Give it to me straight - physical aptitude for CGA

snowieWI3

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Hello all - so now my daughter is going to be a high school Junior. She and I just had a very long talk about colleges and what is realistic for her and back up options. The USCGA is perfect for her, checks most of her boxes but I have always stressed that she needs fall back options. She has seen the campus, she has wanted the CGA for the longest time, she has talked to representatives at the Service Academy fairs and other contacts and now it's time to have some clarity.

She is not an athlete. Not at all. She is a S.T.E.M girl and a heavily awarded percussion drumming fanatic. She is fit - yes...because she waterskis, snow skis, is an excellent swimmer & bikes about 5 miles to and from work and eats healthy...but anything else she is not an enthusiastic participant. However, she has the ability to set a goal and has laser focus in attaining that goal. So, if she is told to do x, y & z exercises by a certain date she will morph into a gym rat to achieve the goal. She just won't enjoy it & would not want to sustain that level of intense exercise for the long run. What I'm asking is this: for admission, does the high standard of physical fitness apply to each and every day of a cadet's life-or is it a bench mark for admissions and then if a kid should be accepted, the physical fitness is not a death march each day like she sees in the movies?

Marine Engineering is her focus and is already studying (privately) welding from a welder neighbor. She loves & is a natural at fixing our snowmobiles, boat engines, atv's and lawnmowers. She has her scuba certification and loves water...fishing in it, eating from it, playing in (or on) it. She thrives on order, clear direction, personal responsibility and structure. She has not taken the SAT or ACT yet so I don't have numbers, but she is a 4.2 student and her course load is already STEM heavy for this upcoming year. She has already racked up numerous awards in high school for her citizenship, responsibility & hard work. I tease her a bit but she will not cuss, does not want a party school, is bothered by kids around her who break rules & has been going to bed @ 10pm & waking on her own @ 5:15 every day since 7th grade to get work done...and my former Navy husband jokes "oh, the military will fit you like a glove!" She keeps joking about being a welder on huge ships and underwater welding but deep down, I know she's not joking.

I feel like I'm crushing her dream when I talk about maritime colleges and alternatives to the CGA "just in case". She's an excellent human being but I want to be realistic with her when it comes to specifically the CGA and physical fitness since it's a huge part of condition of acceptance. What should my next steps be in guiding her?
 
Hello all - so now my daughter is going to be a high school Junior. She and I just had a very long talk about colleges and what is realistic for her and back up options. The USCGA is perfect for her, checks most of her boxes but I have always stressed that she needs fall back options. She has seen the campus, she has wanted the CGA for the longest time, she has talked to representatives at the Service Academy fairs and other contacts and now it's time to have some clarity.

She is not an athlete. Not at all. She is a S.T.E.M girl and a heavily awarded percussion drumming fanatic. She is fit - yes...because she waterskis, snow skis, is an excellent swimmer & bikes about 5 miles to and from work and eats healthy...but anything else she is not an enthusiastic participant. However, she has the ability to set a goal and has laser focus in attaining that goal. So, if she is told to do x, y & z exercises by a certain date she will morph into a gym rat to achieve the goal. She just won't enjoy it & would not want to sustain that level of intense exercise for the long run. What I'm asking is this: for admission, does the high standard of physical fitness apply to each and every day of a cadet's life-or is it a bench mark for admissions and then if a kid should be accepted, the physical fitness is not a death march each day like she sees in the movies?

Marine Engineering is her focus and is already studying (privately) welding from a welder neighbor. She loves & is a natural at fixing our snowmobiles, boat engines, atv's and lawnmowers. She has her scuba certification and loves water...fishing in it, eating from it, playing in (or on) it. She thrives on order, clear direction, personal responsibility and structure.

She will need to be fit but not triathlete fit and she will need to maintain a level of fitness throughout her time in the Coast Guard. However from what you describe of what she does now I don’t think that will be a problem for her.
There is information on the academy site about preparing for their fitness test, it gives details on a workout plan to use in preparation. My advice would be to get her to start on that and see how she manages with it.
Remember the academy is looking at the whole person so it is important that she is well rounded in academics, athletics, leadership, community involvement and so would add character.
 
My son is athletic but not an “athlete” and really doesn’t like to run. But he downloaded the fitness test workout plan and got up every day starting in the summer last year before marching band camp and school to do the workout so he could do well on the test. The plan works. Since your daughter is a junior, suggest she apply to AIM for next summer. My son applied but was waitlisted so went to the Cadet for a Day overnight program. She can take the fitness test at either of those events and it helps to do it with a group. He also had a chance to go to a band rehearsal. My son applied EA and is now in the class of 2024, and is following the swab summer training plan to make sure he is ready. He will also play in the band in the fall which meets sports requirement for the semester. There are so many pieces that go into acceptance and many worthy candidates don’t get in, but if she puts her best self out there she has a good a chance as anyone. She does need a good backup plan. There are private maritime academies, there is the Merchant Marine Academy (will need to get nomination for this one). There are even universities with a Coast Guard Auxiliary unit where she can apply for a full 2 year scholarship. Let her lead the way. My son wanted a service academy for a long time. He did all the work. The only thing I did through the long application process to 2 academies, was proofread his essays. It helped to keep records of everything he did in high school as he did it including leadership positions and volunteer hours.
The CGA website is a wealth of information on the application process and what they are looking for. Sorry so long, but all the best to your daughter in her journey.
 
Being prepared physically makes the first summer, especially, easier. Also, it's helpful to get use to heat. I'm not sure if all of Chase Hall has A/C now, but when I was there, none of it did, and that was a hot, painful, smelly summer. Fortunately, for swabs, the smell goes away... it's more painful for cadre who can still detect the stink. If there's a/c now, it's probably not as bad as it was.

But academies aren't all just future pro athletes. There are some nerds too. I think they do pistol and rifle and band ;)

It's always good to have a backup plan and I think that's very reasonable (and smart) advice to anyone, so don't feel like you're stepping on her dreams.
 
Based on your description...
"She is fit - yes...because she waterskis, snow skis, is an excellent swimmer & bikes about 5 miles to and from work and eats healthy...but anything else she is not an enthusiastic participant. However, she has the ability to set a goal and has laser focus in attaining that goal",
I think she would be a great CGA fit.
My daughter (CGAS) collected HS varsity letters.... but hates running. But she knows she has to do it. So she does it. I also wasn't the greatest at pushups before entering an academy, but I stuck to it and improved greatly.
Also, for what it's worth, your encouraging her to keep an open mind and keep options developing with regard to other maritime schools, is an entirely good idea. That's not to imply an ounce of discouragement regarding USCGA, but simply, sometimes some doors open and others don't, and being somewhat flexible in that regard is a prudent thing.
 
I can't imagine having the be in a non A/C company..... maybe the equivalent of being in Hotel with their carpets (I'm still not sure why Hotel had carpets).

Once E annex was finished, all companies shifted around!
 
Once E annex was finished, all companies shifted around!

Do they rotate regularly or is there a company that gets to enjoy giant fans all summer in Chase? I was back for a homecoming or something and saw the new annexes, very nice. One of my favorite rooms became a mechanical space. Sad. It was a sweet room.
 
Hello all - so now my daughter is going to be a high school Junior. She and I just had a very long talk about colleges and what is realistic for her and back up options. The USCGA is perfect for her ***

She is not an athlete. Not at all. ***

I feel like I'm crushing her dream when I talk about maritime colleges and alternatives to the CGA "just in case". She's an excellent human being but I want to be realistic with her when it comes to specifically the CGA and physical fitness since it's a huge part of condition of acceptance. What should my next steps be in guiding her?

My daughter failed to get an appointment last year. She was not a high school athlete though she played club sports a couple years. Her first CFA was not great, frankly. Her AO said that she had never seen an appointment with a CFA score of less than 200. DD took this as a measurable goal to beat.

As a back-up, DD went to a maritime academy and studied ocean engineering. She did workouts with the Corps of Cadets and with the NROTC unit. DD got in much better shape. While she was home for many weeks over the holidays we got a coach to work one-on-one with her to get ready to retake the CFA.

The hard work paid off, and her score was much better. That, plus other application improvements led to an appointment this year. She made fitness a habit (dare I say she enjoys it!) and now does 2-3 workouts a day getting ready to report next week.

Your daughter has plenty of time to get ready. She can take the test multiple times. Though many at the USCGA are lettered athletes, not everybody is. Not an impossible dream at all!
 
Do they rotate regularly or is there a company that gets to enjoy giant fans all summer in Chase? I was back for a homecoming or something and saw the new annexes, very nice. One of my favorite rooms became a mechanical space. Sad. It was a sweet room.


They do not move regularly. Some companies have some AC rooms, some have none and some have all.
 
"Does the high standard of physical fitness apply to each and every day of a cadet's life-or is it a bench mark for admissions and then if a kid should be accepted, the physical fitness is not a death march each day like she sees in the movies?"

If your kid views the physical mission as a "death march" then they will not be a good fit for any service academy. Not sure if those are your words or your daughters, but grades, military training and physical mission are the top three pillars at any service academy and cadets are graded on each constantly. If your kid is goal-driven, that's great but it all boils down to intrinsic motivation. She must really want it herself, free from any outside motivators (parents, expectations etc.). There are always a number of kids that quit in their first two years after they realize that their goal to get into a service academy wasn't their goal, but their parent's or the kid was fulfilling an expectation set forth by others.

That being said, if your kid is willing to work hard at the physical part (not because they want to get into CGA), but because they understand that the physical mission is an important part of being a successful military officer and will equip them to better lead others, then they will be fine. If they get that, the physical mission won't be a death march, but will be an integral part of their daily life.
 
This can be done. But even if she puts together a solid PFE score without organized sports, one thing others get from participation is another way to show leadership and teamwork. Master the three events and clear 200, but don't stop doing other physical activities and tell her to keep her eyes open for leadership opportunities as well. There's a terrific thread on this site from years ago that explains why athletics are so prominent in SA admissions and how you have to think intentionally about filling that gap with other things.

 
I've been lurking around this post since you first started the thread OP and finally have time to provide my perspective. As a fellow band geek, congratulations to your DD on her accomplishments as a percussionist. Should she in fact earn an appointment, and even during the application process, I would highly recommend she contact the Director of Cadet Instrumental Music and Bands. The Windjammers Drum and Bugle Corps would welcome her with open arms. I will tell you now that the Windjammers is not as serious as an endeavor as she is probably used to as a competitive musician, but it is an incredible environment with hard-working cadets who love to perform and make music. More information here:

https://www.uscga.edu/music-and-drama/

As others have stated, physical fitness is part of being in the military, especially at USCGA where a certain percentage of your class rank is derived from your Physical Fitness Exam (PFE) scores at the beginning of each semester. Swab Summer itself is highly physical, with some days containing multiple workouts combined with incentive training and the general running everywhere you go. Swabs also participate in inter-company sports periods and compete against the other platoons in sports such as soccer, volleyball, softball, and basketball. During the school year, the focus on physical fitness tends to fall to the wayside with the expectation that cadets will keep themselves in shape and pass the PFE as expected. There are programs in place to help those who need help, and the Athletic Department coaches teach physical education in addition to coaching their sports. Physical education courses include swimming, personal fitness, personal defense, and a couple of other classes like golf and tennis. Cadets are also expected to complete an athletics requirement each semester, which can be done through NCAA athletics, club sports, or intramurals. Windjammers gets you a fall sports credit by the way. ;)

That's the official line on fitness, here's my unofficial opinion. It is not difficult to pass the PFE, and you really only need a couple of weeks before it to prepare. I'm not advocating performing only to the minimum standard, especially for her application, I'm just simply stating the fact. So, if you're daughter isn't a lover of the gym, that's perfect okay - not every cadet or member of the CG is. You state that she has the work ethic to do what she needs to do to meet or exceed the standards, then she'll fit right in. After USCGA, not all CG members are required to take a PT test - it's entirely dependent on your career path. I haven't taken one since 2016. The only mandatory requirement that CG has in terms of physical stature is meeting the weight requirement for your height. I will tell you right now, every CG member SHOULD be fit, but not every CG member IS fit. That goes for the rest of the military as well.

I've never been a huge fan of the gym or working out for hours at a time, and moving away from regimented physical fitness training in swab summer to just being expected to maintain your fitness on your own was a little bit of shock as I had never had to do so, having only ever trained for something specific like track season or swab summer. In both those cases, authority figures gave me workout plans. Frankly, I think CGA could do a better job at teaching cadets how to actually maintain and develop individual fitness programs. It took me awhile to find my rhythm and it's still something I struggle with occasionally. The solution to my problem was finding the types of exercise I actually ENJOYED. Some day, whether she's in the military or not, your DD will have to do the same because it's what is necessary to live a healthy lifestyle. I've fallen back to running, nothing crazy, but enough to get a good workout in and get the mental stress relief that comes from exercising. Yoga has also been a plus for me and I enjoy circuit training. At the end of the day, exercising just contributes to our overall balance as human beings.

Outside of fitness, you state that your daughter is interested in marine engineering and underwater welding. I just want to make sure you're both aware that underwater welding is not an option for CG officers, the only people who take on those jobs are enlisted members that are in the Diver rating or warrant officers who have specialized as divers throughout their CG career. That being said, there are plenty of marine engineering opportunities as a CG officer!

Best of luck to her, she'll be just fine as long as she retains that resiliency and ethic she's built up as a percussionist. That's coming from someone who primarily plays the clarinet and was a member of the bass line for four years at CGA for Windjammers. :)
 
I can't imagine having the be in a non A/C company..... maybe the equivalent of being in Hotel with their carpets (I'm still not sure why Hotel had carpets).

Ah, you refer to the wonderful world of Echo Company and the pink carpets - I wonder if current cadets like @ekb1398 or @DeltaDogs can confirm whether or not it still exists. I can say with all appreciation and zero regret that I was lucky enough to reside in E Annex during all four years of my time at CGA with the exception of one semester. If things haven't changed, Hotel, Charlie, and Alpha are in the air conditioned annex. I did spend time in Bravo in B-Annex during my first swab summer so I was also lucky enough to appreciate the non-A/C environment and the sweat it produces. I will say the A/C didn't quite make up for the fact that the doors exiting to the non-A/C areas had to remain closed at all times. During swab summer, the putrid smell of swabs never quite went away with the annex sealed up like it was.
 
Ah, you refer to the wonderful world of Echo Company and the pink carpets - I wonder if current cadets like @ekb1398 or @DeltaDogs can confirm whether or not it still exists. I can say with all appreciation and zero regret that I was lucky enough to reside in E Annex during all four years of my time at CGA with the exception of one semester. If things haven't changed, Hotel, Charlie, and Alpha are in the air conditioned annex. I did spend time in Bravo in B-Annex during my first swab summer so I was also lucky enough to appreciate the non-A/C environment and the sweat it produces. I will say the A/C didn't quite make up for the fact that the doors exiting to the non-A/C areas had to remain closed at all times. During swab summer, the putrid smell of swabs never quite went away with the annex sealed up like it was.
There are still some carpets up there!! I'm in Hotel, so I have the A/C which is a god send during the hot months. It is Bravo and Echo annexes that are AC'ed, which is Hotel, Golf, some of Alfa, some of Charlie, and some of Bravo. But carpet would be nice to avoid the constant waxing and stripping...

To OP: Your daughter sounds like an amazing candidate for the Academy. I agree with everyone else that you do not need to be an athlete to be at the Academy, just be relatively physically fit. What I'm really here to say is that your daughter should look closely at the what the NAME major is. I am in it and it's great, but if her expectation is that post-academy she will be constantly working on engines or welding, then she is somewhat misinformed. Officers who get into engineering are involved with that but there primary job is not to do that. They are more at a management level, so that is one thing to keep in mind. From a purely academic standpoint, we do somewhat learn that stuff but it is a lot more focused on analysis and/or design of ships. If welding and engines and the like is her passion and wants to make a living working on them constantly, she may consider enlisting (I would suggest the Damage Controlman or Machinery Technician rates for her to look in to) or plan on pursuing that outside work (I work on cars in free time to scratch that itch). That said, understanding of engines and machinery can definitely help greatly in the major. Please feel free to reach out about any questions about what it's like to be a student in the major!
 
Hello all - so now my daughter is going to be a high school Junior. She and I just had a very long talk about colleges and what is realistic for her and back up options. The USCGA is perfect for her, checks most of her boxes but I have always stressed that she needs fall back options. She has seen the campus, she has wanted the CGA for the longest time, she has talked to representatives at the Service Academy fairs and other contacts and now it's time to have some clarity.

She is not an athlete. Not at all. She is a S.T.E.M girl and a heavily awarded percussion drumming fanatic. She is fit - yes...because she waterskis, snow skis, is an excellent swimmer & bikes about 5 miles to and from work and eats healthy...but anything else she is not an enthusiastic participant. However, she has the ability to set a goal and has laser focus in attaining that goal. So, if she is told to do x, y & z exercises by a certain date she will morph into a gym rat to achieve the goal. She just won't enjoy it & would not want to sustain that level of intense exercise for the long run. What I'm asking is this: for admission, does the high standard of physical fitness apply to each and every day of a cadet's life-or is it a bench mark for admissions and then if a kid should be accepted, the physical fitness is not a death march each day like she sees in the movies?

Marine Engineering is her focus and is already studying (privately) welding from a welder neighbor. She loves & is a natural at fixing our snowmobiles, boat engines, atv's and lawnmowers. She has her scuba certification and loves water...fishing in it, eating from it, playing in (or on) it. She thrives on order, clear direction, personal responsibility and structure. She has not taken the SAT or ACT yet so I don't have numbers, but she is a 4.2 student and her course load is already STEM heavy for this upcoming year. She has already racked up numerous awards in high school for her citizenship, responsibility & hard work. I tease her a bit but she will not cuss, does not want a party school, is bothered by kids around her who break rules & has been going to bed @ 10pm & waking on her own @ 5:15 every day since 7th grade to get work done...and my former Navy husband jokes "oh, the military will fit you like a glove!" She keeps joking about being a welder on huge ships and underwater welding but deep down, I know she's not joking.

I feel like I'm crushing her dream when I talk about maritime colleges and alternatives to the CGA "just in case". She's an excellent human being but I want to be realistic with her when it comes to specifically the CGA and physical fitness since it's a huge part of condition of acceptance. What should my next steps be in guiding her?
I tried to temper my sons expectations by telling him that there are many selection criterion that are simply out of your control. i.e. If you are in a geographic location that is already heavily represented at CGA, then your odds go down. I convinced my son to cast a fairly wide net across the military academy options to include the AF and Navy plus the Navy ROTC scholarship and various other universities, so that the odds of getting one were descent. AF and Navy rejected him, but he did receive an ROTC scholarship and an apointment to CGA which he accepted. If CGA is truly her dream, then perhaps remind her that not getting in the first time isn't the end. There is somewhere around 50+ kids in the current class that did a year at CGAS or some other college before reapplying.
 
Sounds to me like USMMA would be a better fit. From what I have experienced thus far, physical fitness is not much more than being able to pass the Navy PRT and very minimal PT outside of that other than plebe year. And it is heavily stem based with a strong emphasis on marine engineering. And if commissioning into the CG is her goal, several people commission into the CG every year. Also, they have a band company, so she would be able to keep playing her instrument.

another Important mention is, during my sea year, the engine cadet onboard my ship did quite a bit of welding and got a lot better at it as it was actual practical welding.
 
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