High School Transcript and Eye Problem

Hello all,

I'm currently a rising-Junior, and will therefore start my application next year. I've been wondering, however, which grades the Academy will want to look at. Will they want to see my GPA from grades 9-11.
This makes me worry for a few different reasons.
First of all, my school is international and therefore organizes each school year into trimesters instead of semesters. How would I calculate my yearly GPA with trimesters?
Next, I'm worried because my freshman and sophomore report cards had a few B's. This is due to the overwhelming rigor of my school. My class only has around 10 students who are almost all extremely bright and competitive. I believe I am either first or second in my class. I have confirmed that nobody in my class has managed to recieve straight A's throughout a single entire school year.
This is due to the program I am currently in. The past two years, I have been enrolled in a pre-IB program, similar to the IB MYP for 9th and 10th grade. Anyways, the curriculum is extremely competetive and rigorous, for it is preparing students for the strenuous IB Diploma Program. Will the Academy recognize and understand my B's during the first two years of high school?
Next year, due to the start of the diploma program, I will have selected Mathematics, Physics, and English as my Higher-Levels, and Biology, History, and French (advanced for bilingual degree) as my SLs.

I have one last concern that is unrelated to the previous topic. I discovered last year that I actually have a slight eye problem. My left eye is perfectly fine (20/20); however, I am myopic (nearsighted) in my right eye. According to my optometrist, the refractive error in my right eye is only 20/50, but I have truly found difficult in seeing even large text from far away. I therefore worry whether the refractive error is much greater than 20/50. Of course my right eye is correctable to 20/20 though. Would this possibly lead to a disqualification at my medical during my application? I have heard that the academy now offers eye surgery during a cadet's junior year if they meet certain requirements. It is my dream to attend pilot training after graduating. Would I need surgery to do so, and would I meet the requirements to recieve the surgery?

I would really appreciate some help!

Thanks!

don't worry about converting your gpa, turn it in and they will do it for you. Your grades seem to be (extremely) competitive. I think your class rank is very important also, but there are other here who are much more authoritative on the subject than I.

I can definitely answer your eye question though. If you are being accurate and I am reading it correctly, you are fine. Your vision has to be CORRECTABLE to 20/20 in one eye and 20/50 in the other. I know this for a fact because my son has amblyopia and it was undetected until he was seven for various reasons. His right eye tests at 20/20 or sometimes 20/15, uncorrected. His left eye is something horribly ridiculous like 20/400. I don't really remember, I just know it fell within the limits of not being dq'd. His eye corrects to 20/50 +2 which means his vision is 20/50 and he can read two letters at 20/40. As long as you don't want to be a Pilot, you (as of now) would not be medically dq'd for your vision. I think it can change from year to year though. So, just be aware of that.

Also, sports and extra curriculars are very important. Make sure you have a very diverse and active 'resume.' Like I said, there are many others who can give you more information, but I can assure you that the vision information I just gave is current as of this year for both USAFA, USAFA ROTC, West Point, and Army ROTC. You would also not qualify for any of the maritime academies either. They are all 20/20, including Navy ROTC. I don't know about the Marines ROTC though.

Interesting side note, had he read one more letter on his vision test, or the waivers come in early, he would have probably gone to West Point or taken the army ROTC scholarship and gone to the Citadel. Fortunately, none of the waivers came in when he received his appointment, so we went on the appointee tour, met his sport coach, and he decided he didn't want to wait for the waivers! He immediately accepted the appointment as soon as we got back to the hotel. Except for the distance, his mother couldn't be happier.

One thing i just realized, I mentioned West Point and Army ROTC, their vision requirements are corrected to 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 in the other.

So, in summary, to be eligible for each branch/ROTC re: vision only:
USAFA/USAF ROTC : corrected to 20/20 in one eye and 20/50 in the other.
USMA/Army ROTC : corrected to 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 in the other.
Maritime Academies (USNA, USCGA, USMMA) and Navy ROTC: correctable to 20/20 in BOTH EYES. From what I read, USCGA and USMMA do not give waivers for this. One even tells you right on the website do not apply if both eyes don't correct to 20/20.
Marine ROTC: I don't know.

There are also limitations re: astigmatism and possibly others I am unaware of. But vision acuity (I think that is the term) is accurate for class of 2019.

thepetester said:

One thing i just realized, I mentioned West Point and Army ROTC, their vision requirements are corrected to 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 in the other.

So, in summary, to be eligible for each branch/ROTC re: vision only:
USAFA/USAF ROTC : corrected to 20/20 in one eye and 20/50 in the other.
USMA/Army ROTC : corrected to 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 in the other.
Maritime Academies (USNA, USCGA, USMMA) and Navy ROTC: correctable to 20/20 in BOTH EYES. From what I read, USCGA and USMMA do not give waivers for this. One even tells you right on the website do not apply if both eyes don't correct to 20/20.
Marine ROTC: I don't know.

There are also limitations re: astigmatism and possibly others I am unaware of. But vision acuity (I think that is the term) is accurate for class of 2019.

Click to expand...

Well, actually my left eye is 20/20 uncorrected, which my left eye is 20/50 uncorrected (correctable to 20/20). I will only be applying to USAFA with hopes of flying after graduating. My main concern is that I will not be pilot qualified after my DOBMERB medical exam. I know that they offer eye surgery at the Academy, but I don't know if I'll qualify for it. Supposedly, since I only have a refractive error in a single eye, I have diminished depth perception - called anisometropia. This is also a worry of mine, for I've heard that the academy requires perfect depth perception. Thank you for your replies!

alanghsur said:

Well, actually my left eye is 20/20 uncorrected, which my left eye is 20/50 uncorrected (correctable to 20/20). I will only be applying to USAFA with hopes of flying after graduating. My main concern is that I will not be pilot qualified after my DOBMERB medical exam. I know that they offer eye surgery at the Academy, but I don't know if I'll qualify for it. Supposedly, since I only have a refractive error in a single eye, I have diminished depth perception - called anisometropia. This is also a worry of mine, for I've heard that the academy requires perfect depth perception. Thank you for your replies!

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, even a number cadets' pilot qualification (PQ) is left up in the air (no pun intended) until the very last minute. I know several firsties who just recently received word over whether or not they were PQ. I guess what you have to ask yourself is this: would you still like to attend USAFA even if it means that you may not end up being a pilot? You can still receive an appointment if you have less than perfect depth perception, but you may not be eligible for a pilot slot.

haleym said:

alanghsur said:

Well, actually my left eye is 20/20 uncorrected, which my left eye is 20/50 uncorrected (correctable to 20/20). I will only be applying to USAFA with hopes of flying after graduating. My main concern is that I will not be pilot qualified after my DOBMERB medical exam. I know that they offer eye surgery at the Academy, but I don't know if I'll qualify for it. Supposedly, since I only have a refractive error in a single eye, I have diminished depth perception - called anisometropia. This is also a worry of mine, for I've heard that the academy requires perfect depth perception. Thank you for your replies!

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, even a number cadets' pilot qualification (PQ) is left up in the air (no pun intended) until the very last minute. I know several firsties who just recently received word over whether or not they were PQ. I guess what you have to ask yourself is this: would you still like to attend USAFA even if it means that you may not end up being a pilot? You can still receive an appointment if you have less than perfect depth perception, but you may not be eligible for a pilot slot.

Click to expand...

That's a good point. I'd have to think over it a little more. My depth perception problem is correctable however. If I correct the refractive error in my right eye, my depth perception will also be fixed. I thought I could look into getting refractive surgery in my right eye to fix all my problems since my left is already 20/20.

Also remember that your DoDMERB exam doesn't qualify you for pilot or not. You will have a pre-commissioning physical while at USAFA that will do this. At Navy we don't do this physical until junior year, so we are committed at that point regardless of the outcome of that exam. At USNA, but even had a few, maybe 2-3, who were found ok to fly and made it to Pensacola and were found physically unqualified to fly. For the most part these were weird or unique situations. Hailey is spot on, you will need to be okay with 1, whatever the the Air Force gives you for service selection, 2, be prepared to fly anything in the inventory including UAVs, 3, be prepared for whatever the military throws at you.

my bad, I thought you were just inquiring about admissions to the academy. My son had no interest in being a pilot and would have definitely not qualified medically due to his vision.

In addition to making sure you want to attend the academy for four years, you also need to be sure you want to serve for 5 years if you aren't a pilot.