USAFA vs. AFROTC

[BlackSnowMarine]

Hello! I'm sure some of you are sick of this question popping in every once in a while, but I'd like my own thread to develop my own decisions. I did read the previous threads regarding this, I'd just like that extra bit of insight.

When I ponder about these two pathways, both the AFA and the ROTC appeal to me. The AFA's strict 24/7 militaristic atmosphere, even though I cringe at the thought of oppressive situations, would assist with my abilities to manage time, stress, and work. The observation that AFA officers are more integrated with the Air Force, like with global engagement, BCT, and combat survival training appeals to my desire to experience the academy's experience. (I heavily cringe at the thought of combat training, but at the same time I believe it's a great asset to have).

The ROTC appeals to me by its more flexible and linear approach. Education is my top priority, especially having a wide range of education at my disposal, from engineering to science to art. I'm similar to a sponge -- I have the giant desire to learn as much as possible in my lifetime. The "traditional college experience" sounds a haven for me to thrive, like a perfect niche for an animal in the wild. I love having spare time on my own, especially for my creative writing or to read about my astronomy interests. The strict traditional college environment, let's say at Stanford, gets me excited as opposed to the oppressive environment at AFA.

Now, it looks like I answered my own question, that being the ROTC fits in with my personality more than the USAFA. There are many things that hold me back from partaking in ROTC. One of them are opportunities -- opportunities that only the AFA offers. Another reason is my desired alma mater; I would love to have the USAFA as my alma mater as opposed to a civilian college. The third reason is possible discrimination between ROTC and AFA officers. Seeing myself as an ROTC officer in the future, I would feel highly uncomfortable around AFA graduates because of the fact that I did not experience the same challenges the AFA graduates did. I'd feel inferior to them, that I took the "easy" way out. I'm willing to bet that I will meet at least one AFA graduate who will mock me for choosing ROTC, that I'm not a "real officer" because of it. Hopefully AFA and ROTC officers coexist in harmony, but there's some mean people out there.

All rumors set aside, the ROTC is compatible with my personality but the AFA offers that rich, strict experience I would love as well, those experiences/opportunities that would give me an advantage. You can see that I have a "love/cringe" relationship with the AFA, that I would love to go to the academy but there are certain aspects to the academy that would prompt me to throw up. I also want that "eye-opener" experience, where I gain a new perspective on life and on the world, and the AFA looks ideal for that.

P.S. -- I'm a Senior in high school. And it looks like it's a little too late for the AFA, but I'm at the crossroads between ROTC or AFA. I have hopes for both pathways, and every comment you offer will help drastically.

 

[AFrpaso]

Okay,

First, I would not consider the Academy "oppressive". The worst part of it is freshman year and personally I can only describe that as largely inconvenient.

Second, how can ROTC be more flexible but also more linear? I don't understand what you mean by that statement. By my understanding, when you accept a ROTC scholarship you are also preselecting a major. Correct me if I'm wrong. At the AFA you are not required to pick a major until a few months into your sophomore year, after you've taken a number of general ed courses.

Third, when all is said and done both paths lead to being a 2nd Lieutenant. The fact that you've already established one as "superior" to other is kind of a red flag. If you think you'd be inferior as a ROTC graduate then it follows that you think you'd be superior as an AFA graduate. You should ditch this whole mentality right now.

If you could, please list the aspects of the Academy that make you want to "throw up".

 

[BlackSnowMarine]

Second, how can ROTC be more flexible but also more linear? I don't understand what you mean by that statement. By my understanding, when you accept a ROTC scholarship you are also preselecting a major. Correct me if I'm wrong. At the AFA you are not required to pick a major until a few months into your sophomore year, after you've taken a number of general ed courses.

Whoops, I worded that wrong. I didn't mean linear, but I meant to say that the ROTC is flexible and can be integrated with civilian college life, at least that's what I learned from research and previous threads.

If you could, please list the aspects of the Academy that make you want to "throw up".

My bad that I wasn't specific on this, but I was referring to the AFA as a whole. It's just very nerve-racking just to think about the 24/7 militaristic atmosphere. Yet somehow, I feel drawn to the AFA. I'm from a family with a military background from the Philippines, and I believe it's my job to continue my family's line of veterans.

Third, when all is said and done both paths lead to being a 2nd Lieutenant. The fact that you've already established one as "superior" to other is kind of a red flag. If you think you'd be inferior as a ROTC graduate then it follows that you think you'd be superior as an AFA graduate. You should ditch this whole mentality right now.

Will do. Being a writer as a hobby, you can see I have a tendency to over-exaggerate things with similes, metaphors. etc. My mind creates these assumptions or scenarios, and then solidifies them as facts even without clarification. I guess it's one of the perks of having a right-minded brain.

 

[AFrpaso]

I can understand a desire to want to attend a civilian college for you're given reasons.

What about after you've graduated? You'll be putting on that uniform almost every day. When you're out of uniform, most people will know you are in the military just by looking at you. As General Patton once said, "You are always on parade". Your actions and demeanor will reflect upon the credit of the military. You will be living a military lifestyle 24/7.

Even at a civilian school, people will most likely be able to identify you as a ROTC cadet. Heck, you might be in ROTC specific dorms. I don't think it's as bad at the Academy as you envision it to be.

 

[raimius]

All commissioning sources commission good and bad officers. That's a consequence of an imperfect world. USAFA, AFROTC, OTS, AMS (guard), and COTS (Docs and Lawyers) all do things differently. That does not mean they are better than the others...better at some things, better for some people...but not for everything or everyone.

Commissioning programs provide opportunities and try to provide a baseline of training and knowledge. How successful they are depends quite a bit on the student.

Your motivations and where you will succeed the best are unique to you. You need to figure them out. Listen to the advice of those you consider wise and experienced, but make your own decision.

For me, it came down to three main reasons.
1. I wasn't sure I could make it, but I knew I'd always wonder "what if?" if I did not try. I did not want to look back in 20 years and say "I wonder if I could have made it?" I wanted the challenge.
2. I wanted to fly. I knew that, and USAFA gave me the best shot out of the active duty programs.
3. It made the most sense financially. I don't like to play up that reason, because without other good reasons, it can be a recipe for disaster. Yet, money was still a factor in my decision.

Now, what makes you tick? What do you see as the pros and cons of each choice? Knowing what you seek or want to avoid can help the rest of us point you in the right direction or dispel some misconceptions.

 

[BlackSnowMarine]

What about after you've graduated?

I'm leaning towards an engineering field, particularly aerospace or civil engineering. Either that, or I can pursue my interests in astronomy, piloting, or even an Intelligence Officer. It's difficult for me to choose because I'm very interested in a good amount of fields. Like I said earlier, I'm like a sponge that likes to soak up knowledge.

1. I wasn't sure I could make it, but I knew I'd always wonder "what if?" if I did not try. I did not want to look back in 20 years and say "I wonder if I could have made it?" I wanted the challenge.

You sir just summarized my dilemma perfectly. On the spectrum, I'm leaning towards ROTC over the AFA, but I do not want to be that person in 20 years who will say "What if I could have made it?". It's why I'm still hanging onto the AFA as a pathway. I always acknowledge the "what if" question. It prompts me to apply to many colleges, even to all of them if I had the time to do so.

Now, what makes you tick? What do you see as the pros and cons of each choice? Knowing what you seek or want to avoid can help the rest of us point you in the right direction or dispel some misconceptions.

Learning is what makes me tick, given the right conditions such as mood, environment, and motivation. I love to learn without enormous pressure stacked on my shoulders, which explains why I actually love high school. I prefer to have free time on my own to read, to study, to write, or just to relax since I consider mental health to be an important thing. Though civilian college will have its own sack of stress and pressure, I can endure academic pressure much better due to the college environment.

Regarding sports and exercise, I prefer recreational exercise over competitive and mandatory exercise. I did join Track & Field to experiment my interests, and it was okay. Recreational exercise, though, appeals more to me because of the lack of pressure.

I can see the pros of ROTC being that I will thrive better in a civilian college environment over the AFA's environment, and that I can focus my college interests along with my Air Force interests. This might be a misconception, but I see the ROTC as an extracurricular activity. I can see the pros of the AFA being that I will physically experience the academy's challenges not everyone can experience. I consider experience to be an important factor in my learning because I'm able to visually see and comprehend with my own eyes. AFA cadets gain the global edge, establishing a network of connections.

The cons of ROTC? I can't name a good amount, other than the less amount of opportunities in comparison to the AFA. Maybe that employers prefer AFA graduates over ROTC graduates? Do you know any cons of the ROTC? And the cons of USAFA will be the mandatory exercise tests during BCT I cringe upon thinking about it. To add to that, I can't adhere to the strict regulations in the AFA without messing up at least once. I'm prone to making silly and clumsy mistakes. If I get yelled at for making a small error, I will literally gridlock from being overwhelmed and humiliated.

You see, I want to get in to the AFA because it's a great school, but I sense a feeling that I won't be happy there from all the stress, pressure, and lack of free time. But at the same time, I need stress and pressure to help establish a productive schedule. For the ROTC, it's the opposite; I sense a feeling that I will be happy there, but I'm worried that I won't get the training I need for, let's say, piloting. It's appears to be that I'm asking for stress and pressure, even though I heavily dread those things.

Other interests, or things that make me tick, include solitude, philosophical conversations with other people, creative writing, and reading about my favorite subjects such as astronomy. Being an introvert, I'm not sure if the military is a place for quiet and reserved people, seeing as how the booming extroverts are the ones who dominate and represent the military's might. At least that's what the media shows us.

 

[Pima]

If you are successful in AFROTC it is not an EC, unless you consider 20+ hours a week an EC. Granted it is not the AFA, but it is not just show up for LLAB and PT either. Caveat your first year is comparable to an EC impo. As you rise up the ranks you will be given leadership positions that mimic the ADAF, such as, flight Commander, Cadet Vice Wing Commander and Cadet Commander. You will write reports and attend weekly meetings on top of LLAB and PT. Most cadets in AFROTC will also join military organizations, such as, Arnie Air, Silver Wings, Honor Guard or Angel Flight, which adds in more hours of away from academics. Plus, most large size detachments will have mandated volunteer hours.
~~ Our DSs unit to raise funds for the unit would clean the FB stadium at least twice a season. They also cleaned the arena after BB games.
~~ The unit also did philanthropic work, such as running in the Susan G Kohmenn run.

The cadets also on their free time usually also try to earn their private pilot license so flying becomes their true EC.

This also doesn't even start with those cadets that decide to do ROTC at an SMC, like VT, TAMU, Citadel, etc. ROTC cadets must be in the Corps of Cadets, which is more hours of training.

Just saying that if you think it is going to be five hours a week you have a huge misconception of what it will take to commission via AFROTC at a traditional college with a strong unit.
~ Granted there are small units and it might not have the same program like our DSs, our DSs won 2x out of the 4 years he was there the best large unit in the nation.

The true negatives are the following:
1. To commission from AFROTC requires being selected for field training as a sophomore. If not selected HQ AFROTC has the right to disenroll you from ROTC and odds are high they will do just that.
~ Overall selection rate for SFT last year was @55%.
~~ See my above comment about if you do it right it won't be an EC.

2. Chances are you will commission from the AFA with a 2.5 cgpa, you won't out of AFROTC because the avg cgpa for SFT selection is 3.0/3.1 for a tech degree and 3.3/3.4 and a nin-tech degree.

3. If you go engineering and want to go rated it can be a risk. There have been years that EE or ME or CE degrees were considered critical manning and they only allowed a very very small percentage to go rated from AFROTC, that was not true for AFA cadets.
~ Those selected out of AFROTC had not only very high cgpas, but also high test scores for TBAS and AFOQT, plus ranked out of FT very high.

So as much as going tech helps getting a scholarship, it can hurt chances of getting a rated slot sometimes too.

4. ROTC grads typically will go ADAF after their USAFA counterparts. It can be 6-9 months before you report. You will not be paid or have bennies during this time. Your date of rank will be an average between your commission and report date. USAFA will have their date as their commissioning date. this becomes a player for pay raises and promotions.
~ DS commissioned May 26, reported Sept.30th. His DOR is July 18th. That is when he pinned on O2. USAF grads pinned on in May.

5. AFROTC scholarship selection is much different. Your senior year ECs and academic records, except the SAT/ACT will not matter for selection. They will not super score the exam, it is best sitting. Your intended major will matter.80% go tech. You will not be able to change it once on scholarship from tech to non tech without HQ approval. That is rare to get approval. The scholarship selection is national. They couldn't care if nobody from Alabama gets a scholarship and everyone from CA does. Highest WCS wins the scholarship.

6. Biggest con is the attrition rate is much higher than AFA. Basically, maybe 40% that enter as a freshmen will commission. Some leave after the 100 year, some are not selected for SFT and some fall below the 2.5 cgpa and disenrolled. AFA has a much higher retention rate.

7. PT will be mandatory and that will be part of your score for SFT and career assignments. The more competitive career field you want, the higher the score you will need. 95% is considered average. They will be a stickler on form. There are many candidates that max the PFA for the scholarship, but bust the exam as soon as they get there because they had improper form on the PFA.. I say this because do not assume AFROTC doesn't care about athletics like the AFA. They do whether you are on scholarship or not.
~~ The first week at any AFROTC unit and you will be given the PFT. On the back of your gear will be your last name. Do it wrong and they will scream your name out. DS was always one of the pacers for the run. He would be the guy screaming your last name to move it faster. They have pacers in the front and back. The pacer in the back is to motivate the slowest cadets. By the end of the run if you were in the back of the pack the entire time they would all know your name. There were 4 pacers (2 guys and 2 girls) he would only scream out the slow moving guys names, the female pacer would scream out the girls. The ones that were fastest were allowed to go in front of the pacers and that pacer would scream out their name in positive reinforcement. Thus, same is true for the fastest people, the cadets now knew which cadet was the best.
~~ Your first semester will be like USAFA, they won't be your friends. They will be your mentors. It is to instill in you the way the chain works, and after that is completed, because you see them as mentors, the bonding of the brethren begins in a vertical manner because the bonding in the breath aspect between all of the 100s is already there from a reliance perspective.

CAVEAT: that is how DS unit worked it. Again, they are a huge unit with over 125 100s every year. Two years ago they had 175 100s. They have never had less than 275 cadets at any given time. See above regarding SFT selection rate.



I also agree with everyone else here regarding your misconception that anybody ADAF with a ring knocker from the AFA looks down on AFROTC. Nobody gives a rats arse as long as you do the job. Our very best friend for over 18 years was an AFA grad and if any teasing is ever done between Bullet (AFROTC) and him it is usually Bullet the one starting the teasing with him about attending the Little Engineering School in the Rockies!
~ FWIW, out of our DS UPT class, the two students that got the big prizes (F15E and 22) were commissioned not from USAFA. One was prior enlisted and OCS (22) the other was AFROTC(15E).


As for career opportunities after separating from the AF your career assignment is going to matter just as where you get your degree from. If you get your degree in underwater basket weaving from Timbucktoo it is not going to be comparable. However, impo if you are competitive for an appointment or an FROTC scholarship I doubt you will be going to Timbucktoo U and majoring in underwater basket weaving.

OBTW there are introverts in the AF, but impo, not a lot of them, at least in the flying world. The reason why is to make it through UPT it is a team support aspect. Many of the students have study groups. It won't be good if you crawl into a shell. Additionally, your social life will usually revolve around people in your squadron, especially overseas. Not everyone goes home for the holidays, thus they have their own festivities at each others homes. DS will not be able to come home this year, he will be spending it with other officers in the squadron. In the 21 years Bullet was in, 14 of them we did an Open House on Xmas Eve. There were years I had 100 people. We never were alone for any holiday ever, because that is how the squadrons work. You will be part of the AF family if you choose to be. If you don't than I believe you will miss out on a huge aspect of what is great in the AF. You maybe lucky enough to have a BF like us, where when our DS got married this past spring, their granddaughter was a flower girl. When our youngest had his holy communion they flew out from NC to KS to celebrate it with us. Yep, the AFA grad!

 

[MemberLG]

BSM,

How old are you? I could take a guess, but I am asking you to make a point. You are not the first 17 or 18 year old that figured everything out and knows everything. However, most young people don't know as much as they think they know. I say this not because I think I am better than anyone, rather I made my share of mistakes and learned from them.

Unless you are lucky, nothing is easy in life and most good things in life requires hard work. It sounds like you haven't even applied to AFA, so this discussion is somewhat premature.

 

[Spud]

Based on your comments, I would advise the following:
1. Do not go the service academy route---too much stress, pressure, absence of free time, decisions, and discomfort
2. Do not go the ROTC route---too much stress, pressure, absence of free time, decisions, and discomfort
3. Do not go the OCS route---too much stress, pressure, absence of free time,decisions, and discomfort.
4. Stay away from the military and have a wonderful life as a civilian.

 

[Pima]

Spud,

That was a little harsh. Not saying I don't agree, just saying it was harsh.

Look, you keep saying that piloting is a goal.

Ask Flieger, Raimius, Bullet, Stealth, Hornet, fencer, myself how many times as an 01 at a rated school they were told or their loved ones (Stealth, hornet, fencer and myself) that they were the absolute bottom of the barrel crap that they had ever seen!
~ I bet you every single one of them would say it happened more times than they care to ever remember! Usually at least twice a month for 54 weeks! Even if they had a good flight, someone had a crappy one and the IPs would rain down on them.
~~ It is @2 years of beat downs! BCT is a flipping cake walk compared to the emotional drain of IFS and UPT, with the follow on of water survival, SERE and the airframe school. That is how long it takes to become operational. Even after that you will still be the FNG in the op squadron and have to prove yourself.

My point is you want to be a pilot. You will be about 26 before anybody will respect your opinion. Until than it is all about learning!
~ Are you ready to be told for a decade you did it wrong?

Please, please, please read Raimius good of what UPT life is like. There is no mental health downtime. It is eat, breath, sleep and study UPT 6 days a week! Mental down time is FRiday night and Satuday. Back to hitting the books Sunday.

Heck, most UPT students will bust a Sim or ride at one point. They don't give you a week to recover. You are given maybe two days. At the same time the class is moving forward and everyone knows you busted. You have remarked that you are likely to retreat. There is no retreating...obviously there is, but it results in getting washed out. The only real option you have is to dust yourself all and prove them wrong!

Now if you go nonrated, I will let others tell you how it works.
~ I will say even as an O5 Bullet flying a desk had his butt made into hamburger meat by O7+.

In that point spud is right again. It is a high pressure world.
~ The pressure becomes even worse when they deploy you for 4 months and you are forced to leave your wife behind with your 3 week old baby. Trust me, inevitably during that deployment the dishwasher will break, the car will get a flat tire, , the other car will blow a gasket, and the family pet may die. Oh and that winter there will be 60 inches of snow or if it is the fall a hurricane will hit and that 100 yr old tree slammed down across the driveway!

That is the real AF life! You think I am exaggerating! I am not.all of those things happened to me over the course of Bullets career!

Spud may appear to be harsh, but he has a point that you need to really think about because AFA or AFROTC you will be at the very least 27 before you leave. Rated you will most likely be 33.

 

[BlackSnowMarine]

How old are you? I could take a guess, but I am asking you to make a point. You are not the first 17 or 18 year old that figured everything out and knows everything. However, most young people don't know as much as they think they know.

Yeah, I'm 17. I know so little, and it's overwhelming. It's hard memorizing all the abbreviations of the military. I know it's a little too late to apply to the AFA, unless if it's possible to squeeze in the nomination, the CFA, and the medical evaluation all before January 31st.

OBTW there are introverts in the AF, but impo, not a lot of them, at least in the flying world. The reason why is to make it through UPT it is a team support aspect. Many of the students have study groups. It won't be good if you crawl into a shell. Additionally, your social life will usually revolve around people in your squadron, especially overseas. Not everyone goes home for the holidays, thus they have their own festivities at each others homes.

Understood. Would introverts do better in jobs like intelligence or weather ffficers, or engineering?

And how would pilot training differ from ROTC to the AFA? Does the AFA have more opportunities for pilots than ROTC? Do pilots from the AFA have a better chance of getting a pilot slot than ROTC pilots?

Is it also possible to have two occupations? Like being a pilot as well as being a weather officer? Or an aerospace engineer as well as an astronomer?

 

[AFrpaso]

Generally you won't be holding two jobs unless you cross train into another field, at that point you leave your old field behind.

I can at least speak a little towards the engineering fields, because that's where I'm planning on going. Developmental engineering in the AF is split up into a number of different subdivisions that focus on specific areas. Most of the developmental engineers that I have talked have commented about how AF Officers aren't really doing a lot of hard core design. They are mostly there as project managers who test and evaluate potential technologies for acquisition.

Here's some information about the 62E, Developmental Engineer, career field.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/officerjobs/a/62ex.htm

As far as I know, there is no astronomer career field.

 

[Pima]

Statistically hands down the AFA gives you a better shot!

Please re-read my post regarding AFROTC attrition rates compared to the AFA.
~ I will make it easy for you
~~~ 55% of all sophomores in AFROTC were selected for SFT, which is mandatory. They on avg had at least a 3.0/3.1 tech cgpaor 3.3./3.4 non tech.

That means just from sheer numbers AFROTC has a 45% attrition rate just for that. Overall the AFA has 20-25%.

If you get SFT, and maintain those cgpas, statistically you have about a 95% chance of getting a pilot slot.

The big hurdle for AFROTC is their sophomore year.

I don't understand what you mean by how pilot training would differ from ROTC to AFA? They all go to the same UPT bases.
~ Fencers D's commissioned USAFA May 2012. My DS commissioned AFROTC May 2012. They both went to Laughlin, in the same class and both are now flying C130Js.

You will have what is called an AFSC, a career field assignment code. You will fly a desk when you are not flying. Typically it is something tied to flying, such as weapons, scheduling, flight commander, ops, wing safety etc.
~ I don't think it is the way you are thinking.

FWIW, I am betting the only nomination left on the table right now is VP or ROTC. It is Nov. and most Mocs will have closed their applications by now, or at the very latest the 15th of this month and I don't see how you could submit it to your MOC with essays and recs within a week.

 

[raimius]

Introverts can do fine, but you may need to focus a little more energy on communications skills.

USAFA and AFROTC usually get about the same number of pilot slots per year, but AFROTC has more cadets. The training pipeline will be the same, as it occurs after you commission.

If you are looking for a career with lots of personal time and low stress, this ain't it. I'm not saying everything is always stressful and always busy for an AF officer, but there will be plenty of times where it is.

 

[TriService2017]

ROTC perspective

I was an ROTC graduate and pilot. I never felt like a second class citizen. At pilot training, I was a class behind the last "Full" AFA class. I noticed their class bond, but other than that, not much of a difference in their success rate or assignments coming out of pilot training. Once in a squadron, no one really asks how you got your commission except to make conversation.

 

[Invisibility]

On the introvert thing, a few points:

1) I am an introvert. Large groups feel stifling to me; I find it hard to meet new people; I enjoy my "alone" time to reflect, read, or stare at the wall.
2) I am an excellent communicator. Today I talked to about 100 people with half an hour's notice. I know several hundred people here by name--first or last; often both. I spend very little time actually alone... my roommate is a talker, and I go to the library when I can. The library is often closed.
3) I could not be happier to be here.

On the stress thing:

1) Whether you are in ROTC or at USAFA, people will yell at you for making small, stupid mistakes.
2) Whether you are in ROTC or at USAFA, the mark of a person who will succeed is having the courage to fess up to small mistakes and the poise to react calmly and efficiently.
3) Whether you are in ROTC or at USAFA OR A CIVILIAN, you are going to have to deal with stress. It will never be fun, and you will have days where you regret your life--no matter what route you take. This is part of the human experience; it is part of learning; and it is part of becoming an adult.

On the military life thing:
1) Mostly freshman year is a giant inconvenience. Try your hardest, pass knowledge tests, follow the rules without complaining, and your squad will think you're fine.
2) That said, there's a rule for everything, for both freshmen and upperclassmen. Even if the rule is "cadets may choose XYZ," that's still a rule. You can't always leave; your plans may change unexpectedly; "the system" is arbitrary and often unfair.
3) I don't know what you're picturing, but this isn't ancient Sparta. We go to class; we do military stuff; we wear uniforms; we call our teachers Sir and Ma'am. Some of our traditions are demanding and perhaps borderline cruel, but you won't lose your humanity by coming to USAFA.

If you wish to become a military officer, realize that you will have people's lives in your hands. If that doesn't stress you out a bit, you probably should choose a different profession. USAFA is a very practical place--a rewarding one, but a practical one. People are here primarily to become officers. Some of us are also into learning for learnings' sake, being world-class athletes, or flying. But if you're not willing to subordinate those desires--at least while you're in the AF--to the ever-present need to be the best AF officer you can be, you should choose a different profession.

EDIT: And ROTC cadets/officers are well-respected. Some AFA cadets may grumble about how "ROTC cadets have it easy", but it's usually a complain of jealousy. As far as officers go, some USAFA cadets would probably say that ROTC grads are better prepared.

 

[marathoner94]

ROTC for 2 years before USAFA

So first off,

I am not crazy. I never applied to USAFA or even though of applying in HS because I didn't know what I wanted to do with life and wanted to make sure it was something I wanted to with my life. When I went to civilian college, I did ROTC. I am a marathon runner and decided to come out and run the Denver marathon with a friend. While here, I came down to USAFA to tour and realized that I wanted to be a cadet here. I couldn't fantasize or imagine any different. I received my nomination(s) and appointment and quickly accepted. Basic was basic...the most fun I never want to have again. The school year is hard. This place has its ups and downs but the things we get to do here are so cool. I wouldn't have it any other way. I am on the marathon team and just ran the Marine Corps Marathon with the team getting a personal record. I absolutely love it here.

If you have any questions, please ask. I have the perspective from both the ROTC and now USAFA side of things. Good luck