Extracurriculars

USNAhopeful2018

5-Year Member
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Oct 25, 2013
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I was reading through Reef Points... Especially the ECA section. I was wondering, how much time do midshipmen actually have for extra activities such as club sports, mountaineering club, scuba club, spec ops team, infantry skills team, and the parachute team?

I understand that everyone has to play a sport, so on top of that and all the other responsibilities, how demanding are these extra clubs on ones time? How many do midshipmen usually participate in?

And I specifically picked some of the ones thats looked more expensive, Do midshipmen have to pay for them?

There's a lot of things I am interested in getting involved with. I'm just hoping I have the time!
 
You will play a varsity, club or intramural sport. Your ability to matrix in some ECAs - you will get plenty of briefs, and talk to people in company who are involved in them - will depend on your ability to manage your time and stay "sat" in all the key areas that ensure you will reach your goal as a commissioned officer. One of the great life-long skills you will gain at a SA, and in military life, will be the ability to optimize the use of your time spent on competing priorities. You will reach new levels of efficiency, focus and drive, and amaze yourself at how much you will be able to get done in a Day in the Life of a Mid. Of course, if you are a procrastinator or are overly fond of doing Priority C things over harder Priority A things, the path to that improved operating state will be painful. If you are cruising through your academics, crushing the PRT and avoiding all honor/conduct/performance entanglements, you will have the time to sample lots of enriching, fun activities. If you are struggling (someone gets the Ds and Fs, or makes the bonehead conduct decision), you will have other things on your mind.

The Commandant has a budget for ECAs, and contributions by midshipmen are minimized as much as possible. You will figure out what you can afford.

Current and former mids can add more depth.

Keep asking questions - information is power.
 
It's not that difficult to do one or two of the above. Some of them (out of your list, IST and club sports) have intramural excusal, so the three hour sports period block can be dedicated solely to that activity. Some of them, like Semper Fi, only have activities once or twice a week or on weekends. A few of them meet once a month. MAG is one that doesn't require membership for participation.

In short: not all ECAs require the same time commitment. Some of them will suck your time like a varsity sport and some of them have an hour long meeting once a month. You'll be able to figure it out once you get there.
 
I guess I'll have to wait until I get there to decide what I want to do. All I can say for now is Thank You. :thumb:
 
The extent to which you will be able to participate in extracurricular activities will largely depend on your time management capabilities. Mostly, it will come down to your ability to cope with the academic load. For some people, it is more of a challenge than for others.

I've said this many times but I think it bears repeating:

By definition, half of the class will graduate in the bottom half of their class, and not a one of them thinks it will be them on I-Day. From the beginning, there are many who are overestimating their abilities.
 
By definition, half of the class will graduate in the bottom half of their class, and not a one of them thinks it will be them on I-Day. From the beginning, there are many who are overestimating their abilities.

I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't doing this right now. But hey, I'm excited to see what I can do.

Thanks for the input.
 
I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't doing this right now. But hey, I'm excited to see what I can do.

Thanks for the input.

There's nothing wrong with having an optimistic attitude.

There is also the flip side of the coin. There will be some who, on paper, should probably be in the bottom half of the class but will excel at the academy through their hard work and dedication. Some of these people are the ones who attended large, challenging high schools where good grades were difficult to come by. Maybe they made a "B" in AP Calculus and Physics whereas some other candidate got an "A" in regular Calculus at their farming community school with a class size of 72 where the math teacher was also the manager of the local general store. :smile:
 
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