Summer Seminars - Did you teen do more than one?

Back in the day, like almost a decade ago, I did all 3 Summer Seminars (USNA, USAFA, USMA). SLE at West Point was my favorite of the 3. However, even though I thought SLE was the best, it also made me realize that I did not want to actually attend West Point, couldn't see myself going there. USNA and USAFA kinda seemed more like recruiting candidates, while SLE was more realistic at the time for day-to-day cadet life experiences. It was also much longer than the other 2 at the time, almost double in length.
Also back then, SLE's application process was less publicized, and they offered SLE spots to people who hadn't even applied to it, but were trying to recruit them to go to USMA (this was my case).

I liked the ones at USNA and USAFA as well, could see myself going to either one of those academies at the end of the session. Attending the summer seminars also helped me decide between civilian schools and service academies too later on in my senior year for my final college decision. In the end, the civilian school won my heart and was the best fit for me personally.

Looking back, I enjoyed my time at the 3 summer seminars, made some great friends at all 3 of them, did cool activities, got to explore around the campuses a little too (USAFA and USMA had the prettiest landscapes imho...), learned some too. Would definitely recommend going to them if you can.
 
LMK72 said:
Hi Academy Parents, My son is a Junior in High School. He wants to attend a Service Academy but isn't sure about which branch. I am looking at the Summer Programs for:
  • Naval Academy
  • Coast Guard Academy
  • Air Force Academy
I think it would be good for him to attend a week at each academy, to figure out which really feels right.

I'd love advice from parents who had their child attend multiple military summer sessions.
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DS was selected to attend three, 2 in person and 1 virtual. Due to timing constraints with the one initially committed to and other international competitions, he could only attend one of the in person summer seminars. I would have loved for him to do more to get more exposure to the different schools.
 
My DS attended multiple summer seminars last year. In person at USMA, USAFA, and USNA; virtual seminar with USCGA. He also attended Boys State, JROTC Leadership Challenge Camp (JCLC), and then the JROTC Academic Bowl (JLAB).
His summer was extremely busy and took meticulous scheduling, but it was doable. Event order was: TN Boys State, JCLC, USMA, USAFA, USNA, JLAB, and then USCGA. For the most part, he had an average of 2 days between each but there was only 16 hours between two of them. We were prepared and had suitcases packed in advance ready to switch out to go to the next one.
He is very glad that he got to attend the summer seminars. He made some really good friends, got to quickly learn to travel on his own, and confirmed where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.
 
Mhens344* said:
My DS attended multiple summer seminars last year. In person at USMA, USAFA, and USNA; virtual seminar with USCGA. He also attended Boys State, JROTC Leadership Challenge Camp (JCLC), and then the JROTC Academic Bowl (JLAB).
His summer was extremely busy and took meticulous scheduling, but it was doable. Event order was: TN Boys State, JCLC, USMA, USAFA, USNA, JLAB, and then USCGA. For the most part, he had an average of 2 days between each but there was only 16 hours between two of them. We were prepared and had suitcases packed in advance ready to switch out to go to the next one.
He is very glad that he got to attend the summer seminars. He made some really good friends, got to quickly learn to travel on his own, and confirmed where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.
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How on earth did you schedule that? My son is going to the Air Force 8 week summer Flight Academy, and he applied to USNA Summer Seminar, we are hoping we could just get those to work out if he gets in.
 
FormerNavyBrat said:
How on earth did you schedule that? My son is going to the Air Force 8 week summer Flight Academy, and he applied to USNA Summer Seminar, we are hoping we could just get those to work out if he gets in.
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We have a shared google calendar where everything was color coded. It took some very careful scheduling and we were lucky that he got into the sessions where everything fell just right and we were able to schedule flights that fit into each of the event itineraries. A family member that lives in D.C. picked him up from Annapolis to take him to meet his JROTC academic team for the JLAB comp. It was a lot but he said it was worth it! His schedule was:

May 21-26 Boys State
(Home for 1.5 days)
May 28- June 2 JCLC
(Home for 12 hours)
June 3-9 USMA Summer Leaders Experience
(Home for 2 days)
June 12-15 USAFA Summer Seminar
(Home for 2 days)
June 18-23 USNA Summer Seminar
June 23-27 JLAB Academic Bowl in Washington D.C.
(Back home to Tennessee to catch up on sleep!)
July 27-28 USCGA Virtual Summer Seminar
 
LMK72 said:
Hi Academy Parents, My son is a Junior in High School. He wants to attend a Service Academy but isn't sure about which branch. I am looking at the Summer Programs for:
  • Naval Academy
  • Coast Guard Academy
  • Air Force Academy
I think it would be good for him to attend a week at each academy, to figure out which really feels right.

I'd love advice from parents who had their child attend multiple military summer sessions.
Click to expand...
My DD did Naval and Coast Guard. Both gave her great insight. Aside from really cemeting the decision that the academy is right for her, I think it also helped her in her MOC interview and the BGO interview. She was able to speak to the experiences that she had and was able to speak well to what she found most interesting, difficult, easy...etc.
 
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