When do you meet with your ALO for the official "Interview"? Because I'm currently a junior and I haven't applied for anything yet, but I would like to meet with him if he chooses to. Just want to make sure we decide to meet and all of a sudden it's my ALO Interview and I show up in a t-shirt!
The "Official" ALO meeting is really only after someone is officially a candidate for admission, and has been so identified by USAFA. In other words, that will be in their senior year after they have a nomination OR the AFA has "tagged them" with a "presumptive" nomination. They do that if they initially like what they see and believe a student has "potential."
As a junior, your focus re: ALO would be (IMHO) this:
a. Contact them and inform them that you are VERY interested in applying to USAFA, that you're a junior, and you just wanted to "say Hi!"
b. Let them know that you are interested in applying for the Summer Seminar. That will get a little more attention at this point because around December/January...that's going to start to become a focus item for ALO's. Knowing that you're an early "interested student" will give them someone to contact.
c. Let your counselors/teachers/coaches/etc., know that you're interested in this and that you'd like their recommendations/support if that comes up. Early "lining up" of your support base is always a good thing!
d. SAT/ACT...start on them now...both if you can; get a good baseline score, determine which you do better on and keep after that!!!
e. FITNESS, FITNESS, FITNESS!!! If you don't run, START! If you don't do pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups/crunches, then START! You have a year to prepare for the CFA and to setup a routine of fitness that will be MANDATORY for your entire military career! This is the ONE area that most folks really regret NOT being properly prepared!
There's a candidate on this forum who may regret I tell the story...but a year ago...couldn't do a pull-up. We discussed this and the workouts began, the determination was/is THERE! TOTAL DEDICATION!!!!
Oh...now? 8 pull-ups are routine for this lady! Oh, didn't I tell you this was a young lady? I won't be surprised if she's not doing 10 by CFA time!!!!
THOSE should be your focus areas right now, IMHO.
Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83