Visitation Programs Value

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Do the various visitation programs such as Cadet For a Day carry any weight with admissions? Does it help your overall admissions package to have participated in one of these programs?
 
I would say most definitely. It shows that the candidate has a high level interest in attending. Sometimes they interview the candidate then as well. And it's very helpful for the candidates themselves. I say go for it.:thumb:
 
I think we will do it. My son is very interested in the Coast Guard and the Academy and he would like to do the visit. We are on the opposite side of the country so it is a fairly big trip for us so I was looking for a little feed back on the value of the visits. Thanks
 
Do the various visitation programs such as Cadet For a Day carry any weight with admissions? Does it help your overall admissions package to have participated in one of these programs?

Definitely do it! I did an August Campus Visit/Admissions Brief, and not only did it look good for admissions, it was great to actually see the campus and learn more about the Cadet Life. If your son gets accepted, I highly suggest the Academy Experience Program as well (or Beansprout Program as it's so much better known here:thumb:) That goes a lot more in depth with everything at the academy, and they get to shadow a cadet. Made my decision final :D
 
I recommend you contact your Admissions Officer as soon as possible and ask him/her about the availability of the visitation program you are interested in.

Cadet For A Day is VERY popular and usually fills up VERY quickly.

FYI - CFAD is not open to students who received AIM appointments.
 
Done deal. Son has done it and is going.

Should parents visit as well in anyones opinion? I could accompany him or send him on his own.
 
Should parents visit as well in anyones opinion? I could accompany him or send him on his own.

I found it very helpful to visit West Point with my son during the academic year. We were also there in the summer, which was fun but less helpful. We were already pretty informed about West Point, but there were many intangible lessons from being there that made it valuable for both of us. I was already supportive of my son's interest in attending, but the visit helped me to see the "fit" for him.

Does CGA separate parents and kids during the visit? WP did this and I think it was ideal- my son was able to spend several hours with a cadet while we parents listened to briefings and took a tour.
 
They do seperate the parents and kids and I think that is a must. I think the kids are more able to be themselves and get more out of the experience if mom or dad are not there.
 
Does CGA separate parents and kids during the visit? WP did this and I think it was ideal- my son was able to spend several hours with a cadet while we parents listened to briefings and took a tour.

The Cadet For A Day program is an overnight visit (10:30 a.m. Thursday until 11:00 a.m. Friday) for candidates only. Parents are expected to find their own overnight accommodations.

Parents are welcome to attend an Academy Admissions Q&A briefing when they drop off their CFAD.
 
Now that DS is registered, I suggest that he contact Admissions to try to customize his trip so that he can get the most out of it. My DS asked to be paired with a cadet who is majoring in engineering and is on the baseball team. He also asked for an interview and to attend a baseball team fall practice. Admissions replied that they will try to accomodate his requests and that he should contact the baseball coach about observing the practice. He's not sure about engineering as a major, so the visit is a good chance to learn more about it. We've heard that time management is critical, so being paired with a baseball player will help him learn how the players juggle the time and energy commitment to the sport with everything else. No guarantees that his request for the pairing can be accomodated, but I don't think it hurts to ask and could make the visit especially helpful.

We visited the campus in February, so he will make the trip by himself. If I hadn't been there before, I would want to visit the campus with him. The Navy has an interesting submarine museum in nearby Groton with tours of a retired submarine available. That could be a way to spend the afternoon.
 
I just visited the academy today, and I learned a lot and had a lot of my questions answered. After seeing the campus (which is beautiful) and getting an insight into cadet life, the academy has become my number one choice. I think that visiting the academy in some way (AIM/CAFD/Admissions brief) is a must for any serious candidate.
 
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