<p>Learning academic skills and habits, as well as keeping physically fit are already pretty evident, so i’ll just move over to other things that no one mentions.</p>
<p>The first thing that comes to mind, is to start saving and get into a habit of being financially responsible. You get paid a lot at NAPS in comparison to the Academy; $950 a month. Essentially everyone blew their money on a lot of useless crap, a “trend” or two sweeps across and everyone must have a better version of that than anyone else. Example in my year was tobacco pipes, not that many people smoked regularly or was addicted but it became a thing to enjoy a cigar or a pipe on occasion with friends. That in itself was not a problem, but people started buying more expensive pipes that went up as high as a few thousand dollars to have the “best” one. Ridiculous, so keep your eyes out for that and avoid it. I like talking to Napsters that arrive in the newer classes and they all have the same stories: pipes, knives, sports gear, computers. It’s not a bad thing to have them but just be aware of the need/price ratio and keep it reasonable. There are so many things to do at the academy but it requires money, examples are SCUBA club, Skydiving Club, and NOLS (~$4000 but every one of my friends who went says it’s completely worth it, it’s like a summer training opportunity to hike mountains in Alaska and what not). So save money! But do actually go out and enjoy Providence, and other cities nearby. </p>
<p>So yea, first advice to learn to save money, second is to know your ranks inside and out. I heard that Master Gunnery Sergeant Ford is still killing napsters for calling him Senior Chief. There are also a lot of enlisted sailors/marines and officers in the area, and it’s important that you are able to recognize them and give respect when it’s due. A lot of my friends got in trouble with that. And if you’re like me with bad eyesight and don’t wear glasses regularly, and you’re in a situation where you can’t distinguish an officer from a chief, I found it more forgiving to not salute an officer than saluting a Chief. It’s best that you learn all of that ahead of time.</p>
<p>Also, they have rates for you to memorize. I know a lot of people suggest that you should learn all of them ahead of time so you can keep out of being yelled at or the stress of memorizing things quickly in short notice. I’d say don’t bother and instead enjoy your time as much as possible while you’re away at home. They give you literally hours of standing time to memorize things.</p>
<p>Bring a car, 11-13 hour drive from Virginia is totally worth the ability to drive.</p>
<p>Lastly, and probably most importantly is to study physics while you can, and regardless of what track you test into, always ask to be placed in the advanced. Reason being is that it all starts the same, they all start from the very beginning so it’s not like you’re going in needing prerequisite knowledge. But advanced does move a lot quicker and through more material. Professors there are fantastic so I doubt you’d have a hard time, and also they are the only ones that allow validation tests while still at NAPS, which is great because the alternative requires you to try to retain it over the summer. </p>
<p>There’s more, but I’ve already written a short essay so I may come back.</p>