Interview

USAFAUSMA

5-Year Member
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Apr 16, 2013
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Hi SAF,
I have a "first meeting" planned with my ALO very soon, and I was wondering what kind of questions I should be ready for (besides "why do you want to attend USAFA"). Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks in advance!
 
This is what my ALO sent me during my application process. It should give you a heads on what to think about.

1. Describe any work you've done with, or for, civic or charitable groups.

2. Tell me about a situation in which you helped someone handle a stressful or frustrating situation.

3. Tell me about some area in which you worked the hardest and succeeded in doing well. To what do you attribute this success?

4. Give me an example of when you had too much to do and not enough time to do all of the tasks completely. How did you resolve the conflicts in your schedule? How did you establish priorities for your efforts?

5. If you could start your education over again, what would you change or do differently?

6. Describe a frustrating experience you faced and how you handled it.

7. If you have had a job, what about it do you like the most? What do you like the least about your job? How would your supervisor and co-workers describe you? Who is your supervisor? Please include your supervisor’s phone number.

8. In what extracurricular activities did you participate in high school?
What achievements did you obtain from these activities? (The resume I asked for will cover most of this one but elaborate all you want.)

9. Why do you want to be an Air Force officer?

10. Is there anything about the Academy you think you may not like? What about it will you like?

11. Any questions you have for me about the Air Force, the US Air Force Academy, any concerns?

My ALO actually sent me the questions above which she was going to ask me during the interview process.
 
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Don't worry about "What KIND" of questions. I've asked some very controversial and abscure questions when I've done initial interviews as well as the official interview.

What I want to know is
1. Who You Are!!!
2. Is the academy truly YOUR goal, or your parent's, family's, or friend's goals!!!
3. Are your opinions YOURS; or rather "That's the way I was brought up". In other words, can you think for yourself?
4. Of course, I'll want to know what your GOALS ARE!!! No, attending the academy is not really a goal. You might think it is, but that's a very short sighted goal. The academy is simply a MEANS of working towards/reaching goals. You could go to ROTC or OTS to become a military officer or get a college education. So, I want to know what your goals are for serving your country; personal goals for 5, 10, 20 years from now.
5. I also want to know what your interests are. Hopefully, those interests offer you personal growth both individually and as part of a group. Do I CARE what those interests are? No, not particularly. Just if they are contributing to your growth. But to be honest; if one of your interests is being a member of and moving up in the local KKK organization..... then yes, I would care.

Anyway; the point is, the questions aren't important. And I'd rather not tell you the questions I ask in an interview. What's important, is that the ANSWERS are YOURS!!! That the GOALS are YOURS!!! That the INTEREST in the academy is YOURS!!! Basically, I want to know who YOU are. Not your parents, your school, your friends, etc... There is nothing for you to study up on. All you have to do is answer the questions honestly and sincere and you'll be fine. Good luck.
 
Thank you for the responses! I appreciate both angles of the answers to my question. A question the first post raises for me (especially after reading the second post) is what about those "name an experience when..." questions? I have an awful memory for remembering experiences that I should really keep in the front of my mind, and some of the specific questions above I cannot think of any answers to! So what should I do if I find myself in that situation in the interview?

In response to the second post, I really hope you're right!

Also, would it be a bad idea to recall an experience from a different academy's summer program? Because I have been thinking that my whole time at AIM and a specific moment from SLE are great things to tell about me, but I'm not sure how competing schools would react.

Thanks!
 
I have an awful memory for remembering experiences that I should really keep in the front of my mind, and some of the specific questions above I cannot think of any answers to! So what should I do if I find myself in that situation in the interview?
...
Also, would it be a bad idea to recall an experience from a different academy's summer program?

First, thanks for your desire to serve and kudos on your dedication thus far.

Interviews can be nerve wracking... especially for young men and women that have not been through a lot of them. So remember to relax. The ALO is not there to "grill you". In fact I suspect they volunteer for the role for one reason; they want to help exceptional young people like yourself succeed at the academy. Try to remember that and you might be surprised by how much more you can remember/share about yourself. :smile:

As for sharing experiences at other summer programs... I have to think that would be a huge positive, not negative. The SAs are far more similar than they are different. And the inter-service rivalry stuff aside, there is tremendous respect between them (though they might not admit that! :shake: ) So share away. And if you are concerned, try bringing the story back to AFA at the end with a question/statement like "and I really hope that's the same at AFA because that's where I see myself" kinda thing.

Finally... ask questions. Nothing shows your true interest more than having questions to ask. Try to ask questions that you can't easily find answers to yourself. Think about it like this, your questions are the one part of the entire interview that you have control over, right? So use that opportunity to show your interest and formulate a few good questions beforehand. I have conducted scores of interviews of the years (nothing to do with SAs), and I can tell you nothing puts doubt in an interviewers mind faster than someone who is either too shy, or too disinterested to ask good questions.

Hope this helps and Good luck!
 
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First, thanks for your desire to serve and kudos on your dedication thus far.

Interviews can be nerve wracking... especially for young men and women that have not been through a lot of them. So remember to relax. The ALO is not there to "grill you". In fact I suspect they volunteer for the role for one reason; they want to help exceptional young people like yourself succeed at the academy. Try to remember that and you might be surprised by how much more you can remember/share about yourself. :smile:

As for sharing experiences at other summer programs... I have to think that would be a huge positive, not negative. The SAs are far more similar than they are different. And the inter-service rivalry stuff aside, there is tremendous respect between them (though they might not admit that! :shake: ) So share away. And if you are concerned, try bringing the story back to AFA at the end with a question/statement like "and I really hope that's the same at AFA because that's where I see myself" kinda thing.

Finally... ask questions. Nothing shows your true interest more than having questions to ask. Try to ask questions that you can't easily find answers to yourself. Think about it like this, your questions are the one part of the entire interview that you have control over, right? So use that opportunity to show your interest and formulate a few good questions beforehand. I have conducted scores of interviews of the years (nothing to do with SAs), and I can tell you nothing puts doubt in an interviewers mind faster than someone who is either too shy, or too disinterested to ask good questions.

Hope this helps and Good luck!

Great advice! Thanks for the help!
 
The ALO is going to try and paint a picture of you to the Academy Admissions folks. USAFA wants folks with the attitude and aptitude to meet the standards, and not quit or get kicked out. So there are a bunch of questions the ALO might ask to accomplish this task. The more vague or incomplete your answers, the more questions he will have to ask.

It isn't something you can study for...you can prepare by listing all the leadership and athletic things you have accomplished...I am sure somewhere here are listed quite a few tips for preparing for your interview.

If the ALO (in the process of writing up the interview) realizes there are some weak areas in his write up, may talk to the applicant again via phone or in person.
 
I do suggest having a "RESUME" prepared that you can give to your ALO. This will do 2 things. 1) It will give you an accurate outline of all your accomplishments that you can refer to while we're interviewing you. And 2) We (ALO's) sometimes have quite a few individuals to interview and rate. If you give us your resume, it helps us later remember who YOU ARE. It's easy to sometimes mix up certain things you say in an interview with someone else. Even though we are asking you a lot of questions, I always request the individual provide me with a Resume. (That also provides me with another form of the individual's "Communication Skills"). Best of luck. Mike....
 
I will meet with my candidates 3-6 times at least before I do the "Report of Interview, Form 4060" on a candidate.

Are all of those meetings "interviews?" Not really...but yes. I ask a LOT of questions; I try to put the person at ease, and really get to know them. As CC said: I want to KNOW you...why you want the AFA, what do you bring to the table, where do you see yourself in "X" years? Doing what?

I ask that my candidates write me an "I love me" paper. It's not really an "academic paper", rather, it's a quasi-resume. I want to know EVERYTHING they've done since the first day of 9th grade and NOTHING is trivial.

THAT will give me the "paint" for the picture I will paint for admissions.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
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