<p>There is a boy at my school who just recently got into West Point. The other day he was saying something about how his summer would be intense preparation. </p>
<p>So I was just curious, what exactly do admitted students have to do over the summer before their freshman year? I've heard of something called beast, is that a summertime thing?</p>
<p>Also, what is the typical day at West Point like? I honestly have no interest in going to West Point myself (I really admire all of you who do!!), but I know this boy and two people in my grade (I am class of 07) who want to go to West Point. I'm really curious about exactly what life at the service academies is like, and I figured this was a good place to ask.</p>
<p>So if anyone who goes to West Point or knows people there could tell me what you do to prepare over the summer, and what daily life/rules/etc are like, I would really appreciate it!</p>
<p>PS. Another question from skimming this forum looking for answers- what is R-day?</p>
<p>My problem is that when I skim the other posts, I don't understand what the posts are saying. I hear lots of terminology and references like "R Day" "plebes" "CFA" etc that I don't get. So if someone could give me a more civilian basic overview, I'd really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Another question- when are cadets allowed to go home? Do you get Thanksgiving/Christmas/spring break? Can you go home on weekends or are there designated visiting times or something?</p>
<p>And Hornetguy- I did try skimming these forums and going to the official website. The problem with this forum, as I said before, that it gave me a piecemeal impression and I didn't understand some of the terminology. The problem with the official website was that I felt it gave me a very glossed-over impression, and I wanted to know what West Point life was REALLY like, hearing it from somebody who went there or knew people who did. Neither one of your sources gave me the impression or answers I was looking for. If you can help me by answering my questions, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you for your suggestions but I want more specific, personal answers.</p>
<p>r day is the first day candidates report to west point. it is usually in late june and the candidates spend the entire day getting issued their uniforms and and reporting to thir companies. they also get sworn into the army. r day is also the first day of beast. beast is the term for the 6 week summer basic training that all cadets have to go through. they learn many different things from marching to the propper way to make their beds to basic soldiering skills. after beast the academic year begins.
cadets get thanksgiving, spring and christmas break and some leave in the summer. however they also partake in military training. forexample after plebe year (freshman year) cadets have about 3 weeks leave then they report to camp buckner for cadet field training (more advanced military training). older cadets get to go to different army skills schools like jump school or air assault school.</p>
<pre><code>i hope this helped some. the trick is just to google whatever your looking for. eventualy you will find it.
</code></pre>
<p>Thank you astrodude, you did answer some of my questions and I appreciate it.</p>
<p>I will try googling, but I think the problem is I am looking for more of a personal perspective- more of a "live from the trenches" answer/point of view...I'll try search engines, though, maybe I'll hit on something.</p>
<p>As I've said --several-- times in previous posts, I tried reading the posts here but often found myself confused by the terminology. I felt I needed a more basic understanding of West Point life before I could understand the specifics of it (and the posts cover the specifics, very rarely are they targeted towards outsiders). That's why I asked for a basic impression of West Point and cadet life- I figured I could get it here (because some of you actually go there, and others are hopefuls who must know a lot about it), and then I could understand the rest of the forum.</p>
<p>You really don't need to be so rude about it.</p>
<p>And you really don't need to be such a hypocrite- I explained in TWO previous posts exactly what my problem with just reading the forum was. If YOU had paid attention to other posts, as you were advising me to do, you wouldn't have made that comment.</p>
<p>sep092 - When my daughter was thinking about going to West Point, we first started with the website. We also knew somebody who was attending there at the time. We also visited it and she followed a cadet around for the day, going to classes, lunch, etc.</p>
<p>Some of the best ways to get information, we found, was the above mentioned. Also, I understand there are a lot of military terms or acronyms used that most wouldn't understand.</p>
<p>If you are truly interested in information I would also suggest the following books which we found helpful and informative: Absolutely American and Duty First. Also, if you have access to Netflix or possibly another large DVD rental, I would rent Surviving West Point. That was also really informative. It is a National Geographic documentary and very interesting.</p>
<p>She just graduated from USMAPS and will be attending USMA next month and she has a lot of terms that I have to ask her to explain to me, I guess it just becomes a natural part of their lingo. I have picked up a lot of information from my books, just talking to other people and quite a bit of information from reading posts from here.</p>
<p>sep09, I've never had to ask around for every acronym I've seen used. You simply need to read a bit and eventually you'll pick it up. Such an ambiguous and broad question isn't even possible to answer.</p>
<p>If you want a fast read that will explain Beast pretty well try reading "Battle Dress" by Amy Efaw. It's fiction but pretty close to the real thing and includes a glossary.</p>
<p>Thanks so much to all of those who helped...I'll definitely go to the library and encyclopedias, didn't even think about that, stuff is just so hard to find or interpret on the internet...</p>
<p>tactical nuke, if you didn't find it possible to answer the question you could have simply not replied instead of responding snidely. Doesn't that make a lot more sense?</p>
<p>TacticalNuke - A good leader does not berate somebody with a question. Remember, there are no stupid questions. You are familiar with a lot of the terms, but sep092 is not and that is why the questions are being asked. They may be very broad questions but you should lead somebody in the right direction. Of course, it would be difficult to answer all, but a point in the right direction is basically what is being asked. You should never try to make somebody feel small for asking for information. Remember, that will be you some day. I don't care who you are, there isn't any one person who has the answer to every question. Sometimes it is difficult to express yourself in the written word as opposed to a one-on-one conversation. Isn't that what this forum is for? To ask questions? To seek knowledge from somebody who has been there? Sep092 has repeatedly stated that they are seeking direction to an unfamiliar territory. This may come naturally to you but not to others.</p>
<p>CFA is a physical fitness test for candidates and cadets.
If you get the Military Channel, look for "Inside America's Military Academies." It is fairly informative.</p>
<p>Alright, I'm going to contribute in a constructive manner:</p>
<p>You see the blue bar across the top of the screen. Start with 'My Control Panel' and work your way over to 'Search'. Now, once there, you need to right-click on search and type in your query, or use advanced search to just search a specific forum.</p>
<p>The "tradition" that has evolved over the years on this discussion site is to provide a place for people to post questions and discuss the service academies. Criticizing posters because they sought information on this site without following your notion of when and how they should post those questions is wrong.
A simple guideline to follow is, if a question is asked and you know the answer, post it. If you do not, stay silent and let someone else post it or explain how they can find the answer. Politeness dictates the manner in which you do so. Anonymity does not mean that we don't need to keep our discussions civil, and conduct ourselves in a respectful manner. </p>
<p>I agree completely with shogun ... i can understand after some time on these boards and pursuing an appointment many things may seem simple that are not -at least to new people</p>
<p>In addition to the person asking the question the customers of this board are people who may just be starting their interest in WP and this board is an easy and FUN -usually- way to start getting those scraps of information that let you start asking the right questions. </p>
<p>my CC applied last year eventualy got civil prep and will be at R day in June. As a result I have been reading about WEst Pont since April of 2004 , trying to get on better feel for what I needed to do to help. </p>
<p>I enjoyed (and envied ) some of the posters who either themselves or S/D went last year ... but prep has been great. </p>
<p>I ramble a bit .. but I just want to say how glad I am that last year in particular people answered these questions .... and I hope eveyone will continue</p>
<p>ALSO they way I found College Confidential was by SEARCHING !!! and the good info here</p>