Admissions steps

keg

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2011
Messages
86
I understand I have a while until I apply but, there's so much effort to be put into it. I want to know what to do when (in which year of high school) so I'm prepared and I don't have to stress/scramble! Can anyone help out with the dates of...well everything! I wouldn't even know where to start! I have no idea what the process is!

Sophomore:
Junior:
Senior:

*Sorry if this is hard to understand, please try to help! All is appreciated!:biggrin:
 
keg--First of all, you can do some research on the AFA. Here is a link that Christcorp, a very knowledgeable poster and ALO, has in all his posts--its for the AFA admissions catalog. It will give you a wealth of info.

http://www.academyadmissions.com/img/assets/PDF/Entire_Catalog.pdf

After that, its a matter of making sure that when you do apply that you can present the best "package" possible.
1. Get involved (now!) with clubs or organizations either through school or the community (student government, Key Club, scouts, youth groups, etc)--make sure they are things you are interested in so you'll stick with them. Its better to have a few things that you can focus on and really get involved with than a lot of things where you only have time to go to a meeting here and there. Work up to positions of leadership in those groups
2. Be involved in a sport or two to develop fitness and teamwork. Make being a captain by senior year a goal.
3. Take challenging courses in school (honors, AP/IB)--science and math are impt as the academy is basically an engineering school--and do well in school!
4. Get a job, at least for the summers.
5. Plan on taking the ACT and SAT (usually start in jr. year) probably more than once (AFA will take the highest scores from each test no matter how many times you take it).
6. By early in your junior year, start practicing the CFA (you'll find it in the admissions catalog mentioned above).
7. Make smart choices, stay out of trouble, don't smoke, drink or do drugs.

I'm sure I'm missing something, but this is a start. Others will probably chime in and give you their advice too.
 
keg,

You may want to PM Christcorp extremely knowledgeable on this. Yes the process is extremely lengthy and difficult. But nothing in life worth having or working for should be easy. Remember this, We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle

Good luck,

RGK
 
Good grades, honors/AP classes, leadership positions in extracurriculars (clubs, scouts, CAP...) and hs sports, and stay in good physical shape. What grade are you in now?
 
This is extremely helpful rayquad! When it says "May 1 to January 31: Contact your Member of Congress for a nomination.
December 31: Deadline to submit the application/Pre-Candidate Questionnaire (PCQ)"
Is this in my Junior year of high school?


What about the ss? When do I apply for that- Also in my Junior year?
I'll defiantly PM Christcorp with other questions.
 
Contact your MOC end of junior year/senior summer. Most deadlines for packets for nomination applications are due Oct-Dec your senior year.

SS, apply the winter of your junior year. Make sure when you apply you've taken PSAT or the ACT equivalent, have good grades, etc
 
hi Casey, did you attend prep school ? or you apply directly from high school..?
 
I can give a brief outline for you, but i do second what was said above, there are many posters on this website that carry soo much info! (that's how i learned most of it as well)
sophmore-
good grades, shoot for the highest possible gpa,take some pre-ib or honors courses.
during sophmore year, i was in marching band,girl scouts, coached baseball/soccer, ASB, NHS, and in 4 honors classes. my point is too keep your self busy and challenged,always! :) with girl scouts, leadership is a core value, you will want to have something that shows your a leader.


Junior:
september try out the sat and act (take them "cold",or without preparation to see how you do) why? you get your scores in october, and you can start studying to take them again. :)
october take the PSAT or PLAN (you will need these scores for the summer seminar.
-december 1st- the first summer seminar application opens (usafa) usma is dec15, usna is feb1,and uscga is also the 1st i believe. you will want to complete these as early as possible,it helps.
feb take the sat again
march start looking into rotc or college options/apply (march)
marchstart looking into local rep/congressman dates for nomination applicaitons
april keep up the grades! and start asking teachers if they will write letters of rec for you over summer (you'll need their emails)
may take the sat/act again
in all of this, don't forget to stay in shape! you're going to have to take a physical test (1 mile run, situps,pushups,pullups,basketball throw and shuttle run)

You should get your candidate package in may? or a little into june. then the fun begins :) (this is where i am at in the process)
during the summer you will apply for nominations, take the CFA (physical test), and finish the application on your end.
The earlier you get the application done, the better!
if you have any questions, pm me, or look on this site.
it is a wealth of information.

I think it's great your looking into this so early. good luck with everything! :smile:
 
hi Casey, did you attend prep school ? or you apply directly from high school..?

I graduate this year from high school. I attended USAFA's SS and USMA's SLS last year as a junior


Just keep asking questions if you have them. People are here to help, and being proactive is one of the things that you can do to set yourself apart from others
 
I can give a brief outline for you, but i do second what was said above, there are many posters on this website that carry soo much info! (that's how i learned most of it as well)
sophmore-
good grades, shoot for the highest possible gpa,take some pre-ib or honors courses.
during sophmore year, i was in marching band,girl scouts, coached baseball/soccer, ASB, NHS, and in 4 honors classes. my point is too keep your self busy and challenged,always! :) with girl scouts, leadership is a core value, you will want to have something that shows your a leader.


Junior:
september try out the sat and act (take them "cold",or without preparation to see how you do) why? you get your scores in october, and you can start studying to take them again. :)
october take the PSAT or PLAN (you will need these scores for the summer seminar.
-december 1st- the first summer seminar application opens (usafa) usma is dec15, usna is feb1,and uscga is also the 1st i believe. you will want to complete these as early as possible,it helps.
feb take the sat again
march start looking into rotc or college options/apply (march)
marchstart looking into local rep/congressman dates for nomination applicaitons
april keep up the grades! and start asking teachers if they will write letters of rec for you over summer (you'll need their emails)
may take the sat/act again
in all of this, don't forget to stay in shape! you're going to have to take a physical test (1 mile run, situps,pushups,pullups,basketball throw and shuttle run)

You should get your candidate package in may? or a little into june. then the fun begins :) (this is where i am at in the process)
during the summer you will apply for nominations, take the CFA (physical test), and finish the application on your end.
The earlier you get the application done, the better!
if you have any questions, pm me, or look on this site.
it is a wealth of information.

I think it's great your looking into this so early. good luck with everything! :smile:

This is exactly what I was looking for!!! :yay: Thank you everyone else too!
 
I graduate this year from high school. I attended USAFA's SS and USMA's SLS last year as a junior


Just keep asking questions if you have them. People are here to help, and being proactive is one of the things that you can do to set yourself apart from others
what is SS stand for Casey ?
 
All the academies have similar timing for deadlines, just make sure you doublecheck on the specific ones as you go through the process so you don't miss anything
 
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