A few thoughts from a non-military first time visitor on CVW. The USNA campus is truly a natural treasure. The Mids were all very athletic looking! We arrived during sport and fitness time. Though everyone was working hard, they all looked to be enjoying themselves, lots of encouragement for each other. Very impressive. The buildings on campus; you cannot describe there beauty! The grounds were immaculate and you would need at least a couple of days to take in all the history. USNA did a great job organizing the stay and were there to answer any question that parents or candidates had. The panel of current Mids were very informative. The engineering facilities surpass anything I have yet seen. A good point; the engineering facilities are there for the Mids to use unlike many schools where they are limited to graduate students and professors doing research. Lastly, the people at the USNA and the city of Annapolis could not have bee any friendlier. Everyone initiated conversation and asked about our home state and welcomed us. The proximity of the USNA to downtown Annapolis is a huge selling point. Mids at night were ordering food from off campus and picking it up at the gate. Not sure this is available at the other academies. If you are committed to the class of 2017 feel good about your choice. My DS had his choice narrowed down to USNA and one of the other academies when we showed up. It took him one day to fall in love with the USNA!
Impressions from CVW
- Thread starter bowhunter
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Memphis9489
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The contrast between the Naval Academy and the other academies could not be more stark in this regard. It's much smaller and more quaint. You walk outside the gate and immediately you are in the heart of Annapolis, the capital of Maryland.
West Point has a sense of isolation, high on the bluffs of the Hudson.
The Air Force Academy is in the high desert. You have to drive 7 miles just to get to the front gate and then another 7 miles to find human habitation.
The restrictions on midshipmen having cars is mostly in place due to the constraints of the Yard (i.e. campus). There's no where to park!
For those who don't know, here is are short-and-sweet synopsis of the rules regarding cars.
Plebes (freshmen): Cannot drive or even ride in a car unless they are with their sponsor. (a few exceptions)
Youngsters (sophomores): Can ride in a car but cannot drive one.
2/C (juniors): Can own and drive cars provided they do not drive onto the Yard. They have to find a place to park them somewhere in Annapolis. The academy allows them to park them in the stadium parking lot but they have to move them during football weekends.
Firsties (seniors): They can own and drive cars andthey are permitted to park them in the Yard.
West Point has a sense of isolation, high on the bluffs of the Hudson.
The Air Force Academy is in the high desert. You have to drive 7 miles just to get to the front gate and then another 7 miles to find human habitation.
The restrictions on midshipmen having cars is mostly in place due to the constraints of the Yard (i.e. campus). There's no where to park!
For those who don't know, here is are short-and-sweet synopsis of the rules regarding cars.
Plebes (freshmen): Cannot drive or even ride in a car unless they are with their sponsor. (a few exceptions)
Youngsters (sophomores): Can ride in a car but cannot drive one.
2/C (juniors): Can own and drive cars provided they do not drive onto the Yard. They have to find a place to park them somewhere in Annapolis. The academy allows them to park them in the stadium parking lot but they have to move them during football weekends.
Firsties (seniors): They can own and drive cars andthey are permitted to park them in the Yard.
NROTCHOPEFULDAD
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OP we will see you at USNA with our DS on June 27
There was a great note made without much fanfare. A couple of years ago my WP counterpart was talking about his two sons who took separate paths to their Army commissions; one went to the Point, the other to major civ uni via ROTC. He noted that after a couple of years any of his WP son's officer TAC officers, instructors, etc, knew his son by name and performance. At the civ uni, few of the professors could speak specifically about his son enrolled there. The Service Academies are small schools, and the class sizes are small meaning more eye to eye contact.
The other big advantage is that the SA's all are undergraduate schools, and all of the facilities on the sites are there for the use of the cadets/midshipmen. Often at the higher powered schools most of the better facilities are reserved for the graduate students.
The other big advantage is that the SA's all are undergraduate schools, and all of the facilities on the sites are there for the use of the cadets/midshipmen. Often at the higher powered schools most of the better facilities are reserved for the graduate students.
Memphis9489
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Good point!
Which reminds me of a speech the Commandant gave to the parents of the Class of 2013 on I-Day (2009). This was in Alumni Hall while all the inductees were being processed. He talks about the more personal nature of the service academy experience. He compared it to the Ohio State.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho6wZH920Ng
Another point of separation:
When my (now) 2/C was looking, of the 30 or so full time professors in the ME department at Huge U the % of professors who got their first degree from American universities was startingly low.
(Not to say the others aren't great teachers but I recall asking a tour guide at Prestigious U: "Do you ever have trouble understanding your profs?" His answer: "Do you want the truth or the answer that we were taught to give in orientation?")
When my (now) 2/C was looking, of the 30 or so full time professors in the ME department at Huge U the % of professors who got their first degree from American universities was startingly low.
(Not to say the others aren't great teachers but I recall asking a tour guide at Prestigious U: "Do you ever have trouble understanding your profs?" His answer: "Do you want the truth or the answer that we were taught to give in orientation?")