Update 8/3/2007: Our social network, formerly known as Get Into Academy N, is now at NewCadet.com!
We just launched our social network geared towards candidates applying to USMA, USNA, USAFA, USCGA or USMMA. Now you can interact with hundreds of other candidates on the same path, ask questions, and share knowledge about the admissions experience.
Even if you already have accounts on MySpace and Facebook, you should join NewCadet.com because it has a very focused theme dedicated to getting you into the service academy of your choice, and every other user on it has the same goal in mind.
Interested in assessing your competition in the applicant pool? Aside from attending a summer seminar at one of the academies, NewCadet.com is the best place to meet and connect with fellow applicants.
Ning
We chose to use Ning as our social networking platform instead of other available scripts because of its stability and simplicity. This social network is hosted for free on the Ning servers (for now) at http://www.newcadet.com. Best of all, all the functions of a social network such as personal profiles, private messaging, discussion boards, photo sharing, and blogging just work out the box with Ning.
As our website and the aforementioned social network grow, we will seek out donations and sponsorships. With these funds, we will purchase the source code from Ning, upgrade our web hosting plan to a dedicated server, and then offer a better user experience to our visitors with more services.
Better Than A Forum
When we were considering adding a “Social Web 2.0″ aspect to Get Into Academy, we had the choice to create either a forum or a social network. There are already very good forums on the topic of service academy admissions at Service Academy Forums, College Confidential, and Military.com. So we decided to take a fresh approach and try a MySpace-style social network just for service academy candidates.
Improved Sense Of Community
Pmarca, the founder of Ning, says that a social network is an “online environment where people have profiles and interact via one another via friend links, messages, invitations, discussions, and sharing videos, photos, and music.” Our hope is that you will use NewCadet.com to develop relationships with other candidates and get up to par on the application game, no matter where you live and what your circumstances are.
Express Yourself
Let’s congratulate Angel from the Bronx for being the first member to join our social network. As you can see on Angel’s personal profile page on NewCadet.com, the personal page has all the social networking features that you are probably familiar with from MySpace and Facebook: the wall, photos, friends, and groups. You can even customize the look and feel of your own page. But the coolest feature on this has to be the personal and group blogging: candidates on NewCadet.com blog about their progress in the admissions process, and all this knowledge is shared across the network.
DODMERB is an acronym for Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board, which you will complete during your senior year in high school. The DODMERB is required to get into the Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy.
At this point in the application, you are only one of two things in the eyes of the service academies: medically qualified or medically disqualified. Most candidates are not perfect humans and they were injured or sick at one point in their lives. Therefore, do not be surprised when you get the ominous disqualification letter from DODMERB. It’s okay because many medical issues can be bypassed with waivers.
The following are three tips to maximize your success rate with the DODMERB. One thing to mention before we go on is to never lie on the DODMERB. All of the service academies take pride in their honor codes, and you automatically void your qualification as an officer by lying during the admissions process before you even get in.
You Can Be Rationally Discrete
The DODMERB application is so painstakingly exact that it asks you about every possible medical issue that you may have had since your birth. For the sake of practicality, avoid mentioning the following:
- A medical condition that has not affected you in recent years (as in, when you were 5 years old).
- A minor condition that you diagnosed on your own but did not seek medical attention for because it was not serious.
If you use your common sense with this, you will figure out how to be discrete while not lying to DODMERB. And no, this is not the same thing as flirting with other girls and then “being discrete” by not telling your girlfriend about it (if you’re a guy).
If You Lie, Is It Worth The Risk?
No. Do not intentionally lie about any medical conditions that you may have had. This is the government that you are dealing with, and they can and will find out about every written record in your medical history, and you be assured that they do better detective work than a jealous girlfriend going through your cell phone. There may be leftover records in your high school transcript, and DODMERB requests your full medical records for confirmation for every minor issue.
It is better to be truthful on the DODMERB and risk the disqualification, which can be fixed with a waiver, rather than lie and risk being banned from the service academy admissions process altogether.
The Medical Waiver Is Your Savior
Waivers are a realistic possibility.
In my case, I fainted after sitting in a fire ant nest in 8th grade. The heavy dosage of poison caused an allergic reaction and my friend’s mom hauled me to the emergency room. I had to mention this on the DODMERB, and they disqualified me for it. But after filing for a waiver and making multiple calls to the Air Force Academy (where DODMERB is located), it went through and I passed the medical examination portion of admissions.
If you are taking the DODMERB medical exam, I congratulate you on making it this far in the admissions process.
Good luck at the Point, Class of 2011!
R-Day (Reception Day) at the US Military Academy at West Point is an awesome experience for both the new cadets and their present families. For the cadet, West Point’s R-Day marks his or her last day as a civilian for at least the next 8 years; for the parents, friends, and other family members, they watch their cadets begin their metamorphoses into leaders in the US Army.
Here are official photos from R-Day 2007 held on July 2nd, 2007.
Most people know off-hand that the US Military Academy, the US Naval Academy, and the US Air Force Academy are all military-related institutions. But you would be surprised by the percentage of Americans who do not know the category or role of the US Coast Guard Academy or the US Merchant Marine Academy. One out of five people thinks that the Coast Guard is an extension of the state police that patrols the beaches, while hardly anyone even knows what the merchant marine is.
Although lesser known, the Coast Guard Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy are just as important to our nation’s defense and well-being. Accordingly, the duties of Coast Guard and Merchant Marine officers are on the same level of prestige as those in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. So, after reading the information below, consider applying to either of these schools as a back-up if one is not already your number one choice.
Coast Guard Academy at New London, CT
The USCGA is a military-affiliated service academy, but the Academy has two faces: civilian and military.
On the civilian side, the Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security, unlike the Army or Navy which are part of the Department of Defense. During this time, the Coast Guard performs the following duties:
- Maritime law enforcement
- Mariner assistance
- Search and rescue operations
Then, on the military side, the Coast Guard falls under the authority of the Navy during war-time and participates in international military operations when needed.
Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY
First of all, what is the “merchant marine”? The US Merchant Marine is the collective body of every commercial ship and vessel operating under the flag of the United States of America. But don’t get confused by the title, because more than a third of USMMA graduates enter the military as active-duty commissioned officers.
USMMA graduates have the most diverse future options upon graduation out of all the service academies. First, the USMMA is a military-affiliated service academy because a graduate can receive a commission to any branch in the military: Navy, Coast Guard, Marines, Army, or Air Force. Obviously, with the water-based nature of the Academy, most graduates choose to become commissioned officers in the US Navy.
Next, USMMA graduates also have the choice of serving on board civilian merchant vessels. This includes a wide variety of operations such as commercial shipping, maritime law, overseas trade, coastal and inland transportation, and marine research. Choosing the merchant marine route is especially attractive because a USMMA graduate can command at least an annual salary $70,000 the first year out of school.
The West Point “boot letter” is somewhat of an excitement for accepted candidates. The boot letter follows right after your West Point acceptance plaque, so if you have that in your hands it means you are swept in the middle of a transition period between civilian and West Point cadet. Also, the West Point boots will probably be your first purchase towards the Academy.
More On The Boot Letter
Haven’t received the boot letter yet? After you acknowledge your acceptance to West Point with the Admissions office by returning a small card, log onto your USMA candidate account and print the boot letter.
The boot letter is essentially a permission form that allows you to purchase Army issue boots: 2 pairs of hot weather combat boots and 1 pair of low quarters. West Point lets you to buy these boots months in advance from R-Day because you need to break them in. Save yourself the upcoming pain and agony by breaking in those boots before you arrive at West Point.
About Army Boot Sizes
Don’t expect to match up your sneaker size with your combat boots and low quarters. Generally, you will find yourself jumping down 2 shoe sizes for the Army boots. That’s why the preferred way of buying these boots is to try them on at a physical store. However, you can find much better deals if you buy the boots online or from catalogs. So you need to know the right places to shop for your West Point boots.
Belleville 390 Hot Weather Boots
The Belleville 390 is the most popular boot among West Point cadets. The Belleville 390 is known to be:
- Very comfortable. Some cadets claim they substitute the 390’s for their sneakers.
- Durable and will last a life-time without any serious damage.
- Lightweight.
- And most importantly, easy to break in.
Some other cool features on the Belleville 390 are:
- Approved as part of the ACU
- Leather is water resistant
- Practical polyurethane removable insert
- Thick CORDURA nylon fabric
Click Here to Buy US Army Approved Belleville 390’s
Commercial vs Issue Boots
One important thing to note while buying boots for West Point is that you have to make sure they are Army issue boots. Army boot manufacturers like Belleville, Altama, and Corcoran make both commercial and issue versions of each of their boots. The easiest and most effective way to discriminate whether a boot is commercial or issue is to look for brand logos. If a brand logo is visible on the outside of the boot, it is obviously a commercial version and you do not want to take those to West Point.
Click Here for a List of Army Issue Boots
Your Boot Buying Options for West Point
- Don’t purchase anything. Show up at West Point with just your body. West Point will issue you the 3 pairs of boots upon arrival. Free? No, everything will be charged to your cadet bank account and your pay will be deducted from there.
- Buy 1 pair of combat boots and 1 pair of low quarters. Break both of them in, and let West Point issue you the remaining pair of combat boots on R-Day. Pro: Less baggage if you are traveling from far away. Con: Still need to break in that one bitch of a boot.
- Buy 2 pairs of combat boots and 1 pair of low quarters, break them all in, and arrive at West Point prepared and ready to roll. Watch the unprepared cadets go through hell as they attempt to break in their brand-new boots while being hazed on R-Day.
