Mental Preparedness for USMA

<p>I understad the physical stress the academy will put on you and their learning standards. I get in high school i need to stay fit and on top of my grades :) but what are some ways to mentally prepare myself for the hardships at West Point? Also i was wondering what the acronyms "NASS" and "SLS" stand for...
Thanks!</p>

<p>We purchased “Surviving West Point”, a 14 episode series by National Geographic. The series followed several plebes and upper classmen through for a year. It detailed R Day, Beast, etc. There are also several good books too-Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point: David Lipsky … , Duty, Honor, Country: A History of West Point: Stephen E. Ambrose … ,The West Point Candidate Book: William L. Smallwood …
By far though, the DVD, gave the best insight. There is also a blog on this site by Wetspointchica that is awesome. It gives a lot of details for girls, but much of her advice is applicable to any incoming plebe. You may have to dig through the list of threads because it was started in 2007 and still is being added to regularly. Hope this helps!</p>

<p>The actual post is called: Minority Report: The Girls Guide to West Point , by bzzzt. It is truly awesome.</p>

<p>I really don’t think there’s a way to mentally prepare yourself…I mean, definitely realize what you’re getting yourself into, and know the different things done (Beast, getting yelled at, etc.) but other than that…I can’t really think of everything.</p>

<p>NASS- Naval Academy Summer Seminar
SLS- Summer Leadership Seminar</p>

<p>Yes i read her (BZZT’s blog) a couple of months ago and it was AMAZINGLY helpful.</p>

<p>Google USMA Red Book to see the stats on GPA, etc. needed to remain each year. It will give you clear indication how tough it is academically with all the other requirements loaded on top.</p>