Summer Sessions

J

Jeepman

5-Year Member
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Dec 20, 2017
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I am inquiring about summer sessions (for 2019) for my HS junior. Helpful background info: My older son just finished his Swab Summer at USCGA and is loving it. He did the USNA Summer Session a few summers ago but ended up at USCGA, his first choice (he did not get into the summer session at USCGA, ironically enough). My HS junior had the honor of attending the USNA STEM program this past summer, and was lucky to have the benefit of participating in a lot of campus tours with his older brother in the past few years.

All that said, he is interested in doing Boys State and a Service Academy Summer Session in summer 2019. As a family, we are pretty familiar with USCGA and USNA based on the exposure through our sons, and I am biased toward the USCGA at this point for obvious reasons. My junior son has little interest in USMA and is curious about USMMA and USAFA (he feels like he has a handle on USCGA and USNA for the reasons above). So the question is, which summer session do you think would be a good bet for him?

One more thought...he likes the USCGA already, and has seen it. He is also attending Parents Weekend in late September so my feeling is he will have seen and heard enough about it through his brother and hands-on.

Well, another thought.....he thinks the USAFA is a little softer than the other service academies. I don't necessarily agree, but that is his perception.

Any and all feedback welcome. For USAFA supporters, please don't be offended by my son's perception. He is 17, and I am here to help with his perspective is all.

Thank you all in advance!
 
The Society of Military Engineers (SAME) STEM camp seem like it would be a good fit. My DD (10th gr) did the USNA STEM Camp last summer and the SAME STEM USMC Camp (Camp Lejeune) this summer. My DS (11th gr) did the USNA STEM Camp last summer and the SAME STEM USAFA Camp this summer. Both loved their experiences. Not much time is spent at USAFA, but it is a great program and worth checking out if you have time over the busy summer you have ahead of you and the summer seminars don't pan out or conflict with other schedules.
https://www.same.org/STEMCAMPS
 
My DS attended the USNA summer seminar and applied to the Coast Guard as well but didn't get in. We had the conversation about having to choose which one to attend due to the costs that are involved. Flying across the country twice and attendance costs add up quickly. He gave the analogy that it is like attending two different summer youth church camps. The goal of discovering God and deepening your relationship with Him is the same goal for both camps. It is how you get there to that discovery that is different. After he pointed this out to me, it made very good sense to find the money for him to attend both. As it turns out, somewhere in there he made the switch and Coast Guard became his first choice after attending the Navy Summer Seminar.
 
Jeepman said:
Well, another thought.....he thinks the USAFA is a little softer than the other service academies. I don't necessarily agree, but that is his perception.
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@Jeepman, one of our main tasks as parents in the college-application process is to help our kids with their rationale — not to make the decision for them, but to ensure their decision is well thought out.

So when a kid says something like “USAFA is a little softer,” I’d ask: How do you know this? What is that judgment based on? And then I’d ask: Are you choosing an SA based on perceived “softness” (or “hardness”) and, if so, why is that a key criterion?

Kids should be choosing an SA based on the service branch — the mission, lifestyle and occupations. Parents can help by calling out misperceptions and misguided judgments. It’s true that some kids choose a college based on how good the football team is, and some recruited athletes choose a program based on the uniforms. An SA decision is much more serious than that.
 
Jeepman said:
I am inquiring about summer sessions (for 2019) for my HS junior. Helpful background info: My older son just finished his Swab Summer at USCGA and is loving it. He did the USNA Summer Session a few summers ago but ended up at USCGA, his first choice (he did not get into the summer session at USCGA, ironically enough). My HS junior had the honor of attending the USNA STEM program this past summer, and was lucky to have the benefit of participating in a lot of campus tours with his older brother in the past few years.

All that said, he is interested in doing Boys State and a Service Academy Summer Session in summer 2019. As a family, we are pretty familiar with USCGA and USNA based on the exposure through our sons, and I am biased toward the USCGA at this point for obvious reasons. My junior son has little interest in USMA and is curious about USMMA and USAFA (he feels like he has a handle on USCGA and USNA for the reasons above). So the question is, which summer session do you think would be a good bet for him?

One more thought...he likes the USCGA already, and has seen it. He is also attending Parents Weekend in late September so my feeling is he will have seen and heard enough about it through his brother and hands-on.

Well, another thought.....he thinks the USAFA is a little softer than the other service academies. I don't necessarily agree, but that is his perception.

Any and all feedback welcome. For USAFA supporters, please don't be offended by my son's perception. He is 17, and I am here to help with his perspective is all.

Thank you all in advance!
Click to expand...
It seems you are asking (probably not your intent) which one should he choose to attend? The summer seminars are a competitive process and the Academies use them also as a recruiting tool. I would apply to all of them and if chosen to more than one make my decision then. Also in my state Boys State is very competitive and not everyone gets a spot. Your son needs to research the mission of each Academy and see if it fits with what he is interested in. The main question I ask every candidate as a BGO is "Why do you want to attend USNA?" If the answer is anything other than I want to "SERVE MY COUNTRY." I start wonder about their motivation. Also are 100% with MIDCAKEPA's post.
 
All good responses. Thank you. He is 17 years year old and trying to figure it out. He has pretty good insight into missions of Navy and USCG. I am thinking time at USAFA would be a smart experience. He does plan on applying to more than one, and he does realize that Boys State is not a gimme.
 
Jeepman said:
So the question is, which summer session do you think would be a good bet for him?
Click to expand...

As @ThePatternisFull stated, the summer seminars are competitive to get into so he may not be able to choose from all academies. I agree with the advice to apply to all, see which ones are even options for him to choose from and go from there. Of the options available, IMO it would make sense to go to the summer session at the academy he is interested in but knows the least about. And if he doesn't get into any summer sessions that doesn't mean he is not competitive for an appointment.

If he is interested in SA's, his ultimate goal is to commission and serve at least 5 years, so hopefully he is applying to ROTC as well. Also, don't overlook SMC's as an option if he doesn't get into his desired SA but wants an SA-like environment. Sounds like you've raised two great young men, but lots of great candidates don't get in to SA's for various reasons so, as you hear often on this forum, he should be developing plans B, C, D...

Good luck.
 
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