> how many 19-year-olds do you know who want to live in a dorm setting and show up on time?
Sounds like all the young people in the military.
Sounds like all the young people in the military.
This is the small fraction of people who were even willing to volunteer for the military, and then completed a significantly more strenuous recruiting process than nearly any private sector job. Having a sucky life in return for learning job skills isn't worth it to most Americans of any age!
Also note all branches are having trouble recruiting the last several years, to the tune of 25-30,000 recruits short this year. Again, most people do not want to do this!
1. https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/202... pg 50 shows active duty separations by type, I refer to Military Requirement/Behavior/Performance and Legal Issues/Standards of Conduct.
2. https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/202... Similar to above, pg 46
plus we got drunk as hell all the time, even with clearances. even in iraq a couple of times.
showing up to formation hammered and doing some sloppy PT was like a right of passage.
In a less rigorous setting like one implied by jobcorps, this would be much more voluntary. The peer culture in the military, combined with isolation and authoritarianism really does keep people in line, even if they screw up all the time along the way. Source: 5 military family members.
Although most do, because of the supervision. The "party problem" doesn't really start until sophomore year. Unless you're in a frat or sorority. Those count as "dorms" for the requirement, and are notorious.
> because there is almost 0 supervision (I would call what dorm RAs do as more "emergency oversight") and freshman absolutely party the same as upperclassmen & women.
I know that there are schools where this is true. But I also know there is at least one school where this is certainly not true.
I've never heard of a University where the freshman were magically diligent and contained, though I've never been to a private school (if that's the type of school you're talking about). I don't mean to imply anything, but is it possible that your child may have not explained all the intricacies of their experience, perhaps to save you the trouble of worrying and them the trouble of you worrying? I certainly did not tell my parents anywhere near what actually happened, and i still have never. As far as my mom knew, i was a model child in university and in the dorm.
It was in the comment you replied to, you only explicitly addressed the first part, but implicitly agreed with the latter as well:
> how many 19-year-olds do you know who want to live in a dorm setting and show up on time?
The vast, VAST majority of freshmen drink themselves stupid at least once per week, even in the dorms.
But if your kids convinced you otherwise, props to them. You have actors or lawyers to look forward to!
Probably different at a state school, where kids are marking time until the job market. This was a private school in a small town upstate. Kids had a sense of purpose.
Most are in to get away from their native location or to get money for school/GI Bill, not because the idea of military is more appealing than being a civilian.