New to all this and have questions

blackhawkmom

5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Messages
198
My son received the blue folder. He has returned the required background check,acceptance letter and birth certificate. From what I'm reading this is only the beginning. I have seen posts concerning a "little blue folder" and a "Big blue folder" and " The" blue folder ----what is the difference? I have seen posts saying that doesn't mean he is in and posts that say he is in. I have seen posts saying don't give up plan "b" until I-day. I have seen posts saying to mail care packages and posts saying they won't get them plebe summer----very confusing . We have already declined his other colleges and are now in a panic. I have read they send out press releases and posts they come to senior awards---what -how ------when -oh my I'm confused! Not to mention I'm still getting use to his decision which i wasn't ready for ---we thought it was a pipe dream now that reality is kicking in we just aren't prepared. He is so excited he can't stand still! Any answers would be greatly appreciated.

Freaking out in NC!
 
While I am in the same boat as you, I'll pass on what I believe to be true. And I share your worry :)

If you receive the blue folder and returned all the forms(police check, birth certificate) then I believe he is in.

I have heard that care packages are allowed during the summer - but sometimes might get delayed being delivered, so no highly perishables or things that melt.

As for the awards ceremony, our BGO will be attending the award ceremony at our school - I have spoken to our guidance counselor and she is going to coordinate it. Not sure about the press release.

Best of luck and hope to see you on i-day
 
Thank you for your answers -----this is very complicated to me ---we just aren't prepared and it looks like most people have been preparing for a few years we have only had about 8 months for this . He announced his plans and off we went. hope we will see each other I-day---I'll be the blubbering idiot at the "S" line--you know the one they say the child has to pry themselves off of-lol.
 
blackhawkmom: Your son is IN! You will soon receive the permit to report package. It is a mound of paperwork involving everything from your son's vaccination record to naming beneficiaries. I have never heard of a "little blue folder..." There's only one to my knowledge and whether someone finds it to be little or big doesn't matter.

Care packages are allowed during plebe summer, and beyond. Over the summer, I sent one once a week. Mailed a card every day. We mailed the first care package from Annapolis the day before I-Day, then drove to Texas. Mailed another the following Monday from Texas. He received second one first!

Start now, parents, and accumulate the stuff for the care packages. And funny/inspirational cards to send. Stockpile photos. I tried to stick one in every card all summer. He was only allowed to have three on display, but could rotate them, or just get a quick smile in the midst of a busy day. I had a heckuva time finding gatorade in single serve sleeves, so bought a bunch when I found it.

Most of all, enjoy your child. When they walk into Alumni Hall on I-Day, they are gone. Not like regular college. They are GONE! They will learn how to do everything from toenails to taxes from other mids, the company leadership, etc. Not from parents! The amount of parental involvement is dramatically different than with the more traditional college experience.

Which is A-ok. Yes, I miss my mid tremendously, but he likes USNA and the path he has chosen. Which brings me (us, actually) great peace of mind. Not all like it as much, many struggle at first. You must be prepared to urge them on, inspire them, and help them laugh, especially over plebe summer. Hence the cards I sent daily....mostly funny, a few inspirational.
 
Just received a email from B&G ---there are three things that can make the appointment go away at this point he said---injury-bad grade in last semester or a criminal act.
Also he said to advise anyone I'm talking to to have them wear a broken in pair of mostly white tennis shoes to I-Day they can run in -they will be allowed to keep those and are very important -it will save blisters.
And-most B&G officers are at their senior awards ceremonies.
 
One more thing, blackhawkmom: Keeping Plan B until I-Day or even later....that is done in case of that injury or something freakish that happens between now and I-Day. Some keep it in case their kid washes out of plebe summer (last summer, 15 of approximately 1250 didn't complete plebe summer.) Some don't want their kid to think he has a readily available "out" when the going gets tough (not if, WHEN).

We kept our Plan B through I-Day. Son prepared letters to Texas A&M various departments telling them he was at USNA so would not be showing up at A&M, thanking them, etc. We mailed those when we returned home following I-Day. I was comfortable that at that point, early July, Texas A&M would have plenty of time to offer the scholarships, slot in engineering, etc to another candidate. I was a little uncomfortable hanging on to all that until mid August.
 
Last edited:
The tennis shoe advice you received is correct. They can run in their own shoes. By the end of the summer, those will be shot, but they will have begun to break in another pair.
 
The single best thing new USNA parents can do is to go to the USNA Parents Network at www.usna.org

Every question ever asked, every scenario encountered, every myth dispelled, every bit of information you need concerning your Mid's 4 years by the bay - it's all there 24/7 and it's completely free. Also follow the links to your local/state Parent's club. You will want to join and these clubs do an outstanding job supporting our Mids.

Congrats and welcome to the family.
 
Thank you once a marine. i have joined the usna site but haven't been able to get in with the password and username yet-this has been a few days. i also looked at a few other sites too ----it's nice to know there are so many people willing to help each other in this process.
 
Congrats to you and your son! Welcome.
Make hotel room reservations today for both Iday and plebe parents weekend(PPW). Need a room for the night of June 30th since they will be assigned to report sometimes as early as 6-7 am. staying on the night of july 1 is your call. the last time you'll be able to see your mid will be about 6-7 pm after swearing in. Get to PPW for friday am. You can go up into bancroft and see his room, one of only 2 times you'll ever get to do it.( next time is 2C parents weekend)
 
done and done ---we have our reservations --we made them CVW. He told us when we picked him up that he wanted in and felt like he should have stayed . Made my heart melt . So we called the hotel we had stayed in for the weekend and made reservations even tho we hadn't received his "big blue folder" yet --knew we could cancel if need be.
Quick question----PPW--we made reservations for Wednesday night through Saturday night---should i change that to Thursday night ? We don't get to see him until Friday from what I'm hearing-so are the events on Thursday something we need to be there for?
 
should i change that to Thursday night ? We don't get to see him until Friday from what I'm hearing-so are the events on Thursday something we need to be there for?[/QUOTE]

Shopping of course!! The Mid store will be open all weekend I believe, but you will want to spend as much of your time with your Plebe as posible and they will definatly NOT want to be on the Yard anytime that they do not have too! It is also great to wander the Yard and see what some of the Plebes are doing, but what ever you do, If you see your Plebe Do Not, I repeat, Do Not yell at them, wave, say "Hi Johny" and the like, it could make for dificult times for him/her.

Enjoy and congrats!!!!!!
 
Hi, Your son will have liberty on Sunday of PPW until about 6 p.m. (though he will start getting anxious to get back around 4/5). You won't be able to see him until after noon formation on Friday. If yout vacation/travel permits, I would suggest arriving either Thursday evening or Friday a.m. and staying until Sunday or even Monday. I would suggest that you even consider renting a house for the weekend. If I had known then, what I know now that's what I would have done.

Congrats and best wishes to you and your son.

GoNavyMom
 
i can't say thank you enough for all the suggestions! Boy it will be hard not to say anything to him if i see him -i know it's going to be a difficult summer!!!!! By the way any advice on the usna parent network i tried to join got my password but can't figure out how to manipulate the system-can't see where to log in or anything!
 
Hey blackhawkmom

For I-Day we've rented rooms at the Loews for I-day ($85) - since we are coming from NJ we will drive down on June 30th and will head back after we say goodbye in the evening on July 1st (we have found that the hotwire.com 4-star hotels are usually the Loews or the Westin)

For PPW we have rented a house. My son thought this would be great - he could hang out and relax, I could cook a meal or two.... It's just a few block from the Yard.

Two good resources for this are:

http://www.stayannapolis.com/

and

http://www.vrbo.com/search?q=annapolis

We wound up renting from VRBO, but stayannapolis has an excellent reputation and I'm sure we will use them in the future.
 
i can't say thank you enough for all the suggestions! Boy it will be hard not to say anything to him if i see him -i know it's going to be a difficult summer!!!!! By the way any advice on the usna parent network i tried to join got my password but can't figure out how to manipulate the system-can't see where to log in or anything!

Congratulations! Welcome to the USNA family!

It is absolutely critical that all of you new Plebe-to-be parents understand how serious it is to not make any contact whatsoever with your Plebe until he/she is released for liberty during PPW. In the Class of 2012, a Plebe ran into his parents accidentally that morning, and said hello to them, even though he had clearly been ORDERED not to make contact until after noon formation. For disobeying a direct order, he lost his town liberty during PPW. All those 6 weeks of waiting for the chance to get off the Yard and relax? Gone. All those plans for going to the mall, seeing a movie, lounging on a bed for most of a weekend? Gone. He and his family were able to visit, but only on the Yard, where there are only a few places that Plebes are even allowed to sit down (the library and in the restaurant in Dahlgren with visitors). It is NOT worth it. If you see him/her Friday morning, do an immediate "about face."
 
THANK YOU 2012 Mom!!!!! That would kill me. I'll make sure we and anyone with us knows this as well as my son.
 
The single best thing new USNA parents can do is to go to the USNA Parents Network at www.usna.org

Every question ever asked, every scenario encountered, every myth dispelled, every bit of information you need concerning your Mid's 4 years by the bay - it's all there 24/7 and it's completely free. Also follow the links to your local/state Parent's club. You will want to join and these clubs do an outstanding job supporting our Mids.

Congrats and welcome to the family.

I sent a request to join the USNA Parents Network, and this is the email response I received:

"Within the last couple of days, you sent in a subscription to USNA.org.

Today, we shut down the lists and so I can not process your subscription.

If you have not already found them, there is another USNA parent listserve.
It is called USNA-Family and you can find them at www.usna-family.org I
urge you to join them!

Sandi Zets
Freedom, PA
Moderator: USNA-Net
Webmaster: www.usna.org
LCDR Michael Stoker '00
Chief Engineering Officer - USS Bunker Hill
San Diego, CA"

:confused: What does this mean? If they "shut down the lists", does that mean they aren't taking new members? Also, the link for the other listserve didn't work. What to do?
 
Back
Top