Prep Scholars

ABraden · 07-24-2008, 10:40 PM

The Prep Scholars will arrive at the Academy on Sunday, July 27.

Good luck Preps! Stick together, grow together, and return together next summer to USCGA.

sweetness62 · 07-25-2008, 12:36 PM

Excuse my ignorance but--What are prep scholars? How long to they attend the Academy this summer? How is what they are attending different from AIM? Will they be part of the CGA class of 2013?

Stitch626 · 07-26-2008, 09:03 AM

Thanks ABraden! I'm the mother of a Prep Scholar and we are leaving today to head up to Connecticut. Reporting time is 12-3PM -- she wants to be there at 12! We are going along so we can see the Swearing-In Ceremony. Are there any other Prep Scholars or their parents on this forum? Our D is then going to MMI, so she will be home for a few days before heading off to Alabama.

ABraden · 07-26-2008, 09:52 AM

Our son will travel alone to USCGA. We visited the Academy last summer during AIM and once again in the fall, so he is comfortable going alone. He takes an early morning flight on Sunday.

Today, we'll have a going away party for him. Then back up for his new life!

It's going to be a wonderful year long experience for our kids. I am delighted with his choice to become a Prep Scholar. Hope to meet you one day soon. I plan to attend a lot of the NMMI football games in the fall.

ABraden · 07-26-2008, 10:01 AM

Approximately 60 Prep Scholars will participate in a year long college prep program at military colleges such as NMMI USCGA Prep

These Preps will return to USCGA next year as swabies - The 2013 class.

Bossf51 · 07-27-2008, 07:40 AM

AB it's swabs...ha ha

First lesson for the new parents...good luck to your kids, it's a great ride they're starting.

ABraden · 07-27-2008, 09:50 AM

Thanks for the correction. I've got a lot to learn for sure...

JustAMomOf4 · 07-27-2008, 10:21 AM

ABraden and my friend Stitch - I wish your kids the best this year. Both MMI and NMMI prepare kids well for the academies. It will not be an easy year, nor necessarily "fun" (until the year is over!) but if they are like my daughter they will be glad for it.
Not only does this year prepare them well academically, physically and militarily for CGA they will have an opportunity to meet plenty of kids on their way to not only CGA but the other academies as well. They will leave having made some lifelong friendships, this I am sure of.
Best wishes!

Stitch626 · 07-27-2008, 06:28 PM

Well, we are just back to our hotel room, from dropping our Scholars off for Orientation. Swearing In ceremony was nice. Got to talk to our D for 5 minutes afterwards - she said it was crazy - I guess the "in your face" stuff. She already made a couple of friends - the facebook site the CG set up for them beforehand really helped break the ice, so she almost knew them before she met some of them. Since our D is going to Marion, we will see her in a little over a week. Then we leave for Marion on 8/13. And, so it starts...

Thanks JAMO4 - the journey has now begun!

Stitch626 · 08-15-2008, 03:17 PM

To keep this thread alive as infomation for future CGAS (Coast Guard Academy Prep Scholars), I dropped my D off yesterday at Marion Military Institute for her Prep School year. Some things I really liked -- because all the CG Preps (or most of them) arrived in uniform and already knew each other from Orientation, there was a lower discomfort level about the unknown. The Coast Guard has this figured out the best of all the branches (no prejudice - LOL). They migrated towards each other during the registration process and even at the Reception at the Dean's house in the evening. I thought some of the other kids looked more nervous than our CG kids. Also, in their CG uniform, they were readily recognizable to the leadership - LCDR Meisenheimer, their advisor, came over and talked to them. It seemed like he had memorized each cadet's resume (at least our D's) - told her there were only 2 chiefs at the school (she has been a chief in Sea Cadet for several years), she could do Band, but not Drama -- all stuff she has done in the past. It certainly gave us a feeling of a personal touch. All the other administrative staff and teachers were equally nice and personable. LT Brunaugh (CGA Admissions - Prep Scholars Program) also flew down and gave the CGA kids a "go to" person - she answered any and all our crazy questions. The reception at the Dean's house was nice, but crowded. Since we were running around all day trying to get room problems solved, we missed lunch and dinner, so the reception was good for putting something in our empty bellies. Once again, I was impressed that the Dean recognized my D's name and knew which branch of service she was going into (& that was alot of kids and their parents!) After the reception, they let the kids with parents go out until 9 - 10PM (the time kept changing, so I made sure to get my D, her roomie & another friend back before 9). We made a mad dash run to Walmart - 30 miles away! I think they really enjoyed that last bit of freedom! Today is supposed to be a pretty light day while all the other cadets arrive & then ?"Rock Week"? starts at midnight (we think - that was an inside tip). We are assuming Rock Week is their Orientation - not sure if it goes much past the weekend because they start meeting with advisors on Monday, have placement tests & get their class schedule then. Classes start next Thursday.
The only thing I really wasn't crazy about was the condition of my D's room - it seemed to bug me more than her, but the room had peeling paint on the wall where her head was going to be (she is top bunk). You would have thought they might try to fix that in the summers. One thing that has changed to the positive is they now have air conditioning in the girls dorm (apparently this is a change from last year made since they are now a State School & had to make some upgrades to meet code).
Anyway, as I hear more, I will try to pass it on here for future Prep students heading to MMI.

Bossf51 · 08-16-2008, 06:55 AM

Nice job stitch. Great info for future scholars. We need more diversity at the Academy and this should help. Good luck to the future coasties!

zachogden · 08-18-2008, 06:31 PM

all of us really respect the scholars for what they go through to get here. big ups to them, they'll have a leg up when they get here (our prepsters were way ahead of the game this summer).

Stitch626 · 09-20-2008, 11:15 AM

My D has been at MMI for a little over a month now. Even though I can't relate the experience directly, I can still offer a (non-military) parent's perspective of what it sounds like she is experiencing and I will attempt to do that here.

At MMI, they never completely took away the cadets electronic communication (phones or computers). They just don't give them much time to be able to use them. I found that if I e-mailed my D around 6:30AM EST, chances are I might get a quick phone call or response right away (5:30AM CST), so, I guess she was getting up REALLY early! Also, I always keep my phone with me because she would occasionally call me for 5 minutes here or there (usually around lunch or dinner time).

The first month, they went through an orientation of sorts - squaring their meals, squaring corners, no desserts, running everywhere and doing crazy (to an outsider) stuff when they went up the stairs or downstairs in the barracks (don't really understand it, but sounds like she had to yell certain things, do certain things, etc). They were Crested last weekend (9/13), so now they can get packages of goodies and get some freedoms. They can also move up in rank. My D and her roommate were promoted to Staff Sargeants of their companies (both are CGA Scholars). It sounds like the Orientation done at the Academy really give the CGA cadets a leg up on leadership -- my D has said several of the CGA cadets are in leadership positions (and there are only 10 - 15 of them at MMI --- most go to NMMI).

Classes are challenging. I believe they were tested during orientation at the Academy for placement in classes. All the CGA Scholars are taking Chemistry, Physics, Calculus and English Composition in addition to the Military History, etc courses required by MMI. My D said she had something like 21 credits, but I'm not sure how she added it all up. They were also taking a SAT Prep class & I know she has registered for the October SAT test, so maybe we will soon see how that has paid off. I'm not sure what they are doing to keep them physically fit - my D mentions PT, but no details. She did say they took a fitness test recently and she did better on pushups, situps and her run than she did at the Academy, so that is good news.

Religion - they are in the middle of Baptist country (I googled churches in Marion, AL and it listed 22 Baptist churches in Marion!). They have some other Protestant churches in town, but my D has to travel to Selma to go to church (Catholic). She has, however, joined a non-denominational Bible/Prayer group that meets with students from MMI and Judson College (a women's college in Marion). I'm not sure how often they meet, but she has made some friends there. I also told her to look at this as part of her education -- a chance to learn about different faiths.

The last thing I'll put in this update is the unique experience she and the other cadets had last month. Due to the evacuation of New Orleans for hurricane Gustav, there were 100+ evacuees residing in the MMI Athletic Center for about one week. The Red Cross asked for cadet volunteers to assist in setting up and distributing food, etc to the evacuees. A good experience for the cadets since the Coast Guard is so humanitarian/ rescue oriented.

Does she like it there? I believe so! She sounds relatively happy and feels like she is doing well, so, as her parents, my husband & I are grateful to the Academy for giving her this opportunity. We believe it is going to give her a greater chance for sucess when she goes to USCGA next year! I'm going to MMI next month for Parent's Weekend, so hopefully I'll have more to post then.

Bossf51 · 09-20-2008, 08:55 PM

Great job! I'm just back from the CGA parent's weekend festivities...great weather, games, etc. etc. My son's last one...saw tons of people I know. Excellent day.

One thing that upset me...I was speaking with a nice African-American lad from Georgia. He is in my son's class of 2009. He told me there are only four AA kids left in the class. I believe there were about 16-20 to start off.

While there is always attrition, it is too bad that these numbers are so low. The CGA and the CG itself needs to be more diverse.

Without drawing any conclusions, I feel the CGA scholars program will help to address this issue. We can't have an All caucasian Guard just like we would never have an all-caucasian Army or Navy.

They need to do more to increase the numbers. I hope your daughter will be part of the changes. And I don't know her ethnicity or care. Just saying the program is great.

BTW the CGA is great place to be! She will love it.