"Back up plans"

Zie

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
29
Hi everyone,

I've heard that Congress members/State reps look carefully at how you have structured your options, which I think are:

1. Get accepted
2. Get accepted into Prep School
3. Not get accepted, and apply again next year
4. Not get accepted and continue on with life, pursuing other options.


Based on this, my questions are:

1. If you don't get accepted, will you apply again for the next year? (I am also interested to hear from current/former USAFA cadets.)

2. If you do plan on applying, what will you do in the meantime? Specifically, is it worth it to go to an out of state college, just for the year?

Thanks for the opinions!
 
1. If you don't get accepted, will you apply again for the next year? (I am also interested to hear from current/former USAFA cadets.)

For starters, I don't qualify for prep school. But yes, I will most definitely apply for the academy again next year if I don't get in this year.

2. If you do plan on applying, what will you do in the meantime? Specifically, is it worth it to go to an out of state college, just for the year?

I will go to my top choice civilian school. I think if you can afford it, it's very worth it to go to the school you want to attend. Whether you apply the next year or not, you may not get in. You might as well continue on as if you had never heard of a service academy. You can't depend on something uncertain.
 
You might as well continue on as if you had never heard of a service academy. You can't depend on something uncertain.

You should really stop giving advice on things you haven't yet experienced. Whether or not someone chooses to attend a 4 year civilian school, prep school, or do anything else after graduation is a really personal choice, and it seems a little presumptuous for someone who hasn't even received an appointment to deal out advice.

To answer the OP, when I was asked during interviews, I said that if I didn't receive an appointment I would reapply from AFROTC or a prep school if given a scholarship.

PS, if you don't want to depend on uncertain things, perhaps the Air Force Academy isn't the best place for you.
 
As someone who was denied my senior year to the academies, it's crucial to have a back up plan. Not only will it give you a huge burden off your shoulders but will also impress those interviewing you for nomination. If your goal is to attend a service academy never give that up. Not only will you show great dedication to the admissions board by applying a second time but you will also likely build your application to be better over the year that you have to wait until the next admissions cycle.
If you can afford it absolutely attend your dream school. Although applying a second time will mean you may have to transfer, there is no guarantee you will get in and it would be a waste to sit on your thumbs for a year instead of attending civilian college and perhaps participating in ROTC. Another bonus of attending a civilian college while you complete your second application is that you can build on some of the core curriculum you'll face in the academy such as math and physics. Going into that with at least a year between your last math/physics class is a dangerous game to play.
Ultimately, keep your eye on the main goal and don't give up. After being denied to the class of 2017 I now have my LoA to the class of 2018 while I'm attending UCSB. Participation in ROTC and strong academic performances certainly helped me achieve this goal, but if I were to be denied again I'd have a nice foundation in a great spot. Attend your dream school if the academy doesn't work out and try again next year. The only way you are guaranteed to not get in to USAFA is if you don't try.
 
Thank you everyone for replying! I really appreciate the advice.

CannotBeDisplayed-If you don't mind my asking, why don't you qualify for Prep School?
 
You should really stop giving advice on things you haven't yet experienced. Whether or not someone chooses to attend a 4 year civilian school, prep school, or do anything else after graduation is a really personal choice, and it seems a little presumptuous for someone who hasn't even received an appointment to deal out advice.

To answer the OP, when I was asked during interviews, I said that if I didn't receive an appointment I would reapply from AFROTC or a prep school if given a scholarship.

PS, if you don't want to depend on uncertain things, perhaps the Air Force Academy isn't the best place for you.

I am completely at a loss for words on this response. I have re-read the original question and it was very specifically asking others who are applying this year what they planned to do (and as a side note those who are/were in the academy as well). So someone who is applying this year gives a response and you attack them...

Is this the response of a good leader? Is this what they teach at the Academy? I very seriously doubt it. Great leaders are great because they build everyone around them up. Bad leaders try to look great by knocking those around them down.

I'm going to kindly suggest you re-read the question. Then re-read the responses and ask yourself if this was very "becoming".

And by the way the answer they gave was spot on. Life is full of uncertainty. They never said they didn't want to depend on uncertainty, they said they are preparing for the uncertainty. That is some VERY good advise.
 
It seems strange that you would attack my character if you are indeed at a loss for words. Here are the two things that prompted my response:

1.The claim that the poster was "not qualified for prep school." Since the USAFA prep school attracts people with a variety of backgrounds, it's impossible to claim that you aren't eligible for it unless you sit on an admissions board. Perhaps I'm assuming that cannotbedisplayed thinks that they're academically overqualified, in which case I (perhaps wrongfully so) am already irked by their arrogance.

2.It is simply ludicrous to give advice on what to do when you don't get into the academy if you have no experience in the field. Life is about preparing for uncertainty, sure, but it's also about taking risks. I have a large handful of friends who gave up opportunities in order to reapply from prep schools, so perhaps I'm taking this a bit personally. I won't try to give advice on how to be an upperclass cadet, go through IFS, or lead Airmen...and I would hate to see someone discouraged from other options because someone who hasn't experienced the whole application cycle thinks they know better.

Perhaps this reaction is not warranted. However, this is not the first time the poster has expressed strong opinions regarding the academy, military, or culture of commitment. My issue isn't with someone who's applying this year responding to the post-that would be silly. It's with someone speaking outside of their realm of expertise with absolute certainty.
 
Either CBD did not word that line properly, or I'm crazy too, because I read that as:

"If you don't get in the first time, you might as well forget about the academy because there's no guarantee that you will get in the second or third time."

Which is definitely not what he meant to say, and would probably rub every reapplicant the wrong way. He probably meant to say something along the lines of:

"You should follow a solid plan B that would still meet long term goals in case the academy does not come through for a second or third year (e.g. going to civilian school w/ ROTC and remaining on track to commission regardless of appointment instead of going to civilian prep and banking on appointment the following year)." A common answer to the Academy grad vs. Commissioning dilemma.

CBDR avoided?

...And I'm in the wrong forum. How embarrassing.
 
Nuensi, I read it exactly like you put it: "You should follow a solid plan B that would still meet long term goals in case the academy does not come through for a second or third year (e.g. going to civilian school w/ ROTC and remaining on track to commission regardless of appointment instead of going to civilian prep and banking on appointment the following year)." A common answer to the Academy grad vs. Commissioning dilemma.

It may not have been perfectly said but that is how I read it and I agree with them.

Black, your initial response never mentioned a thing of CBD's statement about not being qualified for the prep school. Please show me where you quoted that in your initial response. If that is what bothered you why wouldn't you have quoted that? You basically told this person to shut up since they had no idea what they were talking about and proceeded to tell them how you would do it.

How do they know they are not Prep school material? Is it possible they read this forum and the knowledgeable people on here have said that the Prep school is geared for those who are either not quite up to the academic level, recruited athletes etc. That is what I have read. They could have a perfect 36 ACT and not be a recruited athlete. Thus they could come to the conclusion they are not Prep material. How terrible of them.

And disagreeing with the way you talk to people is not attacking your character. Re-read my post and let me know where I attacked your character. Asking you to re-read your response is not attacking you. Disagreeing with you is not attacking you. I don't know you from Adam so don't know your character. You may be a person of great character but I certainly am not getting that from your attacks on this person.

I am done with this conversation. If you fail to see the faults in how you treated this person then that will be something you have to deal with. I don't care if you think you know more than them and they have no clue what they are talking about. There is a RIGHT way to handle it and a WRONG way to handle it.
 
Thus they could come to the conclusion they are not Prep material. How terrible of them.

Actually, yeah, that would be a pretty arrogant conclusion to come to unless they have some inside admissions source we're not privy to.
 
While nothing in the application process is guaranteed, and saying you are or aren't qualified for the prep school (Meaning the one at the academy) is a pretty finite comment, the post by CannotBeDisplayed isn't one that should be criticized too much.

I'll tell you that there are quite a few applicants that while I won't go as far as saying they "Don't Qualify" for the prep school; the chances of them getting a prep school slot would be very difficult. E.g. if you have a 3.9 gpa, 28-30 ACT, top-10 (Not top 10%) of your class, has all the leadership, EC, sports, etc... are NOT a recruited athlete or minority, etc.... (List not all inclusive), then you would be hard pressed to receive a prep school slot. The prep school is not where number 1101- 1300 on the appointment list go. (Assuming they accepted 1100 appointees). Receiving a prep school offer is just as complicated as receiving an appointment. Traditionally, the prep school slots are used for individuals who the air force sees potential in, but there are areas in their application/life that the prep school can help them with. There are definitely some whereby the prep school really isn't for them.

As for having "Back up" plans, you most definitely should. And how much determination and how much you want to attend the academy, has no bearing on whether or not you will get to attend. If attending the air force academy and becoming a commissioned officer is truly what you want, then that's all you have to tell the nomination panel. "If I don't receive an appointment this year, I will continue to do whatever I can to keep the academy an option for me". But the reality is; while some individuals have attended the academy even after completing a complete 4 year degree at a civilian school, there's going to be many who by the time they've finished their 2nd year at a civilian university, will realize (For Them), that going to the academy is no longer practical.

CannotBeDisplayed said: "I will go to my top choice civilian school. I think if you can afford it, it's very worth it to go to the school you want to attend. Whether you apply the next year or not, you may not get in. You might as well continue on as if you had never heard of a service academy. You can't depend on something uncertain."

There's a lot of truth to this. Most individuals who are truly qualified for the air force academy are usually also the type who can get accepted to some of the best colleges in the country. If you don't receive an appointment to the academy, but get accepted to your top civilian school choice, you should definitely accept and attend that school. Play the "reapply" card one day at a time. Just because you want the academy doesn't mean if you don't get it this year, that you should turn down a high end school and possibly scholarship, so you can attend a junior college for a year while you're re-applying. You can definitely reapply to the academy if you don't receive your appointment out of high school. That doesn't mean you should turn down other excellent opportunities. Doesn't matter if you attend a junior college, university of wherever, Harvard, Purdue, W&M, etc... Take advantage of the opportunities given you. If you decide to reapply, then do so. That's a personal choice. But you can do that from any school. And no... you can't depend on receiving an appointment. An appointment is definitely uncertain. The reason for "Plan B" schools is in case you don't receive an appointment. You can't just assume that if you apply enough times, you'll eventually receive an appointment. Maybe you won't. Individuals need to keep all of their options open.
 
It seems strange that you would attack my character if you are indeed at a loss for words. Here are the two things that prompted my response:

1.The claim that the poster was "not qualified for prep school." Since the USAFA prep school attracts people with a variety of backgrounds, it's impossible to claim that you aren't eligible for it unless you sit on an admissions board. Perhaps I'm assuming that cannotbedisplayed thinks that they're academically overqualified, in which case I (perhaps wrongfully so) am already irked by their arrogance.

I was told that directly by my ALO. Other than that, I'm just going to stay out of this one.
 
"You should follow a solid plan B that would still meet long term goals in case the academy does not come through for a second or third year (e.g. going to civilian school w/ ROTC and remaining on track to commission regardless of appointment instead of going to civilian prep and banking on appointment the following year)." A common answer to the Academy grad vs. Commissioning dilemma.

That is what I meant. Thank you.
 
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