AFROTC cadet needs your opinions...

K

K.Sarah

5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2013
Messages
6
Good evening,

I am currently a AS100 cadet and going onto being a 250 cadet (came in a semester late) this upcoming fall semester. I am torn as to whether take a whole year off or stay for FTP year. The reason why I am asking is because I currently have a HORRIBLE GPA -- 2.0, non tech major & a cross town cadet. So basically I only have this fall semester to get my grades up and need to transfer by next fall semester to the university where my det is located. My chances of being accepted is very slim with that GPA into the university and also for competing for an EA slot. If I take a year break, I can easily boost up my GPA and will have a higher chance of getting a slot. I understand it is not all about my GPA as other factors play big roles into getting an EA slot as well. My PFT is above 90 maxed out on pushups & situps & had an OK run time but I will get better time, overall pretty healthy as I have done my DoDMERB already and not sure with cadre ranking. Don't get me wrong, it is not easy for me to take a whole year break while I see everyone else go to field training.... But if I do stay, I do not want to be a 500. It has always been my dream to commission, and serve my country. I am destined to do this and am not going to give up on my dream.... I just need help on getting on the right path. I am going to talk to my cadre tomorrow in regards to making the right decision for me and my future but I would greatly appreciate it if you guys give me your opinions as well. Thank you for your time!

K.Sarah
 
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K.Sarah,

Lots to consider here that need to be addressed:

- First, we need to ask: what do you think caused you to have academic issues that resulted in your low GPA? The jump form HS to freshmen year of college is a real wake up call for a lot of folks. Classes aren't as "easy", the teachers aren't as "caring" in looking out for you, and for some the "distractions" and the sense freedom sometimes leads to not putting in the required effort.

Were the classes "real hard" for you, or was your time management needing some work? How do you think you can improve these grades? Because honestly,while GPA may not be the only factor, it is definitely the most important. As a non-tech major, you'll need on average at least a 3.3 GPA to get into SFT. Not trying to be discouraging, but you also need to remember your goals here(SFT then commissioning), and where your focus should be to meet those goals (school first, ROTC second, everything else after that)

Opinion #1: Be realistic on how you are going to get your GPA up enough to be competitive for SFT selection. You're going to basically need a 4.0 GPA this semester, or something close to that. Can you do this AND stay involved in ROTC as a cross-town cadet?

- I hope you do realize that if you do go the 250 route, you will still need a minimum of 3 semesters as a POC to complete ROTC and get commissioned. This means at least one extra semester beyond the 4 year standard degree. Does this fit YOUR plans? Is this something you CAN do?

Worse yet, getting AFROTC to approve you to do the 250 route is even MORE competitive of a route, as there are less slots for SFT for folks trying to go this route. One way to help yourself is to remain "involved" in your detachments activities. Be someone our cadre recognizes and will got to bat for. But NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR GRADES!!!!! Being x-town, this will be even tougher

Opinion #2: You know this yourself, you've dug yourself a real hole here. You really want this? Then you've now have to work harder than you've ever worked in your life. Can you do this? Well, at least you can TRY right now, and see if you can.

Last opinion: You know that getting SFT now as a 200 is a very long shot at best. You'r simply not competitive academic wise. Take the semester off, get that GPA up, and go the 250 route. This next semester, the one where you concentrate on school work, will help you (and more importantly, he cadre) determine if you can realistically do this. Right now, most are saying the answer to this is "No". You REALLY want this (and it sounds like you do)? Prove them wrong.

Talk to your cadre about this. They'll probably admire your determination, but will will want to see proof that you CAN do it. This may require you trying the 250 route to provide this proof.

Good luck! But never forget: those with the best luck at getting their dreams are those who work the hardest for it. :thumb:
 
good advice from Bullet. But I am not real clear on how taking a semester or year off will help your GPA. I understand it may be a needed break, but when you return, you still have a poor GPA and a boatload of work ahead. Candidly, I think a lot of time off may hurt you. You will have lost whatever academic 'flow' you may have.
best wishes.
 
I think what he meant by that was to take the semester off in regards to ROTC so she is able to focus on her school work instead and not have to also focus on ROTC.
 
Bullet said:
K.Sarah,

Lots to consider here that need to be addressed:

- First, we need to ask: what do you think caused you to have academic issues that resulted in your low GPA? The jump form HS to freshmen year of college is a real wake up call for a lot of folks. Classes aren't as "easy", the teachers aren't as "caring" in looking out for you, and for some the "distractions" and the sense freedom sometimes leads to not putting in the required effort.

Were the classes "real hard" for you, or was your time management needing some work? How do you think you can improve these grades? Because honestly,while GPA may not be the only factor, it is definitely the most important. As a non-tech major, you'll need on average at least a 3.3 GPA to get into SFT. Not trying to be discouraging, but you also need to remember your goals here(SFT then commissioning), and where your focus should be to meet those goals (school first, ROTC second, everything else after that)

Opinion #1: Be realistic on how you are going to get your GPA up enough to be competitive for SFT selection. You're going to basically need a 4.0 GPA this semester, or something close to that. Can you do this AND stay involved in ROTC as a cross-town cadet?

- I hope you do realize that if you do go the 250 route, you will still need a minimum of 3 semesters as a POC to complete ROTC and get commissioned. This means at least one extra semester beyond the 4 year standard degree. Does this fit YOUR plans? Is this something you CAN do?

Worse yet, getting AFROTC to approve you to do the 250 route is even MORE competitive of a route, as there are less slots for SFT for folks trying to go this route. One way to help yourself is to remain "involved" in your detachments activities. Be someone our cadre recognizes and will got to bat for. But NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR GRADES!!!!! Being x-town, this will be even tougher

Opinion #2: You know this yourself, you've dug yourself a real hole here. You really want this? Then you've now have to work harder than you've ever worked in your life. Can you do this? Well, at least you can TRY right now, and see if you can.

Last opinion: You know that getting SFT now as a 200 is a very long shot at best. You'r simply not competitive academic wise. Take the semester off, get that GPA up, and go the 250 route. This next semester, the one where you concentrate on school work, will help you (and more importantly, he cadre) determine if you can realistically do this. Right now, most are saying the answer to this is "No". You REALLY want this (and it sounds like you do)? Prove them wrong.

Talk to your cadre about this. They'll probably admire your determination, but will will want to see proof that you CAN do it. This may require you trying the 250 route to provide this proof.

Good luck! But never forget: those with the best luck at getting their dreams are those who work the hardest for it. :thumb:
Click to expand...



Good afternoon Sir,

First and foremost, thank you so much for your opinions in regards to my situation. I have spoken to my cadre and my GPA is actually a 2.7 which is still not where I want to be and since I am a non-tech major, I understand that is a disadvantage considering the fact that the cadets who have tech majors get priority. Also, my transcript is not the greatest since I have a lot of W's but I am ready to make some big changes in order for me to achieve my goals. It is going to take a lot of a work and dedication. The main reason why my GPA is so low is because in the past, I put work my first priority and not school. That was my biggest mistake but I am confident that if I dedicate my time into school and be more focused than ever then I can boost up my GPA up to a 3.3-3.5 in two semesters. When that happens, I will have a higher chance of not only getting an EA slot, but transfer into the university where my det is located as well... The only downside like you have mentioned, is that I would have two extra semesters which I don't mind at all... I am trying to be realistic and not set myself up for failure. I want to be able to have a very competitive GPA since you said that academics is the most important out of the three factors that will determine whether or not I will get an EA slot or not.

You have also mentioned that taking this coming fall semester off would be ideal in order for me to focus in school, but I was told by my cadre that they turn in the packets by the end of fall semester. So if I was about to come back spring semester, they would have already turned in the packets, and because of that I will not be able to compete for FT then, is that correct? Would it make more sense then if I take a year off or would that just hurt me in the long run?

Thank you so much for your time!

Very Respectfully,
K.Sarah
 
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Reaper said:
I think what he meant by that was to take the semester off in regards to ROTC so she is able to focus on her school work instead and not have to also focus on ROTC.
Click to expand...

Yes, thank you for clarifying that. That is exactly what I meant.
 
K. Sarah,

Well, you've kind of answered the question yourself. You realize that you need to put school work first now or your grades suffer. Hard lesson to learn (but you're not the first who had to learn it, and you definitely won't be the last). And I'll be brutally honest here, you have one semester, and only one semester, to improve your GPA to a point where you are competitive.

Your goal this Fall needs to be all As, simple as that. You say your dream is to commission. Well, now's the time to fight for that dream.

And I think you can do it.

So, based on that, I'll adjust my last opinion to: Stay in ROTC, work your tail off this year, and get that SFT slot this year.

Best of luck to you, and here is to you getting your dream. And when you DO Commission, I expect a full report here so we can all congratulate your hard work and, if you don't mind, use your story for future posters as an example of how hard work can get that dream! :thumb:

Bullet
 
Bullet said:
K. Sarah,

Well, you've kind of answered the question yourself. You realize that you need to put school work first now or your grades suffer. Hard lesson to learn (but you're not the first who had to learn it, and you definitely won't be the last). And I'll be brutally honest here, you have one semester, and only one semester, to improve your GPA to a point where you are competitive.

Your goal this Fall needs to be all As, simple as that. You say your dream is to commission. Well, now's the time to fight for that dream.

And I think you can do it.

So, based on that, I'll adjust my last opinion to: Stay in ROTC, work your tail off this year, and get that SFT slot this year.

Best of luck to you, and here is to you getting your dream. And when you DO Commission, I expect a full report here so we can all congratulate your hard work and, if you don't mind, use your story for future posters as an example of how hard work can get that dream! :thumb:

Bullet
Click to expand...


Thank you for all your honest opinions, and also your encouraging words. I appreciate it. I will be sure you give you a full report once I have achieved my dream! :biggrin:

V/R,
K.Sarah
 
K.Sarah,

You and I have almost identical situations regarding GPA. I have a 2.17 and may be able to claim a semester or two off of my transcript for "academic bankruptcy." I went to college with no real drive to complete my coursework and ended up dropping out. Now that I've decided to pursue my dream with the AF it is coming around to bite me.

Hopefully things work out for me but even if the stars align I will have a huge uphill battle to get a slot in FT. I honestly think that if I can get into FT I can pass the AFOQT and TBAS with pretty high scores and have a fair shot at getting a pilot slot.

Like others have said, even though the pilot slot is the end goal (for me at least) getting the FT spot is the means of achieving that goal. I plan on getting all A's this Fall semester and that would put my GPA around 2.6, which is still on the low-low side of the spectrum from all I can gather.

My advice to you is this: If this is something you truly want, put your focus on what is going to matter. Grab a planner, an app, a calendar or whatever it takes to manage your time properly and study. Do any extra credit work you can in your classes because your final may not be as strong as you planned for. Hopefully, you and I both will reach our goals but only time and effort will tell.
 
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