<p>Parents,
My S has received an appointment to the CG academy and is struggling with the decision to attend. He's also been accepted to several colleges up and down the East Coast. The stuggle mainly lies in the "college experience", or lack there of at the academy. Any input into what the lives of a cadet are really like (we already know the pain of swab summer so that's not the issue). Do they have any free time? Can they relax and enjoy themselves? It seems so very regimented (as I understand it needs to be) but he's the kind of kid who loves life, loves to laugh and have fun (not into drinking...just fun). I don't want him to regret the decision. Thanks to all....
Sunny</p>
<p>Sunny, you have omitted the most important part of the equation. Is your son’s goal to be an officer in the USCG. If it is, loving life, loving to laugh, and liking to have fun will make his life at USCGA much more bearable, probably even pleasant and fun. If not, the odds are he might be miserable and regret the decison.</p>
<p>MomBee… you’re right, dead-on. The most important question is to ask oneself is “do I want to make a career of the xyz military service.” If so, usually, as a career officer (looking past the academy…), with all things being equal, considerations are often made to the officer wearing the ring of their respective branch, so I argue that if one were to have a career in the CG, it might be better for career progression to have had your beginings at that service’s academy. </p>
<p>On the subject of life and such: my son, a VERY social kid (VP of his HS… self proclaimed band geek… swimteam captain… water polo player… ) LOVES his buddies, LOVES his HS experience… goes to his friend’s houses for movie night (guys and girls)… not interested in drinking/drugs, good at school… tells me about his calculus homework (my head spins… I shrug my shoulders and say… uh, whatever dude…); he’s growing up to be a fine young man, but still manages to find a slice of his day to watch either MTV, some animal show on Discovery, or play Pokemon on his Nintendo SP (don’t tell him I told you this…)… or play frisbee football with his friends. He’s applied to both the USAFA and the USCGA. If both offered him an appointment, knowing what he knows of both, he would most probably pick USCGA (read on… we’re an AFA family so far… ). </p>
<p>I’ve spoken to my son about the gravity of his decision, how the byproduct of it can curtail his life in the future (it’s the military, and our kids can die doing their job…)… that if the academy life is chosen, he’ll have hard times ahead of him (that will progressively become better, fulfilling, and pursposeful…), and that if chosen, time in the military is an honorable, albeit difficult at times, living. The most important thing your son can do, Sunny, is honestly look into his soul and see if this (the miltary thing…) is right for him. </p>
<p>My daughter: she’s two years into her academy experience. The AFA’s toughest years, arguably, are the first two: the first year is difficult physically… it’s wearing and the second year is academically the most demanding (according to most accounts I’ve heard). She did not have very much personal time at all in her first year and it was rough. Year two was easier and I suspect the third, as the shift from follower to leader is made, will be easier yet. Her squadron (there’s 40 at the AFA) houses most of her friends… these are people that she’s grown the closest to due to mutual bonding/teamwork bonding situations. She has freetime, opportunities to earn passes off campus and frequently goes (on weekends/Friday nights) with friends to town… to shop… to party/dance… to dine… to do structured events (local causes…volunteer situations) as well as the ability to participate in clubs of various types. Yes… cadet life is tough, and each academy is different, but they’re all in the business of moulding minds and hearts. In my estimation, of all the academies, the CGA is the most like a “college experience” with its varied activities and unique, historical locale… </p>
<p>Sunny, I think your son would be remiss if he thinks the CG Academy doesn’t offer some type of “college experience” albeit a different one. In looking at their literature, it seems that off all the academies, the CG Academy seems to be the one with the most “personality” with regards to opportunities and activities granted (this is only a guess, mind you… my daughter doesn’t go to the CG Academy, but in reviewing the information, I believe it’s the best place for my son, who is a current appplicant). Cadet life is different than “regular college” because it IS the military… a military institution with military goals in mind. Granted, attendance of an academy is not required to get a commision in whichever branch, only a college degree is required, but as stated in the begining… that ring thing… if your kid wants to be a career officer in whichever branch… well, sometimes some amount of weight is carried by that ring; this isn’t always true, but if I were going the career route, I would consider academy attendance first. </p>
<p>Finally, some food for thought: of the five appointees that my daughter went forward with from our congressman’s office, I believe my daughter is the ONLY candidate that hasn’t left her respective academy amongst the five, but she KNEW she wanted to go to the academy, and having attended two years there, the experience has sealed her resolve to become a career officer. The other four were accepted to either Annapolis or Westpoint… and those guys were bright, the only problem in their stick-tuitiveness, I believe, was a lack of understanding what it was all about from the get go… also, I don’t think the career thing was considered at the onset (…you mean, I have to be in the army or navy now that I’ve finished “college”?). One kid wanted to go to medical school from the onset and thought going the military academy way was his gig, come to find out he didn’t care for the uniform/regiment/tank thing… so he left. Sad thing is that four academy slots were wasted in the process, but the upside of your son thinking about this is that hopefully, he’ll end up where he belongs… </p>
<p>Finally: @Mombee…why must moms always be right? 
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<p>Sunny, good luck to you and your boy!</p>