Clubs at West Point

Colleges and Universities A-Z Military Academy - West Point
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<p>High School student researching colleges here.</p>

<p>I have a few questions about the plethora of clubs offered at West Point. Below is a list of clubs that I am interested in and some comments from me:</p>

<p>Law Enforcement Tacticts Club- If I do attend West Point, I am thinking about branching Millitary Police. This club would provide invaluable training beyond what I would learn in regular classes at West Point. The various police units that they train with would be very interesting.
Trap/Skeet Team- I am currently on the Trap team at my high school and am improving with every match. It is a lot of fun and I would love to continue with it at the college level.
Combat Weapons Team- I love shooting different types of weapons, but this club would actually teach me how to use these different weapons in practical situations. I heard that this club was very tough to get into.
Skiing Club- I've only skiied a few times (I live in Memphis), but it is one of my favorite things to do. I guess that I want to become better at skiing.
Pistol Team- I love shooting, and shooting in a competitive enviroment just makes it that much better.
Paintball Team- I play paintball as a hobby, being on a real team would be great.
Infantry Tactics Club- I've read that a lot of people join this club and value the experience. It seems to be a very practicle club.</p>

<p>Now these are just some that I am interested in. I've got some general questions about them if anyone has any input:</p>

<p>-How competitve are these clubs to get into (I heard that the CWT and Paintball team are difficult to get into)?
-How much time will I have to actually partake in clubs at West Point? With the rigorous academic and physical training schedules, how much free time do you have to participate in clubs?
-What are the ski slopes like at West Point? Can you go to the mountain and ski on the weekends? Can you rent equipment?
-I play high school baseball. If I make the baseball team, how will that fit into life at West Point?</p>

<p>I apologize for the lengthy and dry post. I hope that someone here has some experience with at least one of these clubs and can give me a little bit of input. Thanks in adance for any responses.</p>

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<p>If you want to learn to ski better, I would suggest joining the Ski Instructors’ Club. Here u will teach local kids of all ages and skill levels two hours a week, and as payment you receive a free season pass. In addition, u will be certified to teach during a three-day intense training weekend. I was a pretty good skier before, but the certification training made me far better simply by correcting bad habits I had formed.</p>

<p>As far as the slope goes, in early winter it tends to be really good. Depending on how cold the winter is and how long it stays cold, it can be skiiable for the entire season (up to spring leave) or it might be closed early. The slope can and often does make snow to supplement natural snowfall. You can go skiing any day of the week, provided that you don’t have to be doing something else…that’s where being a ski instructor helps, b/c you’re there two or three days a week at least! And equipment can be rented, daily or for the season.</p>

<p>Ur right about CWT…it’s really competitive in tryouts. I don’t know the specifics but i know many people who have tried to get on it and didn’t make it.</p>

<p>Time for clubs at West Point depends on the club and your own personal schedule. For instance, being a ski instructor, it counts as my winter sport, so it takes precedence over a lot of other things. Other clubs might not, depending on the activity.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the info, AmericanSoldier. Being a ski instructor sounds really fun. The few times that I’ve been to the slopes, the ski instructors are always goofing off and having fun with their students.</p>

<p>I was afraid that the CWT would be competitive to get into. Does anyone know anything abou the Law Enforcement Tactics Club?</p>

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<p>Hey…I’m an officer with the LETC. It’s a pretty good deal.</p>

<p>As for time and fitting in to your schedule…it all depends how you prioritize. Some people are here to be physical/military studs and just try to scrape by academically; some are here for networking opportunities and try to balance everything so they can do the most clubs and activities; others care about nothing but academics, at the cost of everything else. It’s possible to strike a balance between all three, but it depends what you want out of your experience here.</p>

<p>If you get recruited to play baseball, expect that to eat most of your time. You’ll still be able to be in a club or two, but you may not be very active due to your schedules.</p>

<p>The CWT is absolutely brutal to get on to. There was a 10+ mile ruck run, 10+ run, and a whole bunch of other stuff this year. Beyond that, there’s an interview phase. It seems like it’s mostly prior enlisted guys that manage to make it on.</p>

<p>Paintball is difficult to get on and expensive. You have to buy most of your own stuff, so…</p>

<p>Pistol is a D1 sport here, so expect to face stiff opposition. There are walk-ons in the summer, though, so give it a shot.</p>

<p>So, to the LETC. I think it’s a pretty sweet club. I signed up just for the heck of it, but I had heard some pretty lame things about it. Then I decided to get involved and I’m really glad I did. Last year the big trip of the year was a few days of training with the US Marshals. This year we got to do a three-day trip to the DEA in Quantico. We got to shoot simunitions in their raid houses, throw live ammo down range (Remington 870, Colt 9mm SMG, M4, Glock .40…etc, etc, etc), do serpentine shooting drills, shooting in, out, and around vehicles, play in their kill houses, get some really interesting briefings from their FAST guys (think SF teams…amazing!). It was an awesome trip.</p>

<p>Aside from that, we’ve gone to the NYPD Academy, NYSP HQ, had some range time, HMMWV classes, etc this year. We plan on having one more range this semester (lots of trigger time), a Cops vs. Cadets shootout (simunition shoot out against a local SWAT), and a day trip to Riker’s Island.</p>

<p>All in all, it’s a sweet club. If you want any more info, PM me. There’s other great clubs out there (a number of which I’m in), but I would definitely recommend the LETC if it remotely interests you.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the great responses.</p>

<p>Yea, I figured that the CWT would be really competitve. But what’s with the 20 miles of running? I mean, I know you have to be in shape, but I don’t think that someone would be running 20 miles during competition. I guess it’s a good tool to weed out the unmotivated.</p>

<p>I have paintball gear of my own, but I’m not sure how transferring items from home to West Point would go. Military procedures are beyond me.</p>

<p>The LETC sounds like a great club to be a part of. It sounds like a lot of fun and doesn’t sound boring at all. I mean, you got to train with some of the best law enforcment officiers in the country. I can’t think of any other oppurtunity that offers something like that.</p>

<p>With West Point being a military school and all, are cadets able to visit the range and shoot in their free time? If so, what king of access do you have to different weapons?</p>

<p>I hear that the Infantry Tactics Club and Cavalry Scout Clubs are fairly large and enjoyable. Does anyone have any information on either of these or possibly more elaboration on other clubs? </p>

<p>Many many thanks to those who have replied.</p>