<p>Inspiration to newly appointed class of 2010 that Academies are not all doom and gloom [even in first year] . . . where has your plebe/cadet traveled to this year?</p>
<p>For those inclined to remember my Christmas present . . .see </p>
<p>Son's name is on this list somewhere. [Is it possible to brag when you are anonymous? I don't think so.] Others that have children on lists?</p>
<p>Does WP/USMMA/USCGA/USAFA post similar lists?</p>
<p>Congrats to you and son...I saw his name...ha ha..great job!</p>
<p>CGA doesn't post this but we were told the 4/c had the highest class GPA ever for the first semester in CG history. 109 of 269 in the class made the dean's list.</p>
<p>As for travels, my son went to Rota, Spain and Madiera Island, Portugal during his summer cruise. He will be heading to Florida in three weeks with the crew team and this summer to Alaska on a cutter and Bermuda and San Juan PR on the Eagle.</p>
<p>Bill0510: I know that West Point has equivalent awards but I don't know of any postings for those awards. </p>
<p>The top honor is the Superintendent's Award for Excellence. It is presented to the top 5% of cadets in each class based on the Cadet Performance Score. The CPS is put on a 0 to 4.0 scale and is a weighted composite of the cadet's Academic Program Score, Military Program Score and Physical Program Score.</p>
<p>Superintendent's Award for Achievement. It is presented to the next 15% of cadets in each class based on the CPS.</p>
<p>Distinguished Cadet Award. Distinguished Cadets are those cadets who demonstrate academic excellence by achieving a YQPA or CQPA greater than or equal to 3.67. </p>
<p>Dean's List. Cadets will be designated on the Deans List when their TQPA is greater than or equal to the standards approved by the Academic Board.</p>
<p>Boss . . . great travels. Wow!</p>
<p>Son has been happiest when he has been traveling away from the yard. Not that such should be misinterpreted; incoming, however, might consider that it pays to become involved in something that offers relief from the yard, e.g. Glee Club, Choirs, D&B, and athletics. Son has been to New York, San Diego, Florida, Chicago, other American cities. Amazing year!</p>
<p>Congrats Bill!!! Anonoymous (or not) parental bragging is A-OK.
We haven't seen anything from WP published yet about any academic/overall recognition or deans list for our plebes yet.</p>
<p>congratulations to Bill's son and shogun's daughter for kicking bu** plebe year and for all the other plebes/cadets for the blood, sweat, and tears they've spent at the service academies. My daughter went into USNA with a 4.3 GPA and nearly perfect ACT score. Now she belongs to the "I want my high school GPA back!" group. The good news is that she's made great friends, acquired a lot of professional knowledge, has a respectable GPA, LOVES her varsity sport, and still wants to be a naval officer!</p>
<p>4.3GPA... nearly perfect SAT... sports illustrated did you say??? varsity athlete... Respectable GPA... professional knowledge...blood sweat and tears...
I feel sick....
sorry, couldn't hold back...</p>
<p>Bill - Ya gotta be busting at the seams. Bragging rights? Uh, they are earned in your case! Enjoy!</p>
<p>USMMA post nothing. No attrition rates, no honors lists, not a thing. Wish they would. I guess I'm looking at it as no news is good news. Word of mouth alone is how we get most of our news. </p>
<p>Beam, at USMMA and some of the other academies they have a saying, "2.0 & go". Its going to be a bit tougher to get a high GPA for most at an academy. We were told that "D means done" by some of the KP Alumni before our kid went & I think its more than true in most cases there. My kid is making respectable grades but the classes at USMMA get rougher & tougher. Hope he can keep it up. They will soon be going into their third and last trimester for the year. First you have all the worry about them getting in, then it gets replaced by hoping they can cut it because you hear so much about the attrition rates. By word of mouth, we think there may have been up to 40 kids who have left USMMA this year so far, mostly due to academics. Now consider that the entire Plebe class is around 280 kids.... Its tough. And scary for a parent.</p>
<p>JM: Wow! In a different direction. That almost 15% and just over halfway through first year? Either they need to a better job of selection [except in your son's case] or it is incredibly difficult.</p>
<p>Does USMMA offer the same type of academic counseling as USNA? That is, if struggling, what are resources available to mids for assistance?
My understanding is that most instructors at USNA only teach two classes a semester. They are not under the same pressure to publish as civilian instructors; accordingly, the remaining time is supposed to be committed to assisting students. Plus there is various levels of academic assistance available. If a person is struggling academically, there are vast resources available to that person.</p>
<p>CGA has similar numbers...we went from 307 on R-day to 263 just after Christmas holidays. On the plus side only 6 left right after Christmas. A large number(36) were swab summer casualties. The smaller schools(CGA and MMA) seem to get hit harder. I don't know why; as some have posited, the kids may not think of these schools as "military" when they decide to attend. Then they find out they are just as tough as the other academies and then they leave. I know CGA has a very strong counseling program and tutoring etc. But as I stated above most of those leaving were not academic casualties. As noted in another thread this swab class is the strongest ever academically, highest SAT's and highest first semester GPA ever.
One young lady left in good standing and joined the active Coast Guard! She wanted to be able to earn money to attend a liberal arts college. Swab summer is tough and we don't yet have a/c although it's on the way!</p>
<p>The flu has struck & the meds are making me float around....Sorry guys, I didn't mean to veer so off course but just wanted beam to be aware (if I understood her comments correctly, that is) that each kid goes through this a little differently & not to be scared. Wanted to let her know that it is rare for kids to keep a 3.5 or up in a GPA & not to go crazy when she sees some of those first grades and that its ok. I'm telling you, its the meds. I have no idea if I'm explaining better or not... LOL I sure didn't mean to take away from the huge accomplishments! No how, no way! I'm just so amazed that it happens at all with all they go through. </p>
<p>Talking with other USMMA parents, its a safe bet that most of the kids leave due to the academics & not the regimental lifestyle, with the exception of those who left during Indoc. I saw some beyond brilliant kids fall the first tri-mester. I think they find out early on that their high school study skills don't work there. Didn't with my kid. He's had to re-think everything when he pulled a C in one of his classes. He freaked. His senior year in high school he had a 5.0 & scored perfect AP exams scores. Not seeing a B let alone a C leaves these kids unsettled when they get one. You really gotta pick them up & dust them off. They do offer tutoring and study groups. Sometimes they put the whole class in mandatory turtoring if all are doing poorly. So the help is there. As to the selection process or it being overly overly difficult, I really believe that doing three tri-mesters plays a big part in the difficulty. They cram it all in fast & hard. 20-21 credits per tri-mester is the norm in 11 months. Since we have no list to go by & parents just talk, there are several who made the honors list last tri. One SC Plebe got a 4.0. He is, sorry Bill, there is no other word, Awesome! </p>
<p>I just thought to give beam a different perspective. Its all really really hard & will be for her kid too but know that if he ends up on an honors list, you better know he's done something BIG. Even for the kids like Bill's & Shogun's. They have to work so hard to get the grades they do and the more I learn about academy life, the more these kids blow me away. Man, they're good!</p>
<p>jamzmom,
have you heard about flu shots?</p>
<p>Yes indeedie I have. Thanks for being so kind as to ask. Both the Jamz & I had gotten one, but alas, it hit both of us anyhow. I think I caught the sympathy flu because my symptoms were exactly like his. :)</p>