<p>i agree with hornet on the razor. finding a sink and mirror and having time to fully shave with a normal razor and cream takes much longer and is much harder than having an electric razor which you can use in the tents</p>
<p>Molta; there wasn't any extra confirmation. They accept reservations up to the day before. So, as long as you did the ONLINE orientation, you should be fine.</p>
<p>Fencermother; 3 of the 6 weeks of BCT is done living in tents, crawling around in the mud, obstacle course, etc... I don't know 100%, but I have lived in these environments, and a regular razor is usually easier in my opinion. I have "dry shaved" more than one time in my life. Not saying you can't use an electric, just that a regular razor will never let you down. Remember; it's only for a few weeks. After that, life is a lot different. My suggestion on the regular razor is just for the 3 weeks. Many will not have a problem with electric. Some cadets, maybe they don't grow a beard that quickly, said that it was easier for them to just use a regular razor. Each person is different.</p>
<p>As far as a new perspective; that is a hard question to answer. Most definitely DIFFERENT perspective. My son has been able to go to the academy quite a few times. Athletic visits, SS, other visits. (Advantage of only living 2 hours away). He's always known about the Air Force; (Advantage of growing up as a military Brat). He's always known about the Academy and what to expect. The biggest difference with this visit/orientation was the "Day in the life" experience. They try real hard to set up a cadet sponsor who is from your son's home state. My son got to connect with the cadet around 3pm in the afternoon and stay with him for about 24 hours. Went to the gym to work out; went to dinner; helped him doing homework; helped him make sure his room stayed in inspection order; hung out; did lights out and went to bed; woke up the next morning with the cadet; went to breakfast; went to ALL THEIR CLASSES; did lunch; More classes; cadet took son to go buy boots; back to dorm for whatever; eventually working their way back to meeting up with their parents to end the orientation.</p>
<p>Basically; it gave my son and the other new candidates the opportunity to actually see a day in the life of a freshman. My son had the opportunity to do some of these things prior; such as going to some classes, lunch, etc... But it was piece meal. This allowed for a realistic 24 hour "Fly on the Wall" approach. Yes, he is still very excited about getting to the academy. His enthusiasm hasn't changed since last June.</p>
<p>Besides all the other admin things you need to do to prepare for the academy; the best thing is to keep your son/daughter excited. Remember, this is about them, not the parent. Help them to ENJOY the rest of their senior year. Get them to have as much fun as possible. (Don't let grades slip obviously). Enjoy friends and family time. Do the prom. Do everything they can. Enjoy the few weeks off they have after graduating prior to coming to the academy.</p>
<p>If you want to put into perspective what stress can be; one of the candidates/parents was asking questions about how to get their final high school transcript sent to the academy. They mentioned that they GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL on June 23rd. 2 days later they fly to Colorado Springs to go to the academy. Talk about no time to do anything.</p>
<p>If you have any tough questions, call the admissions department at the academy. Most of the appointments have been sent out. They are in a different mode now. They are there to help. If you can get to orientation, it is definitely recommended. If you can't, then read and re-read the packet as in-depth as possible and make sure you have everything taken care of.</p>
<p>Graduate from HS on June 23??? Ouch!</p>
<p>Thanks Christcorp; I thought you were talking about the boots! Sorry about that senior moment on my part.</p>
<p>We are actually considering taking the WHOLE family on a real vaca to the seashore for a week, even though D will still be in school in late May. We thought it would be a great no-stress-at-all time and we could all be together. We haven't done that in about 3 years and it doesn't look like we'll have much time for it after I-Day! </p>
<p>Thanks for all the great commentary and the ideas - this fencersmother really appreciates it!</p>
<p>we also attended the orientation. it was great!</p>
<p>one thing my daughter added that was important to remember is that the freshman already went thru recognition at this point. so, life as a freshman seemed a bit easier than it will truly be in the beginning!</p>
<p>my d attended the ss and she also commented that that experience this past summer did give you more of a taste of the "military" aspect of training (because they did a practice day of it in the summer). she said that the experience overnight on monday and tuesday seemed a bit misleading, if you had NOT been to ss. but overall, attending the classes, and breakfast and lunch and so on was a neat first hand experience of THESE events.</p>
<p>if you can attend an orientation, i would suggest it. although the first day is LONG and can get tiring, you really get a lot of information. and i think the kids really get a lot out of spending the afternoon, evening , and following day with another cadet! it is a great chance for them to ask a bunch of questions, my daughter met and talked with tons of cadets.</p>
<p>we live close to the academy, and have been there a bunch of times, but we still learned alot at the orientation.</p>
<p>if any moms of daughters, or anyone else has specific questions, feel free to contact me!</p>
<p>HAVE FUN!</p>
<p>Sorry Fencermother; but there ISN'T a "SeaShore" in Colorado. LOL!!! Sorry, had to go there. :)</p>
<p>Christcorp - you brat!!! :) </p>
<p>No, that's why we figured we haul us all eastward to the shore. Figure they'll be seeing plenty of mountains in their futures!</p>
<p>Yeah, Orientation can make it appear that life is pretty cool 24/7 here (except maybe academically, lol), if you haven't seen it before Recognition. Orientation gives you something to look forward to though, so it's a good experience for you incoming-youngsters. ;)</p>
<p>What did your son/daughter take with them as in the way of blanket or pillow or sleeping bag, etc to use Monday night when they were with their cadet escort? We are flying in from Virginia and don't want to bring more than we need to or have to. Thanks!</p>
<p>Sleeping bag. The sponsor (prearanged had a mattress available). Not sure if it was a roll away bed or just a mattress on the floor, or a spare bunk.</p>
<p>anyone have a good way to transport a sleeping bag..... are those air/space bags a good idea? A rolled up sleeping bag can take a lot of space in checked luggage. thanks</p>
<p>yea i was gonna say put it in checked luggage and pack light.. or bring it as a carry on and put it overhead?</p>
<p>its up to you. there are random spare beds some ppl get. otherwise you get to sleep on a cot with sheets and a blanket. so if you rly want a bag, bring it, but i was fine in the cot</p>
<p>Well, if somehow one of ya'll ends up with an escort from my squad for Orientation (CS-24), you'll probably get an actual matress. We have a bunch of spare ones (one benefit of being a small squadron).</p>
<p>I used a mattress in my room monday too.</p>
<p>Ditto on finding my appointee a mattress.</p>
<p>but honestly, u sleep on the floor enough during the year that one night now won't hurt u... lol. can't mess up those nice SAMI beds!</p>
<p>haha, i was wondering if people did that. i was thinking that's probably what i'd end up doing...</p>
<p>...or you can just do what I did and use a sleeping bag and your pillow on the top bunk to aviod messing up your bed (during the Ac year, not BCT though). It doesn't save much time, but sometimes those extra few seconds of sleep can make all the difference. :)</p>
<p>I never got used to sleeping on the floor. The few times I did it during Beast, I woke up with an even more sore back.</p>
<p>Technically though, a sleeping bag or extra sheets/blankets are considered "unauthorized bedding" during the academic year. Yeah, I got called out on that. Just sleep on top of your bed, that's generally the best way to do it.</p>
<p>For my squad, you can do it if you just roll your sleeping bag up every morning and put it on top of your desk or something. That's what I did from the day I got back from PW all the way up to the night Recognition ended. People saw it but never said anything.</p>