Are attending Bear days helpful?

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William P

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Oct 15, 2023
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I was thinking about attending a bear day, but it is a good distance away and i'm not sure if its worth my time.
 
We live 1000 miles away and in my personal experience with my daughter, it was totally worth it. She signed up for a Bears Day event in late March of her Junior year. It was the very first stop of a week long college trip road trip all over New England, upstate NY and Pennsylvania.

The Bear's day event was on a Friday. She was able to schedule a meeting with the head coach of her sport the day before, so we got in and went straight to the academy for that meeting.

On Friday, there was a briefing for all the bean sprouts (what they call high school visitors) and parents. Then then a bunch of cadet chaperones came in and picked up the beanie they were assigned to. If I recall, many of the chaperones were 4/c cadets and they tried to match up kids with cadets in their sport. Then the kids went off and spent the day with the cadets. Classes, lunch, any meetings they may have had, etc. It was cool because the 4/c cadet who took my daughter around ended up being a cadre when she was a swab and then teammates. Meanwhile, the parents stayed behind for some additional presentations about admissions, academic programs, and academy life in general. Then a firstie took us on a very thorough tour, we got to check out the simulators, look at some cap stone projects being worked on, etc. I think the day wrapped up around 4pm.

Let me just say, after that day, we pretty much could've punted the rest of the schools on our trip and just went home. She wasn't really interested in anything else after that. But, we drove many more miles, visited 5 more schools, she met with 5 more coaches and we had an incredible time.

More than anything, that Bear's Day visit really planted the seed that she wanted to be an officer in the Coast Guard - even if the Academy didn't pan out. Then when she did AIM 3 months later, it really sealed the deal. All of her college choices were academies and senior military colleges that had a somewhat direct path to commission in the Coast Guard, and also be recruited for her sport.

Every one has different experiences, but for my kid it was a rather pivotal visit and worthwhile for sure!!
 
Most people think the Bears Days are very helpful. If you can do the overnight Cadet for a Day, those are even better. You get to do everything from a Bears Day, and you also get to spend the night in Chase Hall with a cadet and possibly go to practice with them. You get to see the downtime and study time and things like that in addition to the regular school day.
 
27BearDad said:
We live 1000 miles away and in my personal experience with my daughter, it was totally worth it. She signed up for a Bears Day event in late March of her Junior year. It was the very first stop of a week long college trip road trip all over New England, upstate NY and Pennsylvania.

The Bear's day event was on a Friday. She was able to schedule a meeting with the head coach of her sport the day before, so we got in and went straight to the academy for that meeting.

On Friday, there was a briefing for all the bean sprouts (what they call high school visitors) and parents. Then then a bunch of cadet chaperones came in and picked up the beanie they were assigned to. If I recall, many of the chaperones were 4/c cadets and they tried to match up kids with cadets in their sport. Then the kids went off and spent the day with the cadets. Classes, lunch, any meetings they may have had, etc. It was cool because the 4/c cadet who took my daughter around ended up being a cadre when she was a swab and then teammates. Meanwhile, the parents stayed behind for some additional presentations about admissions, academic programs, and academy life in general. Then a firstie took us on a very thorough tour, we got to check out the simulators, look at some cap stone projects being worked on, etc. I think the day wrapped up around 4pm.

Let me just say, after that day, we pretty much could've punted the rest of the schools on our trip and just went home. She wasn't really interested in anything else after that. But, we drove many more miles, visited 5 more schools, she met with 5 more coaches and we had an incredible time.

More than anything, that Bear's Day visit really planted the seed that she wanted to be an officer in the Coast Guard - even if the Academy didn't pan out. Then when she did AIM 3 months later, it really sealed the deal. All of her college choices were academies and senior military colleges that had a somewhat direct path to commission in the Coast Guard, and also be recruited for her sport.

Every one has different experiences, but for my kid it was a rather pivotal visit and worthwhile for sure!!
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Did you find it helpful as a parent to attend Bear day? My daughter plans to go, but I was unsure if we should attend and its asks during registration. We have done a regular tour already. Plus the Aim session.
 
If you’ve already done a tour and been there during AIM, you probably won’t gain a whole lot. If you haven’t heard the admissions spiel already, there’s plenty of info online, links to admissions briefings, etc.

Bears day was my first experience as a parent, so I thought it was great.

As a student having been there already for AIM, Bears Day probably won’t be very exciting, but certainly a time to look around and talk to cadets in a more relaxed environment.
Amt238 said:
Did you find it helpful as a parent to attend Bear day? My daughter plans to go, but I was unsure if we should attend and its asks during registration. We have done a regular tour already. Plus the Aim session.
Click to expand...
 
IMHO- the best exposure is AIM. After that an overnight visit, then Bears Day then simple tours. All are vastly better than nothing.

DS did an athletic recruiting overnight visit, then AIM. We visited a few other schools during the athletic visit trip as we're coming from the Puget Sound area. I went with him for the athletic visit, but went alone for AIM.
 
I always recommend a Academy visit if at all possible. If it is Bear Day, AIM, or a random visit it is worth the time.

**Remember, you are not just choosing a college like other seniors, but also the job after college that you must commit to for a minimum of 5 years. So, in essence you are making three decisions: a college, a field of study for your degree, and your first job after college. Before committing 9 years of your future, please find a way to stop by, look around, and ask questions. It's important that you try to find out if it is a good fit for you.

Good luck!
 
If you are able, I would recommend a Bear's Day or Cadet for a Day. AIM is a great event to give a taste of the rigors of Swab Summer, but Bear's Day and Cadet for a Day give you an idea of what it will be like to be actually at the Academy for the 4 years. My son applied for AIM and was waitllisted and did not get off the waitlist, but they invited him to participate in Cadet for a Day. It was his (and our) first exposure to the Academy, and it really helped him to see himself there. But, if you can't get out to visit before you apply, the Academy does have a program for admitted students in the spring - I think this is very similar to the Cadet for a Day, but is focused on answering questions for appointees that are still considering their options.
 
Bear Day really solidified my son’s desire to attend USCGA. He got to spend a day in class with an awesome cadet who ended up being a really good friend to our family. We came from Colorado and it was well worth it.
 
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