CVW question

greeneagle5 · Mar 23, 2008

Son will be attending a CVW this week . Need some simple and useful gift ideas for the plebe(s) that will share valuable time, room and experiences with him.........something that will fit in his duffle but they'll enjoy/appreciate.
Would something as simple as a couple of packages of Oreo's be appropriate

?

thanks again,

mom3boys · Mar 23, 2008

Now I feel like a heel...I didn't send anything!

SubSquid · Mar 23, 2008

We sent mine with a tub of Philly-centric Gedunk, like Tastycake. I was a little afraid that it may be looked upon as a bribe but the Plebe Drag and his room mates loved it, so we were told. I wouldn't suggest anything more than that.

cfam386 · Mar 23, 2008

Snacks will work. The plebes don't expect to get anything, so whatever you give will be a nice surprise.

midmomof2 · Mar 24, 2008

G5,

Both of mine have had drags and no one ever brought them anything. My son is having a drag in his room this weekend (his roomate is hosting one) so any kind of junk food/snacks would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your kindness.

greeneagle5 · Mar 30, 2008

CVW debrief

Just got home from a fast week of college visits over Spring Break.....U.Va. and USNA......USNA's CVW was extremely organized and well attended...approx. 100 candidates present...prior to registration Thursday evening there were tables of snacks and drinks for parents and candidates......very good intro. discussion and Q & A by admissions staff and midshipman cadre that evening. Friday morning, parents were invited to attend another excellent briefing by admissions and had most of their questions answered. Candidate son was tremendously impressed with the academic tour to the point of feeling overwhelmed. His major negative comments about the experience was that his cot was way too small and very uncomfortable for sleeping (he's 5'11") and the plebes have absolutely no "personal" time to relax during the week ...The midshipmen and candidates attended an awards ceremony in Alumni Hall Friday......son was glad his mom had packed some nice clothes for such an unexpected occassion.

Hotel note : We stayed at the Sheraton that had a small USNA discount.nice accomodations with shuttle service to the Academy, helpful staff...don't bother with the Club level rate...lounge was closed Friday and Saturday for breakfast and happy hour....... :thumbdown:

greeneagle5 · Apr 5, 2008

One comment from son during our discussions about his recent CVW was that the plebe room-mates stated several times to him that they absolutely couldn't wait to get away from the academy....they were "sick of prison"......not the most encouraging comments for a 17 year old to hear as he tries to make up his mind about commiting to USNA.

MIDNDAD · Apr 6, 2008

greeneagle5 said:
One comment from son during our discussions about his recent CVW was that the plebe room-mates stated several times to him that they absolutely couldn't wait to get away from the academy....they were "sick of prison"......not the most encouraging comments for a 17 year old to hear as he tries to make up his mind about commiting to USNA.

This is part of the self questioning process your son needs to go through. The plebes your son spent time with have been on the yard since June 27th. They have had three weeks leave for Christmas and one week leave for spring break. Other than these times the Navy has owned them 24/7. These plebes can see the finish line for plebe year but it's not here yet. Hopefully your son asked the follow-on question... If you had it to do over again would you still come here? I believe about 98% would say yes.

Life at the academies is hard, plain and simple. They take kids fresh from high school and immediately place them under stress. That stress takes many forms physical and mental. The purpose is for them to become leaders. As leaders they will be required to make good decisions no matter what the circumstances. At some point in their carriers, they may have to make decisions that effect who lives and who dies.

These are huge decisions for any 17 year old. Ultimately, every candidate asks themselves the same question. Is this really what I want??? If the answer is no then it's OK. Move on to plan B&C. If the answer is yes, give 100% effort be prepared for a roller coaster of up and downs.

USNAp · Jun 30, 2008

whats the difference between a CVW and an athlete being invited for a visit? Do athletes typically stay with plebes in their sport?

what is a CVW? a campus visit? is it extended to all candidates?

time2 · Jun 30, 2008

Whichever type of visit your son/daughter participates in encourage them to talk with as many mids as possible to get a better cross-section of what the experience is like. They may get assigned to a roommate having an off day/week and shouldn't base their decision to attend/not attend on just one person.

Obviously, these are challenging places to attend for all of the reasons you see posted on the various threads. Certainly the right time to make sure this is really what you want before showing up on I-day and deciding this is not for you.

usna1985 · Jun 30, 2008

USNAp said:
whats the difference between a CVW and an athlete being invited for a visit? Do athletes typically stay with plebes in their sport?

what is a CVW? a campus visit? is it extended to all candidates?

CVWs (Candidate Visitation Weekends) are typically offered to either highly qualified candidates and/or those who already have appointments. They are organized by CGO and you are assigned to a plebe (of same gender) for the WE. Not all candidates are offered CVWs; not being offered one does NOT mean you won't receive an appointment.

CVWs are now more involved and organized today than they were in my day. I think you now show up on a Thursday evening and spend Friday attending classes, sports, etc. with your plebe escort. You stay in that person's room and eat at his/her table. You depart around Saturday at noon. The idea is to give you some sense of what life is like as a plebe. People who did NASS may still be offered CVWs. I recommend doing both (if offered) unless finances preclude it.

Athletic visits are for recruited athletes. I don't know much about them other than they are organized by the athletic dep't and I believe are generally similar to CVWs other than that you are assigned to an athlete from your sport and attend team practices.

I'm not sure what you mean by "campus visit." It could refer to one of the above or it could be you simply showing up at USNA. You can take a tour and meet with CGO (at certain designated periods -- check usna.edu for details).

I don't think students are offered both athletic and CVW visits as much of the WE would be duplicative.

USNAp · Jul 1, 2008

Thank you usna1985 I believe we are being extended an "athletic visit". I was trying to understand the difference between a CVW and a athletic visit, it appears that there is one. It would make sense for my son to do an athletic visit as opposed to a CVW. The team chemistry factor is VIP in his sport. He needs to meet his potential teammates. However I also think it valuable to get a sense of plebe life. I'm sure he'll get a sense of both.