Leaving during Plebe year? Advice from people who left during there plebe year...

Talk to a few schools first. After a certain date you may receive WF for withdrawal failure that may hurt, too. I totally understand the dilemma but you need to talk to a counselor at your next school before taking an action that cannot be undone.
 
Okay, I understand that. But what if my grades aren't good grades whatsoever? I mean I tried to understand the subjects, but the teachers were of no help, they just sucked. The tutoring, peer study groups, and ridding extra activities for school has allowed me to pull up my grades a bit, but no college is going to want them. I figure I just make a smart move to leave ASAP so they will be marked as "W" or whatever letter meaning that they don't count as grades.

Southpaw, I've read through this whole thread and what I see is that you've already made the decision and you want approval for your decision to leave ASAP. Ultimately, it is *your* decision. You've gotten some great advice, but it is up to you whether you want to follow that advice or not.

As other posters have said, take all this information, look at your situation (calmly, with a clear mind), and follow your heart. Only YOU can know what you want for your future. Any decision you make will affect your whole life. So ask yourself - What will make you happy? What will make you excited about your future? If you can't answer that, yet, then stick if out until you can. The last thing you want is to be completely rudderless in life. Believe me, that is way more uncomfortable than what you're going through right now.
 
USMMA goes by the trimester system and that ends at the end of October. The most of the regiment goes home for fall break at that time - for one week. Perhaps that is the time for your change. I must say, you sound very resigned to your decision and only seem to be worried about how others (classmates, parents, other family, friends at home) will take the news. I am sure your parents will understand and not want you to be miserable and the rest of the people you are worried about will probably fade from you life as time goes on. Don't worry about them so much. Put yourself in their shoes..if you heard on of your classmates was leaving..would you judge him or care? Service academies are not for everyone, find the right path for you and go for it.
 
Re clothing and other issued items: anything you have been issued is yours. But, as part of outprocessing, you'll get a brief on what is yours and what is the U.S. Government's, how to turn in the latter, what your options are with the former. You might see whether classmates are interested in uniform items, especially since yours are still in excellent condition.

Look, no one can tell you what it's going to be like when you get home. Your home is a unique set of experiences and people with histories, opinions, beliefs, and so on. The only thing you can choose about it all is what you think and how you react. I originally wrote, and several others have also mentioned, that YOU have to decide what your narrative is. You also need to have a plan, because even if you had the luxury of sitting at home on your a$$, playing XBox and eating Doritos, it won't take you long to sink into depression resulting from no purpose. Even if you get a minimum wage job at McDonald's, do SOMETHING. Have a plan. (Incidentally, you're capable of more than McD's.)

As for whether to bail now or later. Please listen to me; I am a college professor, and colleges do too care about your grades, even if they're all C's. That is college credit you earned. YOU EARNED IT. And you did it at one of the most academically-challenging, rigorous colleges in the world. If you're that close to earning credit, why on earth would you, in effect, burn the last three months of hard work? So they're not great grades; welcome to what happens to 65% of college freshmen in this country - two out of three of you take a hit of (on average) 1.2 grade points in your first semester in college. It's called adjusting to demands of college. (And incidentally, your instructors may indeed suck at USMMA, but one expectation about which many or most college freshmen experience a severe and shocking adjustment is the degree to which we hold you responsible for your learning. But that's another topic.)

None of us can do this for you, but we're trying to make it easier. In the long run, it will be easier to tough out the first trimester, actually COMPLETE something, and bail clean. You will leave with college credit and with the EVIDENCE that you can begin and complete something very, very difficult.
 
^^^
^^^

This guy's good!

+1

He's right. You got into the place and that ain't no small deal. You can achieve what you want but you have to want it. Go get it! Don't ever give up.:thumb:
 
I'm doing great! No regrets and moving forward. Since leaving I have had a couple of well-paying jobs (for a young adult) and currently in my 2nd to last semester for my Associate degree. Few obstacles came in the way, but otherwise I'm doing my best and being rewarded by it.
 
Do you regret it? Can I still be successful? Do people tend to judge you?
I'm about 95% sure I'm leaving following this semester with the main reason being that I want to go into the dentistry field and thats nearly impossible out of here. I also never wanted to come here, i was pressured by my father after receiving a football scholarship. I have no interest in football...
thatguy,
I wish you well and I hope whatever decision you decide on makes you happy for life. My question is this: How does someone get accepted to the Naval Academy who "never wanted to come here"? How did you interview with your B&G Officer? I feel like you would have either have had to lie or your B&G Officer did not do a very good job of reading your genuine answers. And what was your personal statement like?? Did you mention why you wanted to attend and I would have to assume you were forced to lie in order to submit a "winning" statement. And why on earth did you accept a football scholarship if "you have no interest in football"??? That is mind-boggling and baffling to me because I was a scholarship athlete at a D1 school----UNC-Chapel Hill----and the commitment is astronomical but I wanted to play and LOVED the sport so it made sense. I can't even imagine heading off to pre-season in August and not wanting to go. I am always saddened when parents pressure their kids to go somewhere for school (or sports) so I'm sorry that happened to you. My son was rejected last April from USNA and is trying again. He is at a prep school and taking courses that were not offered at his high school to improve upon his 4.0 unweighted GPA, his # 3 class ranking out of 500 students, and his numerous high school awards for his athletic and academic successes. He is dedicated and chose to try again because he truly wants to go there and ultimately serve his country. How will you fulfill THAT incredibly important part of the puzzle if you are feeling like this as a Plebe?? It's tough to hear your story because I obviously feel deep sorrow for my own son not getting into his first choice considering his dedication and genuine desire to go but I also feel for you and your situation and still wish you the best. My advice moving forward: Be authentic in everything you do for the rest of your life and make decisions for yourself---not for your parents or anyone else. If you do that, you will avoid regret because the decision will be yours to own and you will only have to face yourself when/if you change your mind. It sounds like you're worried about how others will perceive you if you leave and I will assume you are MOST worried about Dad??? Good luck.
 
Do you regret it? Can I still be successful? Do people tend to judge you?
I'm about 95% sure I'm leaving following this semester with the main reason being that I want to go into the dentistry field and thats nearly impossible out of here. I also never wanted to come here, i was pressured by my father after receiving a football scholarship. I have no interest in football...
thatguy,
I wish you well and I hope whatever decision you decide on makes you happy for life. My question is this: How does someone get accepted to the Naval Academy who "never wanted to come here"? How did you interview with your B&G Officer? I feel like you would have either have had to lie or your B&G Officer did not do a very good job of reading your genuine answers. And what was your personal statement like?? Did you mention why you wanted to attend and I would have to assume you were forced to lie in order to submit a "winning" statement. And why on earth did you accept a football scholarship if "you have no interest in football"??? That is mind-boggling and baffling to me because I was a scholarship athlete at a D1 school----UNC-Chapel Hill----and the commitment is astronomical but I wanted to play and LOVED the sport so it made sense. I can't even imagine heading off to pre-season in August and not wanting to go. I am always saddened when parents pressure their kids to go somewhere for school (or sports) so I'm sorry that happened to you. My son was rejected last April from USNA and is trying again. He is at a prep school and taking courses that were not offered at his high school to improve upon his 4.0 unweighted GPA, his # 3 class ranking out of 500 students, and his numerous high school awards for his athletic and academic successes. He is dedicated and chose to try again because he truly wants to go there and ultimately serve his country. How will you fulfill THAT incredibly important part of the puzzle if you are feeling like this as a Plebe?? It's tough to hear your story because I obviously feel deep sorrow for my own son not getting into his first choice considering his dedication and genuine desire to go but I also feel for you and your situation and still wish you the best. My advice moving forward: Be authentic in everything you do for the rest of your life and make decisions for yourself---not for your parents or anyone else. If you do that, you will avoid regret because the decision will be yours to own and you will only have to face yourself when/if you change your mind. It sounds like you're worried about how others will perceive you if you leave and I will assume you are MOST worried about Dad??? Good luck.
I just realized thatguy's post was from YEARS ago so I'm sorry to everyone for my long note filled with questions! My fault. I'm sure there are many Plebe's every year who were "pressured to go by parents" and I have to assume they are all wondering if they made the right decision. Good luck to everyone and again---sorry for my long original post! :)
 
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