USMA Overnight Visit

My son would like to plan an overnight visit to West Point. Is it only one night? For some that have participated in an overnight visit this year, could you please explain how it works? Thanks!

There is a link on the portal to arrange it.
Here it is:
https://candidate.usma.edu/guest/CQ/agree_before_entry.cfm

He can request a particular cadet to bunk with, if he knows one. The cadet gets credit for it too.
It is only open to LOAs or Appointees, but I look at The List, so I know that's covered. Congratulations.
It is a very valuable experience for both you and your son.
When you take him up you get a nice tour too, if you havn't done one already. Definitely a must-do.

Overnight visits are for candidates with either an LOA or appointment. I had mine in the beginning of September.

Basically it's the same as the day tour, with an overview and Q&A session in the morning. Then the cadet escort (plebe) comes and takes the candidate around the campus to his/her classes and activities until around noon the next day. Parents do not come with the candidate. During this time, candidates get to chat with with the cadet, who has a firsthand experience of West Point. They'll also get to sleep in the cadet's room, eat with the cadet, and go around seeing places on the campus.

I fully recommend an overnight visit to anyone who is able to schedule one. I had the opportunity to watch a netflix movie with my cadet and also attend a hispanic culture celebration event.

A FEW MORE DETAILS:
We drove up from Brooklyn in the early morning. A beautiful drive.
We sat through an interesting presentation with our son.
Eventually (after about an hour) his bunkie arrived to pick him up and they both left. We were entitled to a 4-hour campus tour but declined as we had already been up there several times and had to get back to NYC. We did walk around a bit and enjoy the ambiance. Jonathan came back with a clearer impression of WP life....didn't change his mind any more, but provided some extra dimension.

My overnight stay at West Point is scheduled during Spring Break 2011; I can't wait. I believe the candidate arrives early in the morning the first day of the tour and leaves the following day around noon.

I took an overnight visit in November during Air Force week. I'd recommend doing the overnight on a thursday night, because thursday night is spirit night and you get to experience a spirit dinner. Other than that you get the whole cadet experience on whatever day you visit-- classes, lots of homework, the barracks, and the social interactions of cadets. How cadets interact with each other on a daily basis was what I probably knew least about before my overnight visit, and I learned a lot about how my life will be next year as a plebe by watching and being a sponge.

Just make sure to pack everything on the list they e-mail you with your conformation. Everything should be able to fit in a backpack/ duffle bag. Also, a nice gift for the cadet touring you is a nice way of saying thank you. I took a box of chocolates from my local candy shop-- it was a hit and the chocolates didn't last long between my plebe and his two roommates!

Congrats on your son's appointment!!

You'll get a pretty comprehensive schedule when you sign up and a list of what to bring, directions, stuff like that. I had a ton of fun on my visit. Echoing Jake, I feel like a visit closer to a weekend on say Thursday or Friday works out well because your son won't have to sit there while the cadet gets through homework, but would get to hang out with more people while also attending classes. Best of both worlds.

abeastlybeast, hopefully your visit isn't scheduled during spring break for the Corps or there will be no one around to stay with...

So we can definitely choose the cadet we are escorted by? I have a battle buddy from my last unit who is a plebe this year and it would be awesome to hang out with him during the overnight.

I know the website says one must have LOA for overnight but my DS local liason told him that a "competitive" candidate with a complete file can go for an overnight visit. He will call West Point to find out but I was wondering if anyone here has heard this too?

philmont said:

I know the website says one must have LOA for overnight but my DS local liason told him that a "competitive" candidate with a complete file can go for an overnight visit. He will call West Point to find out but I was wondering if anyone here has heard this too?

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I have not heard this. My cadet went in the spring after he received his appointment.

Stealth said:

So we can definitely choose the cadet we are escorted by? I have a battle buddy from my last unit who is a plebe this year and it would be awesome to hang out with him during the overnight.

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yes, you can pick which plebe escorts you if you know someone who is at USMA now. When you request what day you go on a visit, there is a comments section. That's where you can put in the name of the plebe you want to be toured by.

AKH said:

Congrats on your son's appointment!!

You'll get a pretty comprehensive schedule when you sign up and a list of what to bring, directions, stuff like that. I had a ton of fun on my visit. Echoing Jake, I feel like a visit closer to a weekend on say Thursday or Friday works out well because your son won't have to sit there while the cadet gets through homework, but would get to hang out with more people while also attending classes. Best of both worlds.

abeastlybeast, hopefully your visit isn't scheduled during spring break for the Corps or there will be no one around to stay with...

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Well when I requested my overnight stay, there were designated dates where tours were not permitted. I would assume that USMA would not have overnight tours when cadets are on spring break leave. Thanks for the heads-up though, I'll check.

I'm about to schedule mine now. Couple quick questions: When you pick the date, that is the day you arrive, correct? And I'm trying to decide between Thursday and Friday. Is there any difference in the experience based on which day you go?

Thanks!

You pick the day you arrive.

If you go thursday you get to see the corps in ACU's. You also get to see a spirit dinner. If you go on friday you get to see the corps of cadets on a saturday morning!

Hunter9x9 said:

When you pick the date, that is the day you arrive, correct? And I'm trying to decide between Thursday and Friday. Is there any difference in the experience based on which day you go?

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Some thoughts from my son's experience:

- You'll want to experience classroom time, so I'd probably avoid a Friday/Saturday combo. You'd also likely miss the mandatory breakfast in the mess hall if your morning there was a Saturday.

- DS arrived Monday morning, so he was able to do some afternoon classes & activities, then breakfast, class, etc Tuesday AM. That worked well, since his goal was to see the most he could of real cadet life

- Travel is easier flying in on a Sunday, out on a Tuesday. Always harder to fly out on a Friday anywhere. No matter what, plan on getting near highland falls the night before (fishkill, etc). You don't want to fly in the day of.

- If possible, I'd avoid parade/drill days. Parents like them, but you'll end up standing around or worse, your cadet will be excused and the two of you will end up killing time. If you go, you'll want to experience as much as you can. There will be time for hanging out.

- To the candidate asking about dragging with a buddy: I'd think hard about whether you want a (hopefully objective) stranger vs a bud who might be trying to convince you to come. Not that another cadet you drag with would not also try to convince you, but sometimes it's nice to have an totally objective viewpoint.

- The overnight was also very good for the parents. we feel we got much more out of it than some of the other branch visits. Information sessions were smaller & more focused, small group cadet Q&A, cadet tours, time was spent directly 1:1 with admissions & the parents, etc. It really addressed all of our questions and concerns!

- Your parents will have enough time the afternoon & 2nd morning to see something in the Hudson valley. Mansions, etc. It's worth a trip. And breakfast at the CIA is highly recommended! You will have time after the visit concludes to do some self guided tours around USMA and still catch an evening flight out.

- While your experience may vary depending on your cadet & company, my son was very impressed with how the company took him in, took the time to get to know him, and introduce him around. The company commander even scheduled time to interview him and answer questions.

overall, this is your time to experience the real deal. I'd pick your visit time to maximize your experience, and call admissions if needed to get the schedule.

Hawk's advice is very sound. The reason for the overnight is to see if USMA is the right place for you. It is a very unique environment and you owe it to yourself to look at it with the most educated eyes you can. I agree with Hawk, hanging out with a buddy may not be the best way to do that.

While staying with a buddy might not give you the most objective view, for me it helped that I stayed with someone I know.

The plebe I stayed with for my overnight I knew from high school. I was able to judge his morale, motivation, personality changes, and happiness based on the times I had hung out with him when he was still a civilian. For me, it was easier to see how I might possibly handle daily life through having someone I know show me how well theyve adjusted to being a plebe.

Just my .02 cents. If I did not already know that USMA was 100% where I want to go and had not already been on a daily visit last year then I would've wanted someone I didn't know to give me an objective view of the place.

I think it just depends on what you personally want out of the overnight visit.

I know a Firstie at West Point right now. Would I still be able to board with him for an overnight visit? Of course I'd need to ask him if he wouldn't mind me doing so. I'd also have to consider whether or not I'd want an objective view of boarding with a plebe instead.

abeastlybeast said:

I know a Firstie at West Point right now. Would I still be able to board with him for an overnight visit? Of course I'd need to ask him if he wouldn't mind me doing so. I'd also have to consider whether or not I'd want an objective view of boarding with a plebe instead.

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I would see West Point with a plebe. My cadet had his overnight visit with the plebe who had given him his day tour earlier in the fall. They hit it off, stayed in touch, and my cadet requested him for his overnight. The plebe was very frank with him about Beast and his first year.......his struggles and successes. My cadet valued this honest information and it helped him tremendously when he started at WP.

My son was very good friends with a Cow at the time and even he recommended he do the overnight with a plebe in order to see what the first year is like.

Concur about staying with a Plebe.
It would benefit a candidate to see West Point through the eyes of a Plebe.
In addition to all of the good reasons other posters have stated, you will go to classes with the Plebe. This enables the candidate to see what classes will be like their first year. As a candidate, do you really want to go to class with a Firstie who is in the thick of his/her classes in their major?
As a candidate, I would rather see what Calculus, Chemistry, English etc. were like.