Upon graduating, few students attend elite universities, few students enter into the military, but even fewer pursue a path encompassing both. This fall, senior Nick Murphy will join the United States Military Academy at West Point’s class of 2027, leading him to an institution that’s been impacting American history since its inception.

“It’s the oldest [academy] continually operated by the U.S. Army,” Murphy said. “It was founded during the Revolutionary War, and now it trains about 1,000 officers every single year to be on active duty.”

Straying from the typical college search process, Murphy’s first exposures to West Point occurred long before he began applying.

“I read a book [about it] in eighth grade called ‘The Long Gray Line,’” he said. Then in my scout troop, I had a bunch of older scouts that I really looked up to who had applied and gotten in.”

Once the time to apply did roll around, it was no simple feat.

“We started February of my junior year,” Murphy said.
“I started opening up files, emailing people, getting stuff compiled and meeting with teachers and administrators. Over the summer, I wrote 15 different 1,000-word essays to various organizations, and I had interviews with both my senators, my representative and with the school.”

In addition to the thorough academic components, Murphy completed comprehensive fitness tests to be considered for admission.

“I had to do max push ups in two minutes and max pull ups in two minutes,” he said. “I mean, you just do it until you drop; nobody really does pull ups for two minutes. [I also did] a mile run, a kneeling basketball throw to test shoulder strength and a shuttle run.”

Though he’s confident in his choice now, West Point wasn’t always Murphy’s number-one contender. Up until recently, the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York remained on his short list of schools.

“I visited West Point over Spring Break, and it was so pretty,” Murphy said. “I thought I fit in really well with the people, and I think I can succeed there the best.”

While on campus, Murphy was able to get a full picture of life as a cadet.

“I lived the day in the life of a freshman there, which was very long — it took me about two days of sleep to recover

from it,” he said. “We got up at 5:30 in the morning and worked out. Breakfast and lunch are only 20 minutes long, but dinner is whenever you want. You take about 22 college hours a semester, and you have to play a sport and do student activities on top of that.”

Though combat may be most commonly associated
with military careers, West Point offers Murphy many other avenues beyond the battlefield. While at the academy, he plans to major in International Law and Legal Studies.

“I want to go to law school and hopefully be a JAG — a Judge Advocate General,” he said. “If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘A Few Good Men’ with Tom Cruise, that’s a JAG. The military has its own court system and structure, and that’s a really cool job. They pay for law school, and they pay you to go to law school.”

Before diving into the specifics, Murphy must endure the signature “basic training” through which every new cadet goes the summer before freshman year.

“It’s 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. for six to eight straight weeks depending on the service or branch,” he said. “The whole point is to break you down and build you back up. It’s just a mental game — they try to push you to your breaking point, and some people do break. The graduation rate is 85%, so

I just have to tell myself not to be in the bottom 15%, and I should be fine.”

Adding to the difficulty of training, students at West Point are constantly evaluated across a wide variety of focuses.

“Every single day is a competition, and you’re being graded against other people all the time from the first day
to the last day you’re there,” Murphy said. “You have three different GPAs — physical, academic and military. If you have one bad day, it will affect your GPA for the rest of your life.”

Though the academy may be strenuous, it certainly has its professional rewards later on down the line.

“You can retire from the military with full pension after 20 years, so when I’m 42, I’ll be eligible for retirement,” Murphy said. “If I go to law school, I think I’ll definitely serve 20 years then retire and do something else.”

Eager to serve his country and embark on his post- secondary plans, Murphy optimistically awaits his years at West Point and beyond.

“The people in the military, especially at the academies but also everywhere, are excellent,” he said. “There’s not much more you can get out of people — every single person I’ve talked to has been so excited and enthusiastic. They want me to succeed.”