Back up plan if Swab Summer didn't work out??

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CGA2026

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Wondering if anyone has a back up plan if Swab Summer didn't work out for whatever reason? As in accept another school's acceptance, and attend the backup school only if couldn't make it through Swab Summer. Wouldn't this be unethical as in accepting a second school is taking a spot from others on the backup school's waitlist.

DS wants to do CGA for sure, but as parents we worry about the what ifs. I suppose he could take a few months off and apply to other colleges in the spring or just enroll at a community college if he couldn't make it through Swab Summer.

Any experience that anyone could share?

Thanks!
 
CGA2026 said:
Wondering if anyone has a back up plan if Swab Summer didn't work out for whatever reason? As in accept another school's acceptance, and attend the backup school only if couldn't make it through Swab Summer. Wouldn't this be unethical as in accepting a second school is taking a spot from others on the backup school's waitlist.

DS wants to do CGA for sure, but as parents we worry about the what ifs. I suppose he could take a few months off and apply to other colleges in the spring or just enroll at a community college if he couldn't make it through Swab Summer.

Any experience that anyone could share?

Thanks!
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We had a similar concern with our DS in case he was injured and couldn't complete swab summer. He wrote to the AO at one of the schools he was accepted to and explained his dilemma and rationale. Fortunately, he was accepted to a school that had a very strong ROTC program and had a high respect for the military. They told him to submit a deposit and let them know as soon as you can if you are able to make it through uninjured. He let them know in late July and they even refunded the deposit and said he was welcome anytime. It's always best to be upfront with the plan B school (just don't refer to them as plan B), but there are also folks who just go ahead and make a deposit knowing that they probably will lose it and figure that it's really a minor cost in the big picture. However, it's getting late so act quickly. Good Luck.
 
Piggybacking on your question a bit..... but, does anybody know the average # of cadets who don't make it through swab summer? Because of injury or other reasons?
 
One option to consider: GMC and MMI are CGAS prep schools and accredited two year colleges. If a student doesn't make it through swab summer and wants to reapply to CGA, they can apply to and likely be accepted. They can then track with the CGAS scholars and other self-preps and still maintain contact with academy personnel.
 
The class of 2025 started swab summer with 291 and they lost about 8 swabs over their summer; meaning their swab summer retention was 97%. That's very very high, my class was about ~90% retention I believe.

Either way though, no one really gets 'kicked out' over the summer. The only people who don't make it to the school year are people who quit or had medical issues. There's always one or two who have to leave because they discover they're color blind or something. Even on the topic of medical issues, there were plenty of swabs this summer (I was a cadre this past swab summer) who were not fit for full duty for a majority of the summer and were still allowed to continue.

So point is, if you don't have any major injuries and don't quit, there's basically a 0% chance of not making it to the school year.
 
From memory and rumors, a very rough estimate is 10 cadets or so don't complete Swab summer. The two main sources being injury and drop on request (DOR).

As to back up schools, just understand even if a cadet wants to DOR it is a long process, with several touch points with command to understand why the cadet wants to DOR, and complete military out processing paperwork. Estimate at least 2 weeks to depart once the Cadet decides. So unless they DOR on week 1 or 2, not sure they would make it back home in time to meet the start date of another college. Plus, there will be an emotional roller coaster for all involved to deal with in the sudden change of plans and everyone may need to take a breath before the next decision.

As for injury departures, unless they fail the initial onboarding physical at the academy, this takes a few weeks too, often with injury diagnosis, rehab potential and off site medical specialist opinions as to the likelihood of recovery from the injury, time frame for recovery, etc. Some cadets who suffer a routine medical injury with full recovery expected, for example having to get their appendix removed are sometimes offered a spot in next summer's class provided they have done well, etc.

After two years, a few more cadets will DOR before they re-sign their paperwork. At that point, they have a transcript, etc. and it is usually a planned DOR and they transition smoothly to their next adventure.

Best to continue getting in shape now following academy guidelines to help avoid injuries and make sure this is the students choice to go to CGA and not someone else's idea.
 
CA946 said:
Piggybacking on your question a bit..... but, does anybody know the average # of cadets who don't make it through swab summer? Because of injury or other reasons?
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Almost always due to quitting.

A related piece of advice - if you had enough interest in the Academy to accept your appointment, in my opinion there are pretty much zero good reasons for quitting during swab summer. You knew it was going to be hard, but honestly at that point you can't even truly say "The Coast Guard/Academy just wasn't for me," because you haven't really honestly even seen those things yet. My advice is always to get through swab summer and at least give the first semester a try, at least, on the realistic side. On the optimistic side, finish the first year and attend 3/c summer training. See the fleet. See the real Coast Guard. Make an informed decision. If after 3/c summer, you aren't a little jazzed up, then yeah, the Coast Guard probably isn't the place for you. Walk away, take your credits, and pursue something that does get you jazzed up. At least you gave it a real shot. I have infinitely more respect for people who did that than people who took someone else's spot just to quit in week one of swab summer because they "don't like getting yelled at," as if they didn't know that's part of it.

I had one girl who would have been in my company who accepted an appointment and never even showed up to R-day. I never met her, but I'll never forget her name, either. Makes me angry to this day.
 
Ekb: totally agree with you on giving it a try. We watched someone get dropped off for R day with a big rolling piece of luggage. She went thru the steps and got on the bus. A little while after that we see her walking down the road pulling her luggage with her dad telling her to at least give CGA a try. She yelled take me home.
 
CA946 said:
What about the initial PFE? Does anybody ever not pass that?
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The Swab Summer book published in 2016 talks about coming in physically fit. I believe scoring below 130 or 135 on the PFE can get you dis-enrolled. Scoring slightly above that and you are placed on remedial which requires extra morning workouts. Some standards might be different now but the book also describes two girls who came in on R day (now called Day 1) above weight standard and they were not allowed to continue.
Bottom line is come into Day 1 in shape and within standards.
 
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