Doolie Grades

Wishful said:
DD used to set an alarm of 0100 to stop studying & go to sleep.
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Wow - that's some serious work ethic! However, to ease the nerves of all the cadet hopefuls and those already accepted - most everyone I know goes to bed around 2200, and many who learn good time management skills go to bed even earlier (or play Xbox and say up even later). Not to say that some people with good time management skills won't still end up with the 0100 study nights - but most of the time most cadets are able to manage the academic load without too much difficulty.
 
It's been interesting to see the GPA distribution over the course of a few years at USAFA. Freshman year generally has the "easiest" core classes like calc, chem, behsci, and english and "harder' core classes usually come later. For some, these classes are essentially just review since they did similar things in high school and they do extremely well freshman year. Then, as they start adding more classes to their schedules (generally harder core or major's classes), they start to see a decline in their GPA over the next few semesters. So while some start extremely high, they may end up falling quite a bit during their time at USAFA.

Contrarily, others struggle heavily with freshman year academics, most primarily because of time management issues rather than the difficulty of the content. However, they generally figure out how to balance their load and start seeing their GPA increase again. It all tends to balance out in the end, as those who are not inclined with the heavy STEM core classes gravitate towards humanities and do very well there.
 
Wishful said:
An example for "how" to study at the service academies: DD used to set an alarm of 0100 to stop studying & go to sleep.
Sleep in Doolie year is an important factor that you may not consider when you prioritize your schedule, initially.
The saying,"The days are long but the weeks are short" is a positive thought to keep in mind.
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Totally agree with you on sleep. It took me my 1st semester at USAFA to realize that staying awake in class was more important than studying late. I tried to impress that on my 26er. Looks like it worked for him and he is in bed by 2300 every night. He has been really good at using his time in between classes to go to the library and study (only falls asleep in the study carrels occassionally.) It's the biggest reason why he's been so successful academically. He's a 100% STEM kid and is looking forward to being done with the fuzzy core classes ASAP.
 
Current Doolie here. It really depends on how many classes you are taking, if you validated classes, and how adept at certain subjects you are. Like almost everyone else here, I was straight A's through high school and some college, but now I am here and struggling to keep B's and C's. I also have a bit of an overloaded schedule which doesn't help. Sleep is a struggle, especially because I am in a club that practices every day and goes on trips. It is all a balance, and at the end of the day, most people sacrifice sleep during the week and make it up on weekends. It is a grind, but it is worth it!
 
Doolie here. Had straight A's / was at top of my class at a very challenging high school. I validated a handful of classes.
First semester will be different for everyone. I primarily struggled with burn-out from high school. I had a schedule similar to most 3-degs and got C's for the first time in my life. The stress is real. This spring, I figured out how to balance being a Doolie, IC, and double major. Got majority A's a few B's, and got on the Superintendent's List.
Regardless of how the first semester goes, comeback is possible. Sometimes you have to take a few steps back before moving forward.
 
RunningGirl said:
Doolie here. Had straight A's / was at top of my class at a very challenging high school. I validated a handful of classes.
First semester will be different for everyone. I primarily struggled with burn-out from high school. I had a schedule similar to most 3-degs and got C's for the first time in my life. The stress is real. This spring, I figured out how to balance being a Doolie, IC, and double major. Got majority A's a few B's, and got on the Superintendent's List.
Regardless of how the first semester goes, comeback is possible. Sometimes you have to take a few steps back before moving forward.
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Your brains grew back, as our USNA sponsor mid family is fond of saying. It’s astonishing how your ability to optimize, work at speed, learn efficiently and prioritize how you use time ramps up. Well done!
 
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