When I was young in the 70's I desperatly wanted to go to the Academy, but my parents just couldn't afford it....When I turned 17, I was talked into going into the Navy, and regretted my decision (I had a great time though)...After I got out of the Navy, I finally enlisted into the Corps when I was 28 years old. Boot camp was hard as shit, but I made it and served 8 years in the Corps. Proud to be a Marine and proud of these young men that got the chance to go to the academy. Semper Fi

I attended in my sophomore year, 72-73! In my junior and senior years back at public school I missed the Academy! Didn't appreciate it until I was no longer there! If you can get a full scholarship, go for it! Or not! I just read the comments of others and things/people have changed over the last 50trs! I got picked on maybe once or twice mildly, nothing else and I was a malcontent! No one got beaten up, tortured or unfairly treated by staff, DI's, or cadet officers! If the quality of people has so degenerated, as comments suggest, then I would ,today, think twice about going unless I was 6' tall, 200lbs and an blackbelt.

Omg I remember summer of 2019 if was hard but worth it

I knew a Pvt. Zumock who went there back in the 80's...did not prepare him for life at all. He is now a failed standup comic living in poverty just outside Tampa, FL. His folk spent THOUSANDS on this school, with lackluster results. If you really want your child to reach for the stars then I would look elsewhere. ✨️

I attended their 2020 summer camp and every day I was there, I wished I wasn't. It got to the point where about 3 weeks in, I was coming up with a plan to sneak off the campus and make it to a gas station so I could call my parents back home. I didn't go through with it because it did involve dropping out of a window and falling maybe 16 feet? something around that. Also, overall, it was just a bit of a shitty plan. The sergeants I had were surprisingly empathetic people and I do respect their willingness to listen to their cadets, but it did not change that MMA is fundamentally a bad place for children. It strips you of your individuality and greatly limits your ability to express yourself and it perpetuates some ... not so great values about what it means to be a strong man.

I went here 93-94 and while it wasn’t some crazy, lawless asylum, it could definitely be stressful at times and on occasion, some serious shit would go down and people would get hurt badly. It wasn’t always bad though, and generally speaking, if you acted right, didn’t start shit with people, didn’t cause trouble, you’d be alright, but there were a few people who got picked on horribly and some of them would retaliate in a very brutal fashion. I know a couple of the people who went there with me who were on the news for a couple of reasons and I will say that they definitely didn’t have an easy time at that school- one was just picked on because he was different, the other was a complete jackass and instigator. The thing about that school was that there were people who genuinely wanted to be there and took it seriously and then there were more than a few people who did not want to be there who would cause all kinds of trouble and sometimes others would have to pay for it too. The ones who caused problems usually ended up being absolutely miserable and on occasion they would get violently assaulted when they’ve taken their bullshit too far and ended up pissing off the wrong people who were more than happy to oblige with beating the troublemaker with foxtail brushes and locks in socks. If you messed up, especially academically or in school, you’d either be sent to the barracks boiler room or they’d run your shower full blast hot and steam out your bathroom, you’d have to wear your PT gear, your sweatpants and sweatshirt, your windbreaker and your raincoat, and they’d make you hold your arms straight out like a T and put a few thick textbooks in your hands. If you dropped the textbooks, you’d have to PT and do push-ups, sit-ups, mountain climbers, etc. Then you’d have to hold the books up again and as soon as you dropped them, you’d PT again. 🤣 Another thing that sometimes would happen, especially if someone who held rank was pissed off and on a warpath, as soon as the Drill Instructor turned into his attached house for the night, the pissed off cadet would haze the shit out of people they didn’t like or people who pissed them off. They weren’t loud about it and they’d keep others with rank out of the loop and just have a field day. There were guys who had rank who were cool as hell, did a great job leading, treated people with respect and didn’t lose their tempers, and then there were guys with rank who were terrible leaders, who were bullies who picked on people, who had horrible tempers and had no reservations about getting physical with people. From kicking peoples hands if they were caught with them in their pocket to throwing punches and assaulting the person. Like I said though- it wasn’t all bad and usually, the people who had it the worst were the ones who were always causing problems. When I was there, I did what I was supposed to do, I didn’t make waves, I didn’t cause problems and so I never had any real problems. There were a few people who would give me a little bit of shit on occasion but never anything that made me fear for my safety or anything. But other people who caused a lot of problems weren’t so lucky and they caught some serious beatings. On the positive side, I made really good grades because there is 2 hours of mandatory study time every night Sunday through Thursday. 🤣 The food wasn’t all that bad either and you’re not forced to take stuff you don’t like (sans if you’re being punished.)

Hate ur kid? They'll have a great time here

They said hydrate, I took that too far and pissed myself, hydrate is a lie, do not drink your whole pack within an hour

Not that this will change anything but why are cadets wearing the EGA? I understand the similar ties that your academy is trying to have to my beloved Corps, but just like your rank insignia you should be using something different. The EGA is something that us Devil Dogs have have shed blood sweat and tears over to earn. I don't feel that the cadets in your program have earned that right yet?

Is it irvington or east orange

Do not go here. Trust me it's not worth it. I went for 2 summers and 1 school year.

Not real marines