UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY
West Point, New York
The Academy
The United States Military Academy, the nation's oldest service academy, offers young men and women one of the premier education and leadership development programs in the nation. West Point advocates the whole person concept. The Military Academy has, since its founding in 1802, provided a broadly structured undergraduate curriculum that balances the physical sciences and engineering with the behavioral and social sciences.
West Point's mission is to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of duty, honor, and country; professional growth throughout a career as an officer in the United States Army; and a lifetime of selfless service to the nation. The Military Academy provides its graduates with a solid foundation for intellectual and moral/ethical growth that is essential for successfully handling high-level responsibilities in national service. When students enter West Point, they are also beginning a profession. Upon graduation, cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army and are normally required to serve on active duty for at least five years.
There are more than 4,100 men and women enrolled at West Point. Cadets compete for Rhodes, Olmsted, Gates Cambridge, George Mitchell, Hertz, National Science Foundation, Rotary Foundation, Truman, East-West Center, and Marshall scholarships. West Pointers who remain in the Army are normally selected to attend civilian graduate schools in the United States or abroad between their fourth and tenth years of service.
The Academy develops the nation's future Army leaders by immersing cadets in programs of academic, military, and physical development. Each of these programs is rooted in principles of ethical-moral development, epitomized by the Academy motto, Duty, Honor, Country. The Academy provides cadets with opportunities to observe and practice leadership and to develop vital intellectual and interpersonal skills through formal instruction. The honor code simply states: A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. The code is a source of pride and mutual trust essential in the profession of arms.
In addition to academic and military education, cadets participate in athletic and extracurricular activities. Cadets have distinguished themselves in twenty-five intercollegiate varsity sports: baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, indoor track, lacrosse, outdoor track, soccer, sprint football, swimming, tennis, and wrestling for men and basketball, cross-country, indoor track, outdoor track, rifle, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball for women.
West Point's modern academic facilities are matched by its athletic facilities. Michie Stadium, home of the Army football team, attracts crowds in excess of 39,000 during picturesque fall football weekends. The Kimsey Athletic Center and the Hoffman Press Box are completed, and Randolph Hall is expected to be completed in 2006. The Gross Center is used as a gymnastics and multisport practice and competition facility. Adjacent to Michie Stadium is the Holleder Athletic Center, a multisport complex housing a hockey rink with seating for 2,746 and a basketball arena with a 5,045-seat capacity. The huge Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center renovation is planned to be completed in 2006. West Point has a track stadium, a new softball complex, a baseball stadium, an indoor tennis facility, and numerous athletic fields, outdoor tennis courts, and outdoor swimming facilities. Victor Constant Ski Slope is used for instructional and recreational skiing. A redesigned 18-hole golf course is also located on the Academy grounds.
There are more than 100 organized extracurricular activities, including mountaineering, hunting, fishing, scuba diving, archery, team handball, and orienteering clubs as well as clubs that compete on a national or intercollegiate level in crew, orienteering, power lifting, handball, rugby, sport parachuting, triathlon, horseback riding, sailing, judo, karate, bowling, and marathon running. There are academic clubs, including mathematics, language, and electronics clubs; the Cadet Fine Arts Forum; Model United Nations; and the Debate Council. The Student Conference on United States Affairs has met for more than thirty years.
Location
The military reservation, consisting of more than 16,000 acres, overlooks the Hudson River, 50 miles north of New York City.
Majors and Degrees
Cadets may choose an academic concentration from forty-two majors. A cadet may study applied science and engineering; art, philosophy, and literature; basic sciences; behavioral sciences; chemistry and life science; civil engineering; computer science; economics; electrical engineering; engineering management; environmental engineering; environmental science; foreign area studies (Latin American, Western Europe, Middle East, Eastern Europe, and East Asia); foreign languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish or any two); geography; history; law and legal studies; management; mathematical sciences; mechanical engineering; military art and science; nuclear engineering; operations research; physics; political science; social sciences; and systems engineering as well as many others.
Academic Programs
The academic program at the United States Military Academy provides cadets with a broad background in the arts and sciences and prepares them for future graduate study. The total curriculum is designed to develop essential character, competence, and intellectual ability in an officer. The core curriculum is the cornerstone of the academic program and provides a foundation in mathematics, basic sciences, engineering sciences, information technology, humanities, behavior sciences, and social sciences. The core curriculum, ranging in size from twenty-six to thirty courses, depending on the major, represents the essential broad base of knowledge necessary for success as a commissioned officer while also supporting each cadet's choice of academic specialization.
Classes at West Point are small, averaging 12 to 18 cadets per section. Cadets receive individual attention, and tutorial sessions are available upon request. Advanced and honors courses are available to cadets having exceptional ability.
All cadets study military science and receive classroom instruction in the principles of small-unit tactics and leadership in eight semester courses. Concentrated summer field training provides each cadet with the opportunity to learn and practice individual military skills and to apply the principles of tactics and leadership studied in the classroom.
Off-Campus Programs
During the summer before their first (freshman) academic year, cadets are initiated into the Military Academy through a Cadet Basic Training program. Uniforms, room inspections, military drill, parades, and physical exercise become part of everyday life, and extensive demands are made upon new cadets to foster maturity, perseverance, and ability to succeed when challenged. All cadets complete Cadet Field Training (CFT) during their second summer at West Point. The emphasis in Cadet Field Training is on advanced individual skills and small unit tactics in order to create competent, confident leaders for the Army. Extensive training on infantry operations, artillery firing, weapons training, Army aviation, military engineering, and land navigation make up most of this training experience. CFT also provides a powerful leadership experience that develops the leadership skills and abilities of the first and second class cadets. Operation Highland Warrior, a ten-day tactical field exercise that focuses on the combined arms close fight, is the capstone event of Cadet Field Training. During Operation Highland Warrior, cadets execute air assault raids and lead fire ambushes and defensive operations. Cadets are also exposed to the heavy forces of the Army (armor, artillery, air defense, and aviation) when they deploy to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for a week of Mounted Maneuver Training. The highlights of this training event are a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise, which allows the cadets to see all of the Army's most lethal fighting systems operating as a team on the battlefield, and Operation Thunderbolt Strike, a mounted force-on-force battle where cadet companies engage each other in M1A2 tanks.
All cadets complete Cadet Advanced Training during their last two summers at West Point. Cadet Advanced Training consists of three parts: attendance at a military school, serving in a field Army unit, and serving in a leadership position at West Point during Cadet Basic Training or Cadet Field Training. Cadets can attend one of many United States Army military schools, which include Airborne School, Air Assault School, the Sapper Leader's Course, and the Combat Diver Qualification Course. First class cadets also participate in Cadet Troop Leading Training (CTLT). CTLT is a thirty-day troop-leading experience during which cadets go to a field Army unit and perform the day-to-day functions of a platoon leader. Each summer, more than 1,000 cadets participate in CTLT at more than twenty-seven locations worldwide. Selected second class cadets may participate in the Drill Cadet Leader Program (DCLT) instead of CTLT. During DCLT, second class cadets serve as company executive officers and platoon trainers in basic training units. DCLT is conducted at major training installations such as Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Each summer, approximately 40 second class cadets participate in DCLT. During one of their last two summers at West Point, second and first class cadets are also required to serve in various leadership positions, from platoon leader to Regimental Commander, in Cadet Basic Training or Cadet Field Training. Here, they further develop their leadership skills while teaching, training, and leading new cadets or third class cadets in a demanding, fast-paced environment.
Academic Facilities
West Point maintains some of the finest facilities and equipment in the world. There is a personal computer or laptop computer at every desk, and everyone is connected to a large array of powerful academic computing services at West Point, with unlimited access to the Internet. West Point has carefully crafted an electronic environment in which virtually every course offered has integrated computer use. This developmental computer thread fosters cadet use of personal computers in the barracks. Computer-aided math, design, and simulation; dynamic news sources; worldwide e-mail; spreadsheets; statistical analysis; database access; library bibliographic research; and electronic bulletin boards; document preparation, and printing, among other resources, all contribute to an academic environment rich with information resources and electronic media tools. Among the research facilities are general and physical chemistry laboratories and engineering, analog computer, digital computer, electromagnetic energy, electronics, physics, solid-state, hydraulic turbine, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, nuclear science, free flight, rocket testing, land locomotion, and wind tunnel laboratories. The modern 600,000-volume library contains reading rooms, seminar rooms, and microfilm and audiovisual facilities.
Costs
The cost of the four-year West Point experience, including tuition, room, board, and medical and dental expenses, is paid by the U.S. government. Cadets, as members of the Army, receive an annual salary of approximately $9200, which helps to pay for uniforms, books, a personal computer, supplies, and incidental living expenses. A deposit of $2400 to $3000 is required to cover the initial uniform costs, a personal computer, and other incidental services (haircuts, laundry, etc.) during the first year.
Financial Aid
There are no financial aid programs because expenses are paid by the U.S. government. Scholarship awards may be used by candidates to offset the cost of the initial deposit.
Faculty
Most faculty members are Army officers who hold advanced degrees from civilian colleges and universities; approximately 30 percent have earned doctorates. The teaching faculty numbers nearly 500 and includes civilian professors and several visiting professors from civilian academic institutions. Because many of the faculty members are Academy alumni and most are Army officers, the faculty has unusual rapport with the cadets. The student-faculty ratio is 8:1. Typical class size is16.
Student Government
All cadets are strongly encouraged to serve in positions of student leadership and to seek responsibility as a means of enhancing their effectiveness as leaders. Cadets manage the social program, the Cadet Honor System, the intramural athletic program, and a wide range of extracurricular activities.
Admission Requirements
Admission is open to all unmarried U.S. citizens who are at least 17 and have not yet had their 23rd birthday on July1 of the desired year of admission. They must have no legal responsibility to support a dependent (e.g., a child). West Point offers equal admission opportunities for all qualified applicants. Candidates for West Point must seek a nomination from a legal authority (usually a member of Congress), preferably in the spring of the junior year in high school. All candidates must take either the standardized timed ACT or the SAT. Applicants must also pass a Qualifying Medical Examination and a Candidate Fitness Assessment test.
The Directorate of Admissions has a rolling admissions process. The sooner a candidate's admissions file is complete, it is evaluated by the admissions committee. All applicants must complete their admissions file by the first Monday in March.
Application and Information
Prospective candidates should write to Admissions, stating their interest in the Military Academy. Each applicant will be sent a Candidate Questionnaire and Prospectus, which outlines the West Point entrance requirements. All applicants are encouraged to start a candidate file at West Point at the end of their junior year or as soon thereafter as possible. This allows for early completion of all candidate file requirements. The easiest way to open an admissions file is to visit the Web site at the address below and fill out a candidate questionnaire online. There is also additional information on the admissions process to answer most candidate questions.
