Candidate Visit Weekend - CVW

grevar

grevar

CGA Admissions Partner
5-Year Member
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Our DS just got an email invitation to attend CVW in Sept. Looking for some advice. He attended NASS and is 100% complete with his application.

Considering the expense of getting there, is this something that is highly recommended? What kind of "sign" is this and why do some get invites and some do not?

Also, I see there are programs for parents. Is it recommended that a parent also go along?
 
Is he 100% committed to USNA? Does he still have doubts or reservations? My son did NASS but also did an official visit. The latter is different from a CVW, but similar in that he was able to "drag" with a current plebe and attend classes with him. He found the experience very helpful in understanding what midshipman life was really like, far more so than attending NASS. It's a hardship to ship your kid to Annapolis, but I thought it a reasonable investment relative to what he gained.

I did not attend his official visit with him. He was on this own. Obviously it is different for a CVW.
 
My DS was invited to a CVW last April and attended . He felt like it gave him a good snapshot of everyday life at USNA . He also attended NASS which he liked as well . You can't go wrong with attending the CVW. If USNA is his #1 choice there should be no question .
 
Thanks....guess he is going back to Annapolis! Hopefully the next time will be I-Day 2014
 
If you were to go back and see my posts from this time last year we also questioned the value of a CVW. DS got LOA by end of August. DS went to NASS. He was also a goalie on a nationally ranked sports team and should he miss a wkend there would be trouble. He kept insisting he didnt need to go on a CVW-he knew the drill. He didnt go.

WE WERE WRONG!

Son was surprised on Iday that it was nothing like NASS. I think he would have been (somewhat) better prepared for plebe summer had he had a more realistic impression versus a NASS impression. If we could do it over I would have made him go on a CVW.

Just one mom's opinion. YMMV.
 
You think if I went on the October 3-5 weekend, which is the only one I can make, that there might be an opportunity to go to the Navy-Air Force football game? CVW email says the visit ends at 11:00 on Saturday. The Navy Football schedule says the USAFA game is at 11:30am.
 
18'er said:
You think if I went on the October 3-5 weekend, which is the only one I can make, that there might be an opportunity to go to the Navy-Air Force football game? CVW email says the visit ends at 11:00 on Saturday. The Navy Football schedule says the USAFA game is at 11:30am.
Click to expand...

The schedule says it ends at eleven, but that doesn't mean that there is a hard and fast "get out of bancroft at 11:00". Depending on what the company is doing you can stay later than that, I only left at 11:30 because I needed to catch my ride to the airport, but I don't think anyone in the company I stayed with would have noticed as we were watching one of the 1/C get his black belt.

BUT, if you are visiting on a football weekend, the entire brigade is required to go watch the game, and I don't know for sure but I would bet money that they would get organized and head to the stadium well before 11:00, which would definitely free you up to go to the game.

I would aslo bet that you would probably have to buy your own ticket, and may not be able to sit with the midshipmen, but I would certainly ask someone at USNA about this to make sure.
 
Some general CVW comments:

I was invited to the CVW in April at the same time I was notified that I was not selected for NASS. After some hesitation I decided to go.

It was definitely worth it.

The midshipmen the candidates interact with on a CVW were much more frank and open than the cadets at the summer program I did go to. They can talk about whatever they want to in whatever colorful language they want to. They do not try to sugarcoat or sell the academy, just give you their opinions of daily life at USNA. Some of which, your DS will discover, are not exactly glowing opinions. But they also talk about what they enjoy, and what it means to them to go to USNA. I found the Midshipmen's openness to be very helpful in giving me an unbiased perspective on what it is like to go to USNA. It really sold the Naval Academy to me. Others, it helped them decide that USNA was not where they wanted to be.
 
18'er said:
You think if I went on the October 3-5 weekend, which is the only one I can make, that there might be an opportunity to go to the Navy-Air Force football game? CVW email says the visit ends at 11:00 on Saturday. The Navy Football schedule says the USAFA game is at 11:30am.
Click to expand...

Even if you can't go with the brigade (I've never had a drag for football games, so I don't know what happens), it's not like you're required to leave Annapolis right after the CVW if you have your own transportation. You're welcome to get your own tickets and get yourself to the stadium (bit of a walk, but not bad).

I caution all potential candidates: NASS has some serious sugar coating. Plebe summer and midshipman life are nothing like what you experience at NASS. It gives you a very nice sense of all the good parts of the Academy, and leaves out all the bad.

Of course, you could always just show up on I-Day and see what happens (I did), but dropping out after getting in involves a lot more pain.
 
Last edited:
DS followed the advice of others on the forum and locked in the Sept 5 CVW date. Thanks everyone!
 
What year midshipman will a CVW candidate be assigned to?
 
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