Free Time

[bmcfarlin]

During your free time at West Point, and I know that you don't have much of it, do you have the freedom to hit the gym and play a pick up game of basketball/lift weights? Realistically, how much, if any, free time like this do you have on a weekly basis? Thanks

 

[hawk]

Realistically, how much, if any, free time like this do you have on a weekly basis? Thanks

4.3 minutes of free time per day is allocated. And you must use it!

Seriously, it will vary by week. Thayer weeks are very tight. And some weeks the moons align and there is more time. And some when they align badly (Thayer week + SAMI + in ranks inspection ++++)

It will also vary by academics, your particular classes and how well (or not) you are able to handle them.

Then factor in company, club, or corps squad athletics. They vary significantly in time commitment. When DS is competing in club athletics, roughly 75% of his Saturday & Sunday's are taken. Good news: he has autho's to miss drill on Saturdays, and gets off campus. Bad news: He misses normal cadet down time on Saturdays with no drill & Sunday. Corps squad is even more extreme.

You will have breaks at times between classes, and the occasional light day. Most cadets find time to work out in some form, though for most it comes via company athletics plus whatever they chose to do on the weekend.

Sat evening, and Sundays are nearly always free.

If you use your google fu, you can can find the "Buff card" for the current academic year which shows the exact schedules.

 

[titan2010]

It really does vary with your involvement in clubs/sports, but I promise you'll be shocked by how much free time you will have. Plebe duties amount to like an hour a week nowadays. If you were an A student at a legitimate high school, plebe classes will be easy enough to give you more free time.
Do join something: a club, a sport, a religious group. The weekends get really boring as a plebe. Netflix, work out, sleep, repeat. And it does get depressing knowing that you're not allowed to leave, but at the same time the time they took from you isn't being used by them for anything worthwhile. That was my plebe experience. I joined a club that travels a lot and I'm happy I did.

You know how involved you were in high school. It's like that. Except there's nothing fun to do on the weekends here. But how involved will you be here?

 

[bmcfarlin]

Thanks

Thanks for the replies. Since you have been through Plebe year, how did you pass the time on the weekends that you weren't allowed to leave. Do you mean you couldn't leave as in you couldn't return home, or as in you literally weren't allowed to step off college grounds?

Also, are there any favored clubs/organizations/intramural sports at West Point?

Thanks again

 

[Casey]

As long as you're in good standing, you get what's called walking privellages as a plebe. It means you can go around post and into Highland Falls (town right outside the gate) and that's pretty much it.

As for favored clubs/organizations/IM's, pick something that's interesting for you. Handball, boxing, crew, etc all have good teams and you can have fun with them.

 

[linkgmr]

During your free time at West Point, and I know that you don't have much of it, do you have the freedom to hit the gym and play a pick up game of basketball/lift weights? Realistically, how much, if any, free time like this do you have on a weekly basis? Thanks

Heh. Tons, if you're up for it. Usually, I have more free time than I know what to do with. I get my workout in, do my homework, and then I usually play xbox until about 10:30 and I crawl into bed. Sometimes 11:30 if there's something good on netflix. You just have to be willing to use your off periods during the day to do schoolwork or work out, and you have to learn what is and what is not important for your classes. Your instructors will insist that their own work is the most important stuff, but if you know what you know, and know what you don't know, you can get your work done a lot quicker. Keep in mind, I am getting all As at the moment, so this isn't a "let's do the bare minimum and scape by" kind of strategy.
Sleep and bro-time are damn important, often moreso than schoolwork, you just have to have a good idea of how much you need to do. And don't be afraid to let your instructors do their jobs. They're (usually) not going to eviscerate you in front of the whole class because you skimmed a reading or two.

 

[pchoi619]

What clubs have you current/former cadets taken? and how was your experience in them?