<p>do you think the higher PFT failure rate was in any way related to the heat and humidity this year? just a thought~</p>
<p>The BGO said that they weren't as fit as he thought they should be.</p>
<p>I was a little surprised at Summer Seminar with the fitness level of some of the people. During the mile and a half portion of our PFT, I watched a large number of people finishing 12+ minutes (max is 10).</p>
<p>BTW, does sending letters of recommendation to the office of admissions help? A good friend of mine (who was the captain of captains for athletics) just graudated from the naval academy and he wanted to write me one.</p>
<p>sandiegodude1607: I know what you mean about being surprised at Summer Seminar. A lot of people weren't in shape (by my standards). I was at the very back of that pack (shoved in very last behind the rest of Alpha). I spent the entire time passing up walkers/slow joggers. I was surprised that some people started to walk before the half mile mark. My time for that was about a minute slower than what I usually run because of all the weaving. I was also surprised that some people could barely do 20 sit ups/push ups.</p>
<p>If your friend advises you to send some letters of recommendation, then do it (I would if I were you). Don't our letters of recommendation from our math and English teachers go to the Office of Admissions? Or are you talking about extra letters of recommendation?</p>
<p>I was talking about extra letters</p>
<p>In the book by Smallwood he says that it is absolutely a bad idea to send in extra letters. He says the people he interviewed in MOC offices and USNA say that that just proves that you CAN'T FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS that say how many letters to send and that you think you are more important than others since, obviously, the restriction on the number of letters doesn't apply to you. If he wants to write a letter, he can do whatever he wants on his own, but it would be much better if you did not know about it and did not send it in. Definitely read the Smallwood book, The Naval Academy Candidate Book. They should have it at any bookstore or library, and you can order it from Amazon. It is really a help.</p>
<p>ok, thank you very much momof1</p>
<p>My son's BGO actually told him if there are any extra recommendations that are particularly exciting or showing something unique,he should send them in. He has not sent in anything extra though.</p>
<p>Oh, my son was surprised at how few pull ups and sit ups the guys could do at SS. He said that his running was not as fast as he would have liked but they did the PAE in the afternoon and it was pretty hot.</p>
<p>As a parent who sent an Alaskan kid to Plebe Summer last year, please don't assume that slow run times are indicative of a lack of conditioning for a couple of reasons. Firstly, not all sports require the same kind of conditioning. Swimmers are not necessarily runners, and runners are not necessarily swimmers. Apples and oranges.</p>
<p>Also, give us a break here in the great white north. Here in the interior of Alaska we live in an inland desert. Although it is counter-intuitive, it is very dry and cool here. Right now we are having a heat wave at 80 degrees and it is dry enough for your nose to bleed most days. We actually left for I-Day a week early and spent 3 days in Michigan to help acclimate to the time, heat and humidity before heading on the Annapolis. </p>
<p>Just remember, different people have different challenges. It is very rare to find someone who does not have a difficult time with something. We can see the difficulties some people have with the physical part, and others may seem to sail through it. What you may not see is that they sail through the academics while others struggle with them. Everyone has something that is hard for them. The academy is trying to find those weaknesses.</p>
<p>Have a Great Navy Day!</p>
<p>I was also surprised that many of the guys in my squad could not do not do pull-ups, as a girl doing more pull-ups than some of the guys was amazing I felt so empowered to do really well on the rest of my CFA, which I did. I was surprised too at how many people had trouble with the shuttle run my time was the second fastes by only a tenth of second for those in my squad and only a couple of tenths off the fastest time of the day...I guess I was in better shape than I thought when I went there GO NAVY BEAT ARMY</p>
<p>momof1: Thanks for that insight. I think some of us (me) need to be reminded of that every now and then.</p>
<p>WiScOnSiNaVy2010: Nice job on the pull-ups (and the rest of the CFA). I'm still working on my pull-ups over here. Oh yeah, nice job with those trivia answers on the bus too. ;)</p>
<p>momof1: wow- alaska to maryland...now that is a distance! hope you get to see you rmid and hope he doesn't miss those northern lights too much! best of luck to both of you! I will count myself lucky that i only have a 5-hour trip to contend with,but will think of you every time i even think of complaining!</p>
<p>dictatoranna: thanks, I'm gonna do it again just because I can lol but hey those trivia answers on the bus rocked...thats where i def picked up my wisconsin nickname all because i asked the detailer one question about milk...how many times did i get booed too, I think it was a lot but hey great times...by the way how long did u have to wait for DoDMERB to contact you, I turned in all of my online stuff awhile ago and still have not been contacted!</p>
<p>It makes the Dark Ages seems really ridiculously easy for him! That time of year here it is really dark (20+ hours per day), and really cold (40 to 60 below). He feels sorry for those from really warm, light places because it is hard for them. </p>
<p>As to travel, my husband and I are both teachers so time off for I-Day, PPW and Herndon have not been problems, although we have at least 12 hours of flight time each way. If you can possibly swing going to all of the parent events, do it! </p>
<p>We were used to long trips, anyway, since Anchorage swim meets were a 6-8 hour drive, and Whitehorse meets were 24 hours away. Yep, don't let anyone tell you that Alaska is really the size they show it to be on the maps!</p>
<p>haha I can remember those winters from my time in sweden...dark all day not it gets dark during winter sooo late it seems. I don't miss the cold though I'm truly a heat kinda girl...that's why I'm the weird one who loves Annapolis summers it's just right outside...I think I'll retract that during Plebe Summer though</p>