If anyone wants to talk to a plebe

R

randomplebe

Kings Point '25
Joined
Aug 11, 2021
Messages
30
Hi,

I am a current plebe here at kp and I remember when I got accepted, that I had a lot of questions about life here that it felt like no one could answer. I am doing the marine transportation route, I played a sport for a little while, am in the band and am getting my EMT certification.

If anyone has any questions about any part of life here, please do not hesitate to pm and we can talk :)) Furthermore, if you want to speak to someone with more experience in a certain area, I can put you in contact as well.

Happy Holidays :)
 
1. How do they assign roommates?
2. What additional preparation would you have done prior to InDOC? Physical or Mental?
3. As an athlete there are some items and supplies that are more than standard USMMA clothing items and shoes, do we bring those with us or ship them later?
 
Greatlakes said:
1. How do they assign roommates?
2. What additional preparation would you have done prior to InDOC? Physical or Mental?
3. As an athlete there are some items and supplies that are more than standard USMMA clothing items and shoes, do we bring those with us or ship them later?
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1. Roommate assignments are really random. It entirely depends on your company and your training staff. For indoc I was in a room with people adjacent to me alphabetically, then my first trimester roommate was randomly assigned and then second trimester I got to pick my roommate.

2. I wished I would've studied chemistry more and enjoyed time with my family and friends. It'll hit you on like day two or three that you're at KP for the long haul and that the next time you'll see your parents is at parents weekend, which is hard for most people. The Chemistry department here is less than amazing and if you're unlucky enough to be in a certain professor's class then the odds are stacked against you. I was unfamiliar with chemistry until I came here so I had to work extra hard and seek out tutoring to barely get a 60.

3. Honestly, don't bring anything except what they tell you to bring. If you're recruited for a sport, you will probably get to meet with the coaches like one time during the 2.5 weeks and it's nothing more than a meet and greet. I brought two pairs of white shoes to Indoc this year and it was a total game changer, would highly recommend doing that. Ship everything else after you make it through indoc.
 
I would add that you should check with your coach to see if you should bring anything extra to INDOC. Several sports have an informal meeting before INDOC starts where you can drop off your extra gear. Mail tends to be really slow at the start of the academic year, so it will likely take awhile for you to get a package.
 
Tell me a little more about your experience with the band. Do students take it very seriously and do they play at a high level or is the band just something to do with a variety level of skills and motivation?
 
milmomsomeday said:
Tell me a little more about your experience with the band. Do students take it very seriously and do they play at a high level or is the band just something to do with a variety level of skills and motivation?
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So the band ranges in skill level and sometimes people who do not play instruments get shuffled into band company. It really depends on the person. I loved band in high school but now I have little to no time to do it, but there are plenty of extra options that the CO offers for those that want to play music more regularly and with people who also want to play frequently.

There's also Beat Retreat which is more or less a marching performance that usually takes place during Parent's Weekend.

tl;dr skill level and time commitment varies, it can be as time intensive as you want it to be.
 
As a member of Band Company, you will have many opportunities to play, including everything from morning colors to marching and playing in many parades. My DD had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. and play with the Navy band. There are many very talented musicians, but for my DD and many others, the quality of play was a big step down from high school band. Camraderie in Band Co. is generally good due in part to the rest of the regiment looking down on them. Band Co. historically is on the more strict side.
 
I would disagree with Kpmom2013 when she states that Band co camaraderie is good because the rest of the regiment looks down on them. Band Company is the only company who's members stay together their entire time at KP. Any negative feelings about Band Co. usually stems from non musical plebes/mids being placed in there. Band Co. generally has a pretty solid reputation as a squared away company.
 
What courses do you suggest for current juniors and seniors to study better in high school before they go to KP?
How do you spend your time in the evening? From the academy website, the daily schedule says 19:45-00:00 for study. Is it enough?
Thanks
 
dakiti~ said:
What courses do you suggest for current juniors and seniors to study better in high school before they go to KP?
How do you spend your time in the evening? From the academy website, the daily schedule says 19:45-00:00 for study. Is it enough?
Thanks
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Really just your standard upper level maths and sciences, Calc I, Chemistry and Physics are the plebe killers here. I spend my time usually doing tasks to prepare for the next day, like doing laundry or studying. On a few days a week I take a three hour elective class to pursue my EMT license, so today I had zero free hours from 0930 to as I type this. It's definitely a grind and not for everyone, but it is definitely rewarding. Hope this helps. (also to answer your question, any hour can be used for study depending on how well you manage your time haha)

CAT5 said:
I would disagree with Kpmom2013 when she states that Band co camaraderie is good because the rest of the regiment looks down on them. Band Company is the only company who's members stay together their entire time at KP. Any negative feelings about Band Co. usually stems from non musical plebes/mids being placed in there. Band Co. generally has a pretty solid reputation as a squared away company.
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Honestly, amongst midshipmen it's more of a "hate us cause they ain't us" and then on the plebe side they dislike us because that's what their training staff tells them to do. There are also less plebes in band company which leads to us knowing everyone pretty well. I know in some companies that might not be the case. As far as non musical mids, we just had a midshipman that was our CC for first rotation that entered band company not knowing how to play any instrument.
 
randomplebe said:
on the plebe side they dislike us because that's what their training staff tells them to do.
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There is soooo much deeper truth in this statement. There are many cultural things that get passed down from class to class whose origins are lost to time.

My plebe year we actually edited the fight song, calling out a classmates name several times. That was still in effect at least 2 years after my plebe class graduated and one year after said classmates involuntary departure. I met some younger graduates at a training class who graduated 10 years after me and they said that it was still done when they were there. They had several different stories of who he was, none of which were true.

There are a ton of humorous anecdotes that show that elements of the culture truly do get passed down blindly. Some of it is good and some of it is not.

I think each class is reflective of the senior class from their plebe year which then gets passed down to the plebe class when they are seniors. Again, some of this is good and some of it is not.
 
Are IPad Pros allowed after indoc for taking notes during class? Also are you allowed to have a desktop computer and what size monitors are you allowed to go to?
 
When you accept your appointment you will receive information on computers for your class. It differs considerably from year to year, so what is recommended or allowed this year may be different from next year. Generally speaking, most plebes and mids will tell you that bringing your own computer is more complicated than it sounds because in order to connect to the academy's internet, your computer may have to be wiped clean. However, many mids use their own computers for gaming, streaming movies, etc, and some also bring a laptop or IPad to class. Keep in mind that you will have to bring a laptop to sea with you where it will suffer a lot of abuse. For your everyday use, I would really recommend the option they give you for purchase from the academy.
 
LewisAl said:
Are IPad Pros allowed after indoc for taking notes during class? Also are you allowed to have a desktop computer and what size monitors are you allowed to go to?
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I would honestly steer clear of using anything that isn't what they issue you because you won't really be able to use it. I have a macbook pro here and I can never use it. USMMA is essentially in the dark ages when it comes to information technology. There is no public wifi accessible to mids so if you wanted to connect your Ipad or Macbook to the wifi here then you have to allow the IT department to wipe your device and install their monitoring software on it. Which, imo, is not what I spent my money on that laptop for.

Rant aside, I would say just use the laptop your issued, it's really not that bad. Also, to answer your question, they issued the plebes this year a 27 inch monitor
 
dadencale said:
I would honestly steer clear of using anything that isn't what they issue you because you won't really be able to use it. I have a macbook pro here and I can never use it. USMMA is essentially in the dark ages when it comes to information technology. There is no public wifi accessible to mids so if you wanted to connect your Ipad or Macbook to the wifi here then you have to allow the IT department to wipe your device and install their monitoring software on it. Which, imo, is not what I spent my money on that laptop for.

Rant aside, I would say just use the laptop your issued, it's really not that bad. Also, to answer your question, they issued the plebes this year a 27 inch monitor
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Jeez I've heard it is old school but that is ancient! Also, can you leave your company? Like if I was put in the band company and did not want to do band could I leave?
 
Csyms said:
Jeez I've heard it is old school but that is ancient! Also, can you leave your company? Like if I was put in the band company and did not want to do band could I leave?
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If you're placed in any company that isn't band company for plebe year, you automatically get shuffled at the end of plebe year. Band company does not get shuffled. Yes, you can decide to move out of band company if you don't enjoy it.
 
@dadencale Are plebes allowed to go out on Saturday or Sunday? If so, for how long? Thank you!!
 
Not at all until parents weekend. Then you will have short liberty on some Saturdays which can be (and often is) taken away for arbitrary reasons like poor performance on plebe knowledge tests. You should prepare yourself to have very little liberty until recognition which usually happens in April or May. In the COVID age, liberty is even more limited for everyone. You may get to leave campus as a plebe on TM's (team movements) if you are on a sports team or club.
 
How is USMMA night at Citified for plebes? If family attends game to plebes get to spend time with family?
 
kpmom2013 said:
Not at all until parents weekend. Then you will have short liberty on some Saturdays which can be (and often is) taken away for arbitrary reasons like poor performance on plebe knowledge tests. You should prepare yourself to have very little liberty until recognition which usually happens in April or May. In the COVID age, liberty is even more limited for everyone. You may get to leave campus as a plebe on TM's (team movements) if you are on a sports team or club.
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Thxx! And what about Thanksgiving and Christmas leave? Do they have leave at all? :D
 
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