<p>If anyone has any specific questions that will help them make a decision regarding what you are committing yourself to do (in terms of plebe summer/year or anything else), please feel free to ask here. It is better to know the full scoop, than to find out the hard way when it is too late. Even if it's been your life-long dream to come here, there are still some things you don't know about yet, trust me. There could be things that alter your mind set. You'll be glad you asked those little questions in the end, so as they say in Naval History 101, "You may fire when ready, Gridley..."</p>
<p>From the tone of your post it sounds as if you were not prepared for what you experienced - what has surprised or disappointed you?</p>
<p>gonavy87: we have heard a lot about the difficulty of some of the courses- plebe chem, calc, engineering- how did you find them, and was there time to seek EI if you needed? how did you manage the time for studying adacemics and the other rates/gouge? any advice?</p>
<p>I'm not really old enough or far enough along to really comment but here are a couple of things I have observed:</p>
<p>The academics here are tought but manageable. You do have to study outside the classroom. You have to read outside the classroom. You have to do what you are told to do [just like Plebe summer; amazing.]
I have seen lots of people who don't seem to manage their time well. There is a lot to do in any given day. You just don't have time to worry about girlfriends, parents, internet, music, or whatever else you may have been concerned with previously. Hopfully your parents will understand, mine do.
Even this early, there some don't seem complete all the homework as assigned [granted, sometimes one can't do it ALL but you should be able to make those judgment calls] or utilize ALL of their available study time or all of the extra instruction that is available.
During plebe summer, and granted it is a time to learn, some had difficulty following instructions, e.g. not talking when it was not their time to talk.</p>
<p>Some people take everything WAY too serious. There is nothing personal about the cadre over the summer; just do what you are told when you are told to do it. Simple.
Most everybody here has done well in high school; however, this is not high school. It requires a fair amount of self-motivation and self-discipline to get through everything.</p>
<p>Just my observations so far. I do not claim to be any smarter or better than anybody else; I am trying to make it one day at a time, just like everybody else.</p>
<p>The bottom line: USNA is challenging but not insurmountable. The summer is difficult but not impossible. I think much of what parents [and others] have heard is part of a mystique that gets built up by those that have not been here. Don't get me wrong, if you don't want to be here, you won't make it. But its all very manageable; after all, over a 1,000 people do it every year.</p>
<p>I did personally did well in High School, and the academics are def. managable. I don't find any class overwhelming and the work is not bad. They give you lots of time for assignments. The tough part is that midshipmen are the worst procrastinaters in history. If you do you're work when you have free time (instead of messing around with your computer) and get it done early, it's really nothing to cry about. What I was talking about in terms of preparation...Don't be surprised about being let down. To be brutally honest, and not synical, you will be screwed over many times. There were friends of mine that found out that they couldn't have liberty on Parent's Weekend the day before, or you'll plan for family or friends to visit you, and find out days before that you were put on duty and can't see them. I was not prepared for the many things I thought I would never have to sacrifice. Planning is so hard here, b/c things change all the time, and when something terrible happens to you, the general response is "well, that sucks". Everyone understands this, so you won't find any sympathy. Just don't get your hopes up about anything, because things always get cancelled, you will be obligated to do things at the worst times, and you will give many things up. On a lighter note, the academy is a fun place to be, even as a plebe sometimes. Like any committment, it has its bad points, but I wouldn't change it for the world.</p>
<p>P.S. - If any of you have concerns about keeping relationships going while at the academy, please feel free to ask, b/c many people deal with that here, and it's nice for you all to know how things work, and also what won't work. I have some good advice if any people are interested. My relationship made it through plebe summer and is still going strong, but I was a lucky one. They don't call it the "two percenter's club" for nothing.</p>
<p>Keep the feedback coming!</p>
<p>Is it hard not to see your high school friends who went the civilian route as not being lazy slackers?</p>
<p>jamtex and gonavy87: thank you so much for this "glimpse" into academy life- have printed it out and will send to son immediately! from a parent's perspective, i can imagine how hard it is to have weekend visiting plans cancelled or changed at the last minute- I have no doubt your parents look forward to those as much as you do- but i'm glad for the forewarning, as I honestly had no idea that could happen (other than for a mid getting into trouble and having liberty cancelled)....how far in advance do you find out your duty assignments? are they assigned randomly, or is there some kind of sign-up list?</p>
<p>Duty rotation is automatically set after a few modifications in the beginning of the year. This should let you know when you're on duty. However, sometimes duties can change, you can be automatically added to a list or two, new duties come up, and sometimes you serve as alternates for people who can't make it. For this reason, learning about duty can happen anytime. As a matter of fact, I had a new type of duty at the Levy Center and I found out about it 10min. before hand. That's just an example of how things work around here. Plan on getting your plans messed up at least once within the first few months, and don't be upset if your trip was all for nothing, it really wasn't the Mid's fault, it's just how the system works.</p>
<p>GoNavy, this may be personal, but how do you keep contact with your significant other? I'm kind of worried about this part, because my girlfriend likes to call me a lot. Are you allowed to have a cell phone (of course with talking moderations)?</p>
<p>gonavy87: how could a mother ever be upset with her mid??? :)
....then again.....naw, would never blame it on the mid, unless they did something so outrageous to warrent more tours or someting like that! based on what you said...do mids "switch" duties amongst themselves to cover if something comes up? is that something allowed, or is the duty set in stone? how do you find out when duties change or are added- for example, you said you got an extra duty assignment 10 min before you had to be there- what if you had not found out- would you have been in trouble ( i would assume)...so how do you get notified of something like that especially if it is on such short notice- and what would happen if, for example, you were with a professor for EI? another question re: duty: what kind of duty do you get, and how long is your duty station? do all years serve duty, or does it fall to the plebes and youngesters? thanks for taking the time!</p>
<p>You are only permitted three telephone calls in the summer. You may bring a cell phone, it is issued to you for calling home. A five minute call officially. Our company usually got about eight minutes.</p>
<p>Cell phones are permitted in academic year. I keep mine off most of the time. [See, this is what I mean . . . you are not even there and you are worried about a girlfriend calling a lot. In my humble opinion, you should be prepared to control that. If you can't control it now, you will have a hard time later.] I consider myself lucky, I did not permit myself to have an official "girlfriend" so I don't have to worry about it.</p>
<p>Some people make it work. [A girl/boy friend] Most don't.</p>
<p>I haven't had too many duty problems, changes, surprises. I have switched with others when asked to do so. Different companies handle things differently.<br>
I know of some mids that lost their PPW privileges for doing stupid things earlier in Plebe summer. [How many times can I say it: Do what you are told when they tell you to do it. When the rule is no parental contact during the summer, they mean NO PARENTAL CONTACT, not even "accidental" contact in the Chapel on Sunday. How hard is that to understand.]
On the other hand, you may be scheduled duty when parents are scheduled to come up. All you can do is try to arrange a switch. That's when helping others out in advance is advantageous.</p>
<p>Jamtex: stupid question, perhaps...but if they take you cell phone away, and then give it back briefly for those 3 5-minute calls, then how do you keep it charged while it is in storage??? just wondering- would be a shame to get permission to call, only to find a dead battery! how does that work?</p>
<p>parents sneaking visits in the chapel? terrible, just terrible....but you make a very valid point....the plebes committ, and parents support- even if from far away- but thanks for the warning- while this parent is very interested and very supportive, will make sure not to be one of those helicopter parents candidatemom has been warning us about....no, don't want to be that- time for you guys to grow up- and time for us parents to give you your wings to do just that!</p>
<p>I'll answer for him/her.</p>
<p>They give the chargers/phones back the night before. Or they did in our son's company.</p>
<p>Obviously, you are expected to not use the telephone before the designated time. Also, they did not bother giving back each person's precise phone. They just handed out cell phones to those that brought them and told them to use them, i.e.the first one out of the bag went to the first person without regard to specific ownership.</p>
<p>They gave us our specific phones, expecially because we have certain numbers stored on them. If people didn't have phones, we lent them our phone when we were done with our calls. My company had six minutes of talking time, while others had five or even up to twenty! So, it's really an uncertain thing.</p>
<p>wow- pick-up-stix with phones? sounds like a real mess! how does it all get sorted out in the end? hate to think that when they finally get their phones back (? in sept?) and get a call from "home," that it will be from some other worried parent! :( you would think there is a better way!</p>
<p>GoNavy87: you don't know how much I am looking forward to 6 minutes of conversation....I hope this is catching! 20 minutes? not possible! but wouldn't I just love it! Hope your year is going well!</p>
<p>To be quite honest, mail is of utmost importance during the summer. Being emotionally destroyed on a daily basis, getting mail at the end of the day, right before sleep made all the difference in the world. Calls were nice, but make sure all you parents and whoever else can write do so often. Both my parents and my girlfriend wrote me a letter every single day over the summer. On some days, it was the only thing that kept me going. Just a thought. Plus, if you keep in touch, you won't have to waste your little phone time recounting all of plebe summer in six minutes lol.</p>
<p>gonavy87: will take that advice as well- and thankyou! </p>
<p>Can you share what was the most difficult experience you had during plebe summer? And perhaps, your best? The saddest? The funniest? Is it what you expected "and more," or has it fallen short of your expectations? lastly, you mentioned "I was not prepared for the many things I thought I would never have to sacrifice"...can you expand on this? </p>
<p>it sounds like you have gone through a very difficult time, but I give you credit for making it through- and sharing your experiences with others that will follow- so thank you for taking the time!</p>
<p>Let's see, plebe summer moments...
Best: Finishing P4X, you'll find out....
Worst: Simply getting up at 5:30am to air horns and cow bells, morning after morning...
Saddest: Loosing one of my company mates
Funniest: Getting flamed on by the Battalion Commander for an hour straight b/c my roommate said "Yo, What Up?" accidentally when he entered our room.</p>
<p>About the sacrifices: I almost didn't get liberty on Parent's Weekend because of last minute obligations, I had to cancel family visits because of duty, as of today (19Sept) I havn't had town liberty since Parent's Weekend because of crappy scheduling issues, it's hard to keep in touch with everyone because they all don't understand what it's like here with time limitations, things of that sort...plus, there is ALWAYS something wrong with plebes at any given time. </p>
<p>But hey, we all except these things here, so once you get used to them, you're a "happier" person. It really isn't all that bad, it just honestly takes getting used to. I do actually have fun here and you have pride for being a midshipmen. I would do it all again if I had to, and that should speak for itself.</p>
<p>GoNavy87: so glad to see you have not lost your sense of humor! I suppose these are the things you will remember most, and laugh about often- I hope you get that liberty soon! Your help with those seeking to follow in your footsteps certainly earns you "extra points" in my book!</p>