Parents: Please make sure this is what your Mid to be wants, and is about them and not about you. Many Mids and those to be do not want all of the accolades that the parent set seems to think we need or want. If a big blown out presentation is what your child wants - find out why, does their ego need that stroke? If they do make sure that the ego is checked when they walk through the door to Alumni Hall on July 1st.
One of the big things that Plebe summer will teach your son's and daughters are that we are not better than the next. Personally if you have a kid at your school who is enlisting they should be the ones on that stage.
My school only read the listing of scholarships, with the final dollar amount, the Audience applauded. Every one of my classmates worked hard to get where they were going - no different that I did. They too had scholarship applications to fill out along with their School apps, they too had interviews. Nothing about our process (ok medical the only difference) sets us apart from the rest of these other talented peers. Personally I liked that better than if we had had show and tell on the stage.
When you are commissioned in May of 2013, get that standing ovation - that is really when you and your parents will have earned it. I include parents because it does take support from the parent community to make it though the 4 years by the bay.