Cadet for a Day

Pchouston

5-Year Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
16
When is Cadet for a Day? We were wait listed for AIM and ended up not getting in. The letter referenced CFAD. Does everyone get to go to CFAD who signs up? How do we register?
 
Last year we signed up for CFAD on-line. At least a month before the sign-up started, it was announced on the website when the sign-up would start. (I think the date was around August 8.) You get to the sign-up through your Bear's Den portal.

It is recommended to sign-up ASAP, (like that day!), as there are a limited number of spots and they go fast. It is first come, first served. There were several of us here on CC that were trying to sign-up right after midnight but it wasn't available until later that afternoon. However, don't assume that will be the case this year!

I don't know the exact number of slots per session, but it seemed to me there were about 25-30 kids when DD went. AIM kids can not do CFAD.

The actual dates were mostly in the fall, maybe two sessions per month. It started on Thursday morning and ended Friday around 11 am. I remember also seeing dates in February, but none in December or January.

They also have a presentation, lunch and a tour for parents. We really enjoyed that!

Nicole
 
It is recommended to sign-up ASAP, (like that day!), as there are a limited number of spots and they go fast.

Truer words never spoken, as it usually fills within hours of opening.
 
Last year we signed up for CFAD on-line. At least a month before the sign-up started, it was announced on the website when the sign-up would start. (I think the date was around August 8.) You get to the sign-up through your Bear's Den portal.

As I said, the sign up started around August 8. I would check around the site weekly for announcements starting in July.

Nicole
 
We are all registered!

My son received the Cadet for a Day email this morning and we are all signed up. He is very pleased, since he was waitlisted for AIM. We have heard this program is a better way to visit the Academy.
 
My son received the Cadet for a Day email this morning and we are all signed up. He is very pleased, since he was waitlisted for AIM. We have heard this program is a better way to visit the Academy.

AIM gives him a taste of Swab Summer (in my opinion a pretty accurate taste). Beansprouting (Cadet for a Day) gives him a good idea of what the Academy is like.

I watched AIM from afar but I was a bean sprout. I'm not sure which is better, but I do recommend beansprouting. It sealed the deal for me (I also wasn't aware of AIM or MITE as a high schooler).
 
I also received an email and registered for CFAD, I got the confirmation email soon after registering...see you in September!
 
Cadet for Day

Our D received the email too. She had to turn down an invitation to AIM, so this will be a good opportunity...if she takes it.
Having been to USAFAss and UNSAss, she liked both experiences but is unsure if SA life and, even more so, the commitment beyond that, is for her. She is trying to talk to more people about like after you leave an SA. As I have said on this board before, this process/decision is particularly tough, I think, for kids like her who come from families with no military background. It is a completely different world!

S
 
Our D received the email too. She had to turn down an invitation to AIM, so this will be a good opportunity...if she takes it.
Having been to USAFAss and UNSAss, she liked both experiences but is unsure if SA life and, even more so, the commitment beyond that, is for her. She is trying to talk to more people about like after you leave an SA. As I have said on this board before, this process/decision is particularly tough, I think, for kids like her who come from families with no military background. It is a completely different world!

S

Why did she turn down the invitation to AIM, more so than USAFA or USNA's equivalent, AIM gives participants a very good idea what that first summer will be like (which can be helpful, considering how many people leave over the summer).
 
Our D received the email too. She had to turn down an invitation to AIM, so this will be a good opportunity...if she takes it.
Having been to USAFAss and UNSAss, she liked both experiences but is unsure if SA life and, even more so, the commitment beyond that, is for her. She is trying to talk to more people about like after you leave an SA. As I have said on this board before, this process/decision is particularly tough, I think, for kids like her who come from families with no military background. It is a completely different world!

S

Another option is to get a tour of a CG base/ship. We met two officers (fairly young recent grads of the CGA and very enthusiastic about their career choice) at a service academy recruiting event put on by our Representative. They invited us to come down and we got a tour of a cutter and the sector offices. I think it was helpful for my stepson to see what its all about after graduation. Maybe just call a local base and speak to someone and ask?

Howard
 
Benefit of AIM

Why did she turn down the invitation to AIM, more so than USAFA or USNA's equivalent, AIM gives participants a very good idea what that first summer will be like (which can be helpful, considering how many people leave over the summer).

AIM is held in July and she had accepted a position for a research program at an area university during that time. IF she applies to civilian universities, this may carry a good amount of weight...not to mention the experience. She applied for AIM before knowing the results of the research opportunity.

Had AIM been in June, she would have considered AIM and one other SA. Her BGO said that AIM will terrify you and/or pull you in full force as it is most realistic. He is a Navy man, but referred to NASS as 'camp'.

She could not switch the research week (as BGO suggested). NASS was eye opening enough that she is not sure if an SA is the life for her...LOVES aspects of it, but did not come away with (or arrive with, as some did) on fire for SAs and life afterwards. One boy did share with their company that if they were going to the USCGA AIM to not go in thinking it would be easy as his brother made that mistake the previous year (after feeling like a star after USAFAss) and came away believing that the USCGA is woefully underestimated on every single level.

S
 
Very understandable Stella. It's not an easy decision, and there are certainly a number of swabs who realize CGA is not for them.

I agree, AIM will give your daughter a very good idea of how Swab Summer would feel, only without the added pressure of "this really matters."

As others have said, visiting a Coast Guard unit can be a fun way to experience the Coast Guard. Many units are open to giving tours and talking to members of the public (they do, after all, serve the public).

Similarly, CGA grads are fairly open about their experience. I can tell you I had a miserable summer. I had a miserable first year too. I thought about quitting more than once. But I never did. My classmates helped me out along the way and things got better each year.

I won't call my time at CGA "fun", but it was worth it, and there are even times, now 11 years later, that I miss some of it. I think I'm selectively removing all of the horrible times from my memories, but there's something to be said for living in one large building with 1,000 other people you may serve with in the future.

If service in the Coast Guard isn't appealing, CGA is not the place for your daughter.

After four years at the Coast Guard Academy, five years in the Coast Guard as an officer, and now two years back in the private sector, I can with 100% certainty say I would do it all over again in a second. I'm also willing to answer any questions.
 
Our son somehow missed signing up for cadet for a day program. He, too, was wait listed for AIM. Program is full. A bit bummed about that. For some reason we thought the dates weren't going to be released until September. Oops
 
Our son somehow missed signing up for cadet for a day program. He, too, was wait listed for AIM. Program is full. A bit bummed about that. For some reason we thought the dates weren't going to be released until September. Oops

Sent you a PM.
 
Back
Top