<p>When a prospective candidate to West Point visits the academy for an overnight stay, she or he is paired up with a plebe. The plebes are not treated particularly well at West Point or at any of the other service academies; I won't elaborate on any of the details; any one of a number of former or soon to be current plebes can enlighten you far better than I. </p>
<p>I'm completely guessing here, but I believe it is done this way so that the prospective candidate will be given all of the reasons why going to West Point "s#$% so hard". I was a bit surprised that more than half of the plebes who spoke with my son on his overnight visit tried to talk him out of going to West Point, claiming that anywhere would be a far better choice.</p>
<p>The cadets at West Point sacrifice so much for so long to attend the academy that the administration wants each prospective candidate to enter the program with both eyes wide open. If you don't carry with you some pretty strong motivation to see it through you're going to be toast sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>While much more difficult to pull off, it would probably be highly instructive for some prospective candidates to speak with some of those who have dropped out of beast barracks, and not an inconsiderable number of cadet candidates do drop out. When you speak to the plebes, you're talking with those who's motivation exceeds their desire to seek "saner" accommodations; when you speak with someone who'd dropped out of the program, well, you'll get a slightly different perspective.</p>