Do you have any tips for incoming cadets? With the status of my application, there is a good chance I will attend West Point. Right now I’m focusing up on finishing ROTC backup apps and then just enjoying senior year and improving fitness. Anything else? Thanks so much for answering questions. Post like yours from actual cadets are SO informative. It’s nice to hear stuff not related to the application process.
First and foremost, it is AWESOME to hear you mention just enjoying your senior year, because it is SO important. Whatever school you decided to go to - academy, ROTC, or otherwise - life is probably gonna get a little harder, and something that I am SO glad I did was spend time with family, friends, and enjoying myself. Second, I do have a little more detail about fitness - please run. And run a LOT. I know everybody says that, but I really mean it. I spent a lot of time lifting and doing strength stuff, but you really do need cardio coming here. It'll make a huge difference, just being able to run!
Some things that I also didn't really trust coming here that I wish I did:
It is HOT here during the summers. I don't know where you're from, but I'm from the Pacific Northwest, so the heat and humidity was a shock. If you're like me and not used to it, please try to acclimate! It sucked to sweat and get heat exhaustion during Beast! West Point even sends out a little heat acclimation guide - try to follow it! It will help.
Be humble! If you make it here, asking for help (and offering yours graciously) and not being full of yourself is a huge deal! That's how you make some of your closest friends, and how you learn yourself. It also helps you be a lot less afraid of your mistakes, and you will make a lot. I know I have! Also, be a good squadmate, or a good battle buddy, or whatever. Again, EVERYBODY says this, but it really is essential. If you see someone struggling, GO HELP THEM! I don't care if they'll make you fall behind on whatever event you're doing - you're going to a service academy to help people, and it's those little things that make a difference to people. I remember my squadmates helping me through something that I was struggling through, and that's one of my most vivid memories from Beast, and one of the reasons I have so much respect for them. It's important, and you'll feel better having done it, even if it was hard at the time.
This one is kinda goofy, but practice a nice crisp salute and some of your basic drill movements (left face, right face, etc) - this isn't something I had to do, since I was JROTC, but it'll really make R-day go a lot faster for you if you know some of this stuff. Also, don't waste your time before coming here memorizing ALL of the things. The only ones you really need to know before R-day is the Cadet Creed, and the Honor Code. Know those, and you're set. You'll have time during Beast to memorize the rest, I can assure you that.
And some specific advice for before coming to West Point that I think has helped me a lot: really do spend time with your family. I'm sure it feels like you can't get away from them sometimes, especially if you're in online school, but try to make sure you talk to them. If you have siblings, go to their sporting events - it made a big difference to me and my brother when I was able to go to all of his hockey games, and I think it helped establish a really solid relationship before coming here. Because these are the things you're gonna remember when you're struggling through Beast, or when you're hugging your family goodbye on R-day. You're gonna remember the laughs, and the fun dinners, and the road trips, and every single dumb hockey game you went to, and that's what's going to make it worth it! That's what's gonna help you get through.
That's mostly what I have for prep - if you want more "Beast Packing List" stuff or something, I can answer that, but that's what I did in the months prior to R-Day. It was more preparing myself mentally for concepts, and spending time with my family, and just getting ready to embrace the suck! I hope this helps, and I wish you all the best in your journey to the Academy