Once accepted to a SA you are joining the military in simply terms "active duty student". The Army, WP in this case pays the Cadet or stipend. This increases over the 47 months until the Cadet graduates then starts the pay scale as an "O"-officer. Pay graduates increasingly as "O-1 , O-2, O-3" etc with out getting into too much detail. Now back to WP, Cadets have an account that they set up during R-Day to have their pay/stipend sent. Before R-Day an account is set through USAA, as part of their second step kit. So a Plebe, in simple terms receives $900 a month. Uniform expense, haircuts, laundry etc is deducted form their account to pay for these mandatory expenses.
Before R-Day you are presented with the mandatory computer the Cadet will need. You pay a $2000 deposit to front load the expense. WP chooses the hardware and software that is necessary. (No thumb drives are allowed!!) Of course if a Cadet can not afford the front load costs, a means will be provided, most likely a deduction from the Cadet Account. The optional items, printer larger monitor etc can be purchased now or you can order them from Amazon.
I hope this answered your question. Its a lesson in money management. When you have little money and responsibilities you tend to watch every penny. During their 3rd year or Cow year and low interest loan is offered to help them get a leg up after graduation.
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