Summer Seminar

robinhood17

USMA Cadet
5-Year Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
210
Hi! I'm leaving for summer seminar (session 1) pretty soon. Any advice on what to bring (other than whats on the packing list) and advice on...anything? I am so excited to go, and I hope a year from now i'll be asking the same question about basic! :biggrin: Thanks!
Stephanie
 
Hi! I'm leaving for summer seminar (session 1) pretty soon. Any advice on what to bring (other than whats on the packing list) and advice on...anything? I am so excited to go, and I hope a year from now i'll be asking the same question about basic! :biggrin: Thanks!
Stephanie

Good luck Stephanie :)
 
Hi! I'm leaving for summer seminar (session 1) pretty soon. Any advice on what to bring (other than whats on the packing list) and advice on...anything? I am so excited to go, and I hope a year from now i'll be asking the same question about basic! :biggrin: Thanks!
Stephanie

Like was previously said, make sure you have a good attitude about it. Ask a lot of questions. Now is the time to really talk to cadets about the academy. My element last year was very willing to answer any questions we had and was fairly laid back. I was glad I brought compression shorts last year. Felt like I needed more socks though.....so bring extra socks, they don't take up much space. OH! Pack space. Haha. Especially if you are flying. You will get quite a bit of stuff and you'll want room for it all. One last thing you might want to bring is some power bars or something. The first morning when we did PT I almost got sick during the run. Half a power bar before PT the other days and I was fine. Finally, have fun!!!
 
Like was previously said, make sure you have a good attitude about it. Ask a lot of questions. Now is the time to really talk to cadets about the academy. My element last year was very willing to answer any questions we had and was fairly laid back. I was glad I brought compression shorts last year. Felt like I needed more socks though.....so bring extra socks, they don't take up much space. OH! Pack space. Haha. Especially if you are flying. You will get quite a bit of stuff and you'll want room for it all. One last thing you might want to bring is some power bars or something. The first morning when we did PT I almost got sick during the run. Half a power bar before PT the other days and I was fine. Finally, have fun!!!
YES please make sure you do pack space. I forgot that I had to leave several things there ha.
 
If I remember correctly I packed a carry on bag inside of my luggage. You will be issued a lot of stuff.
 
I attended USAFA SS session #2 last year and it was a blast! It was awesome because the whole event is a lot more laid back than the actual academy and the cadre (element leaders/currrent cadets) are there to simply answer any questions you have. There are not mean to you like they will be at basic, so like said above, take this time to ask AS MANY QUESTIONS AS POSSIBLE!!!!

The biggest piece of advice I can give to you is to not be the person who thinks they know everything. I have a brother who graduated from the Academy and have been there many times, so naturally I wanted to be the guy who would be the bastion of knowledge. However, after an hour being there, I realized I only truly knew a fraction of what there is to know about the Academy, and I chose not to be that guy. Of course, there was a person who had been to all three academies' SS's and he decided to be that guy. He also ended up doing 80 pushups with 8 Cadre in his face during PT every morning becuase he wouldn't shut his mouth about all of the 'experience' he had. Just have fun and listen to all the advice and stories. It really is a good experience.

Workout, workout, workout! I love running (distance) but I was out of breath after a mile, and so was everyone else, even track athletes. If you get discouraged from the exersize, remember that everyone else is too.

They give you a buch of stuff so dont overpack. We got two pairs of workout shorts, four workout shirts, a windbreaker, towell, polo shirt, backback and really nice binder. Bring good exercise shoes and dress shoes as well (for the final dinner). Lots of socks. I wish I would have brought compression shorts, so bring those too.

Get to know people. I still talk with the people in my element to this day and we had a great time becuase we always worked as a team. Nobody fought, ever.

Have fun in the classes, do not take them too seriously. The point of them is to give you a little idea of what the departments at the academy are like, not neccessarily the classes. The proffessers (at least the ones I had) were awesome and loved to answer questions. Ask lots of questions and have fun.

Remeber the whole point is to make you decide whether the Academy is for you or not. I loved SS and it made me excited to go to USAFA. My friend hated it and dropped his application immediately after getting home. With that being said, go in with an open mind and just try to experence as much as possible :)

Good luck and have fun!
 
I will be at session three and I am also super excited and you are all going even sooner than me! I look forward to hearing how it is this year before I go :) Stephanie 2012, can you check your inbox, see if my pm from before went through?

I have one question for anyone who has been before: what do we wear on the day of arrival (for flying), are we supposed to be in khakis already or are jeans/sweats ok?
Thanks!
 
kfacademy:
I just responded to your pm :)
As for dress code.. I don't think i would wear jeans. I personally am wearing tan dress/dickies type pants with an athletic polo,and black athletic shoes.

My motto is dress the part, so dress like you would see an academy cadet,or for a job interview.:biggrin: haha
 
stephanie - you are right to dress the part. ds wore khakis and a polo shirt last year traveling from NY to colorado springs via chicago. have fun!!
 
Ok sounds good :thumb: I agree I just didn't remember if I had read somewhere what to wear. Have fun everyone (and hope for good weather)!
 
I attended the Summer Seminar last year, and in all honesty I wouldn't worry about what you arrive to USAFA in; you've got the chance to head off to your room, unpack and change to your khaki pants, fitness shirt and the AF track suit top before they give you a brief tour of the Academy. Check out this video from USAFA SS '10 Session 1 for evidence... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EdkjTWOkjM

Just wear anything thats comfortable and conservative on the day of Arrival - unless they've changed their schedule, you WILL have the time to change clothes.
 
One piece of advice, if you are planning on bringing jeans instead of khaki's, don't. Last year, the SS information said something along the lines of bring "tan pants or jeans," but what they mean is "tan pants or tan jeans." Almost no person wore jeans, and the few that did stuck out.

Also, come in good physical shape, but don't worry too much about it. The most important thing is to drink plenty of water - more than you usually do.
 
What year did you go? I didn't see a mention of a final dinner where dress clothes were needed.

You'll be issued a blue AF Polo shirt which you'll wear for the final dinner...as opposed to the grey fitness shirts which you'll usually wear.
 
Has anyone been to SLS (USMA's) and SS (USAFA's)? I am looking for a comparison of the two, and which one would be better to go to. I want to go to USAFA, but that is much further away. Any suggestions?
Note: This is all for next year!
 
The main comparison I kept hearing was that the USAFA SS was a lot more laid back (not counting doolie day), whereas the USMA SLS was a lot more "Hoorah".

I can't speak for the USMA SLS, but I enjoyed the USAFA SS and it cemented my decision to attend with the c/o 2015.
 
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