The challenge before him was formid

The challenge before him was formidable. Many cadets had prior experience at civilian colleges, and most were older than Harley. More than one-third of the class was over twenty years old. The “real life” experience gained in the intervening years between high school and West Point often enabled older, more mature cadets to handle more deftly the rigors of the freshman year—plebe life. Harley, almost before he realized it, had gone from high- school senior to plebe in less than one month without such a benefit.