SLE info.

phackett

phackett

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Feb 26, 2024
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My DS already has a WP portal open, we want to register for SLE. Do we need to create a new portal for that application?
Thank you!
 
Typed my experience out for some rising seniors I know. Hopefully it’ll answer your questions.

Application

You need to go to USMA admissions and open an actual West Point application. Along with being a great leadership resume boost, it is a recruiting tool for the service academy. One you open the application, there will be a giant demographic form (the candidate questionarre) that you need to fill out, at the bottom make sure to check the box that expresses interest in SLE before you submit. Once you submit this, you will be able to open the actual candidate portal. The portal will have a space for personal information (Information on family, languages spoken, and other demographic stuff) and the Candidate Activity Record (CAR). On the CAR, you will submit test scores, extracurriculars, athletics, and employment. You will also need to submit 6 semester transcripts. All of this will carry over to your whole application that will open up on June 1, but what is available until then is what you need for SLE. Academics are the highest weighted portion of the application, ACT/SAT scores (they don’t require both, but you need one; they accept super scores for ACT, but writing section is required), Class rank, and GPA. I got accepted at the beginning of April, just a week after I submitted my ACT scores from the Junior (you’ll take it) ACT in March.

Once accepted

You’ll be able to log into the SLE portal that is on your West Point application. It will have a “to do” list of a bunch of documents you need to get. Most just require electronic signatures and can be done in a minute or two. This part is very self explanatory, there is also an FAQ section. You also get to rank academic departments that you want to visit while there.

Days (Saturday-Friday)

  • Saturday: (“R-Day”): You arrive at the academy at some point in the morning. They host a “mock R-day”. (R-Day is the day the new cadets report to West Point for beast) This is the only day that they will yell at you, as it is very similar to the actual R-day. You will be issued clothes and stuff, sorted into platoons and squads, and taken to your rooms. Eventually they will march you down to dinner and give you an introduction. At the end of the night, you will spend time with your squad (each squad is 10-12ish people with a West Point “Cow” as your squad leader, each platoon is 8 squads with a cow as the Platoon sergeant and a firstie as the Platoon leader, there are 5 Platoons total which make up the Company, the company staff are all firsties). After squad time you go to bed.
  • Sunday: You wake up and take the CFA. This is one of 2 things you get done with your application at West Point. Recommend training for this beforehand even if you don’t want to go. You will then have time for religious services (optional) and then everyone will be taken to Thayer Hall for some briefs on the admissions process and other things.
  • Monday: Academic Day 1. You wake up and have PT then go to break fast. Based on the departments you chose to visit (you rank them from 1-17), you will be assigned to 4 academic departments that you will visit. The first department I visited was my first choice, kinesiology, the other 3 were not in my top 3, but were still very interesting. The second department I was assigned to was actually cyber. Although I am not interested in computers, we got to play with chat GPT and the picture drawing A.I software. In the evening, we got to play dodgeball with your platoon and have squad time
  • Tuesday: Military Day 1: You wake up and have PT then go to breakfast. There are 5 stations that your platoon will rotate around with the other platoons. Each station teaches you military skills. Rappelling, Combatives, the IOCT, Zodiacs, and Medical stuff. We then have another brief (I don’t remember the topic) and play dodgeball
  • Wednesday: Academic Day 2. You wake up and have PT then go to breakfast. You then go to the other 2 departments. My first one was electrical engineering (again not at the top of my list) in which we listen to the professor describe how things work. We then got to make our own light following bug and take turns controlling a robot dog. My second department was Sociology, by this point, everyone was a bit sleepy and the chairs were comfortable so I don’t remember much, but we did play some situation game. After the departments, we practice for Fridays “graduation” and then go play dodgeball. For us though, there was too much smoke in the sky so we didn’t play dodgeball.
  • Thursday: Military Day 2. This was my favorite day while I was there. We woke up and they took us off campus to Fort Buckner and there were more stations with military skills. This time there were guns though. Stations include, military obstacle course, armored vehicle and weapon showcase, military helicopter tour, military skills race, and react to contact. The react to contact is when they gave us guns that weren’t loaded, no mag, and as a squad we were “patrolling” and then we were “ambushed” by NCOs who were firing blanks at us. We had to come up with a plan and “take out the enemy.” Once we got back to campus we cleaned off and had a giant barbecue and a “ceremony” where we all got to take turns going up to the mic and roasting the cadre. We then got squad time where we decompressed, got our certificate of completion, and just hung out.
  • Friday: Graduation. You basically do what you rehearsed of Wednesday. Family can attend. Right after graduation they will have a bus to take candidates back to the airport or will allow candidates whose family came to your campus and leave on their own.
 
phackett said:
My DS already has a WP portal open, we want to register for SLE. Do we need to create a new portal for that application?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
If your child is a senior, it's too late for SLE. It is only available for rising seniors the summer after their junior year.
 
I am so sorry...I am not sure I am understanding, is your kid a senior now?
If so, his window of opportunity for SLE was for the summer before his or her senior year...ONLY.

Does that help to answer your question?
 
DrMom said:
I am so sorry...I am not sure I am understanding, is your kid a senior now?
If so, his window of opportunity for SLE was for the summer before his or her senior year...ONLY.

Does that help to answer your question?
Click to expand...
Yes, TY!
 
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