Here's a story about SLE from last summer: (P.S. This is kinda long, TLDR at bottom)
Day One
-Here I am, getting off the plane at Newark, looking for the shuttle bus that runs from the airport to WP
-Can't find it and I feel like a scrub
-Find some other dude who is in the same boat as I am
-Somehow stumble across the correct shuttle location
-*thank the lord*
-Bus ride over to WP is late, so we get rushed through the R-Day simulation
-Manage to make a fool of myself by forgetting to pick up luggage when the cadre tell me to move along
-Suffer for being a scrub
-Get issued a bunch of stuff that we have to keep track of, particularly the weakest water bottle I've ever owned
-Memorize sheet of paper with useful Army songs, sayings, and information on it
-Run around more, get assigned to a dorm room on the top floor of the barracks with two other guys
-End up getting through the first day alright, survived with the help of my room mates
-Try sleeping, but it's so hot that I only sleep for about 3 hours (dear lord, bring a fan if you go)
Day Two
-Wake up bright and early for PT
-Already sweaty before I get outside
-Do PT and feel pretty good
-Go back to barracks to shower and change into daily uniform they issue, get ready for breakfast
-March to chow hall, learn cadences, become more acclimated to campus
-Great food and Gatorade
-Learn a LOT from the cadre and peers who are at my table about what WP is like and what to expect
-Lectures, Lectures, Lectures, fighting to stay awake or feel the wrath of squad sgt.
-More marching around campus, more history learned, more interested in what WP has to offer
-Back to bed which I don't bother going under the covers for anymore, still hot as heck
Rest of the week (in no particular order)
-Wake up bright and early again for PT, except on the day where we have CFT (Candidate Fitness Test)
-Rock the CFT and feel like less of a scrub
-Eat great food and learn how to PROPERLY cut a cake (also sneak a brownie out of the mess hall)
-Go through the academic seminars and understand more on how the class size, structure, and instruction works
-Play dodge-ball with all cadre and candidates, watch as cadre nails candidate with dodgeball who is already out
-Eat an MRE
-Go through the gun and combat simulators
-Explore different rolls of a soldier, officer and enlisted
-Wear body armor
-Tons of other great things that hopefully you'll get to experience
-On the last day, right before bed, I bring out the brownie I smuggled from the mess hall (4" x 2") and divide it among 12 people. We all used the matches from the MRE as candles and light the celebratory brownie. Consume brownie. Laugh. Make friends. Desire to stay at West Point.
11/10 would do again
TLDR; It's an amazing experience that isn't all super serious. It allows you to explore the area, taste the physicality, and experience their classes. The overarching deal here is that it really lets you decide if it's the right place for you. I can't tell you whether you will or will not like it, but if you don't go, you'll never really know for yourself. It was so worth it for me, but for others, it opened their eyes to a place they didn't want to be at.