I have mixed feelings about this...

K

KawahWahidi

5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Messages
14
One of my life long dreams is to join the Air Force and fly. I mean, ever since I saw the Navy's Blue Angels, I've been wanting to fly for a long time.

I am a 17 year old, I played Lacrosse for two years, but I quit because of the students frequent marijuana abuse and the effect it had on the team. My GPA is garbage compared to what I see in some of the kids here, a mere 3.0.
I talked to my parents, and currently we're not financially stable, but I have the hugest interest in getting an Aeronautical Masters at any school, preferably the famous Embry-Riddle University at Daytona. My SAT's were pretty bad. I took my first one with a 1600, and I'm starting to sign up for ACT's because my strongest points are in math and science, rather than english.

But I'm having doubts. My family can't pay $50,000 tuition what-so-ever to get that degree. And I've been crazy about the Air Force...

Normally, I'm a really optimistic kid, but this is something I have NO education on. What are my chances of getting a full-ride scholarship at EMUA? What are my chances of even making a pilot slot? And what are the chances of becoming a U2 pilot? What are the chances of becoming an officer?

Another note: I would like to become a cargo pilot after serving. Will the Air Force help me with that?

I'm sorry I have so many questions, but I don't know who to ask.

Thank you!
 
The good, the bad and the ugly.......
A couple of questions:
1. What is the breakdown between math, cr and writing?

2. What state do you live in?

You need to consider all your options. Concentrating your college on winning a ROTC scholarship is risky because AFROTC is very very competitive and many don't find out until spring. In other words, don't count on winning one, since you are financially needy.
That said, you can still take AFROTC at ERAU even without a scholarship.

Assuming you get accepted to ERAU - how to pay??
It is very difficult if you are a needy student. Your bill will be paid by a combination of Federal financial aid (depending on your family's circumstances you MAY qualify for some grants), Grants from ERAU, Loans, family contribution and your work.
You must complete the FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov) as soon as possible after Jan 1.

Even with financial aid, this may not cover your flight fees which can run $15,000 at ERAU.

You need to think of different options - one being majoring in engineering at your state university (much cheaper) and getting your Master's at ERAU.
 
I will respond from the chances side because JAM did a great job covering the AFROTC scholarship side.

She is correct AFROTC scholarships are one of the most competitive scholarships.

As far as becoming a pilot. Those slots are just as competitive. In your jr yr at college you will meet another selection board, and this time it will be for your career path.

ERAU prides itself on giving out the 2nd most pilot slots, only after the AFA. However, you need to re-evaluate their approach. They give out the second most, but they are below many other dets from a statistical approach.

How do you get a slot? Your college record, including det involvement and det recommendation will be reviewed. Just as they look at the whole candidate for a scholarship they look at the whole cadet for UPT. Poor gpa and your odds go down dramatically.

Additionally for AFROTC scholarships it is not tied to the college like Army and Navy, it is a national competition, just like it would be for UPT.

Now let's say you get UPT. There is no guarantee that you will make it through. As everyone on this site knows, this is my biggest pet peeve. Don't go just to become a pilot! You need to have a plan B, because either way when you graduate you will owe at least 5 yrs.

Additionally, you don't know what may happen in the future. The ROTC class of 2010 could not have predicted that the AF would be now going through a RIF and slowing the UPT pipeline down. At our DS's det, a cadet who had a pilot slot, found out approximately 90 days prior to graduation he lost it. It was his fault he did not pull a high enough gpa...we are not talking about failing anything, but 3.0 caused him to lose it.

You automatically get commissioned an officer if you graduate from ROTC. That letter O in ROTC stands for Officer.

The U2 was slated to be boneyarded, and I believe it is 2012 as the final yrs. Even if isn't boneyarded, that plane is very unique and I have never heard of it coming down at UPT assignment night. I am assuming that you would have to fly fighters for a while before you could get it even if it remained in the inventory. I.E., by the time you graduate college, UPT, RTU, and do at least 1 operational tour the earliest you would see it is 2020.

As far as flying cargo planes, assuming you mean FedEx or UPS, your training is already paid for with the AF because you have flight hours. There is another course that pilots take for instrument rating in the commercial world, and that is not on the AF dime. It costs about 10K to get it, but you need the certification to get the job.

If you want to go to ERAU apply, because remember colleges not only give out merit money, but they also give out financial needs based scholarships (this is one of the reasons they have endowments).

Do yourself a favor and spend this yr looking up every scholarship possible to assist in getting you there. There are some funky scholarships out there....for example Polish ancestry or DAR or Knights Of Columbus.

OBTW, many do not find out about their scholarship until the spring, but they do start giving them out in Oct/Nov time frame. Our DS had his by xmas.
 
Kent State?

With me being utterly ignorant about this topic, This may be a non-starter...
but maybe the Air Force experts here have an opinion on Kent State's program?

Kent AFROTC says that of their 14 Cadets that received a commission this spring, 4 got flight school slots., Is that good or bad?
(two more went to 'unmanned flight')

Kent State, OH Aeronautical Systems Engineering Technology

3.0 GPA and average (24 ACT) would get you into Kent with ease.

http://www.kent.edu/tech/aero/index.cfm

http://www.kent.edu/afrotc/index.cfm
 
Last edited:
Depending on what state you live in...I would look to see if your state has something setup for in-state schools. For example, in Georgia we have the HOPE scholarship which pays for tuition to any public college/university.I know other states have something similar, but am not an expert on the topic. Further, I can't think of any state school that is obscenely expensive. Most are easily under 10k. Georgia State, for example, is 3k if you aren't on HOPE. People who are in-state here in GA and want ROTC don't really need to bother with the scholarship aspect because as long as they mantain a 3.0 they have HOPE pay for tuition. You can still do ROTC if you aren't on a scholarship. The only difference is sometimes the scholarship students are given a few extra oppurtunities. I mean in the end it's not a huge deal where you spend your summers, you still get the commission upon graduation.

Now as far as embry goes. Yes, it's a good school. But only has the credibility within the industry. I think State U would offer more versatility, since you are going to have a more liberal arts foundation in case flying doesn't work out. Would you still want to be an AF officer if you weren't given the oppurtunity to fly?
 
Thank you guys!

To answer Just_A_Mom:

Math: 700, and the English and Writing part both 450's, I think. I know my math was a 700, though

I live in the state of Virginia.

And thank you for that information, I'll take the survey soon.

Pima: Haha, I did read somewhere that being your pet peeve, but I also want to serve just to be able to accomplish something that big.

I can definitely live with being an officer and not flying, and I'm perfectly fine serving whatever amount of years after and more.

I don't think I could get into VT, considering my GPA and SAT. I don't know if squeezing off ridiculously good grades senior year would help.

But I will look into other schools in Virginia, but from I remember, no one had a masters program involving aviation.

SO, AH, my head is spinning with poor planning!
 
VA Aviation Degrees

Old Dominion
http://eng.odu.edu/aerospace/academics/graduateprograms.shtml
Graduate Programs

Aerospace Engineering involves the solution of complex multidisciplinary problems associated with aerospace vehicles and systems, high-speed ground vehicles, spacecraft systems, and many other problems in addition to the traditional areas of aeronautics and astronautics. More information about the Aerospace Engineering program is available.The following degree programs in Aerospace Engineering are offered:
* Master of Engineering (M.E.)
* Master of Science (M.S.)
* Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)


University of Virginia
http://www.mae.virginia.edu/
Overview

The MAE Department at UVa is an organization dedicated to cutting-edge research and the highest quality engineering education. The department offers Bachelor of Science degrees in both Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as well as a combined program with Master of Engineering, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. In this department you will find a balance between a tradition of excellence and pioneering spirit of entrepreneurship in both education and research.

Virginia Tech
Graduate Studies
http://www.aoe.vt.edu/academics/grad/

2009-2010 Graduate Courses

The Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering offers the following graduate programs:

Master of Science: Degree in Aerospace Engineering and degree in Ocean Engineering. Each of these degrees has two options, a Master of Science with or without thesis.

Master of Engineering: Degree in Aerospace Engineering. This is a non-thesis degree.

Doctor of Philosophy: Degree in Aerospace Engineering. This degree is a research oriented degree which can be focused toward one (or more) of several disciplines. These disciplines include aerodynamics, structures and structural dynamics, flight dynamics and control, ocean engineering, multidisciplinary design, applied mathematics, and applied physics.



Virginia Scholarships
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/high_school/virginia_scholarships/index.shtml

The Granville P. Meade Scholarship

* The Granville P. Meade Scholarship provides financial assistance to students who have achieved academically, but who are financially unable to attend college. The Granville P. Meade fund provides scholarship awards to worthy and needy Virginia high school seniors to attend one of Virginia's public or private colleges or universities.

Lee-Jackson Scholarship

* Scholarships are given by the Lee-Jackson Foundation (outside resource) of Charlottesville, Virginia, for outstanding essays which demonstrate an appreciation of the exemplary character and soldierly virtues of Generals Lee and Jackson. One $10,000, eight $2,000, and eighteen $1,000 college scholarships are available to Virginia high school juniors and seniors.

Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship

* Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships provide financial assistance to students who have achieved academically and show promise of continued outstanding academic achievement. Graduating seniors of public and private secondary schools, and those who have the equivalent of a high school diploma, are eligible for the Byrd Honors Scholarship Program. The applicants must have demonstrated and show promise of continued outstanding academic achievement.
 
Thank you so much! I'm going to look at these for a bit. I'm glad I signed up for this nifty site.
 
Wow your Math SAT's are excellent! Is English your first language.
In any case, study the CR and Writing portion and take the SAT's again.

Old Dominion has a dept of mechanical and aerospace engineering and an aerospace minor for undergrads. You would definitely be accepted there but they don't have AFROTC.
VMI might be another option. They don't have aero but they have mechanical and AFROTC.

You definitely need to find a college that you can afford for sure - Plan B.

Don't worry about the Master's yet. Do a good job on your undergrad and the Master's will come later.
 
Old Dominion AFROTC

Correct, Old Dominion University does not have AFROTC
However you can attend Dominion and do AFROTC with the Detachment at University of Virginia

http://airforce.virginia.edu/

AFROTC (Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps)
Detachment 890 is an AFROTC training program based out of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. Det. 890 also supports cadets from four nearby universities: James Madison University, Liberty University, Piedmont Virginia Community College, and Old Dominion University TeleTechnet at PVCC. The Cadet Corps includes more than a hundred cadets from these five universities.

I think Old Old Dominion University has about 20-25% of undergrad population in ROTC., very high for a non-military school.
 
Last edited:
Thank you both so much.

I'm gonna look into Old Dominion, now. I was pretty bummed about them not having AFROTC, but Jack saved it!

English is my sorta first language. My parents are Afghan and they moved here during the Soviet v Afghan war. I was born here, but I dunno, I thought I'd do a LOT better in the English portions. I just got off the phone with my mom and told her about ODU and she asked me if I was going to continue in military, and I told her I would.

How would I join the Detachment of UVA if it's at another school? Would I have to drive there?! That'd be a mission and a half to drive there!
 
Awe... that blows! I guess I'm gonna have to look for a different school other than ODU.

But thanks a bunch anyhow. I called my nearby recruiter and hopefully I'll get a call back.

As for sports, would it look bad that I only played two years? Fairfax isn't such a great school...
 
KawahWahidi said:
I called my nearby recruiter and hopefully I'll get a call back.
Click to expand...

If the AF is like the Army, the recruiters are there to enlist people, most are not interested in helping you become an officer/pilot.
Contact your nearest AFROTC College Detachment and speak to them.
 
ODU does have Army ROTC - one of the largest Battalions on the east coast and the largest in Va
ODU also has NROTC.


English is my sorta first language. My parents are Afghan and they moved here during the Soviet v Afghan war. I was born here, but I dunno, I thought I'd do a LOT better in the English portions. I just got off the phone with my mom and told her about ODU and she asked me if I was going to continue in military, and I told her I would.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, I had a feeling. You should definitely note this on your application.
Get the SAT Study guide - it is BLUE. Study and study. Take practice tests and work on your CR score.
 
Interesting fact about ODU, I would have thought VATech was the biggest.

Without a doubt you should note that. For the AFA they state that 490 CR is considered not competitive. 450 CR will hurt unless you can explain why. Without a doubt your personal history will help you.

Gojack is correct they want you to enlist. Recruiters have recruitment goals for their personal reviews.
 
You should also check out fastweb.com for other scholarships. You put in what you are interested subject wise and what colleges you are looking at, and they find scholarships from all over that match your profile. Its really great.
 
Interesting fact about ODU, I would have thought VATech was the biggest.
Click to expand...
ODU has more Army ROTC cadets than either Va TEch or VMI. Don't forget at the Sr Military colleges you can attend without any military obligation.
They have nearly 300 AROTC cadets and NROTC is a part of the Hampton Roads consortium and has about 250 MIDN.
Norfolk is a huge military town.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top