United States Military Academy at West PointLocal Atmosphere Summary

Written by Ryan Peckyno

Ryan Peckyno

Hometown

Bradford, Pa.

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The majority of the students at West Point are fully enamored with the Academy and are simply amazed at how beautiful campus is. However, almost no one is impressed with the town of Highland Falls; attractions and entertainment are few and far-between. Even if you did want to get out there, cadets at West Point have little time for wandering around outside of campus.

The Academy really knows how to keep its students busy, but that doesn't stop upperclassmen from breaking away when they get the chance. The most popular diversion from campus life is a trip to New York City, where all the real action is. Students definitely have to love the outdoors to enjoy the local atmosphere. There is not an especially large amount of dating because of the ratio of men to women. This aspect of West Point can be unnerving to some cadets. However, once cadets become upperclassmen, they can fan out and meet women in NYC. Female cadets have the upper hand and are in somewhat of a meat market, where they have their choice from grade A, top-quality meat. The key to avoiding insanity is to get involved in student organizations or throw yourself into your work, because Highland Falls will not provide enough to keep the average college student distracted, and all of the major cities are too far to visit every weekend. The people in the surrounding neighborhoods are, however, very friendly, patriotic, and supportive of West Point.