United States Military Academy—West Point

Student Life

From the minute you arrive at the Academy, you're in the Army. A first-year cadet is given the rank of cadet fourth-class, and to upperclassmen there is no lower creature on Earth. Cadets fourth class are at the beck and call of the cadets first class. This system is encouraged by the administration as a way of orienting new cadets to military life, and while there are occasional abuses, this system usually works. "You have to remember when you were a plebe (cadet fourth class), and it gives you a level of compassion," says a West Point upperclassman. "By the time you're a cadet first class you know and believe in the system, and you're less likely to abuse it."

Much of a cadet's day is devoted to academic and military exercises, which does limit social opportunities. Sports are the primary form of extracurricular activity, largely because exercise is a required part of the program. Every cadet participates in an intercollegiate, club, or intramural level sport each semester, and cadets are regularly tested to ensure they remain in prime physical condition. Sports also reinforce the all-important concept of teamwork. About a third of the cadets participate in Army's 25 men's and women's varsity teams, and the annual Army-Navy ("Squid School") game is a traditional grudge match.

The Cadet Honor Code, which states "A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do," is strictly observed. Pointers are largely sheltered from the college temptations of drinking, drugs, and sex, which allows them to devote what little leisure they have to 100 extracurricular activities like the campus radio station WKDT and Big Brother-Big Sister. Religious activities are also popular.

Approximately 15 percent of West Point cadets are women. Currently there are nine Muslim cadets, more visible since the 9/11 attacks (a Muslim cadet states that Pointers are more enlightened than the average American about Islam—Arabic is a major at USMA).