KENNESAW - Cole Donnelly, 18, has choices. And some very good ones, at that.

Cole has received appointments to the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy, a full scholarship through the Navy to Duke University, as well as acceptance into other schools such as Auburn and Georgia Institute of Technology.

"I've always dreamed of flying," Cole said, hinting that he is almost certain he will be joining the Air Force once he graduates from Marietta High School this May.

His love of airplanes was fostered from a young age, as his father, Mark, is a former pilot in the Navy and a current Delta pilot. "I would go with Dad to his drill weekends and wander around the hangars while he was working in the office. I just thought, wow, I'd love to fly one of those some day," Cole said.

"He'd also take me to air shows, so being around all of that let me know pretty early on I wanted to fly. But I prefer airplanes to helicopters; I'm not afraid of heights and would like to be up in the clouds. And there's something about helicopters that always made me think the blades could chop something off," Cole said with a laugh.

According to Cole's Nov. 17 congratulatory letter informing him of his appointment to the Air Force, 10,000 students across the nation applied to get into the Academy, while only 1,500 were accepted. His scholarship is valued at $414,000, and Cole said the family learned soon after they received the letter that his appointment came from President Obama.

In order to be accepted into the U.S. military academies, students have to be accepted to the school on its own standards as well as be appointed by a senator, congressman, vice president or the president. Each Congressman is allowed to have five students at each academy at one time. The interview process is rigorous, and Cole said he was honored to find out that he also received an appointment by Congressman Phil Gingrey and was told he would have been appointed by Sen. Saxby Chambliss if he had not been appointed by Gingrey first.

"He's been to summer seminars, spoken with officers, and been in the JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) at Marietta for years, so I think he's prepared himself well to make an educated decision," Mark said.

Cole's mother, Tess, said she was worried at first about his decision to join the military, but that his experiences and preparation have assured her that the military is where her son should be.

"I used to think of him as a stay-at-home kid, so being in the military was not something I thought would be the best thing for him, but he's proven me wrong and now it feels like the right fit. He's been to the different Academies' summer seminars, went to an honors camp, and all of these places he's gone he'll call just so excited about everything they're doing. And he's excelled in the JROTC and loves it, so we feel good about his choice," Tess said.

Cole is an active hunter jumper in the equestrian world, and has recently become involved in the Kennesaw Mountain High School lacrosse team. He is in the intense International Baccalaureate academic program at Marietta, where he holds a 4.1 G.P.A., and scored an impressive 32 on the American College Testing Program (ACT) exam.

"He's a well-rounded kid, with a good head on his shoulders and is respectful to others. So I think all of that combined is what makes him such an excellent candidate for the military," Mark said.

"The F-22 keeps flying over the school, and I have say, it looks pretty cool," Cole said, when asked which aircraft he would like to fly the most. "But really, anything loud and fast sounds good to me."

But even with his accomplishments, Mark and Tess said he does have one improvement left to make.

"He won the neatest room and the neatest inspection at his camp, and we were like, 'What? Our son?'" Tess said.

"Hey, well, I'm getting there. I have potential," Cole said, with a smile.