Our country's best kept secret

There's good reason to be intrigued by service academies and ROTC scholarship opportunities these days - even for people who have never considered such programs before. In fact, a majority of students and parents I meet have little (if any) familiarity with these programs. Many have no idea what "ROTC" means and have a fuzzy understanding of how service academies work.

Why the recent awakening? As you may know, traditional colleges and universities have come under withering scrutiny of late. Not only are they experiencing a crisis in identity and mission, but the cost of a 4-year education often exceeds $400K.

And let's not forget about the near impossibility of getting accepted to many top schools, whose admit rates have dropped into the low single digits.

Explore your options

What are smart, motivated, athletic, academically-driven, leaders in our high schools supposed to do when faced with these stark realities? Many are turning to military service academies and ROTC programs to take advantage of these benefits:

• 100% free (or near-free) education
• world-class STEM training
• guaranteed job for 5 years after graduation
• starting salaries often exceeding $80K/yr
• no student loan debt
• students are paid to go to college
• opportunity to serve our country
• legendary leadership training
• international travel
• practical experience
• high prestige and name recognition

If your child is smart, athletic, motivated, and has a service-orientation, enroll them in ServeWell Academy to equip them with the strategies, tactics, and mindset to succeed in this competitive process. If they play their cards right, they may save themselves (and you) $400K or more.

So far, my three oldest sons have saved themselves and our family over $1million in educational expenses.