A growing number of students are applying to the US service academies, particularly the Military Academy (www.usma.edu) (West Point), the Naval Academy (Annapolis) (www.usna.edu), and the Air Force Academy (www.usafa.edu). As the cost of private and public schools escalates, expect this to be an ever increasing trend; consequently, now is a good time, before the 2009 application process gets underway, to gain a better understanding of these schools, and a better sense of what's involved in gaining admissions to them.