As the winter semester comes to a close, seniors are one step closer to graduation day. For a few seniors, that means one step closer to attending prestigious military academies located around the country. But acceptance into the academies, according to senior Logan Treaster, is a little more than just simple entrance essays and high ACT scores.

“So basically, they want three things. They want good grades, they want to see you are physically capable and that you don’t have any eyesight issues, hearing deficiencies or speech problems. They want to make sure you are physically fit to be able to be in a military situation and a combat ready situation. They also want to see that you have a lot of leadership opportunities,” Treaster said.

Treaster not only wants to pursue an academic path in chemistry and possibly the medical field, but has also been approached by the wrestling coach for the Naval Academy about wrestling for their team.

“I mean part of it was that I was contacted by one of the wrestling coaches from Navy and that kind of got my interest at least to the application process and how to apply. But I grew up watching the Army and Navy football games on TV and thought, ‘Oh that’d be cool if I could go there,’ so I kind of think I kept going along that path, and here I am,” Treaster said.

Senior Connor Ekerberg has applied to the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy and West Point, which have all been his potential colleges choices since the beginning of high school.

“I’ve always wanted to be an officer in the military. I’ve lived a military lifestyle without being in the military. I’ve done scouts and other forms of military organizations. [Scouts] It has the organized lifestyle that I kind of like. I started thinking about attending a military academy freshman year; I’ve looked at the science labs at the Air Force Academy and they have one of the top science labs in the nation,” Ekerberg said.

Students that enroll into a military academy still have a wait period to see if they have what it takes to attend the academy. Some students have a backup plan in place if admission falls through.

“I also have plans to attend Kansas State University and walk-on into the football program there if I cannot get into the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Naval Academy or the United States Military Academy. I still have not determined what exactly I will be studying next fall though,” senior Landon Moore said.

After graduating from military academies, students will receive more than just a diploma.

“There is a lot of prestige that you get from graduating from a military academy. Having that on a resume shows that you’ve taken a lot of extra effort and time, and there’s a lot of respect that comes from that because it’s very, very stressful to go there,” Treaster said. “Anyone who graduates from the Naval Academy along with their major, they also get a bachelors degree in science. It also provides you with a job coming right out of college, so you’re ensured a job in the military for at least five years along with your mandatory required service you have to do as part of the United States Government.”