Recent content by mach01

Astro and physics are two of the hardest majors here at USAFA with not that much overlap in terms of course material. Some majors are much easier to double in (aero/math is pretty common, CompSci/OR, etc). Astro/Physics is rare and would require overload waivers or a significant amount of...

I don't believe there's any plan to move to Apple laptops in the near future because some mil software is only available on Windows and Macbooks don't have CAC readers. We all currently have HP Elitebooks (14") that are well spec'd for all but the most demanding workloads.

Cadets who go on exchange to USAFA have the opportunity to take either soaring or jump during their semester here. Additionally, AFROTC cadets come through during the summer for our aviation programs. This past summer, I think we had around 15-20 for each soaring period and I believe jump had...

For ENJJPT this year, there were 35 slots and the top 175 pilot selects (5x the number of slots available) were allowed to apply based on their PCSM and OPA. The people who got it were all top 10% and high 80s-low 90s PCSMs. Training pipelines are improving a lot and at some bases are down to...

I've helped with IP selections and what's been said above is generally true. However, some quick notes: 1. In the past few years, we've tended to be a little more stringent on GPA/MPA/PEA requirements. Reason why is we had some problems with some getting on a probation and that really hinders...

As others have said, generally summertime is the best period to take soaring if he intends to apply for AM-461 (IP upgrade program). Generally, over the summer we'll get around 200 applications for roughly 50 spots. We also do a smaller round of accelerated spring hires in the spring; around...

Check the AFi 36-2903 for the current USAF hair standards. To my knowledge, unlike for males, there are no exceptions to the AFI in USAFA's CS&D. I believe section 3.1.3 covers the female hair regs.

It's been interesting to see the GPA distribution over the course of a few years at USAFA. Freshman year generally has the "easiest" core classes like calc, chem, behsci, and english and "harder' core classes usually come later. For some, these classes are essentially just review since they did...

Yes, taking Basic Soaring (AM-251) is a pre-requisite to apply for IP upgrade (AM-461). While most IP upgraders (~50-60) are selected from the three summer periods, a very select few (~7-10)are also picked up in an accelerated program after taking AM-251 in the Fall of their sophomore year.

My roommate is D&B and he said it was a funding issue unfortunately.

The average cumulative GPA in the past few years is right around 3.0 to 3.1. You can search for "USAFA Class of 20XX Graduation Fact Sheet" and see the yearly averages. The 3.85 GPA requirement mentioned above is for nationally competitive fellowships like Rhoades, Marshalls, etc. Beyond that...

I generally recommend not using the school email for personal use. We get dozens of emails a day and generally, the IT department doesn't recommend messaging outside the organization (afacademy.af.edu) for anything besides official duties.

20/20 uncorrected is not a pre-requisite to medical qualification. Many cadets I know have significantly worse than 20/20 eyes and are still pilot qualified, as long as they can be corrected with glasses or be eligible for LASIK/PRK. I will say that he will probably not be eligible for PRK/LASIK...

Yep, after BCT, there's a sort of club fair called Blue Rush and you can meet all the clubs there. To my knowledge (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) flying team is not directly affiliated with the aero club. You'll also have an airmanship briefing during freshman year that goes over...

Flying team, WOB, and soaring are very time-consuming so you likely wouldn't have much time to fly with the aero club except possibly on weekends.