My son has a day visit scheduled this week, which he is anxiously looking forward to. Does anyone have any experience with a day visit at West Point? What can he expect? How should he dress? Was it a positive experience? Would it be proper to "tip" his cadet chaperone with a small gift card ($25)? Or is that innapropriate? He has an opportunity to speak with an admissions officer at the end of the day, is it wise to do this? Thanks.
Great questions- anticipate a wonderful visit! We did this about a year ago. Here's how it worked for us:
-we traveled the previous day as admissions asked us to report at 8 a.m. We allowed lots of extra time in the a.m. which was good as parking was difficult and rather far. Wear comfortable walking shoes!
-my son wore khakis, dress shoes and a collared shirt (and a warm jacket!). I've seen the advice on here "never wear a letter jacket" but my son did and it was cool because a cadet from our hometown approached him and introduced himself.
-after arriving at admissions there was a lot of waiting around with rather nervous families. Then there were several briefings- very interesting and worthwhile, one from a captain who works in admissions and is a grad, telling his WP and Army story, another briefing from a current cadet (a cow, I believe). During this time the escorts arrived and students left with them, one by one. Then there were a couple of parent-oriented briefings, also good information. Then a tour led by a cadet, through classroom buildings, mess hall and library. This lasted about an hour and there was a lot of interesting Q & A with the very impressive cadet. This was probably my favorite part. Then parents had some free time before cadets were available- I got lunch in Grant Hall and spoke with some other visiting parents.
-cadet host: my son had a great experience with his, they really hit it off. I believe the cadets volunteer for this task so the ones who do it want to be doing it. They are all plebes so it's a window into plebe year. My son's cadet was prior service and had attended USMAPS, so my son was interested to hear about those experiences. They attended a class, chatted with the professor for a bit, visited the barracks (which is off limits unless on a day or overnight visit), and ate lunch.
-gift for host: we gave a gift card to a local restaurant that delivers. The cadet was very surprised and pleased- led me to believe that it is not typical, but not inappropriate in any way. I have also heard that home baked goods are appreciated!
-admissions meeting: do this! It's a great way to get some candid feedback on your application. It was reassuring for my son.
In summary, WP really makes this a great, worthwhile experience. We visited again in the summer when our son attended SLS but it was more informative to be there with the academic year in session. Both visits were awesome but I think we learned more about what WP is really like during the day visit.
Have a great time and come back here and tell us about it!