I was in South Bend this weekend, at a NROTC conference put on by the Notre Dame unit.
There, I met a high school kid who has a NROTC scholarship to Notre Dame, and just got his acceptance to Annapolis last week. (I would not mind being between rock and a hard place!) He is on the fence between the two, and asked ND kids and USNA kids for some assistance. I stayed uninvolved, but listened closely to the two arguments.
Based on what I heard, I know that if I was 17 again and went the college route (rather than enlistment), I would choose the Academy over "Big University USA" for one primary reason: Class size/personal attention.
I presently go to "Small College USA," and I can tell you that class size is of great importance when choosing a school. To know that you can talk to your professors "off-line" at any time is a major help. (To know that your professors will know your NAME is a major help!) From what the Academy kids were saying, their class sizes were small, and academic assistance was abundant. Since a commission requires a degree, it is important to do all that you can to get that degree. (Like one of my professors said - The goal of college is to graduate. If you accidentally learn something along the way, that is all the better...)
I have experienced officers from all routes - prior enlisted, NROTC, Academy, etc. - and have noticed virtually no difference in the quality of leadership. Maybe I just have faith in the system...
BTW, navyfan, the only way he can't go wrong with VMI is if he cannot make it into The Citadel