GPA. SAT. ACT. Requirments for AFA

I need to know what the bare minimums are for those three categories. I can assure you I will not achieve the bare minimums, but excel past them. I just need a target to aim for and go higher. Thank you. Any other tips will be much appreciated.
E-mail is Beachboy0708@hotmail.com

Go into the USAFA website and look at the 2009 Cadet academics.
That should give you a good idea.

Ahichiy said:

I need to know what the bare minimums are for those three categories. I can assure you I will not achieve the bare minimums, but excel past them. I just need a target to aim for and go higher. Thank you. Any other tips will be much appreciated.
E-mail is Beachboy0708@hotmail.com

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Okay...to be able to say "I don't think I need to retake my SAT or ACT" I would tell you this (MY OPINION):

Math: 750 or higher
CR/Verbal: 700 or higher

ACT: Composite over 33

If you have EITHER of those, then you're fine for the tests and should focus on other areas.

If NOT, then I would continue to take the tests trying to better my score to just keep pushing my package farther and farther ahead!

But that's just my opinion.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83

flieger83 said:

Math: 750 or higher
CR/Verbal: 700 or higher

ACT: Composite over 33

Click to expand...

These scores seem very high to me. I think you would definitely be a top candidate with these. I know that some kids get in with lower. My son's ALO told him he was competitive, and his scores are not that high.

I think you missed the actual question that was asked, and what flieger83's answer was getting at.
If you give someone the minimum, they will go for the min-plus-one. It is just how things work. Maybe not this Beachboy individual, but that is what we see these days. Even if you DO know the minimum, it is a terrible idea to pass that information out. Countless MOC's have their own SAT/ACT score minimums that seldom match the various Academies. Is there an absolute number that crosses you out, one number that is never accepted, regardless of background/sports/etc? Kind of goes against the WCS. Bad idea to discourage somebody before they begin by handing out a minimum score. So...
700/750 and 33 composite. Great answer. I'm probably going to steal that response myself.
You asked and now you've got your target.
Aim High!

600 math and verbal are the cutoffs for "competitive" based on academics when you first submit. That said you try to maximize your scores by taking them until you hit fleiger's target. But even if you have those scores you may not get in and if you are below 600 you still can depending on all the other factors - athletics being a big one.

Aim high, do your research. Don't go for the minimum. If anything try to get perfect.

The AFA does not state gpa's, but you can look at the previous class profiles to see what the median is.

The cut off is indeed 490 or a 24 and below to be deemed non-comp.

I am with Flieger too on this one, to be a strong candidate you need 700's on your SAT or 33 ACT. The mean a couple of yrs ago was @680 M and 650V. That is the average, and you never want to come in on the avg. There will be lower scoring cadets, but if you are looking for an appt the rest of your packet better have every square filled, Athlete, Eagle, SLS, tons of APS etc., especially if you are coming from a very competitive area like CO or MD. Many of the lower scoring cadets come in from various ways, such as prep or recruited athletes. Now don' take offense by that, I am just saying a high caliber athlete typically has a trade off with academics due to the commitment of the sport. Also, prep is given not as a safety, but it's mission is to get the cadet who would have been accepted straight in, but their academics were lacking, and in that scenario, it is given to those with lower SATs. When you remove those 2 categories, the mean SAT will increase, thus, the avg cadet probably is close to the 1400+ marker.

The PAR portion of your packet is the largest %, but you can have a 1600 out of 1600 and still not receive an apptmt because you have no ECS or a low CFA. It is the Whole Candidate, don't stress just the academic while ignoring everything else. It will result in bad news.

We all know cadets that have scored 1500 and valedictorian, but in the end of the day was not offered an appointment while the 1300 SAT, #10 in the class, team captain, Eagle Scout got it.

we all talk about academics, extracurricular, athletics CFA but isn't the ALO recommendation a good part of it too. You could look great on paper but if you can speak to your ALO in an interview that could sink you too Conversly if you do great with your ALO a top score can help you go along way. Leadership can not always be determined on paper but it can be observed. This is another good reason to go to summer seminar or an AF sports camp your leadership can be observed first hand.

The ALO rec does play a part, however, if your ALO racks and stacks, it will only help the one that they say is their number 1.

I agree SLS helps, because this is not a passing fancy, that you are committed. The board does not personally know the candidate from SLS, what they see is that the AFA has been in your eyesight for yrs.

ALO evaluation

Hi all!

Okay, the ALO evaluation, aka: Form 4060. YES, it plays a rather large part in the process.

Moderatly so in the "total points position", but HUGE in the perception pool.

If I rate a candidate at the highest total points, then that gives them "X" points (I really do NOT know how many) but MORE importantly it tells the board a great deal about the candidate that they do NOT know.

Let's be honest here: the candidates’ package is going to be FILLED with VERY biased/partisan recommendations, glowing tributes, etc...etc.., and that's expected! If it's not, there's a HUGE problem. (Ask anyone in the service about OPR's and EPR's)

HOWEVER the ALO is that "non-biased" input that is simply based upon research and facts. We typically will meet with teachers, coaches, job supervisors, clergy members, etc., to learn about the candidate BEFORE we meet with them. Well, some of us do. This is to give us a clear picture of who we are going to interview. THEN we meet them, and usually more than once, to learn about them: who are they, what makes them tick, why the USAFA, etc…etc… And THEN we write our evaluation based upon all we’ve learned, with no emotion, as we don’t have any attachment to the candidate.

And to be honest, it doesn't matter to me whether or not a person gets into the academy.

Okay, do you believe that statement?

Seriously though, my MAIN task (aside from being the advocate for my candidates) is to determine whether or not the candidate I'm interviewing is the right person for the USAF and the USA.

Would I want to have them come to me and serving as one of my junior officers? Period.

Yes, I become VERY involved with my candidates; that's just who and what I am. I remember how hard I worked to get into USAFA (remember, took me two tries) and what it meant/means to me.

So when I meet a young man or woman with that same desire, I work my A** off to help them.

But at the same time...when I do my evaluation, I am totally honest. I call it like it IS: period. If the candidate is NOT the right fit, etc., then I will say so in my 4060. Will that have impact?

You bet.

However if they ARE the right fit, do you think my evaluation will have impact??

Truth time: I can end a candidates "career" with my evaluation. In my 15 years as a full-time ALO, I have NEVER done that. Why? Because I've never met that candidate.

I've been VERY blessed; the young men and women I've worked with have kept me young, excited about our future, and totally in love with my job!!! Why do you think I haven't retired after wearing a uniform since June 25, 1979? Okay, 4 years as a cadet, but 26 1/2 as an officer!

Okay, my long-winded answer can be summed up thusly: the ALO recommendation has a pretty significant value in the candidates’ total package. You want your ALO to have a very positive “feeling” for you but that will come from YOU, your achievements, etc. It will NOT come from just being a “nice guy/gal.”

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83

Flieger that was an excellent post - should be very helpful to the candidates.

minimum for competitive

admissions office- USAFA indicated that once a person gets at least 550 in verbal and math, they can be deemed competitive however they would be disqualified at the next step - whatever that may be. To get past the next hurdle, you must have at least 580 in each? Not sure how accurate this information is, but thought I'd pass on what I was told.

don't go for minimums. try shooting for the average scores or above the average scores.