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Join the Corps of Cadets

Citadel Admissions Points of Pride

Prospective Cadets, Parents, and High School Guidance Counselors,

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina is the nations' premiere college of the Citizen-Soldier. Founded in 1842, The Citadel began as a small, elite, military college patterned after West Point. The major difference was that the primary purpose of The Citadel was not to train professional full-time soldiers, but to educate principled leaders who could serve as citizens or soldiers in times of peace or war.

As citizens, alumni have served as engineers, physicians, lawyers, judges, Supreme Court Justices, Governors, Ambassadors, Senators, Congressmen, and many other professions. Graduates have also served in the Mexican War (1846-1848), Civil War (1861-1865), Spanish-American War, the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, and more recent conflicts to include the Global War on Terrorism. By 1942, The Citadel grew from its humble beginnings to be the largest state-supported military college in the United States with a Corps of Cadets numbering 2,000.

Today, The Citadel is much the same institution where duty, honor, and essential leadership traits are forged in a military education that has proven its worth over 165 years. The Corps of Cadets is a leadership laboratory where cadets learn to lead by doing as opposed to reading about it. In many colleges and universities students become one of hundreds if not thousands in classes. Some of these institutions are little more than "diploma mills" that grant degrees to thousands with little interaction with other students or professors. Some even grant degrees online and by mail with virtually zero interaction with other students or professors. Not at The Citadel.

The proven system has among its accomplishments the best graduation rate in the country and a "long gray line" of distinguished alumni. Cadets learn teamwork and how to succeed. Tradition runs deep in the Corps of Cadets. Cadets are not required to be commissioned in the Armed Forces upon graduation, but approximately 35% of all Citadel graduates chose to do so. Cadets can be commissioned in any of the four primary military services (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps). Many graduating cadets chose to enter medicine, law, engineering, business, or other pursuits, while others continue their education to pursue advanced degrees.

The Citadel is not for everyone. But for those young men and women who accept the challenge, The Citadel will provide an education for the whole person (mind, body, and spirit) which is second to none. At the heart of a Citadel education is the Cadet Honor Code which states "A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do." The end result is a principled leader that is ready for any challenge, civil or military.

If you have any questions about The Citadel, please do not hesitate to ask any member of The Alamo Battalion, San Antonio Citadel Club or check on the official Citadel website at www.citadel.edu. An excerpt obtained from The Citadel Admissions Office called "Points of Pride" outlines some recent accolades and awards given to The Citadel.