F15DOC
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2013
- Messages
- 281
OK, I give up on trying to be the worlds greatest dad.
My DS has achieved a great pinnacle in being offered an appointment to the USCGA.
He is very proud of that offer, we are very proud of what he has accomplished to be given that offer.
But now he is wavering on the doorstep of that huge decision.
I have read so many threads on these academy forums about students hesitating or questioning their decision to attend an academy, so I think I understand his hesitation.
Last night we sat and had a heart to heart about his dreams, ambitions and hopes for his future. We made it perfectly clear that he has to be the one making this choice, if I was making it for him he would already have accepted the USCGA Appointment, period.
So here is what he confirmed:
1) He wants to serve his country
2) He wants to fly, until recently he wanted to fly fighters.
3) Now he says he wants to pursue rotary (helos) but fixed wing is still an option
4) He wants to join some form of military status during college.
Here is what he has in front of him:
1) Appointment to USCGA
2) Acceptance to his state school of preference (both of his parents alma mater)
3) Full 4 years Air Force ROTC scholarship
Here are his thoughts on pros and cons:
1) State University AFROTC will be much more fun
2) State University AFROTC will be much less grueling
3) AFROTC graduates with a GPA above 3.2 have a very high likelihood of getting a pilot slot
4) USCGA will be very hard on mind, body and soul
5) USCGA has a much better Electrical Engineering Program
6) USCGA graduates that want to enter aviation will nearly all be allowed the opportunity.
7) USCG rotary pilots are considered among the elite of the services and it is very rare to be given an opportunity to transfer from another service aviation to USCG aviation (although it happens)
So, the real kicker here is that both his mother and I believe he will be successful at the USCGA. He is a math wiz and it seems that most of the cadets that struggle academically in all of the services do so in the STEM cores. He won't fail, I am sure of it. He doesn't seem to lead on that he is afraid of failing, but I wonder if that is part of his hesitation.
As a parent, I want to guide him, but I have seen so many students fail or quit an endeavor that they were coerced or pushed into by a parent. I have a strong concern that he is going to walk away from this appointment, and it breaks my heart to know how much he is going to regret it later. I have several friends and acquaintances that have told me of their regrets after walking away from an academy offer. He had a recent encounter at an air station and spent time with a young USCGA graduate that is now flying. He told my son how much he loves the USCG, even the 2 years he spent on a boat before he got an aviation spot... but he told him how much he disliked his 4 years at the USCGA, ugh. The last thing my son needed to hear.
Advice? Do we just sit on our hands and see what he chooses. He knows what we would like to see him do and why, he understands that very clearly. He also knows very clearly that we are going to love him and support him in anything he chooses.
My DS has achieved a great pinnacle in being offered an appointment to the USCGA.
He is very proud of that offer, we are very proud of what he has accomplished to be given that offer.
But now he is wavering on the doorstep of that huge decision.
I have read so many threads on these academy forums about students hesitating or questioning their decision to attend an academy, so I think I understand his hesitation.
Last night we sat and had a heart to heart about his dreams, ambitions and hopes for his future. We made it perfectly clear that he has to be the one making this choice, if I was making it for him he would already have accepted the USCGA Appointment, period.
So here is what he confirmed:
1) He wants to serve his country
2) He wants to fly, until recently he wanted to fly fighters.
3) Now he says he wants to pursue rotary (helos) but fixed wing is still an option
4) He wants to join some form of military status during college.
Here is what he has in front of him:
1) Appointment to USCGA
2) Acceptance to his state school of preference (both of his parents alma mater)
3) Full 4 years Air Force ROTC scholarship
Here are his thoughts on pros and cons:
1) State University AFROTC will be much more fun
2) State University AFROTC will be much less grueling
3) AFROTC graduates with a GPA above 3.2 have a very high likelihood of getting a pilot slot
4) USCGA will be very hard on mind, body and soul
5) USCGA has a much better Electrical Engineering Program
6) USCGA graduates that want to enter aviation will nearly all be allowed the opportunity.
7) USCG rotary pilots are considered among the elite of the services and it is very rare to be given an opportunity to transfer from another service aviation to USCG aviation (although it happens)
So, the real kicker here is that both his mother and I believe he will be successful at the USCGA. He is a math wiz and it seems that most of the cadets that struggle academically in all of the services do so in the STEM cores. He won't fail, I am sure of it. He doesn't seem to lead on that he is afraid of failing, but I wonder if that is part of his hesitation.
As a parent, I want to guide him, but I have seen so many students fail or quit an endeavor that they were coerced or pushed into by a parent. I have a strong concern that he is going to walk away from this appointment, and it breaks my heart to know how much he is going to regret it later. I have several friends and acquaintances that have told me of their regrets after walking away from an academy offer. He had a recent encounter at an air station and spent time with a young USCGA graduate that is now flying. He told my son how much he loves the USCG, even the 2 years he spent on a boat before he got an aviation spot... but he told him how much he disliked his 4 years at the USCGA, ugh. The last thing my son needed to hear.
Advice? Do we just sit on our hands and see what he chooses. He knows what we would like to see him do and why, he understands that very clearly. He also knows very clearly that we are going to love him and support him in anything he chooses.