USMMA Appointment and Advice

C

CadetAviator

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Joined
Aug 13, 2017
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Good Afternoon Everyone,

I just got my appointment letter in the mail today. I am super excited that I got the appointment however now I am worried about the challenges to come. I feel as though I am pretty academically capable as I had a 1370 SAT score and have taken various AP level classes and in which I have a 3.96 UW GPA. I am however worried about the physical portion of the academy. I am currently a Cadet Captain in Civil Air Patrol and I usually do satisfactory on our PT exams in which I usually run a mile in under 6:40, range between 50 and 60 pushups in two minutes and between 50 and 60 situps in one minute. There are occasional times however when I fall below my average scores. Is the academy PRT especially difficult? What are the standards for the academy PRT? I also had other questions about the schedule and about academy life as a whole. Is it especially difficult even if you are managing your time wisely? For example, I was told that getting in USMMA would be extremely difficult and that I shouldn't expect an appointment until April but again I just received that today on top of three nominations to USMMA from a very competitive admissions state (Pennsylvania). This may be another unusual question but are midshipmen able to keep personal books in their rooms as I happen to read a lot (mostly detective and police stories as well as military history).
 
CadetAviator said:
Good Afternoon Everyone,

I just got my appointment letter in the mail today. I am super excited that I got the appointment however now I am worried about the challenges to come. I feel as though I am pretty academically capable as I had a 1370 SAT score and have taken various AP level classes and in which I have a 3.96 UW GPA. I am however worried about the physical portion of the academy. I am currently a Cadet Captain in Civil Air Patrol and I usually do satisfactory on our PT exams in which I usually run a mile in under 6:40, range between 50 and 60 pushups in two minutes and between 50 and 60 situps in one minute. There are occasional times however when I fall below my average scores. Is the academy PRT especially difficult? What are the standards for the academy PRT? I also had other questions about the schedule and about academy life as a whole. Is it especially difficult even if you are managing your time wisely? For example, I was told that getting in USMMA would be extremely difficult and that I shouldn't expect an appointment until April but again I just received that today on top of three nominations to USMMA from a very competitive admissions state (Pennsylvania). This may be another unusual question but are midshipmen able to keep personal books in their rooms as I happen to read a lot (mostly detective and police stories as well as military history).
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Here at the Academy we follow the Navy PRT standards and take it once a trimester. In order to pass you need to achieve good in each of the three categories, 1.5 mile run, 2-minute pushups, and 2-minute sit-ups. The minimum scores in each are faster than a 11:00 mile and a half, more than 51 pushups, and more than 62 sit ups (for a male 17-19 years old http://www.navy-prt.com/malestandard/malestandard.html). The PT during Indoc was a lot easier than I expected, it was every morning Monday-Friday and some Saturdays, none on Sundays. This was like pushups, sit-ups, running, swimming, etc. Also in the afternoons you would have group PT with your platoon so that was more fun than the mostly individual PT in the mornings.

Yes, you are able to have personal books in your rooms, I have a few but with the academics I have not found that much time to read them with how busy with school I have been, don't bring them with you on Day 0 but have your parents mail them up after Indoc.

All the classes here are 55 minutes in length with 10 minutes in between and last from 0745-1155 and start back up after lunch 1300-1600. Depending on your major can depend on how many free periods you have. This tri I have 14 free periods throughout the week.

Your first trimester schedule is dependent on the major you select on one of the forms in the packets, deckles take one more credit I believe the first tri than compared to engineers (18.5 vs 17 or 17.5). This is not the official declaration of your major, that is done around early-mid October. Currently I am a deckie and taking 22 credits because I am in the EMT program (6 credits) and I would suggest you look into that if you are interested.

Since plebes are pretty much locked on campus for most of the year managing your time is not that hard because you will see everyone else grinding each night and on the weekends to get their work done and get ahead. Id say the workload is manageable if you can keep up with everything and are able to ask for and get help wither early or when you need it. Don't be afraid to ask for help! I believe from the first trimester our class lost 8-12 to academics who were set back and one was RFD since his final GPA was a 0.8
 
Congratulations!! If I were in your shoes, I’d view the appointment as a tremendous blessing. Your stats appear solid; I wouldn’t blink an eye. Again, congratulations!
 
Awesome, so hopefully I should be good for the PRT. I am actually interested in the EMT program. I currently do Emergency Services with Civil Air Patrol, specifically Search and Rescue. I have taken various medical classes through the program and I find them interested. I am also interested in going for a deck rating to. I heard that some classes such as physics are very hard while some classes such as swimming and first aid require very little effort
 
Congratulations CadetAviator. My DS is a 2021 and you are Good on the PT and academics. My DS which is in Band Company is also is doing the EMT training and enjoys it. Don’t worry you will do Great!
 
Academics at KP is like a mutual fund ... past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. I saw kids with 4.0s and 1600s fail out in one quarter.

You likely have the aptitude but you still have to put in the work.

There are easy and hard classes in every major. I do not recommend taking this into consideration when selecting a major, choose the one that interests you the most and you will increase your chances of success.
 
Congratulations CadetAviator. Don't get worried about the standards they put on you. Those standards are there to help keep you focused. My first sergeant said something several months back that I really took to heart: "You don't have to be the fastest, strongest, or smartest. You just gotta want to be here." The people that truly want to be there will do everything they can on their part to stay there. You are in a great position to have the US Government want to pay you for 4 years of a wonderful education. Try not to take it for granted.

I hope I will be able to join you with the rest of the class of 2022.
 
KPEngineer said:
Academics at KP is like a mutual fund ... past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. I saw kids with 4.0s and 1600s fail out in one quarter.

You likely have the aptitude but you still have to put in the work.

There are easy and hard classes in every major. I do not recommend taking this into consideration when selecting a major, choose the one that interests you the most and you will increase your chances of success.
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Wise words, indeed. I felt that I breezed through high school and KP made me really knuckle down. Early on, free time is rare. Even later, because of Sea Year, I know we carried far more credit/hours than most colleges, but what else were we going to do. And yeah, lots of kids "smarter" than I was fell by the wayside.
 
KPEngineer said:
Academics at KP is like a mutual fund ... past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. I saw kids with 4.0s and 1600s fail out in one quarter.

You likely have the aptitude but you still have to put in the work.

There are easy and hard classes in every major. I do not recommend taking this into consideration when selecting a major, choose the one that interests you the most and you will increase your chances of success.
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This kid I knew, class of '18 (A split), I think he was a shipyard major or maybe just straight engine. But he came back from 2nd sailing (start of his 1/C year) with no projects because he decided he wanted to be a cop. I'm sure the dean and supe were very pleased.
 
Congrats on your appointment. Maybe my son will be joining you in June. He is still awaiting some other responses before he decides.

Regarding academics - I have a couple of comments in general:

1) the transition from High School to College can be hard for everyone - regardless of the school you attend. Today’s high schools do not instill good study habits. The old rule in college was that for every “credit hour” of class time you should plan on spending 2 hours of study time. Even after my bachelors, and two additional masters degrees - I find that to be true if you want to succeed. Since KP is overloaded when at school due to Sea Year, that makes it hard to get that much study time. And with other regimental requirements it only becomes more challenging. It will very likely be a bit of a wake up call at first, but I’m confident that everyone can adapt. The key is that - while entry into the Academy is a competition, succeeding there is a collaboration. Work with your fellow Mids, support each other and you will be fine. Remwmber that at your high school you were probably in the top 10-15% - and now everyone else is too! Help each other and you will succeed!

2) Don’t slack on the Sea Projects. Too many Mids come back from their cadet time during Sea Year having enjoyed their time and sea but having failed to adequately complete their Sea Projects. This is a killer for licensing and grade management. The value of KP compared to the other academies is the chance to be hands-on for nearly a full Year at Sea before graduating.

3) choose wisely on your major. Don’t simply go “deck” because it is easier. It isn’t. It’s just different. Find the major which you will enjoy - and one that leads to the career you will enjoy. Taking classes that interest you is the key to better grades since you are more likely to be interested in your homework.
 
NAVYCAPT93 said:
3) choose wisely on your major. Don’t simply go “deck” because it is easier. It isn’t. It’s just different. Find the major which you will enjoy - and one that leads to the career you will enjoy. Taking classes that interest you is the key to better grades since you are more likely to be interested in your homework.
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Just go engine because deck is useless. I wanted to go engine, but my dad told me deck would be better for me...I went deck, and I've been very successful (academically) in deck, making A's in basically all of the nav classes, nav law, cel nav etc. but I know its useless.
 
Jmoney457 said:
Just go engine because deck is useless. I wanted to go engine, but my dad told me deck would be better for me...I went deck, and I've been very successful (academically) in deck, making A's in basically all of the nav classes, nav law, cel nav etc. but I know its useless.
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@Jmoney457 - By the wording of this post you must be a current midshipman. I caution you to learn now that it is unwise to make such broad statements. Statements like this don’t add value. I know many graduates with everything from deck to engine to the old “dual” major who are very successful. A class that is “useless” to one person could be the best class to another. I know highly successful admiralty lawyers who would not be there without having taken Law at KP. I know Presidents and Vice Presidents of a number of logistics companies who gained their success by hard work and the value of their “deck” degree from KP. I know many Navy, Army and Coast Guard officers with long and distinguished careers who came from Deck. I equally know just as many who are engineers.

Kings Point has a history of distinguished grads and is very successful at training leaders in a variety of industries. You clearly misunderstand this if you so easily disparage the training you are receiving.

Regardless of the major - The ultimate key is how you apply yourself. I would suggest - if you want to really add value to yourself, your fellow midshipmen and the future applicants who read this site’s posts - you very clearly lay-out the good and bad, pros and cons, of what you like and don’t like about the Deck major track. Do it in a respectful way so that anyone who wonders what it is like can make a good decision. Good luck at KP and hopefully I’ll see you on the other side of the fence as an Alumnus where we can both work to keep the Academy strong.
 
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Congrats! I'll be joining you come June 29th! I'm just as concerned as you are academically, but I've been told OVER and OVER again that if you try hard, ask for help, and don't fall asleep in class you should be able to pass (even with some difficulty). I'm a recruited athlete, but even I've been told to start running ASAP. Indoc comes easier to those who show up in tip-top shape (or so they say). Can't wait!
 
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