What are my chances of being accepted?

I never participated in sports in High School. I was a member of the JROTC drill team, and a nationally ranked Irish Dancer...

My AFA counselor said that unless I had a sport on file I would not be looked upon favorably.

I did received my appointment in February though. So it is possible to get in without sports, although the statistics/academies show favor towards varsity athletes.
 
To add to their already made points...

Everyone at the military academies is an athlete. Participation in athletics is required, Intercollegiate or intermural.
 
Ok so while we are on the topic of sports...... What do you all think the best way to prepare for the Fitness Test is? My thought would be to just start taking practice tests every other day until the desired results are reached. Good or Bad idea?
 
very good.. especially if you still have a few months until you take it... run through the whole test two or three times a week... every day is a little excessive... look at the averages/maximums for each category and work on individual categories until you are happy with all of them... when your as good as you'll get, have a coach or PE teacher officially administer the test.. good luck
 
I don't think taking the test that many times is a good idea. I think you should do what you'd do for any other test- work on small portions of it at a time. For example- not too good at pushups- get cracking. Your mile is a little low- work on that too. I was told by my PE teacher that throwing the basketball all the time will eventually get my shoulder hurting, and she's the softball coach, so i listened. You wouldn't want a sore shoulder for when you take it. So practice this with variation.

Also, one reason I say not to do the test so many times is because imagine how monotonous that would be? I could not take, for example, the AP Chemistry exam every other day from September till May. I would probably kill myself lol. If you work with the individual portions, when it comes time to do the real test, practice like once a week to make sure you learn how to put them all together.
 
Ok so I practiced some parts of the test last night and here are the results
BB throw- 81 ft
Pull-ups- 4 ( going from a dead hang is beastly hard!!)
Pushups- 41 ( after practice ill be ok)
Sit-ups-54 ( same as pushups give me a week or two to get crank it up)

I feel fine with everything but I am a little worried about the pull-ups. I gotta get busy with those!!!!
 
You are correct in your assessment of pull-ups. I'd say the biggest score changer for men is the pull-ups. I have seen many where the different between athletic probation an passing OR the athletic list and not come down to a single pull-up.
 
That's why i think that taking the same test over and over again for practice isn't going to do much for your pullups. You gotta single those out and work on them until you can get a serious number in, then go back and see how you do in combination.
 
What is the "athletic life" like at usafa? I mean I know you get up and have PT and sports later in the day but whats that like? Are the upperclassmen merciless on the lower classmen during PT? O yeah and what is lunch like for freshmen?:)
 
Kevster, the first picture we saw on Webguy was of one of our guys in the first few days of BCT at lunch. He looked 100% miserable. It's on our frig. Lunch improves some but not a lot from what I've been told.

Don't forget the run, and practice practice practice. I saw a lot of kids really fade out during the run because they didn't save enough energy for it. Get off the computer and go to the track and gym!
 
What is the "athletic life" like at usafa? I mean I know you get up and have PT and sports later in the day but whats that like? Are the upperclassmen merciless on the lower classmen during PT? O yeah and what is lunch like for freshmen?:)
Click to expand...

Look; not dogging the air force academy; you all know I think it's the GREATEST MILITARY SCHOOL and University of Higher Learning in the world; but outside of BCT, the getting up and having PT every day is a little far fetched. Actually, except for recognition and a few other times, organized PT isn't really like it is in the Army. Also, the sports later in the day is only a couple of days a week. And it's approximately a half of semester in the fall and again in the spring. Hard to explain.
 
dont forget training sessions :)

and minutes :)

you'll get your fair share of PT... whether it's forced on you or if you choose to go work out, which most do
 
To prepare for CFA, I definitely do not think it's a good idea to take it every other day - or every week. It'll be mentally devastating and you'll lose enthusiasm fast if you are working out by yourself. Maybe every other week as a gauge for improvement is a good idea. My suggestion is to pinpoint your weakest areas, then hammer those first, but stagger your workouts so you're working on something everyday and there's proper rest and recovery. Ie, arms one day, legs the next. Running should be continuously practiced. Here's a good link on the exercises that'll help you bring up weak areas: http://www.stewsmith.com/linkpages/serviceacademycfa.htm
 
Thats looks like a pretty good link. O and please correct me if I am wrong but it sounds like you dont have to go to PT everyday? Or is it just that PT isnt all that stressful in the grand scheme of things @ USAFA?
 
Guys, remember that you're applying to a military academy (especially one 7,000+ feet above sea level). Whether it is enforced or not, you HAVE to be in top physical shape, or you will have to work out to get to be in top physical shape. No ifs ands or buts. For us appointees, PT should be something we're used to anyway
 
Bomb is correct. Realize that 95% +/- of all cadets are varsity letter athletes. Physical fitness is everything. But that needs to just be a given. You should not even be thinking about PT, Sports, physical fitness, etc... This is the Air Force Academy. Considered one of the top 10 schools in the country. In some lists, it's ranked #1-#5 in certain areas. It's also preparing you to serve as a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force. Those are the things that you should be concentrating on. If you are concerned about PT, Sports, Athletics, and Physical fitness because you aren't normally an athlete, then you have 2 big concerns. 1) Are you physically fit for the academy and 2) Are you physically fit for military life. But if you are an athlete and not some 200lb 5ft 6inch playstation junkie; then you shouldn't even worry yourself with the physical fitness part of this. Physical fitness is a given. It's like wanting to work in the medical field and wondering if you'll have to see BLOOD. If you've got such a concern, then the medical field shouldn't even be a consideration. Same with the academies and the military. If you're concerned at all about physical fitness, then maybe the academy and military aren't right for you. (Not you as in the poster; but "You" in the 3rd person anyone concerned). Physical Fitness is to the academy/military; as is Blood is to the medical fields; as is cleaning up dog poop is to a veterinarian; as is getting grease hands is to a mechanic. In other words, for those truly interested in the academy and the military other than just a free education, physical fitness is not a concern. It's a given as part of this lifestyle.

But as Bomb mentioned, even the in shape athlete can find the academy; especially at 7000 feet to be quite challenging. I know that when my son was in BCT, they do a lot of studies on how cadets adapt to the low oxygen and high altitude. Of course they need a control group. So the first thing the ask for are IC athletes and better yet, those from Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico, and other high altitude areas. Of course being from Wyoming, my son didn't have much of a choice. The football coach "Volunteered" him. (You'll find that out too; you GET VOLUNTEERED a lot). However, he did receive extra weekend passes for volunteering. Anyway; there's a lot of football, basketball, baseball, soccer, etc... players who get their butts kicked with the altitude. Especially those from the East/West coast areas where they are use to humidity and oxygen. Here, it's "High and Dry". Walking around, you can de-hydrate without sweating. Besides the "Cloud-Climbers" (Those from high altitude are sometimes referred to); Swimmers and Cross-Country runners seem to do well. Both of these sports really deplete oxygen and their body's have conditioned themselves to countering toxicity.

So, definitely prepare for the altitude. You should already be prepared for the physical conditioning. If you're an athlete, you are. The CFA is something different, but a good starting point. If you can't do well on the CFA or are not athletically inclined, you really need to think about the academy and military as a lifestyle. Best of luck..... Mike.....
 
Ok another question..... We just got our elective sheets for next year and here are the choices-
Chior
Yearbook/Journalism
Drawing
Painting
Debate
(Yes my school is small)
I dont have a burning desire to do any of these but I wouldnt mind taking debate. I understand its just one class but Im assuming that taking debate would be better than taking a painting class. Am I correct in my assesment of this?
 
Yes. Debate is something that will serve you well in life. Plus, if your school participates in meets, it helps you with learning to think on your feet. Another option would be the yearbook if you can get to be an editor of some piece of it since that is a leadership EC (being a editor, not just a writer or helping put the book together). Good luck!
 
Or not select an elective and take an extra science course.
 
Do something you'd enjoy, you don't have to change yourself just for the academy. Look at the pros and cons in all of them and see which ones you wouldn't find yourself saying "ugh, I have ___ again today..."
 
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