Ask a Plebe

Congrats on your appointment and for making it through plebe summer and the first month of academic year...as a mom of a plebe I would love to know what you REALLY need from home/family to support you at this point...I am in contact with my plebe but maybe he is not completely forthcoming with what he truly needs
 
I have several

What was your primary motivation to go to USNA?

What gave you strength to keep going during the toughest days of Plebe summer?

Describe your toughest day as a plebe.
 
Last edited:
Midmom-

Honestly, most people here are forthcoming enough to say if they need something material. Home baked goods are always a hit. Other than that, sometimes just having someone to talk to and encourage you is the best support. I call my parents every couple of days, and share the tough parts of the week. Knowing that someone is supporting me and is my #1 fan from 900 miles away is motivating. And if your plebe can't talk very much, it's not a reflection on how he feels; we're very busy! Just trust that if he needs something, he will ask.

Hopeful-

My primary motivation was to be a part of something bigger than myself, to be super busy, and to put myself in a place where I feel that I am developing into the best person I can be. USNA matched with all of that for me. Also, I spent a year at a civilian college and I still really wanted to be here.

To keep going during Plebe Summer, you definitely lean on your classmates. Everyone around you is going through it, so you find humor in the worst situations. Keeping a positive attitude and a sense of humor goes so far. Personally, going to church each week and praying every night helped me get through too.

My toughest day as a plebe... It was probably the day after I-day, because everything is so foreign. They wake you up loudly at 5:30 AM, which is a shock to everyone. Learning to shout everything, square corners, march everywhere, and to square your meals is foreign and difficult, but everyone picks it up pretty quickly. It's not so much that any individual event is difficult, but that you're always moving, always engaged from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed.
 
mb1395,

Thanks for offering up to help others. I am a grad, so I know these answers for me, but wanted to ask them to a current Plebe as candidates ponder if USNA is right for them. I hope Plebe year is treating you decently and you are enjoying life as much as possible. 2 weekends for football victories is amazing as Plebe. That was the total number of weekends I had a 3/C!

What surprised you most about Plebe Summer? What was the 1 thing you wish had known?
How was the transition from PS to Academic Year? Advice to future Mids? (I struggled on this one and wish I had better guidance from upperclass on the adjustment)
Are you playing a club or varsity sport? Has it been hard to balance?
What has surprised you the most?
 
Socnorb said:
What are the academics like compared to civilian college and high school?
Click to expand...

Compared to high school, they're hard. That's just about for any college. I did AP in high school and the difficulty is right about the same in terms of content, but AP spreads the course out over a full year. Compared to civilian college, I'd say it's a little more difficult. The content is the same, but the professors here definitely challenge you with more difficult problem sets, and I'm asked to explain my answer a lot more here.

NavyHoops said:
mb1395,

Thanks for offering up to help others. I am a grad, so I know these answers for me, but wanted to ask them to a current Plebe as candidates ponder if USNA is right for them. I hope Plebe year is treating you decently and you are enjoying life as much as possible. 2 weekends for football victories is amazing as Plebe. That was the total number of weekends I had a 3/C!

What surprised you most about Plebe Summer? What was the 1 thing you wish had known?
How was the transition from PS to Academic Year? Advice to future Mids? (I struggled on this one and wish I had better guidance from upperclass on the adjustment)
Are you playing a club or varsity sport? Has it been hard to balance?
What has surprised you the most?
Click to expand...

Thank you for your concern; I am enjoying plebe year- you only get to be a clueless plebe once!

Honestly, what surprised me most about Plebe Summer was how much we could get done in a day. I went to bed every night exhausted, but I always knew I was getting better and I never felt like we were doing anything for no reason. One thing I wish I had known was that it really will be over before you know it. Also, instead of hoping you don't get rated, it's more fun if you are an overachiever and have fun with it. When you don't take anything personally, and just do your best to be the best plebe you can, it all becomes fun. Personally, I took failure pretty hard for the first couple of weeks until I realized that everybody fails at something. Plebe Summer is what you make it; you can skate by or you can challenge yourself. The latter is more rewarding.

The transition from Plebe Summer to the Ac year was great! No more loud wake up calls, having access to a watch and a cell phone, being able to use a computer to read the news again? Excellent. Of course, the demands on our time are still high, and the best piece of advice I could give is to learn how to not procrastinate. Making it a habit to use your time wisely (such as using the 5 minutes before class starts to work on homework), really adds to your productivity throughout the day. Classes are difficult, but the professors care so much about getting you to pass, and there are so many resources if you're struggling academically.

I walked on to the crew team here. I had never rowed a day in my life, but I learned over the summer and stuck with it. It's not too difficult to balance; the demands on your time are pretty significant, and you're usually getting back to the hall about 2 hours after everyone else has had a chance to start on homework, but it just forces you to spend your time wisely. I have friends in other sports and they spend a lot more time away right now because it's their competitive season, but they also seem to be handling it well. You find a balance between sport and school if it's something you want to do bad enough.

I suppose what has surprised me the most is the pace of this place. When I visited during my junior year (no CVW), I knew I wanted to be here but I didn't know just how busy mids are. If you're interested in a service academy, definitely do your research and talk to mids or grads and decide if you want to be busy, and if you want a challenge. That's what I've told all of our drags so far.
 
I am the parent of prospective 2020 class, just lurking. You are now a plebe and actually have time to come here and post? I am amazed. I thought every hour was occupied! Good luck to all still waiting for....... Still waiting.
 
The secret is out! Plebe's never have time... Very true. But I can tell you the large majority of Plebe's check their Facebook and a million other things daily. Some more than others. They make it happen, usually while shining shoes or other things.
 
mb1395 said:
These types of threads helped me so much with the when I was applying, so I figured I could give back with my limited experience of Plebe Summer and a month of academics here. Fire away!
Click to expand...

Totally agree with you here. Current plebe, went through the cycle three times. If anyone on here has any questions I am sure all the plebes and midshipmen on here are more than happy to answer them.
 
hi, I know you have only been at USNA for a few months now, but I was wondering if you could give me some insight into the field hockey program? There is a thread on this forum about it, but it is from 5 years ago. On it they said the team was close to going club, has it yet? I would really love to play field hockey for the Naval Academy. It's not listed as one of the club sports on the website, but looked like one on their facebook page. Any information you have about the field hockey program would be great. Thank you!
 
What opportunities are there to go to sporting events off the yard if you are not part of the team? For example, games more than a few hour away.
 
OtB said:
What opportunities are there to go to sporting events off the yard if you are not part of the team? For example, games more than a few hour away.
Click to expand...

Staff will send out an email letting people sign up for a movement order to football games. As a plebe, you have to ride the bus they provide for transportation, and as an upperclass, you can take your own car. You have to provide your own lodging and the bus returns the morning after the football game. They usually send about 100-150 mids to big games like Notre Dame, and less to smaller games.

blueplate99 said:
hi, I know you have only been at USNA for a few months now, but I was wondering if you could give me some insight into the field hockey program? There is a thread on this forum about it, but it is from 5 years ago. On it they said the team was close to going club, has it yet? I would really love to play field hockey for the Naval Academy. It's not listed as one of the club sports on the website, but looked like one on their facebook page. Any information you have about the field hockey program would be great. Thank you!
Click to expand...
I'll have to get back to you. I haven't heard anything about it since I've been here, but I'll ask around.
 
What would you say the top 3 most important things to focus on to get accepted into usna?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top