqued Miguel Melendez’s interest.

“I was like, ‘I want to do that, I want to meet Read more

Military Academies Again Top Princeton Rankings

Much as they do every year, the US military academies ranked near the top of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review.

While some may consider the military academies somewhat interchangeable, its interesting to see the differences in “culture” at each institution.  For example, the “most popular major” at USAFA is said to be aero/astro engineering, at Annapolis its economics/history, and at West Point its business and economics.  And, as last year, it seems the Merchant Marine Academy has a reputation to overcome.

Interestingly, USAFA fell off the scale on “most religious students” — and West Point took its place.

Some notable rankings:  Read more

Forbes Ranks USAFA at #11

Forbes Magazine’s 2010 list of America’s Best Colleges, which assessed 600 undergraduate programs nationwide, ranked the US Air Force Academy at #11 in the nation.  Other military academies also fared well in a list that equated the service academies with other highly recognized institutions:

These rankings put service academies in the same tier as Ivy League colleges. The Air Force Academy placed at No. 16 in 2008 and No. 7 in 2009.

For the 2010 rankings, the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., ranked fourth on the list, while the U.S. Naval Academy came in at 29th, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy ranked No. 105, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy earned the No. 165 ranking.

Military Academies Top University Rankings

It should be common knowledge by now that the US military academies routinely rank among the best colleges in the country by a variety of standards.  The academies routinely top the Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges, and all the military academies were on it.  Of course, having a quality education with zero tuition does much for the value calculation.

The academies also top the 2011 Best Colleges pubished by the Princeton Review (see the 2010 list), which includes relative ranking criteria on a variety of “interesting” subjects.  The Air Force Academy again rises to the top on most conservative and most religious students.  The other academies were also consistently near the top on conservative, politically active, and “least happy” students, with slight variations.  (One unusual hit was at the Merchant Marine Academy, which took low marks on its professors.)  Other rankings:  Read more