The service academies of the United States armed forces are military schools in the purest sense. Students enrolled in one of the five service academies attend school free-of-charge and receive bachelor's degrees upon graduation. In exchange for the free education, cadets incur a service obligation that requires them to serve as commissioned officers in the military upon graduation. The United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, are the three main service academies sponsored by the Department of Defense. The United States Merchant Marine Academy, meanwhile, works closely but is not a part of the DoD while the United States Coast Guard Academy technically falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation during peacetime.
In addition to the service academies, there are certain civilian colleges and universities that are not officially part of the DoD but still focus on military-type training. These schools often have prominent Corps of Cadets organizations that provide military-type drilling and training to students in addition to providing education. These are often private schools and charge tuition like nonmilitary colleges. There are nine four-year universities nationwide that are recognized as military colleges by the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States (AMCSUS), including The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, and Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. There are also five two-year colleges recognized by AMCSUS.
Military schools aren't just for college students. AMCSUS recognizes 30 military prep schools that cater to K-12 students. These schools are designed to prepare students for college, often military schools, by using strict discipline and rigid structure. These schools are private in nature and often require tuition payments. Many also function as boarding schools, where students live away from home and stay on campus with their classmates.
Military schools draw heavily on the values and structure of the armed forces and, by design, are an excellent way for students to prepare for a career in the military. With the exception of the service academies, however, military schools do not require students to serve any time in the military prior to graduation. In fact, at the Citadel, an average of two-thirds of each graduation class moves on to careers outside of the military. Military schools often offer Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs that can lead students to military service but do not require participation on campus. Going to a military school does not always lead to military service.