What are my chances?

kangaroo2533

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Joined
Apr 3, 2015
Messages
23
Hello, I'm currently a junior, and I want to go to USAFA to be a pilot. Here's a little bit about me:

Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Class rank: 2/141
SAT:
Math: 700
Reading: 660
Writing: 760
PSAT: 212
I go to a Catholic high school in San Antonio, Texas. I take all Honors and AP classes with two Dual Credit online classes (independently).

I'm involved in:
Army JROTC (platoon leader, C/1LT, going to be the Brigade Commander next year)
JLAB academic team (Co-commander, going to Nationals this year woohoo)
Red Cross club (Vice president)
NHS (tutor, going to run for president/vice president for next year)
National Spanish Honor Society
My church's retreats and confirmation classes (team leader)
Alar serving (going to be leader of Mass committee next year)
Boy scouts (Eagle Scout)
Robotics (going to be a leader of some sort next year)
JROTC Drill Team (Executive officer, going to be commander next year)
Pilot's liscence (working on it)
Rotary (RYLA Leadership conference)

I've won multiple academic and leadership awards including:
Superior Cadet
Veterans of Foreign Wars Award
Dux esto award (for being the best in the course) in Algebra honors, Geometry, Physics, Spanish 2 and 3, and Ethics
"Gold" (95th+ percentile) on the National Spanish Exam three years in a row
Eagle Scout
National Hispanic Scholar (As soon as I send in my acceptance)
Likely will be at least National Commended Scholar

I've been doubting myself recently. Are my SAT scores good enough? Should I take it again, even though my score probably wont increase much?

I'm not an athlete, but I do PT on my own for the CFA. Will they accept people who don't have a varsity letter in a sport? I do have a varsity letter for Drill team, but I'm not sure if they would count that as a sport.

Do you think I have a chance?
Thank you very much.
 
Hello, I'm currently a junior, and I want to go to USAFA to be a pilot. Here's a little bit about me:

Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Class rank: 2/141
SAT:
Math: 700
Reading: 660
Writing: 760
PSAT: 212
I go to a Catholic high school in San Antonio, Texas. I take all Honors and AP classes with two Dual Credit online classes (independently).

I'm involved in:
Army JROTC (platoon leader, C/1LT, going to be the Brigade Commander next year)
JLAB academic team (Co-commander, going to Nationals this year woohoo)
Red Cross club (Vice president)
NHS (tutor, going to run for president/vice president for next year)
National Spanish Honor Society
My church's retreats and confirmation classes (team leader)
Alar serving (going to be leader of Mass committee next year)
Boy scouts (Eagle Scout)
Robotics (going to be a leader of some sort next year)
JROTC Drill Team (Executive officer, going to be commander next year)
Pilot's liscence (working on it)
Rotary (RYLA Leadership conference)

I've won multiple academic and leadership awards including:
Superior Cadet
Veterans of Foreign Wars Award
Dux esto award (for being the best in the course) in Algebra honors, Geometry, Physics, Spanish 2 and 3, and Ethics
"Gold" (95th+ percentile) on the National Spanish Exam three years in a row
Eagle Scout
National Hispanic Scholar (As soon as I send in my acceptance)
Likely will be at least National Commended Scholar

I've been doubting myself recently. Are my SAT scores good enough? Should I take it again, even though my score probably wont increase much?

I'm not an athlete, but I do PT on my own for the CFA. Will they accept people who don't have a varsity letter in a sport? I do have a varsity letter for Drill team, but I'm not sure if they would count that as a sport.

Do you think I have a chance?
Thank you very much.
I am simply appointee but your credentials look good. I will say what a lot will tell you if they decide to post, you have zero chances if you don't apply. No one can tell you how qualified or how you stand up. You'll only know if you go for it.
 
Hello, I'm currently a junior, and I want to go to USAFA to be a pilot. Here's a little bit about me:

Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Class rank: 2/141
SAT:
Math: 700
Reading: 660
Writing: 760
PSAT: 212
I go to a Catholic high school in San Antonio, Texas. I take all Honors and AP classes with two Dual Credit online classes (independently).

I'm involved in:
Army JROTC (platoon leader, C/1LT, going to be the Brigade Commander next year)
JLAB academic team (Co-commander, going to Nationals this year woohoo)
Red Cross club (Vice president)
NHS (tutor, going to run for president/vice president for next year)
National Spanish Honor Society
My church's retreats and confirmation classes (team leader)
Alar serving (going to be leader of Mass committee next year)
Boy scouts (Eagle Scout)
Robotics (going to be a leader of some sort next year)
JROTC Drill Team (Executive officer, going to be commander next year)
Pilot's liscence (working on it)
Rotary (RYLA Leadership conference)

I've won multiple academic and leadership awards including:
Superior Cadet
Veterans of Foreign Wars Award
Dux esto award (for being the best in the course) in Algebra honors, Geometry, Physics, Spanish 2 and 3, and Ethics
"Gold" (95th+ percentile) on the National Spanish Exam three years in a row
Eagle Scout
National Hispanic Scholar (As soon as I send in my acceptance)
Likely will be at least National Commended Scholar

I've been doubting myself recently. Are my SAT scores good enough? Should I take it again, even though my score probably wont increase much?

I'm not an athlete, but I do PT on my own for the CFA. Will they accept people who don't have a varsity letter in a sport? I do have a varsity letter for Drill team, but I'm not sure if they would count that as a sport.

Do you think I have a chance?
Thank you very much.
Not sure how Army JROTC works, but how do you already know that you will be the brigade commander next year? Isn't brigade commander the highest position in Army JROTC? If you are only a C/1Lt now what makes you think you are a lock to be a C/Colonel as the brigade commander next year? Sorry if these are dumb questions, but I see a lot of "going to be"'s in your post.... IMO you look competitive but I'm just a high school junior like you.
 
Not sure how Army JROTC works, but how do you already know that you will be the brigade commander next year? Isn't brigade commander the highest position in Army JROTC? If you are only a C/1Lt now what makes you think you are a lock to be a C/Colonel as the brigade commander next year? Sorry if these are dumb questions, but I see a lot of "going to be"'s in your post.... IMO you look competitive but I'm just a high school junior like you.

I've already been interviewed and gone through the process of "trying out" for that position, and they selected me to be it next year. Yes, it is the highest cadet position. As long as you're an officer who is a junior, you can try out for it, no matter what rank.
 
I've already been interviewed and gone through the process of "trying out" for that position, and they selected me to be it next year. Yes, it is the highest cadet position. As long as you're an officer who is a junior, you can try out for it, no matter what rank.
I see, in my JROTC unit it doesn't work like that. It would be very strange in my unit for someone to jump from C/1Lt one year to C/Col the next. In my graduating class, there are already 2 cadets that have achieved the rank of C/LtCol. Different system in your unit I guess.

If you can get a varsity letter in something it would probably help. I don't think your letter in drill team will count. I know you are looking into the Air Force Academy, but for West Point if you create a profile and try to enter in your athletic activities, there is a list of athletic activities(football, basketball, baseball, etc) and you just select the ones that you have done and enter how many years you participated, how many years you lettered, and how many years you were a captain. Drill team is not one of the athletic activities listed, so I don't think it will count. I could be wrong since West Point and the Air Force Academy have different admission processes, but I doubt it will count. Do they really give letters out to people for being on the drill team? Some schools these days are just handing out varsity letters like candy....

I was talking to the college admissions person at my school the other day about getting into a service academy and she recommended me to do a lot of things. She told me if I didn't do any sports that I should do a sport and that track and cross country are probably my two best options. I have lettered in football already, so I don't plan on doing that, but for you it might be a good idea. If your school is giving out varsity letters for being on the drill team, I would guess that they would give you a varsity letter for just being on the track/cross country team. Many schools don't even have try outs for track/cross country, you just show up and you're on the team. She also told me to try both the SAT and the ACT. Even though your SAT score is already pretty good, you should probably try out the ACT too. 36's on the ACT are much more common than 2400's on the SAT, and a 36/2400 is what your goal should be.
 
I see, in my JROTC unit it doesn't work like that. It would be very strange in my unit for someone to jump from C/1Lt one year to C/Col the next. In my graduating class, there are already 2 cadets that have achieved the rank of C/LtCol. Different system in your unit I guess.

If you can get a varsity letter in something it would probably help. I don't think your letter in drill team will count. I know you are looking into the Air Force Academy, but for West Point if you create a profile and try to enter in your athletic activities, there is a list of athletic activities(football, basketball, baseball, etc) and you just select the ones that you have done and enter how many years you participated, how many years you lettered, and how many years you were a captain. Drill team is not one of the athletic activities listed, so I don't think it will count. I could be wrong since West Point and the Air Force Academy have different admission processes, but I doubt it will count. Do they really give letters out to people for being on the drill team? Some schools these days are just handing out varsity letters like candy....

I was talking to the college admissions person at my school the other day about getting into a service academy and she recommended me to do a lot of things. She told me if I didn't do any sports that I should do a sport and that track and cross country are probably my two best options. I have lettered in football already, so I don't plan on doing that, but for you it might be a good idea. If your school is giving out varsity letters for being on the drill team, I would guess that they would give you a varsity letter for just being on the track/cross country team. Many schools don't even have try outs for track/cross country, you just show up and you're on the team. She also told me to try both the SAT and the ACT. Even though your SAT score is already pretty good, you should probably try out the ACT too. 36's on the ACT are much more common than 2400's on the SAT, and a 36/2400 is what your goal should be.

If you want to go to USAFA as well, how do your SAT scores look?
 
If you want to go to USAFA as well, how do your SAT scores look?
I would concur with frenzy, I'm not sure that drill team qualifies as a varsity sport. I only say so because I had drill team as an activity for my application but I still needed a varsity letter. I ended up running some track because it was a sport I was good at in middle school and the coach wrote me a letter for the USAFA. She also brought up another good point here some will cosign and some will disagree. If you can afford it, don't stop testing until you max your scores and try both test. Don't rely on the "going to be's" because they haven't happened but definitely make sure you make them happen. Again though, no one can give you a numerical number for your chances. We can speculate and give advice but its all in your hands. Just apply, you have nothing to lose. Plus, meeting the requirements for a service academy puts you in a good position to be accepted by other really good colleges.
 
If you want to go to USAFA as well, how do your SAT scores look?
I'm better at the ACT but SAT I got 700 math, 680 reading, 680 writing. I've been practicing for the ACT though and on practice tests that were actual tests in the past, I've consistently gotten 34s and I often get a 36 in at least 1 of the sub categories. 36s on the ACT are a lot more common than 2400s on the SAT and I think there is a reason that is true. Once you get a high score on the SAT it is becomes extremely difficult to move up. I personally think that this is because the SAT has many more ambiguous questions. On the SAT there is also vocabulary, and unless you have an impeccable vocabulary, it is very difficult to get an 800 in reading on the SAT. The ACT is more straightforward imo. Not many extremely difficult questions, very little vocabulary, it's better for people trying to get very high scores imo. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I'm fairly confident that by December I will have a 36 superscored ACT. I doubt that my SAT would go up more than 150 points even took every SAT from now till December.

Everyone is different though. You might suck at the ACT, and not have a hard time improving your SAT. It took me over 100 hours of studying to get my PSAT score to jump from 175 to 211. I didn't study a minute for the ACT the first time I took it and I got a 31.
 
As a current Jrotc Cadet going to an academy, I can say that your credentials look strong, but again, as the others said, you need to apply. I didn't play sports and did well on my CFA, so the whole sports thing isn't necessarily required. I'm also on the Drill Team, and I can say that that is a sport in and of itself. They want to see if you're capable of team work and team building, and if you can do the CFA, don't sweat it. It also depends on how competitive your district is, and how well you present yourself to the people who nominate you for an Academy.

Your grades seems legitimate, and your SAT scores are good. If you want to take them again, then so be it.

Also, I'm in a brigade AJROTC, so my SAI nominated me with an honor unit with distinction form, along with my congressman. If you have someone who is an Colonel backing you up for an appointment, then that'll tip the scales favotably big time; I'm pretty sure that you can assume why that is. Do great on your liaison officer interview, and show your military discipline that you learned. If they tell you to relax, don't do it; they're trying to lower your defenses. That's my advice for that big portion of the application process.

The essays and letters of reccomendations are a deal breaker as well. Pour your heart out on the papers, and show that you really want it... The number one goal is to obtain the gold bars, and serve your country. That's it.

Keep up the good work, and do the application by yourself. They like the initiative of a young man/woman who doesn't let their parents get involved. They're not doing it, you are. Good luck! It'll be hard, but if I can do it, You can do it!

P.S. you maybe strong enough for an early offer of appointment. Look into this.
 
As a current Jrotc Cadet going to an academy, I can say that your credentials look strong, but again, as the others said, you need to apply. I didn't play sports and did well on my CFA, so the whole sports thing isn't necessarily required. I'm also on the Drill Team, and I can say that that is a sport in and of itself. They want to see if you're capable of team work and team building, and if you can do the CFA, don't sweat it. It also depends on how competitive your district is, and how well you present yourself to the people who nominate you for an Academy.

Your grades seems legitimate, and your SAT scores are good. If you want to take them again, then so be it.

Also, I'm in a brigade AJROTC, so my SAI nominated me with an honor unit with distinction form, along with my congressman. If you have someone who is an Colonel backing you up for an appointment, then that'll tip the scales favotably big time; I'm pretty sure that you can assume why that is. Do great on your liaison officer interview, and show your military discipline that you learned. If they tell you to relax, don't do it; they're trying to lower your defenses. That's my advice for that big portion of the application process.

The essays and letters of reccomendations are a deal breaker as well. Pour your heart out on the papers, and show that you really want it... The number one goal is to obtain the gold bars, and serve your country. That's it.

Keep up the good work, and do the application by yourself. They like the initiative of a young man/woman who doesn't let their parents get involved. They're not doing it, you are. Good luck! It'll be hard, but if I can do it, You can do it!

P.S. you maybe strong enough for an early offer of appointment. Look into this.

Awesome advice!
 
You have zero chance if you do not apply. We truly cannot "chance" you.

Contact your ALO
 
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