<p>wstcoastmom:
Our high school has a "college forum" where the college freshmen ('04 HS graduates) come back during their winter break and tell the tales of college life to the current seniors. Very enlightening!!!</p>
<p>Neither my son or the West Point cadet from the class of '08 will still be home for the forum, so they were invited to school prior to winter break to talk about their experiences to any interested juniors and seniors. They both came in full glory in their respective uniforms and they looked great! Their experiences and the rules under which they live were very similar, which surprized me. </p>
<p>I am very proud of both young men and the committment they have made to our country.</p>
<p>Thank you for your kind remarks.</p>
<p>I wish the best to all of you for a joyous new year and the opportunity to decide your futures.
CM</p>
<p>Thank you, wcmom. Yes, I am applying for a NROTC scholarship unfortunately I kind of jumped in late to that process. Im always emailing my BGO with updates, but, yes thats good advice.</p>
<p>Research shows that successful students often have at least one or all of the following characteristics:</p>
<p>-highly educated mothers
-parents involved in their child's education
-or, at least one person who mentors them and believes that they can be successful </p>
<p>a) my mother is by no means highly educated, in fact she struggled to finish high school.
b) I go to a boarding school and my mother has little involvement in my education.
c) I am the person who believes that I can be successful and I don't need anyone standing over me telling me that.</p>
<p>I think it is wonderful that all of you parents out there are involved in your children's application process and are concerned. I too take many classes, go to school 6 days a week, play sports, go to church, study etc. But please don't make generalizations about why students are successful. Yes your involvement is an intrisical part of your childrens lives and educations and I respect that you and your families have made that an importance. It is great to see the level of enthusiasm in both you and your children. However, there are a lot of kids out there where ALL of that enthusiasm and drive and support comes from within themselves. I don't have someone to sound things off of, and drive me to the post office and intervies, and book hotels and plane tickets, and get answers from. And I do the same amount of things as your kids do. And I'm going to be just as successful as them whether I go to the academy or not. I'm not criticizing your role in this process I admire it. I just want you to understand that there are many candidates as well as regular college applicants out there who are flying solo. Happy New Year :)</p>
<p>A very smart person once said, "No man (or woman) is an island". </p>
<p>While it certainly is not impossible to succeed without an involved parent, it certainly isn't preferable (speaking from experience). Each of us (and our children) is ultimately on their own path, with it's own set of circumstances, and we work with what we have. Although we don't always recognize it, we are never alone--we have friends, teachers, role-models, and yes if we're really desperate....parents.</p>
<p>scitsailor,
Your commitment and focus on your goals are admirable. I would have to agree that achieving great things without the direct support of parents/mentors somehow makes it more genuine and fantastic. If it's your dream, I hope someday you really are "flying solo."</p>
<p>wstcoastmom- i don't think that it makes me anymore genuine or fantastic than anyone else, i was just trying to point out that it is possible to make it through this process, or any process without help from anyone. I am no different or any better than any other kid with the same goals.</p>
<p>Your passion sets you apart from many students applying to colleges because few high school seniors know what careers they want to pursue. Sounds like you have your eye on the target!</p>
<p>Scitsailor, I truly feel you will succeed in whatever destiny awaits for you. My situation was harsh. My father is not part of my life, he even refuses to help me pay for some of my uniform bill. My mother works full time plus overtime, so she's pretty much exhausted when she comes home. I did not get to go to any candidate weekend visits because she thought it was a waste of money. She thought I had no chance of getting in anyways. And this was the same woman who couldn't stop sobbing on I-day, hehe.</p>
<p>The one constant in life is change. It sounds like you have accepted a golden opportunity and made a change in your circumstances. You have opportunities that your mother didn't have. Make your parents proud! Make the most of where you are now because you're never going to be there again. Think about your goals, focus on them, ignore negative influences, be selfish and put yourself first when it comes to achieving your goals. A dynamic life involves setting goals, achieving them, and setting new goals.</p>
<p>You've met Senator McCain. Think about what he experienced as a POW. He never gave up and contributes a lot to our national discourse. What brought him to NAPS? Could you share that with us. </p>
<p>I agree with Navgirl about your log-in name. Maybe your name could reflect a more positive attitude in the New Year! What are your goals for 2005?</p>
<p>I still have the usunkmyb_ship one but I kept this one because it's funny, just poking fun at myself. I don't think Sen. McCain went to NAPS. He got in because of his father and grandfather. The McCain at NAPS now was forced to follow his dad's footsteps. We feel sorry for him.
My goal is to do my homework and not suck at running</p>
<p>You'll have four groups of people that go to NAPS: the athletes who need help academically, the nerds who need help physically, the priors, and the ones who should have gotten straight in the academy. There are different opinions of how hard or easy Indoc was, but everyone can agree it was annoying. For school you better learn how to teach yourself before the instructor does. Weekends are always something to look up to. Some go to clubs, the priors go to bars, Boston, the mall, my roommate and I drove 4 hours to NYC two weeks ago. I said before somewhere that you need to keep your PRT scores and grades up so you can have unlimited overnights and you don't have a curfew on weekends. AND LISTEN TO ME, if you are underage DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL. It's not worth getting on restriction. In the beginning of the year, some of the lacrosse players got drunk and acted like fools in Nimitz Hall. They got caught and the whole battalion wasn't allowed to leave base for two weeks. When you get put on restriction you are not allowed to leave base for a certain period of time and you have to do all these crappy stuff like scrubbing the walls and marching for hours. The guy who supplied the alcohol is not allowed to leave base until graduation. NAPS can be fun if you have a sense of humor. We are pretty laid back compared to the academy so enjoy it while it lasts. We can have Walkmans, DVD players, and civilian clothes on the weekends. There are several bus trips to Maryland and New Jersey to visit the academy and for football games. You'll make a lot of friends too. Anything else I left out you'll find out for yourself. :)</p>
<p>hey everyone! It's pretty ironic reading this thread because (I'm going to go ahead and say it, lol) during my Air Force Academy interview (USNA is still my top choice) the liason officer found out my father is a full colonel in the Marine Corps. He currently is assistant to the commanding officer of Marine Forces Atlantic down in Norfolk, VA. When the officer found out the military status of my father, he quickly said, "Oh so now we know why we are applying to the academies." But right away, I corrected him by assuring him that my father, ironically, has not been trying to push the academies on me but instead pointing out all the n egatives of the institutions. My dad then turned around and said I become more eager to attend USNA or USAFA each day, despite all the negative aspects he points out. So i guess that's one testament to how much I want to be in Annapolis!</p>
<p>Now to the specifics:
1) I want to be an officer in the United States Navy/Marine Corps
2) I want to serve my country and if called upon to go to Iraq or Afghanistan, I would go in a hearbeat
3) Having gone through one semester of civilian college, I want that challenge of completing 4 years in The Yard, one long day at a time
4) I want the best leadership training that can be offered and I want to learn to be the best leader I can
5) I want to discover myself - the USNA's mission is for you to discover yourself and then lead confidently </p>
<p>So that's why I want to go to the USNA. If you havent read my previous posts, I was denied admission last year but have not given up one bit. I go to church every day to pray I have the chance to be on that long line on I-Day and to stand in that stadium in May 2009, throwing my cover in the air. I will do everything possible to be there and I hope I will see all of you there too!</p>
<p>Congrats Dude on getting into Kingspoint,you're one lucky son of a gun.
I'm an International Student and will be applying to Kingspoint this year.The total expenditure of attending USMMA is less than half of the fees of the other state maritime colleges ,thats why I wanna get into USMMA.
My Sat scores are Verbal- 640, Maths-680, Writing-610. We don't follow the GPA system in india. We've 2 exams ar the secondary[10th grade] and the senior secondary[12th grade] level. I passed my grade 10 th with straight A's but my senior secondary exams were a disaster{ I took Maths and Biology as main subjects-this is the toughest combo for science students in India}I scored 58 %[ No! thats not failing grade, in India thats the B-grade}. I have many extracurricular awards and acheivements before grade 9, but not much to speak about after grade 9.
Do I have any chance of getting into USMMA?? . </p>
<p>Welcome Gaurav! Perhaps you meant to post this in the USMMA threads. FlyNavy is going on her second year there & hasn't posted in a while. She's very busy I think. Your sat scores look very good. Have you checked into the international student application yet? The fees of USMMA are not that important of issue as you will be an officer in the military required to serve as a form of pay back for your education. Check out the USMMA threads & feel free to ask questions here:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=87%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=87</a>
Good luck with your future plans!</p>