Why choose West Point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Point or Cornell ROTC?

Mom of current WP student (cadet) in her first year (plebe year). She also applied to Cornell and other schools that offered Army ROTC. (She is not the PP's DD above who checked out the Virginia schools; we are in California)

I'm assuming your kid is a junior or younger in high school, because it's probably too late to start the application process for WP. Your student needs a nomination, which is a whole other application process in conjunction with the WP application process.

With that assumption in mind, the best thing your DC can do is apply for WP's Summer Leaders' Experience (called SLE). It takes place the summer before senior year. The application for that opens in or around January; it's a rolling admission process so it's worth getting on it the first day it opens.

SLE is a week-long "camp" at WP where the kids get a feel for what it will be like. It's very helpful for kids to figure out if they want that lifestyle vs a typical college experience. My kid loved SLE because she "found her people"--super athletic but also geeky smart, and people who love the outdoors. She also went to the Navy's version, called "Summer Session" and that helped her see the differences in the day-to-day of the Naval Academy experience (for her, she wants to be on the move and outdoors, and the Navy is more inside (inside ships, inside cockpits, etc).

Your kid has to pass a physical called the "Candidate Fitness Test" (CFT) as part of their WP application. If they go to SLE, that test will be part of the week's experience.

I think for many, the hardest thing is to pass the medical tests (Department of Defense Medical Exam Review Board, or DoDMERB). There are many things that can get kids disqualified.

The real differences between a school like Cornell vs. WP are, IMO

1) the day-to-day experience is military-immersive, (really hard, made hard on purpose to challenge the cadet physically and psychologically)

2) the emphasis at WP is leadership training. Everything is designed to teach a cadet to lead, as their job after WP is to lead the enlisted.

3) unlike civilian colleges, everyone who graduates goes to work for the same company, in a sense. Big Army

4) the experience puts the individual in that 'Band of Brothers' mindset. They talk about their friends as if they are family. They "have each other's backs." And they are all high-performers with team-mentality that are committed to each other. This is special. It's a VERY different experience than my other DD is having at a civilian college.

Hope this helps!

This is pretty spot on.

DC went through the West Point application process. Got the Congressional nomination. But also applied for the four year ROTC scholarship. Got it. Ultimately chose to do ROTC at a top 20 school and withdrew the WP app.

I think people here are really underestimating what it takes to be considered for West Point. The Candidate Fitness Test alone will eliminate about 80 percent of all American 18 year olds. Then the medical tests. Eyesight? Color-blindness for instance. And any kind of serious meds are an automatic disqualifier. Then there's the Congressional nomination process.

It's why the acceptance rates for West Point and Annapolis are so deceptive. There are so many hoops to get through before you can even apply.

Anyone considering really needs to start thinking about it sophomore year. They need to be very fit. And they need leadership positions. Very important. And sophomores are generally not leaders of anything so it needs to be planned. WP - and ROTC - are all about creating leaders. It's why employers tend to like them.

But the whole application process for WP is nothing like a regular college application.

West Point (and the other military academies) is a huge achievement and I would hire their grads over any one else.

at your used car dealership as a sales rep?

Aren’t you clever?

[Anonymous]

how is this even a question? Any moron knows West Point is the best of all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Point or Cornell ROTC?

Mom of current WP student (cadet) in her first year (plebe year). She also applied to Cornell and other schools that offered Army ROTC. (She is not the PP's DD above who checked out the Virginia schools; we are in California)

I'm assuming your kid is a junior or younger in high school, because it's probably too late to start the application process for WP. Your student needs a nomination, which is a whole other application process in conjunction with the WP application process.

With that assumption in mind, the best thing your DC can do is apply for WP's Summer Leaders' Experience (called SLE). It takes place the summer before senior year. The application for that opens in or around January; it's a rolling admission process so it's worth getting on it the first day it opens.

SLE is a week-long "camp" at WP where the kids get a feel for what it will be like. It's very helpful for kids to figure out if they want that lifestyle vs a typical college experience. My kid loved SLE because she "found her people"--super athletic but also geeky smart, and people who love the outdoors. She also went to the Navy's version, called "Summer Session" and that helped her see the differences in the day-to-day of the Naval Academy experience (for her, she wants to be on the move and outdoors, and the Navy is more inside (inside ships, inside cockpits, etc).

Your kid has to pass a physical called the "Candidate Fitness Test" (CFT) as part of their WP application. If they go to SLE, that test will be part of the week's experience.

I think for many, the hardest thing is to pass the medical tests (Department of Defense Medical Exam Review Board, or DoDMERB). There are many things that can get kids disqualified.

The real differences between a school like Cornell vs. WP are, IMO

1) the day-to-day experience is military-immersive, (really hard, made hard on purpose to challenge the cadet physically and psychologically)

2) the emphasis at WP is leadership training. Everything is designed to teach a cadet to lead, as their job after WP is to lead the enlisted.

3) unlike civilian colleges, everyone who graduates goes to work for the same company, in a sense. Big Army

4) the experience puts the individual in that 'Band of Brothers' mindset. They talk about their friends as if they are family. They "have each other's backs." And they are all high-performers with team-mentality that are committed to each other. This is special. It's a VERY different experience than my other DD is having at a civilian college.

Hope this helps!

This is pretty spot on.

DC went through the West Point application process. Got the Congressional nomination. But also applied for the four year ROTC scholarship. Got it. Ultimately chose to do ROTC at a top 20 school and withdrew the WP app.

I think people here are really underestimating what it takes to be considered for West Point. The Candidate Fitness Test alone will eliminate about 80 percent of all American 18 year olds. Then the medical tests. Eyesight? Color-blindness for instance. And any kind of serious meds are an automatic disqualifier. Then there's the Congressional nomination process.

It's why the acceptance rates for West Point and Annapolis are so deceptive. There are so many hoops to get through before you can even apply.

Anyone considering really needs to start thinking about it sophomore year. They need to be very fit. And they need leadership positions. Very important. And sophomores are generally not leaders of anything so it needs to be planned. WP - and ROTC - are all about creating leaders. It's why employers tend to like them.

But the whole application process for WP is nothing like a regular college application.

West Point (and the other military academies) is a huge achievement and I would hire their grads over any one else.

at your used car dealership as a sales rep?

Ha ha ha! Very good. Where do you do your stand up? Because you are VERY clever. But also a little unsophisticated.

Rubot? Chibot?

[Anonymous]

With all the rumours, I used to think that it requires T20 academics like 1500 SAT and that you need to pass the Navy seal level physical test.

I learned that it is very much exaggerated and overhyped.
I guess pro-military folks have spread the rumors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With all the rumours, I used to think that it requires T20 academics like 1500 SAT and that you need to pass the Navy seal level physical test.

I learned that it is very much exaggerated and overhyped.
I guess pro-military folks have spread the rumors.

You're back!!!

Have you developed some new snide commentary or backhanded observations? Or will you re-use the same ones?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all the rumours, I used to think that it requires T20 academics like 1500 SAT and that you need to pass the Navy seal level physical test.

I learned that it is very much exaggerated and overhyped.
I guess pro-military folks have spread the rumors.

You're back!!!

Have you developed some new snide commentary or backhanded observations? Or will you re-use the same ones?

welcome back.
you military family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all the rumours, I used to think that it requires T20 academics like 1500 SAT and that you need to pass the Navy seal level physical test.

I learned that it is very much exaggerated and overhyped.
I guess pro-military folks have spread the rumors.

You're back!!!

Have you developed some new snide commentary or backhanded observations? Or will you re-use the same ones?

welcome back.
you military family?

I would not worry about this poster. I suspect their child would not have a chance to get into West Point, even though it is so overhyped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all the rumours, I used to think that it requires T20 academics like 1500 SAT and that you need to pass the Navy seal level physical test.

I learned that it is very much exaggerated and overhyped.
I guess pro-military folks have spread the rumors.

You're back!!!

Have you developed some new snide commentary or backhanded observations? Or will you re-use the same ones?

welcome back.
you military family?

I would not worry about this poster. I suspect their child would not have a chance to get into West Point, even though it is so overhyped.

After reading through this thread I think this ^^^above^^^ is the same person responding to their own comment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids don’t want to give up 5 years of their lives post grad. It is a big sacrifice and a setback in career progression. I know one Navy guy who regrets it.

I think five years is minimal for a free education and getting paid to be a student.

It takes double that to pay off most student loans.

Re: setback in career progress. Alex Gorsky did okay. Same with Bill Foley. So did Petraeus and some other guys I’ve heard of recently. So I think it’s probably okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM really allows people to be critical of others’ life decisions.

Want to attend an Ivy? Go for it. You are an awesome person.
Want to attend an Academy? Go for it. You are an awesome person.

Are we really trying to decide which is more prestigious, harder to attend, etc? Who cares? Attending either is an amazing achievement.

I’m a teacher. My school sends outstanding students to both Ivy schools and Academies each year. They are top of the class, extremely high achievers. Why would I ever sit here and try to quantify which of these students are better than others? They are all impressive students.

Define top of the class.
is 1400 SAT top of the class at your school?

Data doesn't agree with your claim.
People are here for accurate information.

Agree, i wonder if these people are adults who live vicariously through their teenage selves or college selves when they felt at the top of their game and more confident in their ranking? Or maybe desperately competitive and living through their kids? I try to remind myself how sad it all is. I come from a big family. Same gene pool and parents and we are all so different with different salaries and fields and number of kids we raise— and how many therapists we have to see. And none of it correlates with our class rank or even our IQ. Half my most overachieving HS friends took the mommy job route, many are hotshot lawyers etc, many peaked at work after indifferent academics.

Do your kids have the temperament and kind of brains that test fast and well? Finance or law or surgeon? Is your kid crazy high EQ, super energetic, fearless and creative? Rise high in a political campaign, run a major TV network, start a business…

Is your kid just not super motivated about work but brings joy to people by connecting large family gatherings and fostering needy kids? Don’t go to grad school…

These are all such SAD and endless endless endless conversations on these boards.

If you want your kid to be top of field in law or finance and you have no personal connections or vast wealth then it may be worth pushing them for the elite elites —the Ivies do have an advantage — but otherwise take it all with a grain of salt

Ps I came here to get info on West Point as I am clueless and my kid unexpectedly has show interest. But of course i find myself in a toxic nightmare of sad parents

[Anonymous]

Also, who cares

It doesn’t make a diff for most jobs. Maybe if you want to be head of Chase or in SCOTUS

Grad school important for many careers but not undergrad

Get off these dumb boards — I try to! Came for one piece of info and of course come across all these weird moms.
Love your kid. Maybe he or she just wasn’t a star as a teenager— how can we really think it matters in the scope of a long lifespan? I try to remind myself of this, but it’s hard in DC

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM really allows people to be critical of others’ life decisions.

Want to attend an Ivy? Go for it. You are an awesome person.
Want to attend an Academy? Go for it. You are an awesome person.

Are we really trying to decide which is more prestigious, harder to attend, etc? Who cares? Attending either is an amazing achievement.

I’m a teacher. My school sends outstanding students to both Ivy schools and Academies each year. They are top of the class, extremely high achievers. Why would I ever sit here and try to quantify which of these students are better than others? They are all impressive students.

Define top of the class.
is 1400 SAT top of the class at your school?

Data doesn't agree with your claim.
People are here for accurate information.

No. People are here to brag, judge, and make themselves feel better in an anonymous forum while talking a lot about things they really don't know. If they can put someone down or call someone a name that is a bonus. This is DCUM. Please...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps he feels called to serve.

n

Right??? Maybe he doesn’t have a million to spare and wants to become a surgeon?

[Anonymous]

It only a surprise to people who ignorantly believe everyone in the military is dumb or has no other options.

[Anonymous]

- Cheap
- Good outcome
- Fine with military life style

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why question his decision? Just thank him for his service.

This. Not enough people are willing to serve…