Acceptance Day Schedule

T

tholcomb

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We are making our travel arrangements for acceptance day week. Can you please provide clarity on when the parents can visit during this week?
 
If things return to pre-Covid ways, you will have at most an hour or two with your cadet after the A-day parade. You may get enough time to eat lunch with them and then they’re gone. Unless they have something to do during this time and then you’ll get to see them march in the parade and that’s it. You won’t know until then.

Acceptance Day is a one morning/one parade thing. It is not a week long.

Stealth_81
 
We had no A-day for parents. for the '24 ..we watched bad video on-line.

We live in Ohio though so we would not have gone out for the couple of hours we might have gotten with him anyway. And two hours he spends with us, is two hours he doesn't get to sleep, prepare for the next phase, goof off or do NOTHING. Parent's weekend on the other hand would have been very nice...
 
@tholcomb - generally, most families will not travel to see the Acceptance Day parade. As Stealth_81 mentions, the available window of time for you to engage with your cadet is under 2 hours and as far as I know, you are not allowed to go off campus. Just driving out the gate to the nearest fast food restaurant will be an hour round trip. There is the concession stand at the field house and there are several options at Arnold Hall - but I can't speak to whether they are open at the moment.

Having said that, any contact with your cadet is huge for all parties.. For the most part, the families I recall at this event were typically local. Considering the expense, most families wait until Parent's Weekend where you can expect much more time with your cadet.
 
We are '23 parents, we did not go. It was only a few hours to visit. We waited until Parents Weekend.
 
Class of '21 Parent here. Our DS went to I-Day on his own (his choice). We had 1 very brief phone call a week into BCT. On Doolie Day Out (which was in the middle of BCT that year), we surprised him by telling him we were coming out for A-Day. DH and I were able to become very good friends with our fellow squadron parents. Almost all of us went out for A-Day (from all over the United States). If, and that's a big IF, you can afford to go for A-Day, go! Even though we only had 2 hours with our DS, we got to witness the milestone of his class being accepted into the cadet wing during the A-Day parade and then receive their shoulder boards. We had a quick picnic lunch in the parking lot, which the parents coordinated so the responsibilities were shared. We had about 45 minutes to help carry the school supplies and other items we had brought up to his dorm room. Those moments in his room were so wonderful! Yes, it was a very tearful goodbye as he escorted us to the gate when we had to leave. Since several of the parents weren't leaving until the next morning, we met for dinner and drinks that evening. It was a great start to the wonderful USAFA family we have become. Even now, we are just as excited to see each other at graduation as we are to see our Firsties graduate. I hope and pray that the traditions and ceremonies at USAFA return to pre-covid normal for the incoming class of 2025.
 
If you have decided to go if parents are allowed, then my advice is to wait for the official A-Day to be announced, and then make fully refundable travel plans - anything from plane ticket/hotel/rental car. I hope you already made PW travel plans yesterday as you are competing with all classes' family units and general Labor day holiday goers (again fully refundable), especially if you are looking for an AirBnb. Hopefully it will look and feel more "normal" for 2025, but I can tell you as a 2024 parent, you have to be very nimble and everything has been last minute. If you're not in driving distance, there is no way to reconcile having to make flight decisions without full information and rolling the dice up to the last minute. No harm in booking ahead with fully refundable reservations.
 
Does anyone know how much time parents will have with cadets are this year after the acceptance day parade? Or will they be released for the weekend?
 
Vintner101 said:
Or will they be released for the weekend?
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Unless things have radically changed at camp USAFA - this will not be a possible outcome. Like we posted above, 1-2 hours is all that you should expect and you would be physically limited to the cadet area / field house for the duration of your visit.
 
If you go, bring #'ous Chick-fil-A sandwiches for your cadet & their buddies; guarantee they'll be none left to bring back;)
 
DH will fly in Thursday, leave Friday evening back to FL. We have placed a pickup order with local Chick Fil A to feed quite a few. DH is only bringing a carry on. If you see a man in the same clothes for 2 days, that may be him since everything in his bag will be for DS. A Day= no judgment day lol.
 
Vintner101 said:
Does anyone know how much time parents will have with cadets are this year after the acceptance day parade? Or will they be released for the weekend?
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Acceptance Day parade will be on Friday morning followed by C4Cs receiving their shoulder boards. You will get 1-2 hours with your cadet to visit/picnic after. Cadets must stay in the field house/cadet area and will NOT be released to parents for the weekend.
 
USAFAGradMom said:
Acceptance Day parade will be on Friday morning followed by C4Cs receiving their shoulder boards. You will get 1-2 hours with your cadet to visit/picnic after. Cadets must stay in the field house/cadet area and will NOT be released to parents for the weekend.
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Thank you and Shiner for your prompt reply!
 
Son is a 2018 grad and we went for an extended weekend break. Saw the March back, Aday parade and spent probably 2-3 hours with him. Saw his room and took a monitor and printer to him….worth the visit as we also went to Breckenridge for a few days.
 
Vintner101 said:
Would we be allowed to pick him up for church in the Springs on Sunday morning?
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In general, church services are still going on in the cadet area - just not physically located in the Cadet Chapel. Your cadet should check with their leadership about the rules governing a Church Pass and whether or not it is an option for that weekend. Cadets are required to use a sign-out log any time they are leaving the cadet area. In that log, they list the pass being used or the activity. Items like day pass, overnight pass, and sponsor pass are counted and there are specific allocations given to each grade level. As you move into higher grade levels, you earn more passes. Church passes however are not counted and there are special conditions surrounding their use, so it is best to consult with cadet leadership AND the squadron AOC for permission, restrictions, and limitations.
 
shiner said:
In general, church services are still going on in the cadet area - just not physically located in the Cadet Chapel. Your cadet should check with their leadership about the rules governing a Church Pass and whether or not it is an option for that weekend. Cadets are required to use a sign-out log any time they are leaving the cadet area. In that log, they list the pass being used or the activity. Items like day pass, overnight pass, and sponsor pass are counted and there are specific allocations given to each grade level. As you move into higher grade levels, you earn more passes. Church passes however are not counted and there are special conditions surrounding their use, so it is best to consult with cadet leadership AND the squadron AOC for permission, restrictions, and limitations.
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Understood. Thanks!
 
Here's a copy of an email originating from the Parents' Liaison with a time frame and some clarification on what will and will not be allowed:

All this just in about Acceptance Day.

The Acceptance Day plan is that the base will open on 2 August to the public so parents will be able to attend the Acceptance Day Parade (9am start and gate normally opens at 7am.) Immediately following the parade is Convocation, which fourth class cadets must attend (still on Stillman Field). From the end of Convocation until 1330 cadets will be allowed to escort their parents in the cadet area with the exception of the dorms. Fourth Class Cadets will not be allowed to go off base with their parents.

Thank you,

Marie

Marie

ROSE MARIE NIKOVITS
Parents' Liaison
Strategic Communications
U.S. Air Force Academy, CO

Hopefully this gives everyone a little better idea of what to expect on A-Day
 
mommahedg said:
Class of '21 Parent here. Our DS went to I-Day on his own (his choice). We had 1 very brief phone call a week into BCT. On Doolie Day Out (which was in the middle of BCT that year), we surprised him by telling him we were coming out for A-Day. DH and I were able to become very good friends with our fellow squadron parents. Almost all of us went out for A-Day (from all over the United States). If, and that's a big IF, you can afford to go for A-Day, go! Even though we only had 2 hours with our DS, we got to witness the milestone of his class being accepted into the cadet wing during the A-Day parade and then receive their shoulder boards. We had a quick picnic lunch in the parking lot, which the parents coordinated so the responsibilities were shared. We had about 45 minutes to help carry the school supplies and other items we had brought up to his dorm room. Those moments in his room were so wonderful! Yes, it was a very tearful goodbye as he escorted us to the gate when we had to leave. Since several of the parents weren't leaving until the next morning, we met for dinner and drinks that evening. It was a great start to the wonderful USAFA family we have become. Even now, we are just as excited to see each other at graduation as we are to see our Firsties graduate. I hope and pray that the traditions and ceremonies at USAFA return to pre-covid normal for the incoming class of 2025.
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What type of school supplies did you take? I know they can have a printer in their room. Do they use color printing? We were going to get a black and white laser printer. Did you provide this at that time or during Parent's weekend?
 
attagirl88 said:
What type of school supplies did you take? I know they can have a printer in their room. Do they use color printing? We were going to get a black and white laser printer. Did you provide this at that time or during Parent's weekend?
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We did not go to A-day (and won't with our 29er), but brought supplies to parent's weekend. All ds needed was his iPad and calculator. We also brought him his favorite pens and pencils for fun. He bought anything else he needed at the c-store. Hold off on the printer. Our ds has never needed one.
 
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