Current Student - Open for Questions!

Just bumping this up in case any new appointees or parents had any burning questions to be answered! I lurk around a lot (especially underway) so I'd be happy to answer as much as I can. Plus, there are a couple of cadets who tend to check the board every so often. :)
 
Quick question about Swab Summer. How much emphasis is there on pull-ups? My DD can do pushups till the cows come home, but pull-ups are more challenging for her...running and swimming won't be an issue, either - she's a triathlete - but can only do 2-3 pull-ups consistently...
 
Next Generation said:
Quick question about Swab Summer. How much emphasis is there on pull-ups? My DD can do pushups till the cows come home, but pull-ups are more challenging for her...running and swimming won't be an issue, either - she's a triathlete - but can only do 2-3 pull-ups consistently...
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Pull-ups are not in anyway graded or evaluated for score while at CGA. There are workouts run during Swab Summer from Physical Fitness staff and cadre that may include pull-ups but you're not penalized for being unable to do more than 2-3 or even 1 (These are actual workouts by the way, not Incentive Training given by cadre...that has a whole other set of rules). From what I can remember, if you were unable to do pull-ups on your own, instructors would have you use a band or have a shipmate help by pushing you up by your feet.
 
trackandfield08 said:
Pull-ups are not in anyway graded or evaluated for score while at CGA. There are workouts run during Swab Summer from Physical Fitness staff and cadre that may include pull-ups but you're not penalized for being unable to do more than 2-3 or even 1 (These are actual workouts by the way, not Incentive Training given by cadre...that has a whole other set of rules). From what I can remember, if you were unable to do pull-ups on your own, instructors would have you use a band or have a shipmate help by pushing you up by your feet.
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Thanks so much!! Just one more reason to love the Coast Guard! Although she will still keep working on them...
 
So I have seen conflicting information about flying directly from the academy. I have seen numerous posts, and even a video showing selections for aviation being anywhere from 3-5 cadets. The rest go to the fleet and then can reapply for aviation at future times. I spoke with a recruiter yesterday, and I saw a post earlier in this thread that states about 10-12% of the class go into aviation directly from the academy, that would be around 20 cadets... now I am really confused!
 
Flight billets for the graduating Class of 2016 were 10 out of 183.
 
USNA21hopeful said:
what things did you do in high school that you believed helped you gain admission?
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I truly believe that the key to admission is being well-rounded. You may be a fantastic scholar with crazy SAT scores and a high GPA but if you've never played a sport in your life or don't do anything extracurricular, it will be a hard road. I went to a smaller high school so I guess you could say I had the opportunity to participate in just about everything I wanted to. I took Honors and AP classes, ran varsity track, was in marching and concert band as the Drum Major, participated in the Drama program, was the Vice President of the Interact Club, etc. Attending a service academy is going to put extreme stress on your ability to manage your time. By demonstrating that you are a well-rounded high school student, you are also demonstrating that you can handle the stress of Academy demands. To be honest, my SAT scores were average...I had a 600 Math, 660 Verbal, and I think a 640 Writing and trust me when I say it took a lot of work, studying, and taking 3 SAT prep classes to get my math up to a 600. Had I decided to only focus on academics, there is no way I would have been accepted. At the same time, do what you like and what you are passionate about. DO NOT jump into activity after activity just because you think it will make you look good to colleges. You only get to go to high school once. Study hard and participate but don't forget to have fun and enjoy it. Adult life isn't all that its cracked up to be sometimes.

F15DOC said:
So I have seen conflicting information about flying directly from the academy. I have seen numerous posts, and even a video showing selections for aviation being anywhere from 3-5 cadets. The rest go to the fleet and then can reapply for aviation at future times. I spoke with a recruiter yesterday, and I saw a post earlier in this thread that states about 10-12% of the class go into aviation directly from the academy, that would be around 20 cadets... now I am really confused!
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There does seem to be an ebb and flow to flight school so I can only tell you what I have experienced. My class reported in on R-Day with 295 students. We graduated with just over 200 and 20 or so of those who graduated received flight school billets. Fast forward two years to the end of my first tour and 99% of the people who applied for flight school at the Academy and continued to apply after graduation are now at flight school. There is definitely some truth to the idea that, as long as you keep applying, flight school will happen. In fact, I had some classmates get accepted 6 months into their first tour. I've seen some of your posts where your son has a strong desire to fly helicopters. He can definitely make that happen as long as he meets all of the medical requirements. But, I would have the conversation with your son that it is NOT the end of the world if it doesn't happen right away. Being underway, while hard work, has its own rewards. I've had to Coast Guard HITRON teams deployed on my cutter. All of the pilots minus one prior Army went to a ship straight out of the Academy. They said they were grateful for the experience because it taught them what exactly the guys "on the ground" so to speak do to prepare to land, launch, fuel, etc. a helicopter. It gave them an idea of what it's like for the Commanding Officer and bridge team to navigate during Flight Quarters. Your son will gets what he wants, as long as he remains determined and works hard.
 
As far as electronics go, how does the process work? Are you allowed to connect your phone or personal computer to the wifi? Thank you!
 
matthew4325 said:
As far as electronics go, how does the process work? Are you allowed to connect your phone or personal computer to the wifi? Thank you!
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Every cadet is issued a laptop by CGA about halfway through Swab Summer. The cost of your laptop is deducted from your first few paychecks. When I was a freshman, we were issued Macs but they've gone back to Dells. The laptops are fully equipped with all of the software you need plus some extras including the Microsoft Office package. While the cadet network is an EDU network and not a MIL network, you are not allowed to connect your personal computer or phone to the wifi. At least, that's how it was when I was there. There are also several .MIL computers in the barracks that cadets use to complete the annual mandated trainings. Because its an EDU network, you can access Facebook, Netflix, Youtube, etc. on the cadet network. Some sites may be blocked but they were few and far between when I was a cadet. Many cadets do buy their own monitor and printer. Printers are available in each company but 100 cadets each using the same printer tends to cause a shortage of ink and paper. As a government major, I used the company printer to print readings for classes while I used my own printer for papers.
 
My DD has applied to AIM and will start her ap for the class of 2021 this August. She is very interested in the government major. Can you speak a little about that?
 
navymomwannabe said:
My DD has applied to AIM and will start her ap for the class of 2021 this August. She is very interested in the government major. Can you speak a little about that?
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The government major is a great major at the Academy. The Department of Humanities really embraces cadets and ensures that they get the most out of the major as possible despite the fact that the Academy is a STEM school. Right now, there are three tracks you can focus on in the major. They are Public Policy, International Relations, and Security Studies. The first two are self-explanatory but the security studies track is only a few years old and focuses more on intelligence based studies. At CGA, your first two years are basically your general classes that every cadet takes. In your second year, you will take one class per semester that is focused on your major, Principles of American Government and American Foreign Policy. Unlike the technical majors, the government major is very fluid in that the cadet can really take ownership of what it is they want to study. Each semester has 2 or so classes that are mandatory for all government majors but the rest are typically electives. I took everything from Irregular Warfare and Western Political Theory to Democracy in America and International Law to Spanish. In the spring semester of my junior year, I applied for a summer internship and an advanced research project. I was accepted to both. Although I ultimately declined the internship to focus on strengthening my leadership abilities, I spent my second semester at the Academy at the Connecticut Capital building interning with the political liaison from the Division of Criminal Justice while my fellow classmate and friend interned at the Environment Department. We both had the opportunity to shadow our mentors in closed door meetings with state senators and congressman, research and craft policy that were introduced on the floor of each house, and so many other opportunities. I also spent a week in Italy my senior year as a representative of the Coast Guard Academy at the International Institute for Humanitarian Law during a conference on the Law of Armed Conflict, a conference attended by students from military academies all over the world. The instructors are all amazing and will go out of their way to help you in anyway they can. You are definitely not just a number or another face, I still talk to my academic advisor on a regular basis. I'd be happy to speak with your daughter and answer any questions she may have.
 
I was a government major (public policy track).

Loved it. I'll add more later.
 
How do graduates with civil engineering degrees utilize their area of discipline in the CG?
 
No1Fanof2 said:
How do graduates with civil engineering degrees utilize their area of discipline in the CG?
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I'm not the expert since I stayed away from the engineering building as much as possible as a cadet, but I asked the Engineering Officer on my cutter and this is what he said:

All Engineers minus those who decide to go to flight school or want to be a Deck Watch Officer on a ship start out as the Engineering Officer in Training or EOIT. Your first tour last two years. After that, engineers have several different options they can pursue. Engineering majors who love the afloat life are still eligible to be Patrol Boat Executive Officers and start tracking to be an underway Engineering Officer. The EOIT that reported to my ship from my class has had a lot of responsibility over the major systems onboard. As an Ensign, he was responsible for running our 60-day major dockside period where he oversaw contractors and CG civilians and managed over $1 million in repairs...this was about 10 months into our tour.

If you decide that the underway life isn't for you, civil engineers can apply for transfers to Civil Engineering Units (or CEUs). CEUs are typically smaller units focused on facilities engineering. The Coast Guard operates 30,000 buildings and structures including roads, lighthouses, towers, runaways, etc. Eventually, you have the opportunity to apply to attend Graduate School on the Coast Guard's dime and earn an advanced degree in some type of engineering. If you continued with civil, the next career path would be Executive Officer of a CEU, facilities engineer at a major shore command, and several others.

I used the magic of Google and discovered this guide: https://www.uscg.mil/hq/capemay/AdminServices/doc/OCareerDevGuidebook.pdf

It's a little outdated (1998!) but it provides a good base on each of the officer career specialties available to members. Page 80 will get you to the Civil Engineering section.

I've also attached a file with a few pages from a more updated Career Guide from 2012 focusing on Civil Engineering. It provides a career progression pyramid, answers some FAQs, and provides a pretty good description of what its like to be a Civil Engineer in the Coast Guard. I hope this helps!

If anyone has anymore questions on specific career specialties, I'd be happy to answer them or pull out some more references from our CG network and upload them here!
 

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trackandfield08 said:
I'm not the expert since I stayed away from the engineering building as much as possible as a cadet, but I asked the Engineering Officer on my cutter and this is what he said:

All Engineers minus those who decide to go to flight school or want to be a Deck Watch Officer on a ship start out as the Engineering Officer in Training or EOIT. Your first tour last two years. After that, engineers have several different options they can pursue. Engineering majors who love the afloat life are still eligible to be Patrol Boat Executive Officers and start tracking to be an underway Engineering Officer. The EOIT that reported to my ship from my class has had a lot of responsibility over the major systems onboard. As an Ensign, he was responsible for running our 60-day major dockside period where he oversaw contractors and CG civilians and managed over $1 million in repairs...this was about 10 months into our tour.

If you decide that the underway life isn't for you, civil engineers can apply for transfers to Civil Engineering Units (or CEUs). CEUs are typically smaller units focused on facilities engineering. The Coast Guard operates 30,000 buildings and structures including roads, lighthouses, towers, runaways, etc. Eventually, you have the opportunity to apply to attend Graduate School on the Coast Guard's dime and earn an advanced degree in some type of engineering. If you continued with civil, the next career path would be Executive Officer of a CEU, facilities engineer at a major shore command, and several others.

I used the magic of Google and discovered this guide: https://www.uscg.mil/hq/capemay/AdminServices/doc/OCareerDevGuidebook.pdf

It's a little outdated (1998!) but it provides a good base on each of the officer career specialties available to members. Page 80 will get you to the Civil Engineering section.

I've also attached a file with a few pages from a more updated Career Guide from 2012 focusing on Civil Engineering. It provides a career progression pyramid, answers some FAQs, and provides a pretty good description of what its like to be a Civil Engineer in the Coast Guard. I hope this helps!

If anyone has anymore questions on specific career specialties, I'd be happy to answer them or pull out some more references from our CG network and upload them here!
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Fabulous ! Thank you. I found out a little bit about the civil engineering and CEU' s. The additional information about the specific responsibilities you provided I think will confirm my DD 's decision. Thank you and many thanks to your engineering officer!
 
What rjb said. Try using the search here (I don't know how well it works). There has been some discussion of this recently. The school size has ramifications. Fewer choices in major. No chance of slipping under the radar. On the other hand, you'll graduate with a family instead of a bunch of people you don't know.
 
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FutureCadet12 said:
What would you say are the major differences between USNA and USCGA?
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3) The 'five and dive' rate (officers leaving after their five year service obligation) is significantly lower in the Coast Guard. There are many reasons given, one being that CG junior officers have greater responsibility early on and this translates to job satisfaction.
 
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