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Students arriving at Northwestern Preparatory School are all high school graduates ready to pursue their dreams of attending the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, the Military Academy at West Point, the Coast Guard Academy, the Merchant Marine Academy or other prestigious universities. In recent years, students arrived from all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska. They have also come from China, France, Germany, Argentina and Switzerland. A wide range of backgrounds contributes to an outstanding year every year.

Our students have proven they are school leaders in academics, athletics and community involvement. They believe in the honor code and strive to uphold the values of integrity, honor and character. Northwestern Prep students have the inner strength and motivation to follow a path to make their futures.

Currently, we have more than 250 cadets and midshipmen at the academies. With the focus on college-level mathematics, English, chemistry, vocabulary, physical training, study skills and current events, students are able to excel at the academies. The 2,000+ students we have sent to the academies over the last twenty-five years have made a significant contribution to this country.

Northwestern Prep is a civilian preparatory school devoted exclusively to developing successful candidates for our nation’s Service Academies. Our comprehensive development program equips our students not only with the academic proficiency and physical conditioning needed to gain admission, but also with personal skills and maturity to excel in the demanding environment of a Service Academy.

Northwestern’s picturesque campus is set high in the mountains near Lake Arrowhead, California. Our dormitories blend into the landscape with a combination of brick, glass and wood; each with its own laundry facility and sitting area. In addition to our classrooms, kitchen, and dining hall, we also have physical conditioning facilities filled with a variety of exercise and weight training equipment. Our entire facility meets and exceeds all government health and safety requirements. Although our program is in a civilian setting, standards of conduct and personal appearance remain at a high level

Our recommended two-part program is for recent high school graduates. From early September through mid-December, we concentrate on the academic areas of English, math, chemistry, physics, vocabulary, current events, along with study skills, information technology and physical conditioning. Visit our Curriculum webpage for a more detailed description.

By early January, our students’ Academy application packages are complete and the respective Academy Admissions Offices begin offering appointments. Our students have returned home to attend a local Community College or university as a continuation of our program. This provides the best of both worlds, Northwestern’s exceptionally thorough skill development, plus a semester of pre-planned college experience. Together, these two phases provide an extremely comprehensive Academy preparation.

If your dream is to become a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces of America, there is no educational opportunity better than a Service Academy. An Academy appointment is equivalent to a full scholarship to one of the best universities in the world and has been valued at over $400,000. According to the Princeton Review, two of the top three most selective schools in America are Service Academies. Only Harvard University is more competitive than the US Air Force Academy and the US Naval Academy. All five Service Academies are amongst the top ten.

Don’t feel discouraged if you are not selected while in high school. It is an honor even to be considered for a Service Academy appointment. More importantly, do not lose sight of your dream. The US military does not want "quitters". They value tenacity and the Academy Admissions Offices recognize perseverance. If you provide the energy and motivation, we can help you work to achieve your goals.

We believe that thorough, guided preparation is a distinct advantage to a prospective cadet or midshipman because top levels of academic skill and physical conditioning are necessary not only to gain admission, but to survive to graduation.

With this in mind, Northwestern Prep has developed a unique concept of academy preparation--the total environmental experience. Because all of our students live on campus, and because all of our students are service academy candidates, the entire focus of Northwestern Prep's training is on service academy admission and survival. In fact, a top level academy admissions officer has stated that he wishes all incoming academy candidates had the post high school training which is available at Northwestern Preparatory School.
We hasten to add that Northwestern Prep's program is not an easy one, nor could it be and produce its outstanding results, an academy appointment rate of over eighty-five percent for more than thirty years.

Northwestern Preparatory School, California

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Suzanne Durbeck
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