Academy success at the Naval Academy

Great thread, great advice--would perhaps suggest the specific pieces of advice of how to handle the academics and unique pressures/expectations be considered for a sticky. There are lots of questions on the forum about how to get into USNA, but not a lot of what to expect once the candidate has been accepted. My son is Mech E--has done very well academically, because he's done what many of you cited was important for success. LongAgoPlebe, Capt MJ and Nuensis have encapsulated the criteria for success well--appreciate the objectivity and insights of your experiences.
 
Ditto! Excellent thread.
I too am concerned that my DS's high school curriculum is not rigorous enough even though the school has numerous APs. I am concerned that bad study habits due to ease of curriculum will hit him hard in college. However, the one take away from this thread that is hopeful is that no matter what the high school prep was like that if the student is able to 1. know he/she doesn't understand and gets help quickly and 2. knows how to ask for help.... then at least not all will be lost.
 
Great advice on this thread. I struggled to make the transition as a Plebe. My biggest struggle was trying to balance the Plebe year stuff, academics and playing a Division 1 sport. I also struggled with balancing everything and retention of information while sleep deprived. I was unsat my first semester plebe year. I did better second semester, but was barely sat. I was one who got alot of EI and tutoring. I never shied away from any of that even week 1. I finally learned the right method of what to get ahead on during the week to free up my week for other assignments. With the basketball schedule we had, study time and assignment due dates also had to be coordinated. We have a team academic adviser whom we turn assignments into while on the road (and they pass them on to our professors) or to administer exams. Game days really didn't allow much study time unless on the road, so that also had to be factored into a schedule. I learned how to balance it all and even made the Dant's list 3/6 semesters after plebe year.

Keys for me... staying awake (this is harder than one thinks Plebe year), sit in front, get help early and often, really take a look at the week, 2 weeks, month ahead and plan accordingly. Find a quiet spot during free periods and get work done. I did much better leaving Calculus class and if I had a free period later in the day I would do the homework in an empty classroom. It reinforced what we learned and I could do the homework with the topic fresh in mind and prepare to ask specific questions in EI. Also, stay off social media and put away phones while studying (if you go to the library to study, leave your phone in your room).
 
Thank you for reviving this. What great advice. Sent it to my DS/P2B to read. He joked at my love of this forum throughout the whole admission process for the past 8 months, but he sat down, read through this all carefully and even took some screenshots for his phone!! It’s all real now..... Look forward to more updates!!
 
Smart use of free periods during the day. Weekends. Not sleeping 8 hours. Learning to optimize over many competing demands and prioritizing. Becoming more efficient and focused in your study habits. Eating fast. Showering fast. Reading fast. Understanding where you let time dribble away and containing that.

I graduated from an academy (not USNA) with a 3.5+ and i would say much of this is bad advice. Eat fast and shower fast? If you're trying to scrape 5 minutes off your shower and lunch to pass your classes you don't belong in college. Reading fast or speed reading is like driving fast on a road to nowhere. You need time to digest and analyze information or you just won't understand it and the whole thing will be a waste of time. If anything, sleep more than 8 hours if you can. There's a clear difference studying with good sleep vs not enough, your recall and understanding is on hyperdrive when you've slept.
 
I think what CAPT MJ is saying is that you don't waste time on stuff that doesn't matter. You can fully shower in <3 minutes. Or you can take a luxurious shower that lasts 15 minutes. Ditto for eating. Eating fast doesn't mean making yourself sick. It means eating and moving on.

The fact is that, especially your first couple of years, you have a lot to do and not a lot of "free time" in which to do it. So you learn no to spend unnecessary time on unnecessary things so you have time to spend on things that are important -- like studying and working out.
 
Yep. Looking back, learning to be efficient and speedy in certain ways and at certain times, as well as learning how to not hog shared resources such as a sink or hold up a team when there is a time limit, when needed, came in very handy. Learning those skills at boot camp, SA, OCS/OTC or wherever are just tools of the life. For anyone who has not had to share a room, a shower, a bathroom or been given 15 minutes to sh, sh and sh, it can be a bit of a shock.
 
I think what CAPT MJ is saying is that you don't waste time on stuff that doesn't matter. You can fully shower in <3 minutes. Or you can take a luxurious shower that lasts 15 minutes. Ditto for eating. Eating fast doesn't mean making yourself sick. It means eating and moving on.

The fact is that, especially your first couple of years, you have a lot to do and not a lot of "free time" in which to do it. So you learn no to spend unnecessary time on unnecessary things so you have time to spend on things that are important -- like studying and working out.

complex things get done with deliberation, reflection, etc. The strategy of shaving 5 minutes off your shower only works for someone who mindlessly goes through the motions or is in boot camp, an artificial environment that doesn't matter the minute you finish bootcamp. Also, anyone who sleeps for 5 or 6 hours and works out for 1.5 is definitely making a mistake.
 
I graduated from an academy (not USNA) with a 3.5+ and i would say much of this is bad advice. Eat fast and shower fast? If you're trying to scrape 5 minutes off your shower and lunch to pass your classes you don't belong in college.

Maybe times have changed and USNA is more like a regular college, or Kings Point is different, but the point is that the ability to prioritize and manage your time wisely is absolutely critical at USNA. Sure, I get that quiet reflection is necessary as you pursue academics, but there are so many things, particularly as a Plebe, where time management is necessary, and cutting a few minutes from the shower, the wardroom, etc, can help immensely with things like memorizing the menu, preparing for chow calls, pro knowledge , etc. The truth is, the ability to manage time pressure is part of a well established program to develop young officers.. I don't think any of my classmates ever complained that they had too much time on their hands as Junior Officers.
 
I graduated from an academy (not USNA) with a 3.5+ and i would say much of this is bad advice. Eat fast and shower fast? If you're trying to scrape 5 minutes off your shower and lunch to pass your classes you don't belong in college. Reading fast or speed reading is like driving fast on a road to nowhere. You need time to digest and analyze information or you just won't understand it and the whole thing will be a waste of time. If anything, sleep more than 8 hours if you can. There's a clear difference studying with good sleep vs not enough, your recall and understanding is on hyperdrive when you've slept.

I graduated from an academy (USNA) with a 3.5+ and I would say this is pretty good advice. The speed reading courses at USNA are not what you probably think they are. It's about using strategies to pull meaning from text and categorize topics efficiently without wasting time staring at words. Very useful for many plebes, as high school graduates (even at this fine, prestigious university) don't necessarily know how to read well.

While I agree 8 hours of sleep is important for college and getting good grades, you will mostly likely not have that kind of time as a JO. I had 4-6 hours while on deployment, with some particularly miserable days netting less. So as you transition from MIDN to officer, brace yourself.

USNA does well to instill an attitude of time efficiency, flexibility, and resiliency from Plebe Summer onward, and all MIDN would do well to not lose that sense of urgency even past commissioning. There were several times as a JO when I was reminded that Plebe Summer never ends. You don't spend more than fifteen minutes eating and five minutes showering underway. There's people waiting for you to finish eating before they can eat, and water is limited even when everything is working properly.

And then there's times when VCHT is down...resiliency is key.
 
Agree that, in retrospect, PS and plebe year is a breeze. Recently, I was re-reading my diary from when I was on my second deployment. On average, I was working 18-20 hour days, six days a week and 12 hours on Sunday, for the better part of 6 months. I wasn’t a masochist or disorganized. I was without 2 of the four enlisted assigned to me, including a Chief. And there was just SO much work to do. It was what it was, but the lessons I learned in terms of time management and prioritization came in handy. And, yes, I did find time for a few simple pleasures like writing in my diary. 😀
 
Agree that, in retrospect, PS and plebe year is a breeze. Recently, I was re-reading my diary from when I was on my second deployment. On average, I was working 18-20 hour days, six days a week and 12 hours on Sunday, for the better part of 6 months. I wasn’t a masochist or disorganized. I was without 2 of the four enlisted assigned to me, including a Chief. And there was just SO much work to do. It was what it was, but the lessons I learned in terms of time management and prioritization came in handy. And, yes, I did find time for a few simple pleasures like writing in my diary. 😀
Classic “only a half-day” of 12 hours on Sunday!
 
Agree that, in retrospect, PS and plebe year is a breeze. Recently, I was re-reading my diary from when I was on my second deployment. On average, I was working 18-20 hour days, six days a week and 12 hours on Sunday, for the better part of 6 months. I wasn’t a masochist or disorganized. I was without 2 of the four enlisted assigned to me, including a Chief. And there was just SO much work to do. It was what it was, but the lessons I learned in terms of time management and prioritization came in handy. And, yes, I did find time for a few simple pleasures like writing in my diary. 😀
I thought that you folks had crew rest as part of your ethos ;)

On my 2nd ship where I was Navigator,I never slept more than 5 total hours in a night or 3 hours at one time while underway and we were gone 14 out of 19 months that I was aboard.

Regarding the sleep comment - I was never an 8 hours per night sleeper even when totally unconstrained by alarms, etc, I have rarely ever done more than 6 hrs in my entire life and generally average about 5 to 5.5 hrs per night.
 
I thought that you folks had crew rest as part of your ethos
'85 was an intel officer, and during Flaps (round the clock operations), had to be ready to brief crews every 4 hours. Only the Aircrew got crew rest, and I will admit , that as a young NFO, wasn't always good about following crew rest requirements. All that crew rest really meant is that the OPS O couldn't schedule you for x hours before a flight --but I frequently went into the hangar before/stayed after, to meet with my Division Chief or get other work done.

Im just curious if anyone can tell me if the amount of homework that mids can recieve on the average day is monitored due to their other training.
. Unless things have changed, there really isn't a mechanism to monitor and adjust workload or pressure. However, the upperclass were all Plebes before, and are pretty good at knowing when to put the heat on or when to lay off . Upperclass have their own academic pressures, especially during exam weeks, so things tend to chill out just a little. In addition, squad leaders are supposed to monitor their Plebes..they should know when their Plebe is struggling,, and adjust demands accordingly. Academic success is a priority (maybe more so now than back in the day), so the Plebes will be taken care of.

There are a lot of good comments about how to success here..time management, effective study skills and getting help when struggling are all important. One that I would add is knowing how much effort to put into a particular assignment or endeavor Giving 100% and doing your best is important, but the key is knowing how much is enough and avoiding extending more effort (and time) than is necessary to get the grade. Thats takes time, experience, and confidence in your abilities to develop.
 
We met a former capt from USMA sometime last year and he gave a great analogy on time management / setting priority. He gave an example of glass balls and rubber balls. So things they knew could be picked later or addressed later ( rubber balls as they would bounce back) and there were things that if dropped ( like glass balls) would break them. So it was a constant juggling of glass and rubber balls. As a further example, there were times for them where he had limited time to study for exams. So he would give time to those subjects where he thought he would fail and didn't study for the subject where he would be OK to get a B without any study.
 
With no intentions to get off track from the main question, does the competition for high class rank create a competitive/aggressive/independent environment for students academically? Or do students strive to help one another out with studies (I.e. study groups)? Trying to get a better idea of the environment.
 
My son says helping each other academically is the most important thing. Period. If you’re a 4.0 and your not working with your company mate struggling with Calc, you are considered a major (fill in your favorite explicative). It’s not about competing to be tops academically- it’s about being your best and making your teammates their best. Maybe that sounds corny but that’s what I’ve heard from him over and over.
 
Who gets into a Service Academy? The top kids in HS. But 50% of those kids now have to be below average. So people are not used to this. Here is my general college info:

0) GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!

1) Go to Professor's office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: "I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?"

2) If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof's office hours. If they have any "help sessions" or "study sessions" or "recitations" or any thing extra, go to them.

3) Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.

4) Don't do the minimum...for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch videos on line about the topic you are studying.

5) Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)

6) If things still are not going well, get a tutor.

7) Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.

8) If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best ...you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.

9) For tests that you didn't do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study...there may be a study skill center at your college.

10) How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.

11) At first, don't spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)

12) If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes...e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up tim for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)...you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.

13) At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.


14) Make sure you understand how to use your online class system...Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).

15) If you get an assignment...make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.

16) If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours...not the day before the assignment is due.


You might think that this is all completely obvious, but I have read many stories on this and other websites where people did not do the above and then are asking for help on academic appeal letters.
 
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