The Best Military High Schools in America

Military schools are demanding educational institutions. Students are prepped for college and the real world through rigorous schedules employed by military schools to instill discipline into their cadets. The best military schools in America often have above-average SAT scores, low teacher-student ratios, advanced faculty members and a strict regimen of daily activities.

Fork Union Military Academy (known as FUMA by its cadets), founded in 1898, teaches male cadets in grades six through 12. FUMA incorporates a military-style approach for developing academic and leadership characteristics within cadets. While FUMA is a military-style school, it operates under no military influence; instead, their institutional goal is to create “solid citizens.” FUMA ranks among the best military schools in academics, as of 2009, with an average SAT score of 1525 and a teacher-student ratio of 1-to-10. Among faculty, 65 percent hold advanced degrees.

The Hargrave Military Academy is a college preparatory military boarding school for males from seventh to 12th grade. Hargrave makes use of its military environment to form a daily structure that holds students more accountable and gives them more responsibility than students would expect from public middle and high schools. Hargrave qualifies as one of the best military schools as of 2011 due to having a 99 percent college acceptance rate over the last eight years, a retention rate of 83 percent and an average SAT score of 1515. Their high numbers speak to Hargrave’s superior military learning environment.

The New York Military Academy, established in 1889, is a coed college preparatory school for students from eighth to 12th grade. The NYMA uses a military model to turn its cadets into future leaders of America through both athletics and academics. The NYMA is affiliated with the United States Army JROTC as an Honor Unit with Distinction by the Department of the Army. The NYMA ranks among the best military schools as of 2010 with an average SAT score of 1500 and a teacher-student ratio of 1-to-7. Among NYMA faculty, 75 percent hold advanced degrees.

Randolph-Macon Academy is military college prep school located in the town of Front Royal, Virginia. Randolph-Macon, unlike most military academies, is coed. Both boys and girls have the privilege of activities such as Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, flight, the debate team and the marching band. Randolph-Macon ranks as one of the best military schools, and its scores reflect it: the school had an average SAT score of 1485, an average ACT score of 21 and a teacher-student ratio of 1-to-10, as of 2009.