Does the freshman year at a civilian college feel like a waste of time or is it helpful for the level of academics at AFA?
Does being a year older than most of the other doolies isolate you at all, or are you all brothers coming out of BCT?
Did you get in on an ROTC nomination or a congressional nomination? What was the process for the ROTC nomination?
I'm assuming you're headed for the same major that you were at your civilian college. Are you having to retake any classes for that major?
Thank you for your post by the way, ROTC and then reapplying is my Plan B, and there isn't much information out there about that particular route.
1) I don't feel that Freshman year was a waste of time. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people. I don't regret it at all. I don't think freshman year of ROTC develops and challenges you in the same way the USAFA does, but it helped a little. Academically, I don't think I personally grew much from civilian college, it seemed relatively similar to high school.
2) I would say a little over half of the doolies in my squad are direct. Many of us are either prior enlisted, attended the prep school, were falcon scholars, or attended another college. Additionally, basic brings everyone together in a unique way, nobody cares who did what before here, it all depends on how you perform while you're here. I'm 20, I have a 23 year old and a 17 year old classmate, we don't even notice each others ages most of the time.
3) I did receive an ROTC nomination, though I'm not sure if that's what I got here on, as I also had 3 others. The process for that nomination is pretty simple, I simply went to my Detachment Commander (an 0-5) and asked for his nomination. I was the top performer at my det for my class so he had no problem giving me it. If you're a solid cadet, it should be easy, it's essentially just a recommendation that can get you in. As far as I know, there are 20 slots available for ROTC noms, but there are over 100 that get them, so don't count on it getting you in.
4) Much of the classes Freshman year are core and not Major tracked. I did validate some courses from AP scores and College, but don't count on that helping you out much. You likely won't be able to validate majors courses and even if you validate core classes, they'll fill your schedule with something else.