Hello all - so now my daughter is going to be a high school Junior. She and I just had a very long talk about colleges and what is realistic for her and back up options. The USCGA is perfect for her, checks most of her boxes but I have always stressed that she needs fall back options. She has seen the campus, she has wanted the CGA for the longest time, she has talked to representatives at the Service Academy fairs and other contacts and now it's time to have some clarity.
She is not an athlete. Not at all. She is a S.T.E.M girl and a heavily awarded percussion drumming fanatic. She is fit - yes...because she waterskis, snow skis, is an excellent swimmer & bikes about 5 miles to and from work and eats healthy...but anything else she is not an enthusiastic participant. However, she has the ability to set a goal and has laser focus in attaining that goal. So, if she is told to do x, y & z exercises by a certain date she will morph into a gym rat to achieve the goal. She just won't enjoy it & would not want to sustain that level of intense exercise for the long run. What I'm asking is this: for admission, does the high standard of physical fitness apply to each and every day of a cadet's life-or is it a bench mark for admissions and then if a kid should be accepted, the physical fitness is not a death march each day like she sees in the movies?
Marine Engineering is her focus and is already studying (privately) welding from a welder neighbor. She loves & is a natural at fixing our snowmobiles, boat engines, atv's and lawnmowers. She has her scuba certification and loves water...fishing in it, eating from it, playing in (or on) it. She thrives on order, clear direction, personal responsibility and structure. She has not taken the SAT or ACT yet so I don't have numbers, but she is a 4.2 student and her course load is already STEM heavy for this upcoming year. She has already racked up numerous awards in high school for her citizenship, responsibility & hard work. I tease her a bit but she will not cuss, does not want a party school, is bothered by kids around her who break rules & has been going to bed @ 10pm & waking on her own @ 5:15 every day since 7th grade to get work done...and my former Navy husband jokes "oh, the military will fit you like a glove!" She keeps joking about being a welder on huge ships and underwater welding but deep down, I know she's not joking.
I feel like I'm crushing her dream when I talk about maritime colleges and alternatives to the CGA "just in case". She's an excellent human being but I want to be realistic with her when it comes to specifically the CGA and physical fitness since it's a huge part of condition of acceptance. What should my next steps be in guiding her?
She is not an athlete. Not at all. She is a S.T.E.M girl and a heavily awarded percussion drumming fanatic. She is fit - yes...because she waterskis, snow skis, is an excellent swimmer & bikes about 5 miles to and from work and eats healthy...but anything else she is not an enthusiastic participant. However, she has the ability to set a goal and has laser focus in attaining that goal. So, if she is told to do x, y & z exercises by a certain date she will morph into a gym rat to achieve the goal. She just won't enjoy it & would not want to sustain that level of intense exercise for the long run. What I'm asking is this: for admission, does the high standard of physical fitness apply to each and every day of a cadet's life-or is it a bench mark for admissions and then if a kid should be accepted, the physical fitness is not a death march each day like she sees in the movies?
Marine Engineering is her focus and is already studying (privately) welding from a welder neighbor. She loves & is a natural at fixing our snowmobiles, boat engines, atv's and lawnmowers. She has her scuba certification and loves water...fishing in it, eating from it, playing in (or on) it. She thrives on order, clear direction, personal responsibility and structure. She has not taken the SAT or ACT yet so I don't have numbers, but she is a 4.2 student and her course load is already STEM heavy for this upcoming year. She has already racked up numerous awards in high school for her citizenship, responsibility & hard work. I tease her a bit but she will not cuss, does not want a party school, is bothered by kids around her who break rules & has been going to bed @ 10pm & waking on her own @ 5:15 every day since 7th grade to get work done...and my former Navy husband jokes "oh, the military will fit you like a glove!" She keeps joking about being a welder on huge ships and underwater welding but deep down, I know she's not joking.
I feel like I'm crushing her dream when I talk about maritime colleges and alternatives to the CGA "just in case". She's an excellent human being but I want to be realistic with her when it comes to specifically the CGA and physical fitness since it's a huge part of condition of acceptance. What should my next steps be in guiding her?