Currently a Female Plebe at USMA - Ask Me Anything

usmacadet2024

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Hey guys! I'm a female plebe (class of 2024) here at West Point, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about the academy, how to get in, and what it's like here! I also participate in club athletics, so I can answer any questions about those, and my roommate is a DI athlete (Corps Squad) so I can probably help you out with those, too.
 
Hi, there young person. Did you just today find this site or did you lurk for awhile and just now join?

Did you benefit greatly from the sage advice from members here and now want to pay it back, or pay it forward?

And most importantly, what soap works best in the showers of West Point?
 
Hi, there young person. Did you just today find this site or did you lurk for awhile and just now join?

Did you benefit greatly from the sage advice from members here and now want to pay it back, or pay it forward?

And most importantly, what soap works best in the showers of West Point?
Hi there! I am a long-time lurker (actually, I had an account on here when I was a nervous CC, just like all the others, I just can't remember what the username is!). I did benefit a lot from cadet advice here, and also the advice from all of the older members; they set my mind at ease more than a few times. I want to maybe offer some advice like those did for me in the past!

Soap at West Point... the best is probably the Dove bottled stuff. Bars are too much of a pain to store in your bathroom locker.
 
My DD is in the application process.

I have 2 questions:

1) What is something you know now that you wish you knew when you applied? Not necessarily something that would’ve changed your mind (unless you want to say something about that!), maybe something you underestimated how much you would enjoy/appreciate.

2) What ideas do you have for Christmas (for those already appointed) and/or graduation gifts for incoming plebes? I just think that would be a fun topic in general!

thanks! 🙂
 
Hey there!

Questions:
1. I know that you've only been into it for half a year, but what do you think is the biggest misconception about the military academy?
2. What do you think got you in? (stats, ECs, relationships with military)
3. What has been the most difficult part of your journey up to this point? (or in your life in general)
4. What would your major in and why?
 
My DD is in the application process.

I have 2 questions:

1) What is something you know now that you wish you knew when you applied? Not necessarily something that would’ve changed your mind (unless you want to say something about that!), maybe something you underestimated how much you would enjoy/appreciate.

2) What ideas do you have for Christmas (for those already appointed) and/or graduation gifts for incoming plebes? I just think that would be a fun topic in general!

thanks! 🙂
Hello!

To answer both of your questions:

1) There's a lot that I wish I knew when I applied! A little bit of a goofy one for me during Beast was how much I would appreciate heat rash powder during the summer... but seriously, I wish I knew how strong I was before coming here! Beast really taught me that I could do a lot more than I thought I could. I also really underestimated the value of people around here! My roommates and my company-mates have been my rock more times than I can count. I can always rely on them, and it's hard to understand that before you get here! So that's really something that you can look forward to if you're coming here.

2) There are LOTS of good gifts for incoming plebes and/or appointees. A big one is awesome West Point spirit gear - your 2025 senior will love wearing it (I know I did!) to show off where they're going to school. A huge bonus for that is that sometimes, even as plebes, we're allowed to wear it. The past three Fridays or so we've been able to wear WP spirit gear instead of our ACU blouses, and having gear is super helpful for that. In terms of more practical items - a good knife. Blade has to be under 2.5 inches I think, and my dad got me a nice Benchmade to bring, and they're super handy for summer training. On the same vein, a good multitool is super helpful (we use them for all sorts of things). I would recommend a Leatherman. And finally, a good watch! Anything from the G-shock line is something worth looking for - waterproof, has a timer and a stopwatch, and can handle being beat up! These are all helpful for Beast. For the academic year - I recommend a portable projector! Plebes can't have televisions, so it's nice to be able to hook them up to Netflix and watch a movie on a bigger screen. Finally, nice, warm black gloves for the winter! Makes a huge difference.

I hope this helps, and good luck to your DD!
 
Hey there!

Questions:
1. I know that you've only been into it for half a year, but what do you think is the biggest misconception about the military academy?
2. What do you think got you in? (stats, ECs, relationships with military)
3. What has been the most difficult part of your journey up to this point? (or in your life in general)
4. What would your major in and why?
Hello!

To answer your questions in order:

1) I think the biggest misconception about it here is that ALL we do is military stuff, or army stuff, if you will. Honestly, as soon as the academic year (AY) hits, almost all the military training comes to a halt. We have drill and drill practice sometimes for parades, and there are some weekends that we have mandatory military training, but the vast majority of your time during the AY will be devoted to academics! People often forget that this IS a college, and we're here to learn.

2) I think that a lot of things got me in here, just like it will for you! But personally, a huge part of mine was my academics. I had a high GPA with a lot of ECs, and the fact that I could maintain a high GPA under stress really has helped me here. Other than that, I would say that my interview skills helped TREMENDOUSLY. I practiced for my nomination interview, and I practiced for my Field Force interview, and that helped a lot - being confident and knowing what to say is professional, and the Army is looking for professionals. I think leadership helped some too, but I was pretty middle of the road with some of that stuff.

3) There are two most-difficult things that I would point out in my experience so far, the first being the application process. When I say that applying and getting accepted to USMA is 10x harder than Beast could ever be, I mean it. With Beast, all you have to do is survive it. You don't have to be good at everything do get through Beast. Applying, it feels like you have to be good at EVERYTHING to get accepted here, and it's very stressful. So, it does get better from here, I promise. But honestly, I think the second hard thing here has just been being at USMA in the COVID environment with COVID restrictions. It sucks. It's hard not seeing my family. It's hard to be stuck here for so long. But I've been managing!

4) I, personally, want to double-major in Russian and International Relations. First and foremost, I want to major in these things because I like them. I spoke a little Russian before coming here, and I love the language and I LOVE the Department of Foreign Language here. The staff and faculty are amazing. International Relations is like a bonus - a lot of the course requirements overlap with Russian, and they make me that much more qualified for the career path that I want to follow (Military Intelligence). And while I think I want a career as an Army Officer, these are two degrees that will also help me in the civilian world, should I choose to leave. So that's my major reasoning! It's not worth it to do something you don't like here - there's too many other things that are hard and frustrating to hate your major!

I hope this helps, and good luck!
 
Did you only apply to USMA? If you applied to the others and got accepted into them, what made you choose the USMA over the other SA's?
 
Hello!

To answer both of your questions:

1) There's a lot that I wish I knew when I applied! A little bit of a goofy one for me during Beast was how much I would appreciate heat rash powder during the summer... but seriously, I wish I knew how strong I was before coming here! Beast really taught me that I could do a lot more than I thought I could. I also really underestimated the value of people around here! My roommates and my company-mates have been my rock more times than I can count. I can always rely on them, and it's hard to understand that before you get here! So that's really something that you can look forward to if you're coming here.

2) There are LOTS of good gifts for incoming plebes and/or appointees. A big one is awesome West Point spirit gear - your 2025 senior will love wearing it (I know I did!) to show off where they're going to school. A huge bonus for that is that sometimes, even as plebes, we're allowed to wear it. The past three Fridays or so we've been able to wear WP spirit gear instead of our ACU blouses, and having gear is super helpful for that. In terms of more practical items - a good knife. Blade has to be under 2.5 inches I think, and my dad got me a nice Benchmade to bring, and they're super handy for summer training. On the same vein, a good multitool is super helpful (we use them for all sorts of things). I would recommend a Leatherman. And finally, a good watch! Anything from the G-shock line is something worth looking for - waterproof, has a timer and a stopwatch, and can handle being beat up! These are all helpful for Beast. For the academic year - I recommend a portable projector! Plebes can't have televisions, so it's nice to be able to hook them up to Netflix and watch a movie on a bigger screen. Finally, nice, warm black gloves for the winter! Makes a huge difference.

I hope this helps, and good luck to your DD!
Thank you so much!! 🙂
 
Did you only apply to USMA? If you applied to the others and got accepted into them, what made you choose the USMA over the other SA's?
Hello!

I did not only apply to USMA - I also (completed) applications to USNA, Texas A&M at College Station, and Vanderbilt, and got accepted to all of those schools. I also had a letter of assurance to USCGA (this was for academics and athletics), but decided not to complete the application. To provide some more explanation, I applied for an AROTC scholarship and was in the first wave of recipients for the 4-year scholarship. This influenced my decision for my safety school (Texas A&M), because without it, their tuition would have been a little pricey. They also have the Corps of Cadets, and I really wanted that military experience. This also influenced my application to Vanderbilt (my reach school), because their tuition is also a little pricey, and they had the Russian program that I was looking for. I applied to Navy because I wanted the opportunity to choose my path of service, and my whole family was a Navy family, so it seems a no-brainer.

I chose, mainly, between USMA and Vanderbilt. As soon as I got accepted to USMA, I declined my USNA acceptance so that someone who really wanted to go to Annapolis could, because my heart wasn't in it. Navy just wasn't what I was looking for in a school, or in a career. I visited both USMA and USNA, and I liked the people at USMA and the staff and faculty at USMA better. The Army is also a people business, and I want to work with people, not with boats. However, the choice between Vandy and USMA was much more difficult. I knew that the path at Vandy would probably be easier - not academically, but militarily, and Beast seemed really scary when I was a CC. It was a huge unknown, and at Vandy, there was nothing that could surprise me like Beast could. It's also REALLY hard to down an acceptance from a school like Vanderbilt - they're regarded up there with the Ivies, and that was NOT lost on me. But what made me choose West Point was the fact that I want a career in Army, and I want to be the best at what I decide to do - and there's nobody who can help me achieve that than the folks here at West Point. Based off of the trends that I've seen, USMA grads get promoted earlier, and they're chosen for better positions faster, and that just made sense with my goals and ambitions as an officer. I haven't been let down so far, either, so I'm still feeling confident that I made the right choice for me, even if it is hard sometimes.

I hope this helps, and good luck to you!
 
Hey guys! I'm a female plebe (class of 2024) here at West Point, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about the academy, how to get in, and what it's like here! I also participate in club athletics, so I can answer any questions about those, and my roommate is a DI athlete (Corps Squad) so I can probably help you out with those, too.
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.
 
Hi there! I am a long-time lurker (actually, I had an account on here when I was a nervous CC, just like all the others, I just can't remember what the username is!). I did benefit a lot from cadet advice here, and also the advice from all of the older members; they set my mind at ease more than a few times. I want to maybe offer some advice like those did for me in the past!

Soap at West Point... the best is probably the Dove bottled stuff. Bars are too much of a pain to store in your bathroom locker.
The first time I heard somebody say, “Thank you for your choice to serve,” it was directed at my son. I said ”what, wait, what.” I was not too far removed from my retirement after 26 years in the World’s Greatest Navy and my son was receiving accolades for just signing up. He’s a product of Brown Field, an OCS officer from a mid-ranked state school. The one though saying thanks was the CG of Marine Special Operations Command. I deployed with him long ago when he was a battalion commander. The general was a gem of a man and likewise told my son what a heck of a gent I was and afterward my son said, “I feel like I just met a rock star.” I said, you did.

So, thank you for your choice to serve. That is not an easy decision these days. The world is in chaos and the fiber, character, and future of this great country is in constant flux. The future of the world depends on the future accomplishments of young people like you. And also as well my six year old grandson. And his four year old brother. Regardless of if you do your minimum obligation, or 20, or 30, or 40 years, the contributions of your peer group deserves a thanks.

Thank you for you choice to serve.
 
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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 :)
 
Hello!

I did not only apply to USMA - I also (completed) applications to USNA, Texas A&M at College Station, and Vanderbilt, and got accepted to all of those schools. I also had a letter of assurance to USCGA (this was for academics and athletics), but decided not to complete the application. To provide some more explanation, I applied for an AROTC scholarship and was in the first wave of recipients for the 4-year scholarship. This influenced my decision for my safety school (Texas A&M), because without it, their tuition would have been a little pricey. They also have the Corps of Cadets, and I really wanted that military experience. This also influenced my application to Vanderbilt (my reach school), because their tuition is also a little pricey, and they had the Russian program that I was looking for. I applied to Navy because I wanted the opportunity to choose my path of service, and my whole family was a Navy family, so it seems a no-brainer.

I chose, mainly, between USMA and Vanderbilt. As soon as I got accepted to USMA, I declined my USNA acceptance so that someone who really wanted to go to Annapolis could, because my heart wasn't in it. Navy just wasn't what I was looking for in a school, or in a career. I visited both USMA and USNA, and I liked the people at USMA and the staff and faculty at USMA better. The Army is also a people business, and I want to work with people, not with boats. However, the choice between Vandy and USMA was much more difficult. I knew that the path at Vandy would probably be easier - not academically, but militarily, and Beast seemed really scary when I was a CC. It was a huge unknown, and at Vandy, there was nothing that could surprise me like Beast could. It's also REALLY hard to down an acceptance from a school like Vanderbilt - they're regarded up there with the Ivies, and that was NOT lost on me. But what made me choose West Point was the fact that I want a career in Army, and I want to be the best at what I decide to do - and there's nobody who can help me achieve that than the folks here at West Point. Based off of the trends that I've seen, USMA grads get promoted earlier, and they're chosen for better positions faster, and that just made sense with my goals and ambitions as an officer. I haven't been let down so far, either, so I'm still feeling confident that I made the right choice for me, even if it is hard sometimes.

I hope this helps, and good luck to you!
Thanks for the response!
 
Hello!

To answer your questions in order:

1) I think the biggest misconception about it here is that ALL we do is military stuff, or army stuff, if you will. Honestly, as soon as the academic year (AY) hits, almost all the military training comes to a halt. We have drill and drill practice sometimes for parades, and there are some weekends that we have mandatory military training, but the vast majority of your time during the AY will be devoted to academics! People often forget that this IS a college, and we're here to learn.

2) I think that a lot of things got me in here, just like it will for you! But personally, a huge part of mine was my academics. I had a high GPA with a lot of ECs, and the fact that I could maintain a high GPA under stress really has helped me here. Other than that, I would say that my interview skills helped TREMENDOUSLY. I practiced for my nomination interview, and I practiced for my Field Force interview, and that helped a lot - being confident and knowing what to say is professional, and the Army is looking for professionals. I think leadership helped some too, but I was pretty middle of the road with some of that stuff.

3) There are two most-difficult things that I would point out in my experience so far, the first being the application process. When I say that applying and getting accepted to USMA is 10x harder than Beast could ever be, I mean it. With Beast, all you have to do is survive it. You don't have to be good at everything do get through Beast. Applying, it feels like you have to be good at EVERYTHING to get accepted here, and it's very stressful. So, it does get better from here, I promise. But honestly, I think the second hard thing here has just been being at USMA in the COVID environment with COVID restrictions. It sucks. It's hard not seeing my family. It's hard to be stuck here for so long. But I've been managing!

4) I, personally, want to double-major in Russian and International Relations. First and foremost, I want to major in these things because I like them. I spoke a little Russian before coming here, and I love the language and I LOVE the Department of Foreign Language here. The staff and faculty are amazing. International Relations is like a bonus - a lot of the course requirements overlap with Russian, and they make me that much more qualified for the career path that I want to follow (Military Intelligence). And while I think I want a career as an Army Officer, these are two degrees that will also help me in the civilian world, should I choose to leave. So that's my major reasoning! It's not worth it to do something you don't like here - there's too many other things that are hard and frustrating to hate your major!

I hope this helps, and good luck!
OMG Thank you so much for all this, really, it means a lot!
 
What is the dating like. Do a lot of plebes date other plebes?
I mean, it's probably the same as like, high school in terms of the number of people dating others. So yeah, some plebes date other plebes. To answer maybe your more general question of "what's dating like?", it's kinda hard here, just because of the rules surrounding dating. Like, no PDA (hand-holding, kissing, etc) and ESPECIALLY not in uniform. You can't sit on the same horizontal surface as someone you're dating (beds is generally what this rule was aimed at), doors always have to be open, etc. You're also just generally really busy at USMA, so it's hard to find the time to date somebody else, honestly.

Hope this helps!
 
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