How are you an applicant for 17? Maybe you mean SLS, but def. not AFA since the ALO's have yet to find out the students they are assigned, and will not know their applicants until @ the 1st of July, end of June at best.
The PCQ only opened up this month and they release on 1 date all they have processed to a certain point, from there it becomes a rolling situation as kids submit. Right now the AFA is working on 16 and SLS. Come April they will than start working on 17. Hence, the release date is end of June.
Additionally, ALO's are trained and must re-certify (if you want to call it that) regarding the process. Another reason why the list is not yet out, because they need to be cleared by the AFA for the upcoming yr.
As far as ALO's it varies from one to another. Our DS's ALO was incredibly involved regarding the essays and letters. He met with his applicants @ 3 X over the summer drafting, editing and re-editing his items. In other words, if your ALO is involved, in the end you may be spinning your wheels for nothing.
Think of it this way:
MOC's may have their own guidelines that others do not have. Who is better to answer that? Your ALO or anyone who lives in a different district that only knows their MOC guidelines.
Your ALO has seen probably hundreds of these letters and can quickly point out what your MOC favors in the cover letter. Trust your ALO.
Your ALO will know all of the applicants you are up against for a nom., nobody else here will. He will be able to strengthen and highlight your assets when it comes to the competition.
Being an applicant is great, but you need a nom to be a candidate, and in some states they share the wealth, meaning 1 nom. at best. This is a hurdle you need to clear. Your ALO is your best source of information and guidance in this matter.
JMPO, now throw my 0.19874 cents into the circular filing cabinet.
PS. Remember next yr this time you will be emotionally drained if you are in the mass mailing March. Take this time and enjoy life. If you are all about this, than spend your time taking the SAT/ACT to get the highest superscore possible. Get the highest cgpa that you can, because AFROTC scholarships only include through your jr. yr. AFROTC also does not superscore, they take the best sitting, multiple SAT/ACTs typically will end with at least a higher best sitting.
The smart applicant has plan B in order too while they go for Plan A. Most applicants for AFROTC are shocked in July to find out that their SR yr does not count for the board, and wish they could go back in time to pull that cgpa up, or do some more EC's. You still have that time. They are shocked because they took their eye off the ball.
If it was me, and I felt my SAT was out the door great (1400 best sitting), and a 4.0 cgpa with 5 APs, than I would be working on the CFA/PFA. Look at the threads this yr. For the 1st time in the 4 yrs I have been here, it has become common place to be disqualified due to the CFA. Applicants think it is just a PE test like they do in school, and as long as they meet the mins, they are fine. Wake up call, mins will mean the difference between an appt and a TWE. In yrs past the AFA reopened the portal for candidates they thought could get an appointment, but just didn't do well on the CFA. I don't recall seeing anyone's portal being re-opened this yr. Once submitted, only the AFA can re-open it, you can't request a do-over. That is a hard regret in life to say, if I did 1 more pull up I would be at the AFA now.
The goal is commissioning, the dream is AFA. Two different things!
