I got "the call"

[phantomson9]

Everyone's advice is great. But let me throw this in here. You are going to be stressed. If you have family, or something else that won't get you hurt or in trouble, hang out with them or do whatever it is you can decompress with on 1 of your days off. It is what got me through the academy. Waking up at 0230 and going to bed at 2300 every weeknight took its toll.

Every Saturday I spent the day with my wife a daughter we would go to breakfast and maybe to the park. I would study Saturday night and Sunday but I took about half the day Saturday to unwind.

[gblacksmith]

Here's the best advice from someone who graduated the academy ages ago:

1) Be sponge, you're there to learn and information gets thrown at you kinda quick. There's more than one way to do something. Never point out that "at ____ they do it this way."

2) The academy is an "artificial" environment. They're going to simulate things to replicate what happens in the field. Don't get offended or bothered. Understand the program and help it work. Lesson learned the hard way - Never let yourself chuckle when being chewed out by the DI.

3) Be physically fit before you get there. They'll build up the PT program as you move along, but if you're ahead of the game, you'll stay there. The rest of the program is easier if you don't fall behind in PT.

4) This a teamwork business. Make sure that you "bond" with your classmates and that you give them reason to place their trust in you. The smartest guy on the planet cannot succeed in this business alone. Example - The last Sheriff of Orange County prided himself, and mentioned ad nauseum, that he was a member of the 'Mensa" society of folks with really big IQs. He's now a federal prison inmate.

5) Put the rest of your life "on hold" until you graduate. You'll have enough distractions in your life with the academy. It's for a finite period of time. It's worth it.

6) Start working on your decision making (and explaining the decisions that you make) process. LE is all about making decisions, that can have very great impact, and you usually have to make them without having enough information. It's a difficult skill. The faster you master it, the better.

Good luck. It will be a great experience.

All of the above, plus: Get as much rest as you can, eat well and don't forget WHY you want to be a LEO.