Class of 2015 - How are you preparing for June 27th?

2015USCGA

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2011
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3
Hi Friends,
I know many are still waiting for their appointments. But I was wondering how some people are preparing for the big day? I've made some connections with some former CGA graduates and they say that it is super intense.

Thanks!

PS. Parents...any tips?
 
1. Stay in shape...do a lot of running. If you're not a good swimmer, take up a refresher course at the local Y.

2. Stay out of any legal trouble...particularly relating to alcohol or drugs.

3. Stay hydrated.

4. Turn off the A/C...get yourself used to humidity which you'll face in CT in July.

5. Don't go crazy trying to memorize stuff from "Running Lights."

6. Enjoy your final months of "freedom" responsibly.

7. Try not to get injured in any way.

8. Leave your friends and relatives your contact information as it is received.

Just a few random thoughts. Good luck!:wink:
 
If you wear contacts, get used to doing things in your glasses before you get there. Our daughter wasn't used to hers and found it pretty uncomfortable and a bit disorienting to make the adjustment.

Practice taking very quick showers. Make that very, very quick showers.
 
As a super-Type A mom, I was sweating the crazy stuff. Fortunately, my Type B+ kid was not....

So, from a mom's perspective, here ya go...

Don't worry about how high the white tube socks need to be. (I did) Kmart.com had great extra tall socks in large sizes, btw. Super-motivated socks are great, but don't kill yourself trying to find them, just get 'em as high as you can readily find! And if they have a heel, (which, after all, is not technically a "tube" sock), well that's ok too. Crazy mom, right? Worrying about heels and sock length...

Labeling t-shirts/boxers/socks...Write your name in permanent marker. The where doesn't seem to matter...inside of the collar, inside the hem at the bottom. Nowhere did it say where to label them, so I spent a lot of time thinking about this. Kid got tired of hearing me yammer about it and just did it...it was fine. Send the swab a care package later in the summer with another marker to touch up, if needed. Mine did not, but some did.

Pay attention to directions....the tupperware box does indeed need to fit in a particular sized drawer, but if it has a handle, that's ok (the hemming and hawing at Walmart was quite the scene...the handle makes it easier to carry, but what if it isn't allowed? Again, ME not my kid.) Geez, it's a wonder he made it to R-Day with any sanity left!

Get your shots/wisdom teeth (if applicable) dealt with NOW. Don't worry about the Yellow Fever vaccine if it's a hassle to get. We would have had to go to the County Health Dept, and it was a considerable drive during a very busy time of year. Son was fine with the vaccine during Swab Summer.

Have notecards at graduation parties for folks to write a short message on, to be mailed later in the summer. We had packets of cards, with pre-addressed/stamped envelopes for folks to take and send over the summer. Each packet of 3 cards had a week assigned to it. Getting cards an letters from friends and family made it more bearable.

For the swab:

Make a list of what you'd like in your care packages. I sent a bunch of stuff that I thought my kid would love, but was surprised to hear what his faves really were...not what I would have predicted!

Enjoy your senior year. Stay safe and be smart. Associate only with those whose actions will not jeopardize the incredible gift you've been given. Hang on to that appointment with both hands!

Think about what it will be like to live with serious lifestyle restrictions...ie, no facebook, no calls home, etc, for the first 7 weeks. And for awhile after that as well. Make peace with it now....it really does go by pretty quickly. Going in with a GOOD attitude and full awareness that your life is being scripted by others for a time, will make it much easier on you.

If you are from out of the area, and are not used to the humidity....go at least 3-4 days early to acclimate. Drink more water than you think you need.

Exercise...running is vital, as you will be doing a lot of that over the summer. :eek: Do the PFE again and again and again....it will be harder during swab summer due to the stress, heat, humidity, so give yourself every advantage by having practiced it a time or two (or three...etc) over the next few months.

Congrats on earning your appointment! You are in for a great ride. :thumb:
 
The only thing I would focus on is exercising. You will have a much harder swab summer if you don't work out because A. the exercises will hurt more and B. you'll be prone to stress injuries (i.e. shin splints) because your body isn't used to it. I would also focus much more on running than swimming. As long as you can swim 100m and can tread water for 5 minutes you will be fine for the swimming classes.

Besides that just have fun your senior year. No need to read the running light or make your house a sweatbox to get used the humidity. If you show up in good shape and ready to be mentally tough then you will get through it just fine.

In addition, don't fret about everything on the list. Make sure you bring all of the required items but don't lose sleep over how many pairs of underwear you're bringing or how high your socks are. I wouldn't even take time to label them. If a pair of your roommates socks gets mixed in with yours and you don't notice the difference, who cares? A clean pair of socks is a clean pair of socks. As for shoes, I recommend choosing comfort over "blueness". When I was a swab I was about 1 of 10 people with blue shoes and my cadre didn't notice/care. When I was a cadre there were probably only 10 swabs with blue shoes and I didn't care. If they have the shoes you like in blue then get them, if they don't then don't worry about it.
 
Get used to running it heat. Get acclimated now, because New London does get hot in the summer.
 
From a current Swab's perspective, be sure to run, run, and run! You'll be double timing all over the Academy, and there are a lot of hills to run up and down.

As for exercises, focus on muscular endurance ones like push-ups, sit-ups, and pull ups. You'll be doing those types of exercises for cals and IT. No need to hit up the gym and "get huge". :wink:
 
From a current Swab's perspective, be sure to run, run, and run! You'll be double timing all over the Academy, and there are a lot of hills to run up and down.

As for exercises, focus on muscular endurance ones like push-ups, sit-ups, and pull ups. You'll be doing those types of exercises for cals and IT. No need to hit up the gym and "get huge". :wink:

Running is great and all, but be sure to focus on stationary exercises as well. Practice holding yourself in the push-up, squat, isometric lunge, and six-inches positions.

Make sure your arms get a workout as well. You'll remember this to the tune of "Like moral responsibility..."
 
Make sure your arms get a workout as well. You'll remember this to the tune of "Like moral responsibility..."

Bad memory flashback...I remember that whole "tune" by heart! Definitely work on holding different positions for a period of time. Also, work on rowers and mountain climbers...those are two other favorite IT workouts.

For me it's not the physical part that is the hardest but the mental part. Really focus on mentally preparing yourself. Know that it is not going to be easy, swab summer is not meant to be. Also, realize that at some point during the summer and your time as a cadet here, you will fail at something! A lot of people here struggle with this because they have never really failed anything. Failure is not a weakness, it can actually be our biggest ally. It is how we learn from our mistakes.

Know that thousands and maybe millions of people before you have gone through the same period of training. If they could do it, so can you! Remember why you made the decision to come to the Academy! I actually wrote a letter to myself before I came for my second swab summer, reminding myself why I chose to go through the process again. It helped when I hit those low points.

Last point: Enjoy your senior year! Go out and have fun with friends! Stay out of trouble! You only get one chance to be a high school senior!
 
Biggest things:
-Get accustomed to warm weather/heat. If you can't sleep without AC, then you better start learning how.
-Stay in shape! Work on endurance, but also work on being able to hold about 8 lbs of weight out in front of you with arms parallel to the deck (trust me on this one, you might want to practice and get good enough so you can do it for at least 40 minutes). Run a lot.
-Get use to sleeping from 2200-0600. No more of going to bed late at night, get a good sleep cycle going, or you'll find it hard to get use to the schedule.
-Don't be afraid! If they didn't want you at the academy, they would not have offered you to come. That being said, its all a test and the only thing that will stop you from finishing is yourself.
-Pre adressed envelopes is a must! You won't get much time to write at all, and if you do it will only be minutes.
 
My DS is accustomed to swimming in the ocean with his head above the water (sea water in the eyes hurts). Should he learn how to swim properly in the pool (head turning to breathe) in advance or do they teach that at the academy?

Here's hoping that he gets a BFE!
Best regards,
Ozzy's Mom
 
I would recommend that your son learn how to swim underwater. You are issued goggles over swab summer and you use them during swim classes. You have to take a swim class during swab summer to see if you will be put in basic swimming or swimming I for the fall semester. Personally, I would say its easier to learn now than over the summer.
 
Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the great info. I also just signed up for the CGA cadetlaunch program taught by former top CGA cadets, beginning May 6th. (It's a weekend retreat) I don't want to leave any stone unturned when getting ready for Swab year! Excited but scared! :redface:
 
Very Awesome!

So, I've already started getting some great info from CGA CadetLaunch. Even though word was that it wasn't worth it...it's paid for itself already. I'm looking forward to the retreat. I hope to see some folks there.
 
Is that some kind of for-profit enterprise? If so, I would be wary of it. :eek:
 
Boss,

I actually researched the program after the OP posted that they would be attending...it is a for profit organization, run by CGA graduates.

Here's the website: http://cgacadetlaunch.com/index.html

I could see how the information could be useful but at the same time, detracts from the purpose of swab summer. There really is no step by step process of preparing you for the summer. It's supposed to hit and hit hard in order to test you and see how well you deal with stress. Just my .02 though...why learn things like room inspections and cg information while paying for it when you'll get 7 weeks of quality time with cadre? :shake:
 
I was kind of afraid it was something like that. Well, make the best of it but I agree there's no short cuts along the way.

edit:looking at this I am dumfounded. $3900??? Geez.
 
I was kind of afraid it was something like that. Well, make the best of it but I agree there's no short cuts along the way.

edit:looking at this I am dumfounded. $3900??? Geez.

DD is NOT going to this...however, I felt the need to share her new favorite phrase. "You don't have to pay anything for college," as I spend...let's just say A LOT on a prom dress, etc., etc., etc.
 
70% of your class rank comes from your grades. Unless the weekend retreat is full of calculus and chemistry classes this program is going to do very little to boost your class rank.

On top of that I'll throw out the old saying of "What do you call the person who graduates last in the class?.....Ensign"

Honestly the only thing you need to do well here is put in effort. Just try hard and don't make quitting/failure an option and you'll be through this place just fine. If anyone else is thinking of signing up for this (and OP try to get your money back) please message me and I'll tell you everything you need to know for free. Heck I'll give you my phone number and talk until you feel prepared.

$3900?...holy crap.


edit: rereading the OP's posts I'm going to say that he is from cadetlaunch. That makes me feel good that no one has actually paid for this thing....
 
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