nurseypoo

They sent a packet with class selections (you may or may not get what you chose), gate passes, and a "light" itenerary.

gael09

how long did it take from the time you sent in your registration fee to getting in this packet?...and for anyone that has already been to NASS, do they give out a lot of HW type of stuff for your classes?

nurseypoo

I think it was a couple of weeks for turn around time. When my son went two years ago, they didn't give him homework, exactly, but there were things he was expected to memorize and know.

hersheybear04

lol, the classes aren't "classes" in the sense that you go to class every day at school... they're more like informational sessions about different opportunities at the academy. you never take one class more than once.
however, we had to do "thought of the day" every day. you write about concerns, ideas, stuff about the day and turn it in to your squad leader. those are kind of like homework, i guess.
and of course you'll have to memorize the sheet of rates they give you at the beginning of the week. i wasn't asked any rates before indoc night except once when i sat at another squad's table during a meal, but most squad leaders will ask before indoc to make sure you're learning them. if your squad leader doesn't ask you about them, make sure to memorize them anyway, because you'll definitely need them on indoc night.

scubaguy17

yeah they dont give homework. dont worry about keeping your room clean either or anything of that sort. just go and have fun and learn about the academy. just a word of warning, on the night of mock sea trials you will have an hour or so of mock "plebe summer" where you will be yelled at and do pushups/pullups. memorize your rates at night to make this easier ESPECIALLY the mission statement. its a ton of fun though. no one should stress over NASS

mid_13

this is probably a stupid question, but when you say rates, what exactly are you talking about?
:P
thanks!

scubaguy17

nah its cool. rates are like pieces of knowledge and information that you are supposed to know. they will give you a sheet or two of paper with rates on them like the mission statement, 5th law of the navy, code of conduct, rank structure, etc. which is basically your entire NASS set of rates.

hersheybear04

it won't take long to memorize the rates, so don't worry about them too much. you'll notice very quickly that it's hard to stay awake in the classes so one thing i did, and i know a lot of other people did too, is write your rates over and over again in the notebook they give you. it may be boring and tedious but it keeps you awake and you learn your rates.

USMC0321

Mid_13,

Rates are what the Navy calles Ranks. It's also a commonly used term to describe the specialty or job of the person once they are in the fleet.

Marines don't use the term rates. They typically use rank and mos (military occupational specialty).

My daughter went to the summer seminar 2 this year and she loved it. She studied her rates when she felt like she was going to nod off. I had told ahead of time to make sure to do anything necessary to prevent nodding off.

The instructors have volunteered their time to come in and teach, it would be highly disrepectful to fall asleep when they are trying to teach.

James
Marine for Life