<p>Just got back late last night. We had a blast.</p>
<p>Some observations and ramblings:</p>
<p>*Wow. Even in the pouring down rain, the place is beautiful!
*Admissions said that once you accepted a foundation offer it was "very rare" to receive an appointment for that year. That's no biggie for Spider, but it was not what was originally put out (something like "accepting or declining this offer has no bearing yada yada yada")
*One misguided dad went on and on asking which service academy would give his son the best chance to fly jets. He wanted data about number of seats, washout rates in flight school, etc. and was adamant that his kid was gonna be "the one driving the thing" not an NFO. You could see the admissions director gritting her teeth. <yikes. hope="" it="" wasn't="" anyone="" on="" this="" board.="" surely="" not.="">
*There is a new video out that will replace "To Lead and To Serve". We were supposed to be the first civilians to see it but there was a problem with the sound. What I saw of it looked cool.
*Thought Buddy's Crabs and Ribs would be a tourist trap, but we had a great meal there. Chick and Ruth's was great. Even though it was cold and wet, I enjoyed a huge sundae.
*The Drydock does not give free refills on coffee. Navy sacrilege!
*The YPs look as banged up as driver's ed cars. We had fun watching them maneuver.
*Spider had a fit when I sat on the bench marked "first class" in T-Court but hey, I'm a mom, and my feet really hurt!
*The chapel is even more majestic than I remembered.
*I have never seen so many fit women in my life. They all looked like marathoners.
*I can't believe my husband and I talked shy Spider into getting a t-shirt with a pirate logo and the words "surrrender the booty".
*Admissions officers confirmed 2010 will not get laptops. We were told plebes won't need laptops from home and basically don't bring them.
*Spider thought the rooms were huge and much nicer than West Point (where he went to wrestling camp).
*The shuttle from BWI was only $47 for the three of us, a bargain I thought.
*The O'Callaghan was charming, spotless, and well-located within walking distance of USNA and main street. Their free shuttle picked us up whenever we were too tired to walk.</yikes.></p>
<p>Hoping, hoping, hoping it is the first visit of many!</p>
<p>We were at CFW this weekend, too.
Did you go on the tour? We were in the group with the lady tour guide.
Hearing some of the questions made me wonder, Didn't anyone do their Homework before they applied? While purchasing souveniers I heard someone talking with a clerk about a plebe that went home on I-Day once they realized they had to wear a uniform all the time. I would think that would have been clear LONG before I-Day. The quesiton about which is better if you want to be a pilot, USAF or USNA was a little odd, since of course you would get different answers depending on which academy you were visiting at the time. I thought the people answering questions did a great job!
You are right, it is a beautiful place, even in the rain. It was a LOT of walking! We're still crossing our fingers for an appointment. </p>
<p>We found it helpful to hear directly from admissions what to expect as April 15 approaches. They said that candidates would receive a letter offering them an appointment, or receive a letter saying "no". If you receive a "no" the door is closed for this year, but you can reapply next year. A few people will receive a letter stating that they are "waitlisted". Those candidates could get notified a week or two before I-Day if slots open when others do not accept an appointment. This clarified some things we have read on this forum about the possibility of getting in after I-Day.</p>
<p>Doesn't matter how many times I preview a post, looking for errors, I always find one once it's posted.
It should say CVW rather than CFW (v and f are typed with the same finger, right???) It's been a LONG day back at work after such a long trip this weekend!</p>
<p>"This clarified some things we have read on this forum about the possibility of getting in after I-Day."</p>
<p>Anxious mom - Could you clarify what you meant by this? I did not think that this was possible, unless you mean waiting for the next I-Day to roll around.</p>
<p>There have been postings on the forum that at some time in the recent past 9 people received appointments after I-Day due to people leaving during the day, were no-shows, etc. (For a recent posting on that topic refer to the Naval Academy - Annapolis forum posted under the thread: IT Came!)
This posting is from someone (Momof1) that knows one of the 9 . She says that that they were waitlisted, were offered an appointment and did arrive after I-Day. I guess the bottom line is that if you are waitlisted, it's not over until it's over!!!!</p>
<p>Anxious mom, we walked right by you I'm sure! The husband wanted to skip the tour so we cruised around on our own. I was the one who asked the foundation question. We were sitting up front next to dmeix.</p>
<p>I agree that the speakers were very impressive[We heard from the #3 mid in the brigade as well as the admissions staff]. About your "error"....did you notice that I avoided the subject entirely by just titling the thread "visit"? LOL. I couldn't remember if it was cvw, cwv or what!</p>