Appointment visitation

Our son received his LOA and would like to visit the Academy. We are on the east coast and would probably fly into Denver. Does the Academy pay for a flight or help or is that on us? Also, is it too late to even try this now?

No, I believe the only flight that USAFA will pay for before you’re a cadet is the one to I-Day

You need to try to get into one of the appointee tours, or at least schedule a cadet-guided tour, or else you won't get to see any more than a tourist does.

I would check with the admission counselor on your portal. I believe the appointee tours are only for appointees. If you are still listed as a candidate on your portal , then I would wait for the official appointee status before scheduling a flight. As it is rare not all LOA's will receive an appointment.

No the academy does not help with the flight. There are some cases they pay for lodging and flight( some diversity and some recruited athletes, but not all). If they were going to assist you, then you would already know.

It is worth the trip! The time and excitement of the weekend with your appointee is priceless. From one east coastie to another.

As a parent of a 2021er, I was blissfully ignorant going through the admissions process last year. That said, my advice is do whatever it takes to help your DS along this path. If a trip is required - just do it! He should talk to his ALO, and admission's counselor and do the diligence required. Cost of flights would be the least of my concerns.

Regarding your question if it is too late. No, the timing is good. DS applied sight unseen. We made the trip in April. I think there were more tours scheduled later in May as well. The tour helps them decide as well as get excited. Tour was well organized. Prospective student spent time with a cadet and went to a class. Had time to ask any questions. During that time the parents were given a tour of campus. Large meeting with parents and students with general info about what to expect while at the academy. There were many students still undecided at the tour.

Also keep in mind that not all Appointee's attend a tour. Our son (who is a Jr. ) has a good friend that the first time she visited the Academy is when she showed up for I-Day. In fact, she traveled to I-Day on her own and stayed with a local USAFA affiliated family (set up by USAFA as you get closer to I-Day) and she is doing great there........On the other hand, we have two Cadets there and they both went on Appointee Tours. Our first visit to USAFA was with our first one (the Jr.) on his Appointee Tour and it was a great tour and gave us perspective about USAFA you can't read about. Not sure why our Cadet #2 wanted to go on the Appointee Tour as she had been to multiple events at USAFA when visiting her brother (I-Day / A-Day / Parent's Weekend / etc.) but she was a little undecided I guess so she wanted to make sure it was the right choice for her.

Gaittrainer said:

Regarding your question if it is too late. No, the timing is good. DS applied sight unseen. We made the trip in April. I think there were more tours scheduled later in May as well. The tour helps them decide as well as get excited. Tour was well organized. Prospective student spent time with a cadet and went to a class. Had time to ask any questions. During that time the parents were given a tour of campus. Large meeting with parents and students with general info about what to expect while at the academy. There were many students still undecided at the tour.

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+1 to Gaittrainer. DS received appointment on April 1st, shortly after received invite to Appointee tour and attended Appointee tour in mid-April (if I recall correctly it was the 16th or 17th). DS had never been to USAFA so the Appointee tour was his first visit there. Bought some AF swag at the visitor's center and before we left USAFA for the trip home I asked if we were keeping everything or returning it. His answer was "Yes we're keeping it". I'm certain that the visit was instrumental in the decision to accept and attend. Fast forward a couple of years and he is fully entrenched in USAFA and his future AF career.

In relation to your original question, it is not too late and I highly encourage a visit. It may be the deciding factor. The travel costs are on you, however. And FWIW, we traveled from the east (Pittsburgh area) similar to your situation.

201stRHSretired said:

Our son received his LOA and would like to visit the Academy. We are on the east coast and would probably fly into Denver. Does the Academy pay for a flight or help or is that on us? Also, is it too late to even try this now?

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If your son is undecided, he should call and schedule an appointee tour now as May 1 is the deadline to accept an appointment. If there is indecision, the cost of a flight would be secondary to resolving any doubts/questions and yes, as indicated by earlier comments, the cost is on you.

We've a grandson who is undecided and is doing a USNA visit the 12th and 13th of April followed by an appointee tour at USAFA on April 20 which he set up on Monday of this week. It's a difficult decision and we're hoping the back to back visits will prove decisive for him.