Candidate Visit Weekend (CVW) Review

Tom Nicholas

Cogito Ergo Sum
Joined
Jul 5, 2018
Messages
88
Hello Everyone,

Our son completed a CVW this weekend. There were maybe 50-60 other student-candidates also attending.

Our son's Mid was sharp, welcoming, shared a bunch of great info, and introduced him to many more Mids. He is a humanities major, history I think; which is somewhat rare compared to all the STEM majored Mids. He took him to his Calculus, English, and Chemistry classes and showed him robotics and other engineering labs and equipment. Our son is taking Calculus now and said the USNA professor was the best math instructor he'd ever seen.

His AP classes match some of what his Mid is taking now so they had some great academic chat time and shared notes as they both did homework Thursday and Friday early evenings. Our son was impressed with the engineering equipment and facilities he was able to see at USNA. His words were, "They have EVERYTHING!"

Early evening he got to visit the company's wardroom and the rooms of a few different Mids, asked them lots of questions about life at USNA- their different majors, classes they liked the most and not as much and about the kinds of social things companies and their battalions did for fun. Friday, after their study time was done, they had some good fun playing Jackbox games (till almost 1 a.m)- something we do as a family all the time.

Parents met USNA representatives separately. The Superintendent's conversation with the parents Friday was awesome. He opened with the mission of the USNA, discussed its strengths, wide range of opportunities available to Midshipmen, the summer training complimenting their semester academics, and compared and contrasted USNA to other schools. He also talked about naval service options including the Marine Corps. There was a panel of Mids, representing each year and different majors, who also fielded parent questions. They were all sharp yet personable.

The deans of Admissions and Academics also presented information and took questions. They provided insights into the application process as well as the well-thought-out organization and follow through in supporting the brigade academically- beyond classroom instruction. There is a multi-faceted academic support system in place which significantly increases the likelihood each Mid succeeds in the classroom. I found that impressive. Professors go above and beyond to help the Mids and the Mids go above and beyond to help each other. It's a great system.

CVW gives the aspiring college student the opportunity to evaluate USNA. Beyond wearing our Navy gear and taking our kids to football games (at both Army and Navy) and letting them know military service helps strengthen the foundation they'll need to be great citizens, we've not pushed them to attend one college or another. We wanted them to take their own decision and own it. We taught them to have faith that taking more-challenging courses and working hard would present opportunities. And I'll tell you, gentle reader, that blind faith can be damn difficult to sell as a parent.

When I picked up our son this morning at Alumni Hall, I asked him what he thought. He told me all of the above and said one more thing, "I thought USNA was going to be like Marine Corps boot camp 24x7. They do study and work hard, but they're also nice people. This is where I want to be."

As others in this forum have suggested, it's important to have backup plans. So our son is also applying to USAFA, and Embry Riddle / Auburn / Texas A&M for NROTC. His SAT is done and good, challenging courses and solid grades on-point, and important whole-person attributes well-built. What happens next? That's in God's hands.
 
Hello Everyone,

Our son completed a CVW this weekend. There were maybe 50-60 other student-candidates also attending.

Our son's Mid was sharp, welcoming, shared a bunch of great info, and introduced him to many more Mids. He is a humanities major, history I think; which is somewhat rare compared to all the STEM majored Mids. He took him to his Calculus, English, and Chemistry classes and showed him robotics and other engineering labs and equipment. Our son is taking Calculus now and said the USNA professor was the best math instructor he'd ever seen.

His AP classes match some of what his Mid is taking now so they had some great academic chat time and shared notes as they both did homework Thursday and Friday early evenings. Our son was impressed with the engineering equipment and facilities he was able to see at USNA. His words were, "They have EVERYTHING!"

Early evening he got to visit the company's wardroom and the rooms of a few different Mids, asked them lots of questions about life at USNA- their different majors, classes they liked the most and not as much and about the kinds of social things companies and their battalions did for fun. Friday, after their study time was done, they had some good fun playing Jackbox games (till almost 1 a.m)- something we do as a family all the time.

Parents met USNA representatives separately. The Superintendent's conversation with the parents Friday was awesome. He opened with the mission of the USNA, discussed its strengths, wide range of opportunities available to Midshipmen, the summer training complimenting their semester academics, and compared and contrasted USNA to other schools. He also talked about naval service options including the Marine Corps. There was a panel of Mids, representing each year and different majors, who also fielded parent questions. They were all sharp yet personable.

The deans of Admissions and Academics also presented information and took questions. They provided insights into the application process as well as the well-thought-out organization and follow through in supporting the brigade academically- beyond classroom instruction. There is a multi-faceted academic support system in place which significantly increases the likelihood each Mid succeeds in the classroom. I found that impressive. Professors go above and beyond to help the Mids and the Mids go above and beyond to help each other. It's a great system.

CVW gives the aspiring college student the opportunity to evaluate USNA. Beyond wearing our Navy gear and taking our kids to football games (at both Army and Navy) and letting them know military service helps strengthen the foundation they'll need to be great citizens, we've not pushed them to attend one college or another. We wanted them to take their own decision and own it. We taught them to have faith that taking more-challenging courses and working hard would present opportunities. And I'll tell you, gentle reader, that blind faith can be damn difficult to sell as a parent.

When I picked up our son this morning at Alumni Hall, I asked him what he thought. He told me all of the above and said one more thing, "I thought USNA was going to be like Marine Corps boot camp 24x7. They do study and work hard, but they're also nice people. This is where I want to be."

As others in this forum have suggested, it's important to have backup plans. So our son is also applying to USAFA, and Embry Riddle / Auburn / Texas A&M for NROTC. His SAT is done and good, challenging courses and solid grades on-point, and important whole-person attributes well-built. What happens next? That's in God's hands.
Great post! I smiled ♥️

Good luck to your family as you embark on this journey! Is he a ‘26 or ‘27 applicant? The cycles roll one after the other. It’s kind of neat to watch the classes roll on, and on, and on.
 
Hello Everyone,

Our son completed a CVW this weekend. There were maybe 50-60 other student-candidates also attending.

Our son's Mid was sharp, welcoming, shared a bunch of great info, and introduced him to many more Mids. He is a humanities major, history I think; which is somewhat rare compared to all the STEM majored Mids. He took him to his Calculus, English, and Chemistry classes and showed him robotics and other engineering labs and equipment. Our son is taking Calculus now and said the USNA professor was the best math instructor he'd ever seen.

His AP classes match some of what his Mid is taking now so they had some great academic chat time and shared notes as they both did homework Thursday and Friday early evenings. Our son was impressed with the engineering equipment and facilities he was able to see at USNA. His words were, "They have EVERYTHING!"

Early evening he got to visit the company's wardroom and the rooms of a few different Mids, asked them lots of questions about life at USNA- their different majors, classes they liked the most and not as much and about the kinds of social things companies and their battalions did for fun. Friday, after their study time was done, they had some good fun playing Jackbox games (till almost 1 a.m)- something we do as a family all the time.

Parents met USNA representatives separately. The Superintendent's conversation with the parents Friday was awesome. He opened with the mission of the USNA, discussed its strengths, wide range of opportunities available to Midshipmen, the summer training complimenting their semester academics, and compared and contrasted USNA to other schools. He also talked about naval service options including the Marine Corps. There was a panel of Mids, representing each year and different majors, who also fielded parent questions. They were all sharp yet personable.

The deans of Admissions and Academics also presented information and took questions. They provided insights into the application process as well as the well-thought-out organization and follow through in supporting the brigade academically- beyond classroom instruction. There is a multi-faceted academic support system in place which significantly increases the likelihood each Mid succeeds in the classroom. I found that impressive. Professors go above and beyond to help the Mids and the Mids go above and beyond to help each other. It's a great system.

CVW gives the aspiring college student the opportunity to evaluate USNA. Beyond wearing our Navy gear and taking our kids to football games (at both Army and Navy) and letting them know military service helps strengthen the foundation they'll need to be great citizens, we've not pushed them to attend one college or another. We wanted them to take their own decision and own it. We taught them to have faith that taking more-challenging courses and working hard would present opportunities. And I'll tell you, gentle reader, that blind faith can be damn difficult to sell as a parent.

When I picked up our son this morning at Alumni Hall, I asked him what he thought. He told me all of the above and said one more thing, "I thought USNA was going to be like Marine Corps boot camp 24x7. They do study and work hard, but they're also nice people. This is where I want to be."

As others in this forum have suggested, it's important to have backup plans. So our son is also applying to USAFA, and Embry Riddle / Auburn / Texas A&M for NROTC. His SAT is done and good, challenging courses and solid grades on-point, and important whole-person attributes well-built. What happens next? That's in God's hands.
I wish your son the best of luck! This is exactly what CVW! Amazing description!
 
Hello 19,

Thanks much. He is about to be a '27 applicant. It's an exciting time.
Class of '27 applicants wow. DS is finishing his Plebe year as '25 and I can't come to grips that in a year or so the class of '28 applicants will be applying and they will be Plebes when DS is a Firstie...enjoy the ride.
 
Hello Everyone,

Our son completed a CVW this weekend. There were maybe 50-60 other student-candidates also attending.

Our son's Mid was sharp, welcoming, shared a bunch of great info, and introduced him to many more Mids. He is a humanities major, history I think; which is somewhat rare compared to all the STEM majored Mids. He took him to his Calculus, English, and Chemistry classes and showed him robotics and other engineering labs and equipment. Our son is taking Calculus now and said the USNA professor was the best math instructor he'd ever seen.

His AP classes match some of what his Mid is taking now so they had some great academic chat time and shared notes as they both did homework Thursday and Friday early evenings. Our son was impressed with the engineering equipment and facilities he was able to see at USNA. His words were, "They have EVERYTHING!"

Early evening he got to visit the company's wardroom and the rooms of a few different Mids, asked them lots of questions about life at USNA- their different majors, classes they liked the most and not as much and about the kinds of social things companies and their battalions did for fun. Friday, after their study time was done, they had some good fun playing Jackbox games (till almost 1 a.m)- something we do as a family all the time.

Parents met USNA representatives separately. The Superintendent's conversation with the parents Friday was awesome. He opened with the mission of the USNA, discussed its strengths, wide range of opportunities available to Midshipmen, the summer training complimenting their semester academics, and compared and contrasted USNA to other schools. He also talked about naval service options including the Marine Corps. There was a panel of Mids, representing each year and different majors, who also fielded parent questions. They were all sharp yet personable.

The deans of Admissions and Academics also presented information and took questions. They provided insights into the application process as well as the well-thought-out organization and follow through in supporting the brigade academically- beyond classroom instruction. There is a multi-faceted academic support system in place which significantly increases the likelihood each Mid succeeds in the classroom. I found that impressive. Professors go above and beyond to help the Mids and the Mids go above and beyond to help each other. It's a great system.

CVW gives the aspiring college student the opportunity to evaluate USNA. Beyond wearing our Navy gear and taking our kids to football games (at both Army and Navy) and letting them know military service helps strengthen the foundation they'll need to be great citizens, we've not pushed them to attend one college or another. We wanted them to take their own decision and own it. We taught them to have faith that taking more-challenging courses and working hard would present opportunities. And I'll tell you, gentle reader, that blind faith can be damn difficult to sell as a parent.

When I picked up our son this morning at Alumni Hall, I asked him what he thought. He told me all of the above and said one more thing, "I thought USNA was going to be like Marine Corps boot camp 24x7. They do study and work hard, but they're also nice people. This is where I want to be."

As others in this forum have suggested, it's important to have backup plans. So our son is also applying to USAFA, and Embry Riddle / Auburn / Texas A&M for NROTC. His SAT is done and good, challenging courses and solid grades on-point, and important whole-person attributes well-built. What happens next? That's in God's hands.
Great info! Quick question, my DS is attending a CVW at the end of April. What should he wear? He was thinking khakis and a button down shirt or polo.
 
Yes, what MidCakePa said 👍 Your son will have an awesome time as the professors and Mids are great and it's a beautiful campus. Best of luck to him in his journey and Gooooo Navy!
 
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