Alternatives to Summer Seminar

Adding on CAP might have been a good fit.

CAP National Special Activities all requires basic encampment credit so must join CAP ASAP to qualify. DD applying for a couple but low on totem pole still so she gets into at least 1 of them.
 
Osprey. Don’t forget Boys/Girls State. That adds a lot of points to WCS. Need to apply in Feb/Mar 2019. Only military experience at Boys State is marching and PT making proper beds under Marines guidance. Also West Point and USNA have Candidate Overnight and CVW. You can go to those. They are different from SS in that you shadow a Cadet or Midshipman over 2 days. Will give more insight to AC year as a Cadet/MIDN. In contrast, SS offers limited exposure to what to expect in Plebe Summer. USNA and USAFA have comprehensive Summer STEM for 9-11th grades. West Point only offers for rising 8th grade.

He will definitely put in for Boys State and should be competitive. Candidate overnight sound like something we’ll have to look into. Thanks!
 
USAFA also has sports camps that he could attend guaranteed. My understanding is that the past few years they have tried to make the sports camps have more USAFA-related activities and a more military feel. Obviously it wouldn't be as good as SS, but he would get to be at USAFA, interact with a lot of cadets, and get some glimpses into cadet life.
 
USAFA also has sports camps that he could attend guaranteed. My understanding is that the past few years they have tried to make the sports camps have more USAFA-related activities and a more military feel. Obviously it wouldn't be as good as SS, but he would get to be at USAFA, interact with a lot of cadets, and get some glimpses into cadet life.
Thanks @Hoodlum15 , we had looked at those camps but none of the info online indicated any military component, so wasn’t sure it was worth the price of admission (given our needs). Also wasn’t clear that you would get to interact with a lot of cadets. Do you know this is the case for sure? Seems like just another sports camp at USAFA from the info I’ve seen. Would be cool for DS to stay at USAFA for a week, but really want DS to get to experience the military side of the equation this summer.
 
[QUOTE="Osprey, post: He is not interested in USNA. [/QUOTE]

I would echo MidCakePA: apply to Navy's summer session as well. One should not rule out a possible choice with no exposure to it.

My grandson applied only to Navy's SS. We are not a military family and this was his effort--like your DS--to see if military service might be a good fit. He came away sure that USNA was what he wanted to do.

He also applied to USAFA as a backup but not West Point; received nominations to all three and appointments to both USNA and USAFA, the former being his first choice on his congressional nomination papers. I like history and tradition, was pulling for USNA and also wished he had applied to and visited West Point.

He was blessed with appoints to both, visited USAFA twice and ended up accepting that appointment, a surprise to us. The more information your DS can gather, the more informed will be his choice.

While there are differences with the services, I don't think one could go wrong with any of the SAs nor any service branch: it is a noble and honorable choice.
 
USAFA also has sports camps that he could attend guaranteed. My understanding is that the past few years they have tried to make the sports camps have more USAFA-related activities and a more military feel. Obviously it wouldn't be as good as SS, but he would get to be at USAFA, interact with a lot of cadets, and get some glimpses into cadet life.
Thanks @Hoodlum15 , we had looked at those camps but none of the info online indicated any military component, so wasn’t sure it was worth the price of admission (given our needs). Also wasn’t clear that you would get to interact with a lot of cadets. Do you know this is the case for sure? Seems like just another sports camp at USAFA from the info I’ve seen. Would be cool for DS to stay at USAFA for a week, but really want DS to get to experience the military side of the equation this summer.

So the focus of the camps is sports, obviously. But cadets will be the "counselors," and there should be a lot of opportunities to ask as many questions as he wants. He'll get to see the dorms, the base, and a little bit of what other cadets are doing during the summer. I remember seeing or being told somewhere that campers had to make their beds every day and had a couple opportunities to learn more about USAFA - very very light on the military but a little bit. Maybe it's changed but that was true a year or two ago. He wouldn't exactly be immersed in the military lifestyle, but it would still be a pretty good opportunity to get an idea of USAFA.
 
[QUOTE="Osprey, post: He is not interested in USNA.

I would echo MidCakePA: apply to Navy's summer session as well. One should not rule out a possible choice with no exposure to it.

My grandson applied only to Navy's SS. We are not a military family and this was his effort--like your DS--to see if military service might be a good fit. He came away sure that USNA was what he wanted to do.

He also applied to USAFA as a backup but not West Point; received nominations to all three and appointments to both USNA and USAFA, the former being his first choice on his congressional nomination papers. I like history and tradition, was pulling for USNA and also wished he had applied to and visited West Point.

He was blessed with appoints to both, visited USAFA twice and ended up accepting that appointment, a surprise to us. The more information your DS can gather, the more informed will be his choice.

While there are differences with the services, I don't think one could go wrong with any of the SAs nor any service branch: it is a noble and honorable choice.[/QUOTE]
Thanks @Vaquero, we’ve visited USAFA and USNA (not on official tours), so he’s had only superficial exposure-agree it is a good idea for him to apply to Navy’s SS. I’ve talked with DS and he agrees. I think the 103 degree weather and 100% humidity didn’t help when we visited Annapolis :). Congrats to your grandson.
 
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