An appointment to Annapolis was something that I had worked for since I started 7th grade. It was a great feeling just being there, for all of the blood, sweat, and tears that the whole experience involved.
So when was it? 1950’s?? [ VBG ;^) ]
I recall during a BGO briefing where someone had figured out the total operating cost of each academy for a 4 year period, plus the stipends paid to cadets or midshipmen ....divide by number of cadets/midshipmen to get the cost per cadet/midshipman. In 2008, it was about $420K for USNA, $435K for USMA, and $460K for USAFA. Of course, the questions were around about the differences...and we all agreed that USAFA was more expensive because of all the golf courses that were maintained there.