Just not having the freedoms you were used to in high school, not being able to leave when you want, eat dinner when you want. But the academy is what you make of it. The military has a way of regulating your lifestyle. If you work against it you can get bitter. In his squadron 50 percent of the class left.
Cadets can leave without penalty through their sophomore year.
For Connor the hardest part of the first year was learning to study. Connor is a biology major also taking astronomical engineering classes. Many of the cadets didn't study in high school, he said, but in the face of the academy's course load, most realize that has to change. The average load is 18-21 hours per semester, with a heavy emphasis on science and technical classes. The mental conditioning was much tougher than the physical, he said, particularly the attention to detail.