<p>Hey guys, </p>
<p>I just took my official West Point softball visit last weekend. If anyone had any questions at all about the visit or just about West Point in general I will be happy to try and answer them.</p>
<p>Did you go to any classes? When I went I sat in on IT and Calc classes, but if you saw any other classes in session, what were they like? Mostly lecture? Were cadets giving presentations?</p>
<p>I sat in on calculus and an ethics/leadership development course. Both classes were a lot of fun and the teachers and everyone was really engaged- I think the classes were what won me over at the first visit. I even had fun in calc keeping up on my measly graphing calc and looseleaf in a folder that I brought!</p>
<p>I haven't been to other classes, but in the other class some kids had to talk about something and there was a pop quiz at the start of class on their reading. I took it anyway and the girl I was with graded mine :) It was funny.</p>
<p>I had soooo much fun or maybe my definition of fun is a bit off...</p>
<p>Well the cadet I was paired with didn't end up having any classes except for swimming on the day I was there. She had a math drop that day and when we went to her psychology class the instructer never came. We walked around Thayer for a little while and from what I could tell it was either a lecture or question and answer type of thing. I didn't see any cadets giving presentations, but that could have just been because of the classes that I saw. The swimming class isn't really exciting or anything. When I went they were working on the freestyle stroke and the backstroke. Classes are around 45-60 mins long and I think they are in kind of a modified block schedule format.</p>
<p>Any other questions? Feel free to post or PM me. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask!</p>
<p>So your cadet was a plebe?</p>
<p>How much homework did she have? I've heard that they (at least used to) assign more homework than could possibly be done in one night, 5 hours worth that you have to prioritize into a 3 hour study period or something. </p>
<p>Was it an overnight visit?</p>
<p>What were the cadets attitudes like? When I went, everyone at the lunch table was like "Don't come here man. Don't do it" and I was just like "...uh..." Did your escort have a positive attitude?</p>
<p>I've heard of candidates being escorted by upperclassman, but it's extremely rare, so you'll probably end up with a plebe. These visits, in my opinion, are a hit-or-miss kind of thing. Your experience depends entirely on your escort and their company. Take everything with a grain of salt. And, yes, the classes are mostly boring. So don't expect any life-changing academic experiences. We'll do some presentations and interesting stuff once and a while, but mostly it's bookwork and homework problems.</p>
<p>PS- when you go to lunch, I dunno how they treat you at normal tables but I sat at the basketball table... sports tables are supposedly more lax in terms of eating...</p>
<p>Yea, I most def think my concept of <em>fun</em> is warped. Yay for limits and bunnies!</p>
<p>When I went I was escorted by a Plebe. She really didn't have much homework, but she said she had done it before I got there. My visit was an official softball visit, so I flew in on saturday stayed off campus that night and met the coach and went on campus sunday morning. That sunday there was a softball game so I watched that then stayed the night and was off campus by like 2:30 on monday. I got to sit with the softball team at meals so it was pretty relaxed and from what I could see all the other tables were pretty much the same way. I didn't see any tables that were really strict or anything. Keep in mind this might be because its close to the end of the year and the upperclassmen are starting to be more lax. As far as the escort goes, I felt that I had a good escort with a positive attitude. Everyone that asked me about attending next year pretty much left me alone after I told them I was planning on it. They didn't try to discourage me or anything. However My escort told me she did try and discourage a few cadet candidates from attending because of their attitudes towards the military and the academy. Well I hope this answered your question. Keep em comming!</p>
<p>Sarge</p>