United States Coast Guard Academy

Admissions - Parents
Parents

CGA Ranks Among the Top Colleges in the Country

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy has been ranked 2nd in the category of Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the North and 15th Best Undergraduate Engineering Program in the Country in the 2010 edition of Americas Best Colleges by U.S. New Media Group.

Your child has taken the first step.

By showing an interest in the United States Coast Guard Academy your son or daughter has taken the very first step in accepting a challenge that few of their peers will ever realize: to graduate from one of our nation’s most selective institutions of higher learning and to lead men and women of our nation’s premier military, multi-mission maritime services in defense of our homeland, economy, and environment.

As parents of a cadet, you will become part of the extended Coast Guard family. Your relationship with the Coast Guard Academy will bring with it many rewards. But, it will also bring many questions as your son or daughter embarks on an exciting journey.

As questions arise, feel free to contact the Academy’s Admissions Office. To get a first hand look at life at the Academy, from the parents’ point of view, visit the Parent’s Association website to view photo albums of the Academy experience at http://www.uscgaparents.org/

CGA History

Running Lights

In the maritime world, running lights are markers used to help identify a vessel's size, location, and direction. They provide the on-looking or approaching mariner explicit direction to help avoid collision. The Running Light has been used by the Academy to indoctrinate new Cadets since 1931. It is packed with information needed to succeed while at the Academy and avoid "collisions."