Curyea, DS1 (a/k/a thing one) attended CSI back in the summer of 2010. Today, DS1 agrees that CSI was worth the investment of time and money. DS1 attended the first session, which meant he left for The Citadel two days after his high school graduation ceremony.
The nice folks at The Citadel promised that CSI would not be the start of the fourth class system. Ha. A rising first class cadet met DS1 at the airport. She immediately gave DS1 a hard time about not wearing a belt. Then, when DS1 apologized, she corrected him for not addressing her as m'am. We laugh about it now, but DS1 told DH and me later that he almost turned around and got back on the plane.
CSI was a nice transition into cadet and college life. DS1 scored really low (maybe even failed) his first history test during CSI. When DS1 wrote his final exam at the end of CSI, he scored the highest in his class. The class was a good introduction to college courses and how to write a successful college exam.
DS1 is from the frozen tundra so he had to acclimate to participating in PT during the peak of summer in the Deep South. He was glad that he experienced the charming Charleston heat and humidity prior to Marticulation Day.
As I wrote in a previous post, DS1 was never the model Citadel cadet, but he made it through CSI, the fourth class system and graduated from El Cid. Today, he is enjoying his experience as a young Army officer.
I don't know whether CSI has changed since 2010, I suspect the folks at The Citadel have made some changes. That said, if you can afford the extra cost and time, CSI is a good introduction to Citadel cadet life.