PAWestPoint96
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2014
- Messages
- 32
So I just had my day visit at WP this past Tuesday and thought I'd share my experience because it was a bit different than the norm. To start off, I had a severe cold and ended up losing my voice for the day of my visit (I really didn't want to do the visit in fears of getting others sick, but they have this crazy rule that under no circumstances may you cancel your visit). So I marched into the admissions office with a pocket full of cough drops and tried to make the best of the situation. It turns out that not many people visit on a Tuesday, so it was only me and one other CC sitting in on the admissions briefing. Now I say admissions briefing, but what I really mean is you sit in on a powerpoint presentation talking about all of the great things you can get out of going to WP. I already knew almost all of this information being that it's rather late in the game to just now be hearing that you have to go through Beast (or what they now call CBT- it will always be beast to me) and that WP is among the Ivy Leagues. But if you're doing a visit your junior year or early in your senior year, I would think that the presentation would have been very informative. (Sorry if it sounds like I'm bashing the briefing, I'm just trying to get my honest opinion of what I thought about the experience out.)
After the presentation they had a Yuk come in and talk about what it was like being a Plebe and how things have changed now that he's in his second year. This was very useful because most plebes I interacted with hated their lives, and this cadet said that he felt the same when he was a plebe, but everything changes (for the better) after that first year.
After talking to the Yuk for about 30 min., the cadet that you're supposed to shadow for the day comes in to take you to class with them. My cadet, however, never showed. So after another 15 min. of sitting there, a Firstie came to get me and hand me off to one of his Plebes. The only problem with this plan was that by the time we got to his barracks, all of the plebes with classes scheduled were already in class. So I got handed off to a poor plebe that was trying to study for her Chemistry WPR (Writing Partial Review - or at least I think that's what it stands for, you'll soon learn that there's an acronym for everything!) that she had after lunch. So of course she didn't really want to talk or show me around because she had to study which was totally understandable, but put me in an awkward situation. We talked a little on what the normal schedule for a plebe was and what classes are like (apparently not incredibly hard, just time consuming). I asked if we could see the gym where the IOCT was held (if you aren't familiar with it, google it - it's probably the craziest obstacle course I've ever seen!). Luckily for us, there was a class of plebes in there practicing, so I got to see first-hand what the course looked like and the different techniques cadets used to run through it. After that, we talked a little more about club sports and how Beast was and then it was time for her to call minutes for lunch.
Now this was probably my favorite part of the day. All of the plebes get into the barrack hallways and start counting down from 5 minutes. They state how long it is until lunch, what the uniform is, and what's for lunch (I might be missing something), but they all call it out in unison in long drawn out voices with blank stares. This repeats every minute until it's time for formation outside. I'm not a person that gets embarrassed or feels out of place easily, but man I felt like a Martian walking outside in a black coat and khakis when every other person out there was in ACU's and seemed to be staring at me. Luckily my cadet let us get in the back of the formation so I didn't seem utterly out of place, but it was still uncomfortable feeling.
After standing out in formation for about 5 min., we went inside the mess hall to eat. This is the second place that I felt extremely out of place. My cadet was on the Sandhurst team, so she sat with them at lunch rather than her squad because the Firstie at the team table would be more relaxed than the Firstie at the other table. Works out great for the plebes on the team...until a CC comes in and needs to sit there. Absolutely no one wanted to "float" to another table because they knew they were going to get harassed (maybe a bit harsh of a word, but I'm sure they'd agree with it)if they did. So I'm awkwardly standing there, not saying anything because I can't (throat is sealed shut), and my cadet is trying to get a plebe to move but they're all saying no. I completely understand why the plebes were reluctant to move, but I would have thought that at a place like WP there would have been at least one cadet with the decency to volunteer to move (it's not like they've never seen a CC doing a visit before). Finally someone volunteered and I had a seat.
Then the lunch comes. I'm extremely lucky to have a mom that is a great cook. I know it has spoiled me into thinking that her meals should be what the average meal is, but I have had cafeteria food and I know that when cooking for the masses, the meal isn't going to be up-to-par with my normal standards (I know that makes me sounds like a snooty person, but it's the truth). Now WP this time of year is completely gray, and that goes for the food as well. The only thing with color on this meal was the tomato sauce covering the patties of chicken. I worked on a trail crew this past summer and I'm the first to know that when you're hungry, you're hungry and anything will sound appealing. The cadets have that same mentality and after being there for several months, I'm sure the food grows on you. But man, it was hard to get the meal down, especially in the brief time that you have to eat.
After lunch I went back to the admissions office because my visit was almost done. The last thing I had scheduled was to meet with my RC. I had requested a visit with him when I scheduled my day visit. I was told that he would be available and I would have the opportunity to meet with him. But like most things in the Army, you're told one thing and get another! So my RC was in fact not available and I didn't get the much wanted one-on-one time with him. After finding out that, my visit was done and I was left feeling a bit let down by the whole experience, but wanting to be apart of it more than ever.
Now I know this story might seem like a bash on WP and some will take it that I don't want to be here nor do I deserve to be here, and you're entitled to your own opinion, but know that I shared an honest story, and WP isn't going to be an easy place to survive on any level. I feel like I came out of this experience with a better advantage than most that visit WP. I know what it would be like to be a sick cadet and still have to study and go to class and workout. I saw WP at one of it's low points, and you know what, I still want to go there. I still want to be a part of that tradition, the camaraderie. I encourage all to visit, because if you have an experience like I did and still come out saying that this place is for you, then you have a chance at not only surviving but flourishing there.
After the presentation they had a Yuk come in and talk about what it was like being a Plebe and how things have changed now that he's in his second year. This was very useful because most plebes I interacted with hated their lives, and this cadet said that he felt the same when he was a plebe, but everything changes (for the better) after that first year.
After talking to the Yuk for about 30 min., the cadet that you're supposed to shadow for the day comes in to take you to class with them. My cadet, however, never showed. So after another 15 min. of sitting there, a Firstie came to get me and hand me off to one of his Plebes. The only problem with this plan was that by the time we got to his barracks, all of the plebes with classes scheduled were already in class. So I got handed off to a poor plebe that was trying to study for her Chemistry WPR (Writing Partial Review - or at least I think that's what it stands for, you'll soon learn that there's an acronym for everything!) that she had after lunch. So of course she didn't really want to talk or show me around because she had to study which was totally understandable, but put me in an awkward situation. We talked a little on what the normal schedule for a plebe was and what classes are like (apparently not incredibly hard, just time consuming). I asked if we could see the gym where the IOCT was held (if you aren't familiar with it, google it - it's probably the craziest obstacle course I've ever seen!). Luckily for us, there was a class of plebes in there practicing, so I got to see first-hand what the course looked like and the different techniques cadets used to run through it. After that, we talked a little more about club sports and how Beast was and then it was time for her to call minutes for lunch.
Now this was probably my favorite part of the day. All of the plebes get into the barrack hallways and start counting down from 5 minutes. They state how long it is until lunch, what the uniform is, and what's for lunch (I might be missing something), but they all call it out in unison in long drawn out voices with blank stares. This repeats every minute until it's time for formation outside. I'm not a person that gets embarrassed or feels out of place easily, but man I felt like a Martian walking outside in a black coat and khakis when every other person out there was in ACU's and seemed to be staring at me. Luckily my cadet let us get in the back of the formation so I didn't seem utterly out of place, but it was still uncomfortable feeling.
After standing out in formation for about 5 min., we went inside the mess hall to eat. This is the second place that I felt extremely out of place. My cadet was on the Sandhurst team, so she sat with them at lunch rather than her squad because the Firstie at the team table would be more relaxed than the Firstie at the other table. Works out great for the plebes on the team...until a CC comes in and needs to sit there. Absolutely no one wanted to "float" to another table because they knew they were going to get harassed (maybe a bit harsh of a word, but I'm sure they'd agree with it)if they did. So I'm awkwardly standing there, not saying anything because I can't (throat is sealed shut), and my cadet is trying to get a plebe to move but they're all saying no. I completely understand why the plebes were reluctant to move, but I would have thought that at a place like WP there would have been at least one cadet with the decency to volunteer to move (it's not like they've never seen a CC doing a visit before). Finally someone volunteered and I had a seat.
Then the lunch comes. I'm extremely lucky to have a mom that is a great cook. I know it has spoiled me into thinking that her meals should be what the average meal is, but I have had cafeteria food and I know that when cooking for the masses, the meal isn't going to be up-to-par with my normal standards (I know that makes me sounds like a snooty person, but it's the truth). Now WP this time of year is completely gray, and that goes for the food as well. The only thing with color on this meal was the tomato sauce covering the patties of chicken. I worked on a trail crew this past summer and I'm the first to know that when you're hungry, you're hungry and anything will sound appealing. The cadets have that same mentality and after being there for several months, I'm sure the food grows on you. But man, it was hard to get the meal down, especially in the brief time that you have to eat.
After lunch I went back to the admissions office because my visit was almost done. The last thing I had scheduled was to meet with my RC. I had requested a visit with him when I scheduled my day visit. I was told that he would be available and I would have the opportunity to meet with him. But like most things in the Army, you're told one thing and get another! So my RC was in fact not available and I didn't get the much wanted one-on-one time with him. After finding out that, my visit was done and I was left feeling a bit let down by the whole experience, but wanting to be apart of it more than ever.
Now I know this story might seem like a bash on WP and some will take it that I don't want to be here nor do I deserve to be here, and you're entitled to your own opinion, but know that I shared an honest story, and WP isn't going to be an easy place to survive on any level. I feel like I came out of this experience with a better advantage than most that visit WP. I know what it would be like to be a sick cadet and still have to study and go to class and workout. I saw WP at one of it's low points, and you know what, I still want to go there. I still want to be a part of that tradition, the camaraderie. I encourage all to visit, because if you have an experience like I did and still come out saying that this place is for you, then you have a chance at not only surviving but flourishing there.
