Yes I would like to know more about your decision regarding this same situation. My son just let me know he would like to attend UCSC and go the AFROTC route because he feels its more of a safer route since he will have to go through the USAFA application process and getting admission is not guaranteed. I know its mainly his decision but as a father, I feel he needs to have an open mind and get all the info possible to make his "final" decision.
My thinking was that if I was going to do something in my prep year that would potentially jeopardize my USAFA appointment (injury, fail classes, legal trouble) that I would lose an AFROTC scholarship as well-so I considered the risk basically equal between the two options (not even considering how difficult it is to get an AFROTC field training slot depending on the year.) Not sure if that makes sense but that was a big part of it.
The biggest thing that swayed me, and it might sound shallow, is the insane percentage of AF resources that go into running USAFA when compared to AFROTC, and I wanted a militarily intense experience. AFROTC has fewer training opportunities, and as unfair as it is that we get greater funding, I was enamored with having unique opportunities (many during the school year!) like:
-5 rides in a glider (including an acro ride)
-5 freefall skydives
-10-12 flight hours in a program designed to give a brief exploration into rated careers
-4 weeks at Lackland AFB working with enlisted BMT trainees
-4 week internship at a government agency on the east coast
That's just a sample of the "enjoyable" training I've had here...the constant access to officers and enlisted personnel, mentors from any career you could imagine, and even the less pleasant field training or inspections/drill/etc were all still very attractive to me. I knew that if I did ROTC, my chances to do training opportunities aside from Field Training or maybe a base visit were much slimmer. More bang for your buck (well, no bucks, if you want to be even more pragmatic about it.)
Additionally, I don't think I would have been as successful at any university without an extra year of prep. I really refined my study skills out at NWP, and my semester at a civilian college taught me a lot about balancing multiple things without a strict schedule over my shoulder.
If you want USAFA, I would consider FF an incredibly low risk, provided you continue doing the good work you did in high school and stay out of trouble.