<p>Due to the overwhelming response I received from my first post I thought I might do well to explain some of the remarks that I made. </p>
<p>First, USNA is a great place. It is challenging and rewarding all at the same time. However, being a plebe your life will stink no matter how good an attitude you have. Your upperclass will make you do things that have absolutely nothing to do with training. You will talk with your friends from high school who went to civilian colleges and they will tell you of the awesome time they are having at school. Meanwhile, you'll be in your room on a Saturday Night wishing you could listen to music or even watch a movie. You quickly realize that your reasons for staying at the Academy are different from your reasons for coming to the Academy. </p>
<p>Someone in a later post put it very well in saying that being a plebe at the Naval Academy is a love-hate relationship. All the attention is on the plebes, and a lot of BS is stacked on the plebes in the name of "training." Now some of you may believe that all of that BS has some application in the military. This is simply not the case. Much of it does have some distant bearing on military training while the rest is simply meant to amuse the upperclass at the plebes expense. </p>
<p>Personally, I felt that plebe year is very self motivating. Depending on which company you get into your life can be rather pleasant or downright miserable. So the best advice i can give you is to know your rates, make sure your uniform is looking good, and say as little as possible. </p>
<p>If you want the real scoop on what its like being a plebe. Then ask the question and I'll answer it truthfully and let you know what life is really like here.</p>
<p>I know that your comment on which company you are in makes a lot of difference between a good experience and a bad one are the same things my daughter (at NAPS right now) heard when she visited the Academy. I guess it's a crap shoot. Anyway, keep your eye on the prize. The end of plebe year is right around the corner for you. :)
Hang in there.
NAPS05mom</p>
<p>Keep shooting straight and mentally separating the "chaff from the wheat" when it comes to hazing/training, it will serve you well in the future.</p>
<p>My daddy once told me that everyone will have to "eat some ----" during their lives. The trick is never to mistake it for caviar.</p>
<p>"Of course, these are all things you do at a civilian school, but more often than not, there isnt the stress or time crunch, and you dont make any decisions that affect other people's lives (at least, not on a daily basis)."</p>
<p>Uhh . . . I know that SOME people on this board attended civilian colleges . . . are you really going to let this fly? Maybe if you're a trust fund baby you don't have a "stress or time crunch," but I think most civilian students are making FAR more decisions on a daily basis. I think you lack an appreciation for the difficulty that comes with managing the great amount of autonomy that a "normal" college student has. </p>
<p>Also, you really aren't making any decisions (as a mid) that are affecting the lives of others--at least you aren't the final word on any of these decisions. Your time will come in the fleet---but it certainly isn't at USNA. </p>
<p>I had the luxury of attending a year of civilian college and I can tell you that during Plebe year, as "anything" has mentioned, it is all about time management. College is somewhat the same way, but there is much more time. Especially if you are not taking 18-20 hours (even more for some here). With this being said, all the constraints on being a plebe...pro knowledge, sports periods, studying rates, etc. each 4/C has to prioritize which is more important and then balance academics. It is a lot easier this semester because we have mastered this. However, in civilian college you don't have to know pro knowledge, etc. And in some companies (during 1st Semester), by one person failing, could call for the punishment for the entire company...so yes your choices of how you prioritize can have an affect on others as a 4/C. Writing a menu 2,005 times, 0530 inspections (which aren't technically allowed, happen), and having 5 people on all-call chow calls is just some of the punishments. So one does have to decide which is more important and there are consequences if something gets screwed up. Also, when there are constant punishments, lives of others are affected. DeepThroat, you are exactly right, a 4/C is not making decisions that will effect anyone lower on the chain of command. There are two sayings in reef points -- R.H.I.P (rank has its privileges) and R.H.I.R. (rank has its responsibilities) and yes, at a lower level on the CoC you are not going to be held as responsible. The Commandant and Supe believe somewhat in this.</p>
<p>But to sum up, I believe many more choices are made at USNA then at a civilian college (maybe except as a 3/C-sophomore). This is just my opinion.</p>
<p>" Maybe if you're a trust fund baby you don't have a "stress or time crunch,""
I assume you're refering there to people who don't have to do work study. I don't do work study because I got outside scholarships that turned my whole financial aid package into grant money instead of part of it being loans and work study. However, I know a lot of people who are "balancing" a job with school work. They for the most part earn $10 an hour to sit around and do homework and occasionally check people into the gym, tell little kids not to pull the fire alarm, etc... Unless you get an actual job (i.e., off campus) working really isn't much of a stress for anyone.</p>
<p>"I think you lack an appreciation for the difficulty that comes with managing the great amount of autonomy that a "normal" college student has."
Hmm... Shall I get wasted, or shall I do homework? Or shall I do homework and then get wasted?</p>
<p>Sorry if I come off a bit rude... I'm a freshman in college right now. I do ballet, I play piano, I play soccer, and I'm taking a full course load. The only times I've had a hard time getting all my work done have been when I was just lazy and put everything off until the last possible moment... as the college saying goes, "your homework will take exactly the amount of time that you are given to do it."</p>