United States Military Academy Preparatory School

United States Military Academy Preparatory School

Motto	Desire · Faith · Effort
Type	Federal military academy prep school
Established	1947
Commandant	COL Christopher M. Budihas
Administrative staff	~100 faculty
Students	~240
Location	West Point, New York, United States
Campus	United States Military Academy
Athletics	15 varsity teams, called "Black Knights"
Colors	Black █, gray █, and gold █
Website	United States Military Academy Prep School

The United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS), sometimes referred to as West Point Prep, is a preparatory school for the United States Military Academy (USMA). Located in West Point, New York, its official mission is "to provide academic, military and physical instruction in a moral-ethical military environment to prepare and motivate candidates for success at the United States Military Academy."

In 1916, the rules for admission to the U.S. Service Academies changed to include a formal admission process to ensure the appointees' success and excellence. Between the two World Wars, the U.S. was divided into nine corps areas, and each of these maintained its own West Point Preparatory School, all being supervised by the USMA staff.

As with the other United States military academies' prep schools, there is no separate application for USMAPS, only the West Point application. Admission officers will offer USMAPS to potential West Point cadets who have received their Congressional appointments yet may lack the grades or skills necessary for West Point. During the middle of the prep school year, Cadet Candidates must submit new applications to West Point, including the Congressional nomination. By June, Cadet Candidates will receive word of their application status and West Point acceptance. Most of those who attend the prep school will go on to West Point, contingent on their application, academics and grades, physical training, and military instruction. Some candidates may transfer to other service academies, or be sent back to the United States Army as a regular enlisted soldier. Invitational reservists have other options at the completion of the USMAPS year. Invitational reservists who entered USMAPS with no existing contract to the military and are denied admission to West Point or who decline their appointment can return to civilian life with no further obligation.

(For more information on the admissions process, see West Point's Appointment Process.)

Students at USMAPS are known as Cadet Candidates (often abbreviated to "CCs"); board and tuition are free and they are paid a small stipend as they are active members of the U.S. Army. The course extends over a ten-month scholastic year and aims at training the "CCs” to cope with the academic and military rigors of an army education before attending West Point the following academic year.