Great, thx.
4/c at CGA. Ask any questions!
- Thread starter BaseballGuy
- Start date
Thank you for providing link to Calendar.
Did I read the calendar correctly that SWAB Summer starts on June 27th? We are coordinating travel plans with family. Any input is greatly appreciated.
Yes. It is usually the last Monday in June.
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Go find an old schedule for the weekend, as it lasts longer than one day. Things may start as early as Thursday evening (Friday this year) and last until Monday at 400pm, which might make it hard to connect with flights that evening.
Extremely helpful insight in the context of international travel and a pandemic. Thank you!
Since you mentioned international travel..... If you have lived most of your life overseas or have not had a chance to visit USCGA, there is also a 3 day program called RISE (https://www.uscga.edu/rise/) which is just prior to the start of SWAB summer. It is for cadets and their families. It is generally for those coming from overseas or who are the first in their family to attend college, but anyone can ask to attend. Sample schedules are at the link. I don't know if this is what StPaulDad was referring to, or if he was just referring to the other more informal activities available to all incoming cadets and their families.
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Just a quick follow-up: I was conflating R Day and Parents' Weekend a bit. R Day is mostly an open house and short presentations on Saturday and Sunday, with the main event on Monday. It lets swabs and families see the campus, figure out where to park and how to find things, choose a place to meet up later, hit the exchange for swag, etc before the chaos and stress of reporting. Parents' Weekend has stuff starting as early as Thursday evening, with different events scattered through until Sunday, but sometimes getting away from campus is a bigger deal for the cadets (and that's not a feature of R Day 
.)
.)Which would you suggest: Instant, disposable, small digital camera for swab summer?
The idea of having memory cards sent home concerns me. I am really leaning towards the newest instant cameras for their ability to print photos. Disposables are an option but photos are at mercy of effective delivery.
Thoughts?
Thank you for your time
The idea of having memory cards sent home concerns me. I am really leaning towards the newest instant cameras for their ability to print photos. Disposables are an option but photos are at mercy of effective delivery.
Thoughts?
Thank you for your time
Thanks for the suggestions.
My daughter was onsite for AIM. That experience really cemented her decision to pursue appointment.
We have plans to be in the UK for a family event. At least it's a shorter flight than most overseas destinations.
My daughter did not take any sort of camera during swab summer. I don't know any cadets that did although I'm sure there were some. Paul Duddy (pduddy pics on Facebook) will be every parent's favorite person during swab summer. He is on campus just about every day taking photos of whatever platoons of swabs he happens to come across. He posts hundreds of photos almost every day. Parents get to play "Where's Waldo" as they search for their swab. It was especially difficult summer of 2020 when everyone was wearing masks all the time. During the regular school year, he is there taking photos of sporting events and other significant happenings around campus.
Another shout out for PDuddy Pics! My son also did not bring any kind of camera and I can't imagine how he'd have had time to take any pictures anyway. But we got to see a good number of shots of him through the lens of the brilliant and much appreciated Paul Duddy. I would copy and paste some of the best pictures onto paper to create stationery for writing letters to my Swab so he could see what we were seeing of his journey.
We did give our son a couple of disposable cameras but he didn’t take a single picture, mostly due to lack of time (as previously mentioned) and fear of unwanted attention from the cadre. The only Swab photos I recall were from their time on Eagle, when they get phones back - even then he didn’t take any but thankfully other parents shared what they received. From a parent’s perspective the daily photos from Paul Duddy give you a pretty amazing chronicle of what your Swab is experiencing, even if your Swab is not in them - but they will be in many! My son started making faces for Mr. Duddy, so we got some real classics!
I got interviewed and am a cadet currently. I forget what I looked up but if you look up interview questions for USCGA you can find the questions they ask you (at least as of last year). I practiced my responses to those questions so that I was prepared. It also helped me not freak out on the spot. I also came with questions for the interviewer and did some research on the interviewer. I think the key is to be engaged and interested to learn more. It might also help to write a thank you note afterwards, at least that is what I did. Good luck!
Yes! Females can wear makeup. There’s regulations on it, but it’s pretty fair. The dress code is uniform only. You can wear study hour after 1600 on weekdays and on the weekends, and you can only wear trops or SDBS on liberty as a 4c. Study hour are issued clothing; you’re not allowed civvies in your room whatsoever, let alone wear them. You’re allowed off campus from 1200 to 0100 on Saturdays and until 1800 on Sundays as a 4c. You can attend community churches, after Swab Summer. And there’s plenty of religious groups, like grade-specific female/male Bible studies, larger Bible studies, Catholic societies, scripture study, and larger Christian clubs.
Thanks for such great info!
FiveByFive
Member
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Yes, cadets are issued just about everything they need. The cost for the items are taken care of by the “ICA Loan” for most of what is needed.
FYI - you should slow down. You will receive a lot of information in the coming months from USCGA, parent/alumni groups and class FB pages that will answer your questions. Trying to out think and anticipate everything that is needed really is a waste of your time.
You're absolutely right! Point taken. Happy Holidays!
The cotton tshirts are for under your dress uniforms so you dont really exercise in them. Just get a pack of Hanes and you will be fine. People use white tshirts for a lot of things such as shining shoes, dusting, and ironing so don't be afraid to bring ten.