Validation

MaryMom

5-Year Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2010
Messages
21
Do parents get any info on what their plebe validated out of? When do they meet up with their academic counselor?
 
No, parents aren't notified about validation (@ least, they weren't when my 1/C was a plebe). You'll be surprised by all you aren't notified about, although civilian colleges don't tell parents much these days, either.

Sorry, I forget when my Mid first met w/ his ac adviser.
 
Our Plebe told us about validating classes during the phone call last Sunday. She also mentioned that she was meeting with the academic adviser this past week. Not sure all of them are on the same schedule though.
 
Our son also mentioned validating some classes during our phone call...did not mention any advising meetings though.
 
Do parents get any info on what their plebe validated out of?

Parents get nada unless their mid chooses to tell them. Seriously. You don't get their schedules, their grades, their PT scores or anything else. The ONLY way a parent learns anything about what is happening to their mid in terms of academics and other stuff is if their mid tells them or gives permission for USNA to tell them. For example, in my day, mids could opt to have their parents receive copies of their grades.
 
Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to ask my Plebe these questions the next time we speak.
 
I remember that paper in the packet on which my son gave the academy permission to send us info. He also opted for his nominating source to receive his grades...thought that would motivate him to work harder. I thought that was brave, or nutty...:biggrin:

My suggestion: Put the validation and academic counselor questions on the list of things to ask when they call on the 25th! OR, send a questionnaire with mutiple choices (like mentioned in some of the earlier threads) and ask specific questions.
 
A little OT but something worth mentioning. Your Academic Advisor/Counselor at USNA really isn't that involved with you -- or at least wasn't in my day. I think the reasons include: (1) everyone must graduate in 4 yrs, so there's no need to discuss how to get it done, (2) there are limited majors so there's not a lot of discussion about what to major in, (3) it's VERY hard to change your major (other than a specific engineering course to "general" engineering and a few other possible changes), and (4) there aren't a lot of choices in terms of what courses to take because there are so many required courses both in and out of your major.

Thus, many of the things regular college kids have to deal with aren't an issue at USNA. Academics largely takes care of itself and there isn't all that much "advising" to be done.
 
Our DS opted to have his MOC receive his grades as well. After sitting at the kitchen table for about fifteen minutes, he decided that he would also let us see his grades. I never did see that he actually went through with it and checked the parent box! :yllol:
 
DS's girlfriend just got a letter today and he said he validated Calc 1 and will go into Honors Calc 2, but we haven't heard anything from plebe first hand.
 
The only need for your Plebes academic advisor is to approve the schedule that your Mid has come up with and possibly make sure they are not doing anything stupid that could cause a problem with graduating on time (not an option)

All of the Plebes in their company will be assigned to one of two advisors assigned to that company. After they pick their major in the spring they will get their advisor who will be from that department. My son's experience is they do not do much of anything. You just cant register for classes without their approval. For Plebes that validate a high number of courses -that group has their own advisor. I do not know for sure what the cut off is other than my son validated enough to be in that group.

As for those forms that you filled out having grades sent to you and your nominating source - LOL that was to make you all feel good. We filled out those forms, as did most of his friends and not a single one of us ever received a copy of their grades nor did my son's nominating source. The Mids will get their grades on line right after finals. They will be logging into MIDS on an hourly basis looking for each class to be posted (or they may avoid it like the plague) Anyway they will know their grades within a few days of getting home for the holidays. Order of merit however is not reported on the grade report and they will not know that until they report back for second semester. Order of merit is calculated sometime after the Academic Boards meet at reform. After Spring Semesters the OOM showed up on MIDS about two weeks after the grades were posted.
 
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