<p>For those prospective student who will or many go to West Point but cannot afford to go to New York for a day or two, like myself, I was wondering what are the positives and negatives about West Point, that can be superficially experienced when visiting. Because there is a big possibility that I won't be able to visit West Point before R-day, I won't have that hands on experiences to see if West Point is truly the right school for me. I do understand the overall, mandatory five year service, and the training/drilling that are involved, but I feel that those information at too subtle to understand if West Point will fit me, despite it's rigorous experience. I have, however, heard from cadets that West Point is difficult, hard, and hated; however, because of the numerous opportunities and life-changing experience that it is well worth it. Also, I read in Princeton Review, for 365 Best Colleges, and saw that West Point is under a category of most difficult or most disliked school. </p>
<p>So, for cadets or alumni who are still daily facing those typical challenges, can you please elaborate on the positives and negatives in a daily perspective for those prospective students. </p>
<p>Thank you, and I truly look forward to your reply.</p>
<p>As a parent, these are some of the things that I see that make WP difficult: </p>
<p>-most cadets are too far from home for weekend visits to be feasable
-even though you can leave post on the weekend, you can only go into Highland Falls; it's a long walk from the barracks and once you get there, there's not much to do!
-you know you're working your butt off w/ 19 hours, and your friends are at civilian colleges taking 14 hours.
-you hear about all the fun your friends are having, and you get to march.
-if you are from a pleasant climate, you have to get used to cold and snow for months and months</p>
<p>As a parent, here are some things that have made USMA amazing:
-meeting generals
-chatting with the president of the United States
-football games where your home state brings the tailgate food from home
-getting involved in clubs that are fulfilling
-building relationships that will last a lifetime
-authos!
-traveling with the team
-knowing you are being prepared to make a difference in your world
-knowing that if you do not make a career of the Army (or after your 20 years), USMA on your resume will open many, many doors.</p>
<p>kpsong87: For those who have an appointment, I would highly recommend an overnight visit if at all possible before they say "yes". USMA does not charge tuition and the cadets are paid a stipend every month, so I like to think of the cost of the visit as a small price to pay. However, If a visit is impossible, then my recommendation is to read and watch everything you can about the institution, and make sure that you are truly committed. West Point is not a "try it and see if you like it" kind of school. It is a rigorous military school and those who are not committed to meeting the challenge will usually drop out.
I am not saying that this is the case for you, but if West Point seems attractive only because it offers “free education”, candidates are better off looking elsewhere - they also need to be committed to the military lifestyle while “in college” and the responsibilities that come with a commission in the US ARMY after they graduate.</p>
<p>To add to MOT’s list - here are my thoughts on some of the challenges:
• One of the biggest challenges is that cadets are given more to do in a day than they can accomplish. This means they have to learn to prioritize. Not easy for high achieving perfectionists. They have to learn to set aside time for “fun”. Also not easy for procrastinators…
• The Thayer method of teaching is used – cadets go over the work the night before and must be prepared for class. Small class sizes mean that you cannot get away with not doing your work.
• Cadets must graduate in 4 years (there are a few exceptions) – if a cadets is failing classes and cannot meet this requirement they are separated from the academy. This adds more stress.
• Every cadet must take core engineering courses – some struggle with math and chemistry to name a few
• Cadets are held accountable 24/7. They are graded on everything - athletic participation, military leadership and academics. It all counts
• There are rules for everything (this is a military school) and rules are enforced. The punishment for breaking the rules is harsh compared to a civilian school</p>
<p>My thoughts on the benefits:
• A superb leadership program
• The opportunity to make friends for a lifetime – shared adversity strengthens those bonds…
• Many Majors to choose from
• Small class sizes and amazing academic support for those struggling with a class
• Amazing sports facilities
• A huge array of club and extracurricular activity choices
• Study abroad programs
• Plenty of career options – all of which begin with being a Commissioned Officer in the US Army for 5 years</p>
<p>West Point offers an amazing 47 month experience if the cadet is willing to take advantage of his/her opportunities. Yes, cadets like to complain, and most do not "enjoy" their experience as a normal college student would, but if you look at the graduation rate you will see that the vast majority stay. Many graduates would say that West Point is best viewed from the rear view mirror ;). The West Point experience is a challenge for every cadet. It is not easy. It is not designed to be easy….
Good luck!</p>
<p>I have often heard that the cadet activity with most participation is complaining about West Point. I think if it was "hated" as much as it sounds, more cadets would leave. </p>
<p>There will be good and bad days - as there will be anywhere in life. Preparing yourself for this is the best inoculation. I'll ditto all of the pluses and minuses above, but want to add that only you can make this decision.</p>
<p>I started reading Reed's site....I would like to know how many USMA grads share his views. It was a very negative view of the academy and of the Army.</p>
<p>I think any young person interested in West Point should get more than a CURRENT cadet to answer the question. They would be CRAZY if they didn't.
As Mr. Reed said at the beginning of his article
<p>Asking someone to make a decision as to whether or not they want to be a commisioned officer at 17 or 18 is a truly difficult task, but that's really what it comes down to. I'm pushing 3 years after graduation now, and you realize that there are plenty of grads who recognize that the Army is not for them; some realize it as LTs, many see it when they get the truest form of leadership in a company command. What it boils down to is that leadership is not easy. West Point will not be easy, quite frankly, it sucked, but I still have great memories of it and some truly amazing friends who I will always have. The Army is a whole other story, but what you need to do is look inside and ask yourself do you really want to be responsible for putting some one's son or daughter in harm's way, knowing that they could be killed because of the decision you make. I think that's kind of the lithmus test you need to look at. And you REALLY need to think about it, not just say 'yeah, I could handle that,' but instead look at yourself from the outside, try to strip yourself down to as basic a creature you are, and decide if you can see yourself doing that. If, after much reflection, you think you are prepared, than the Academy offers the best opportunity to do that. If not, it's better you realize it now, before you've invested some serious time into something that you dont really want.</p>
<p>The one thing i see on here a lot that someone adressed above me (and is actually quite a pet peeve of mine) is how negative an outlook so many people have on life here. Yes, beast is not a superduper fun time, and you face a lot of stresses plebe year, but much of the description of life here is overblown. The descriptions of typical days i see and hear about so much have cadets waking up at 6 am, going to class non stop until 4, immediately doing athletics until 7, eating dinner, and then doing homework nonstop until bedtime at 1130. People sometimes try to make it out like we're zombies that work nonstop, but in reality, most cadets have much more free time than it is made out to be (some do have ridiculous schedules with crazy hard majors but thats a small minority). Sure, life is busier than a normal college, and we do probably have more demands than normal college students, but as cadets we really dont have it that bad. I've not experienced it yet, but i think the hard part comes when youre an LT and you're actually responsible for taking soldiers into combat. </p>
<p>Sorry for the rant, and i dont want this to sound like an argument for or against WP, i just dont want prospective cadets to have an accurate look at how life is. But don't trust my word as gospel either, like Mr. Reed said, talk to people on all sides of the issue, happy cadets, unhappy cadets, outprocessing cadets, seperated cadets, graduates, etc. The more sides you can see, the more confidence you can have in your decision</p>
<p>mfs has a great point. Straight up, I had the most fun in my life at USMA and it's funny how my ROTC counterparts always talk smack about all the partying they did and think we just sat around and drilled and studied; and I laugh. Obviously, it wasnt like a frat house, but as an upper classman, we left all the time when we could, went all over the place, and had a great time. Additionally, I got to meet 2 former US Presidents, my favorite author, countless general officers, and interacted on a daily basis with some of the best Officer in the Army and learned so many valuable things that simply put, other comisioning sources cant provide.
That being said, WP was no cake walk, many a time it sucked and I hated it, but guess what? Someday, you graduate, and you might go to Iraq and have to sit in your truck on the side of a highway for 12 hours, just sitting, watching for IED emplacers, and then on your return trip get FRAGOed to go clear a possible cache that takes another 5 hours, all with the ever present threat of someone trying to kill you, then get back and have to deal with issues because a Soldier's wife took all of his money and kids and left and now he has nothing left and is trying to fix it in Iraq, then maybe you get an hour or two of sleep and then repeat the next day.
There is a method to the madness. It sucks or a reason, but as mfs says, it aint all bad.</p>
<p>an over night visit is probably the best information you can get about this place. The only thing that can be misleading is some weeks people will be swamped with work and other weeks we wont. a good example is 1 candidate stayed with a friend of mine over night right before we all had this huge math project due. after all of us stayed up for pretty much 2 nights straight working on it, i think he ended up deciding he didnt want to come here. But other nights ive had pretty much hardly any hw which could also mislead people to think its very easy academically here</p>
<p>I agree with most of what has been written about West Point so far, but I think the first question someone considering West Point should ask themselves is whether you want to be an officer in the United States Army? If the answer is no, West Point is not for you. If you answer the question affirmatively, you should consider West Point.</p>
<p>My son is a yearling this year and despite ups and downs, generally enjoys West Point. Far from leading a monastic life, he works when he needs to work and takes time off when it is available. He and his friends have a good time and get to do a hell of a lot of things that I didn't get to do in college. Every now and then my son pulls an all nighter...but there were nights in college when I pulled an all nighter and I didn't go to a service academy. The academics are going to be at a level not unlike those at an Ivy League school or some other prestigous institution. The major differences between West Point and those other schools is that West Point is a military institution and at West Point every cadet has to be physically fit. </p>
<p>Thank you for all your informative and thoughtful reply. It definitely, speaking for myself, helped me have a more wider understanding of the Academy.<br>
I don't know if you guys have read brownshoe's post about John T. Reed, but honestly that kind of gave me a negative outlook on West Point in certain areas. Can anyone reassure or explain the fallacy or misconception, if there is, in John T. Reed's personal experience/perspective on West Point? Also, to reverberate back to original thread, what are some of the cool/fun/interesting/likable aspects on a daily to yearly base at West Point, and also what are some of the tedious/dislikable/boring/detestable aspects at West Point on a daily to yearly base?</p>
<p>I truly appreciated the previous post, and thank you for helping me, and I'm sure a lot of other prospective students, in gaining a more fulfilling background of West Point. </p>
<p>Things my son does that his contemporaries at other colleges have not done which he considers fun:</p>
<ol>
<li> He is a snowboard instructor and gets to snowboard most afternoons and weekends at the West Point ski slope during the season.</li>
<li> He traveled with an academic team last year to Texas and Florida during the colder part of the academic year.</li>
<li> He took an academic trip last summer to Russia and Poland for three weeks.</li>
<li> He has friends that he feels closer to than most of the kids he grew up with.</li>
<li> He loves the outstanding athletic facilities.</li>
<li> He likes the comraderie he feels with some of his teachers and has gone to some of their homes for dinner or cookouts.</li>
<li> He has traveled to New York City on academic trips and for fun with his friends and had a blast.</li>
</ol>
<p>He doesn't like:</p>
<ol>
<li> Most homework (not a surprise).</li>
<li> Saturday morning inspections.</li>
<li> Most of the food in the Mess Hall.</li>
<li> The amount of academic work necessary (he coasted through high school).</li>
<li> Not being able to drive and having to leave his truck at home (his sister subsequently totaled his truck, but that is another story).</li>
<li> Not being able to drink on campus or at campus events until his cow year even though he is twenty-one.</li>
</ol>
<p>As I said in my previous post there are days that he loves West Point and there are days that he doesn't like something about West Point. On the whole, his good days out number the bad days and he does not regret his decision to accept his appointment to West Point.</p>