Current/former/prospective cadets: why USAFA?

shoots1994

5-Year Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
Messages
24
Just wondering, what made you choose USAFA over the other service academies? What appealed to you most?
 
This is your first post. If you sincerely want to know why others chose as they did, you need to provide information why you're interested in the academies. Can't have a dialog based on one sided information. Please post why YOU are interested in the academies, and which one you're leaning towards; and why.
 
I did not apply to other SAs. I wanted to be in the AF, so I applied for USAFA and AFROTC at civilian colleges.

I wanted to fly, and the AF seemed like the best way to do that while serving. Oddly enough, I decided to go for helicopters. (For helicopters, the AF has a very few number of slots compared to other services.)
 
I am currently a candidate for the class of 2016, and for me personally, it all started with research. The first branch I considered was the Air Force because that is the branch my father served in, so I guess it's the first one that came to mind. After learning so much about the AFA, I became attached to it- the landscape of CO and the whole institution itself is unbeatable to me. I guess it just happened to be the academy I fell in love with first. Although my end goal is simply to serve my country regardless of whether I get my #1 choice (USAFA), #2 choice (Army ROTC), or #3 choice (OCS), I would be absolutely thrilled and honored at having the opportunity to attend the academy of my dreams. :rockon:
 
I'm a candidate for the class of 2016 as well, and I personally chose USAFA because I think it will best prepare me to serve our country as a pilot. :thumb:
 
I saw the title for this on the main page and couldn't pass it up...

I applied to all of the military SA's (USCGA, USAFA, USMA, and USNA) initially but started to narrow down my choices. The first to go was USMA because I realized I wasn't interested in doing infantry.

The next to go was USNA. It's a great school, and I really wanted to fly, but I'd heard bad things about the navy as an organization.

So that just left USCGA and USAFA. I come from an Air Force family, so I had the natural bias towards USAFA. But the Coast Guard intrigued me. Here was a service that - as my father pointed out - didn't just train. They actually performed their jobs daily. I really liked the idea of saving lives and stopping drugs as I had seen what drugs can do to a family as a kid.

Going to AIM only solidified that. Hopefully one day I'll be in the cockpit of a helicopter interdicting drugs and pulling people out of the water....
 
For me, I was recruited as a tennis player, but what really drew me in the first place was the opportunity to play tennis at a high level without sacrificing my education. However, I left the team at the start of my junior year before I committed to the AF (I am a senior now) and the reason I stayed was because I fell in love with the idea that as a 22 year old I will be leading and contributing something tangible to society. Not to mention the job security and the fact that I lifted a huge burden from my parents by becoming self sufficient, so that my sisters will have the opportunity to go to college without causing a financial burden on my parents.
 
Thanks for all your answers! I was just at my congressional nomination interview the other day, and three of the guys were west point grads--they kept trying to push me into USMA. I know USMA is #1 in engineering and all that, but I've met some pretty top-notch USAFA grads! Besides, I've been obsessively researching USAFA and am now completely in love. :smile:
 
I'm a 2016 candidate too. For me, I originally wanted to go to USNA. But my track coach was a USAFA grad and always encouraged me to look into. I blew him off until I received a nom to USNA and USAFA. Once I gave USAFA more research, I realized it would be a better fit for me(I want to be a linguist or do something in foreign relations). Plus, USNA was too engineer focused for me. And let's be honest, the AF has cooler uniforms to boot! :shake:
 
Anything is better than the khaki and green nonsense I wear at NMMI. And I hear ABU's are more comfortable than ACU's, even if the ABU's have buttons!
 
Ummmm, can guarantee that my daughter would prefer ACU's, they are at least made of a lighter weight material. ABU's are the equivalent of winter weight BDU's year round. Even though it gets cold in CS, it also gets very warm too. You can always add layers to a lighter weight uniform, but unfortunately when it is hot with the ABU's you cannot just take them off.
 
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