Will my chances be affected without work experience?

Our son got in without work experience. Think whole score. Ours chose to focus on academics and sports, and save the minimum wage job for others. To each their own though.
 
I made it in without any "formal work experience", however, lots of volunteer hours, academics, sports, as well as other extracurricular activities consumed most of my time throughout high school
 
Our son never had a job; that being said he worked on multiple mission trips. And was in a leadership position on the last two.
 
I never had a "real" job - but I volunteered, taught kids tennis, strung rackets, and had generally very solid academics and sports - not having formal work experience certainly won't kill your application
 
Follow what BBBRRRTT said. Do you realize how many activities current cadets were involved in during high school? If you don't know; do a google search for Air Force Academy cadet profile. You will see.

It lists everything from scouts, CAP, JrROTC, Class President, Class Officer, Club president, National Honor Society, valedictorian, Boy/Girl state, Yearbook/school newspaper, debate team, drama, band, chorus, athletics, etc. And that only lists the HIGHEST PERCENTAGE activities. Do you think any cadet/candidate did ALL of those activities during high school. Very unlikely. There's not enough hours in a day to be involved with ALL of those.

So, will not having a part time job affect you? No, not at all. As long as you can show you did the MOST with what you had available to you. Were you a leader, or a follower? The academy wants LEADERS. If you didn't work, what did you do? If all you did was 1 sport per semester and went to class, I'd say you might have a problem.

But remember too. I don't care what ANYONE ELSE SAYS, with only a couple of exceptions, NONE of the activities count MORE on your application. I.e Band doesn't get you more points than yearbook or chorus. JrROTC or CAP doesn't have more points than scouts or the debate team. What matters is, that you are involved with what "You're Into"; and you excel in that activity. Excel up the positions of leadership and responsibility. That you're excelling as an individual. There are no CHECK BOX for a list of activities that's going to give you a LEG UP depending on which one you are involved in.

Now; having said that, there is one exception. Like it or not, ATHLETICS/TEAM SPORTS, is an activity that does pull more weight. As in; if you DIDN'T participate in organized team sports, it WILL negatively affect your chances. That's not to say you don't have a chance. It simply means, that the REASONS athletics/team sports is so important, (It has nothing to do with physical fitness), are attributes that are usually only found in Team Sports and similar. And after all, the MILITARY is the POSTER CHILD for "Teamwork". That's the whole concept of the military. No individual can win a war or defeat the enemy. You MUST HAVE the ENTIRE TEAM.

So, if you don't have any athletics/team sports on your resume, then you will need to be able to explain in your application, essay's, etc. HOW you obtained all those attributes normally associated with team sports from a different activity. Every activity has SOME attributes that are in common with team sports. But if you look at the post in the sticky; on why athletics/sports is so important; you will find a LONG LIST of attributes that athletics/team sports provide to participants. Your job, if you weren't involved in team sports, is to explain HOW you got ALL those attributes without team sports.

Other than that, your activities should be the things you're into and that you have/can excel at. Don't join CAP, JrROTC, Scouts, Debate, etc. because you think you're filling in a square on your application. The academy isn't stupid. They know the difference between someone leading in an activity and someone who is simply participating. SORRY: But the EVERYONE GETS A TROPHY FOR PARTICIPATION doesn't hold water at the academy or military. If you're involved in activities that you're passionate about; you will naturally excel in them. If you're trying to "FILL A BLOCK", that too will be known.

Part time work is simply an "ACTIVITY". No better or worse than any other activity. There is one caveat however. I mentioned that you can't be involved in just say one activity and nothing else with your time. But as BBBRRRTT mentioned, it's the WHOLE PERSON. If you live at home, with your mother and other siblings, and your other parent is no longer part of your core family (For whatever reason), and you are working 8 hrs a day every day after school to help your mother support your family, and all you have time for is little league baseball in the summer when school is out, then you have shown that you are doing the MOST with what you have available. Each person is unique and different. It's your job to show your uniqueness. Think of this as a JOB INTERVIEW/Application. For the most important job of your life.

Best of luck
Mike
 
Follow what BBBRRRTT said. Do you realize how many activities current cadets were involved in during high school? If you don't know; do a google search for Air Force Academy cadet profile. You will see.

It lists everything from scouts, CAP, JrROTC, Class President, Class Officer, Club president, National Honor Society, valedictorian, Boy/Girl state, Yearbook/school newspaper, debate team, drama, band, chorus, athletics, etc. And that only lists the HIGHEST PERCENTAGE activities. Do you think any cadet/candidate did ALL of those activities during high school. Very unlikely. There's not enough hours in a day to be involved with ALL of those.

So, will not having a part time job affect you? No, not at all. As long as you can show you did the MOST with what you had available to you. Were you a leader, or a follower? The academy wants LEADERS. If you didn't work, what did you do? If all you did was 1 sport per semester and went to class, I'd say you might have a problem.

But remember too. I don't care what ANYONE ELSE SAYS, with only a couple of exceptions, NONE of the activities count MORE on your application. I.e Band doesn't get you more points than yearbook or chorus. JrROTC or CAP doesn't have more points than scouts or the debate team. What matters is, that you are involved with what "You're Into"; and you excel in that activity. Excel up the positions of leadership and responsibility. That you're excelling as an individual. There are no CHECK BOX for a list of activities that's going to give you a LEG UP depending on which one you are involved in.

Now; having said that, there is one exception. Like it or not, ATHLETICS/TEAM SPORTS, is an activity that does pull more weight. As in; if you DIDN'T participate in organized team sports, it WILL negatively affect your chances. That's not to say you don't have a chance. It simply means, that the REASONS athletics/team sports is so important, (It has nothing to do with physical fitness), are attributes that are usually only found in Team Sports and similar. And after all, the MILITARY is the POSTER CHILD for "Teamwork". That's the whole concept of the military. No individual can win a war or defeat the enemy. You MUST HAVE the ENTIRE TEAM.

So, if you don't have any athletics/team sports on your resume, then you will need to be able to explain in your application, essay's, etc. HOW you obtained all those attributes normally associated with team sports from a different activity. Every activity has SOME attributes that are in common with team sports. But if you look at the post in the sticky; on why athletics/sports is so important; you will find a LONG LIST of attributes that athletics/team sports provide to participants. Your job, if you weren't involved in team sports, is to explain HOW you got ALL those attributes without team sports.

Other than that, your activities should be the things you're into and that you have/can excel at. Don't join CAP, JrROTC, Scouts, Debate, etc. because you think you're filling in a square on your application. The academy isn't stupid. They know the difference between someone leading in an activity and someone who is simply participating. SORRY: But the EVERYONE GETS A TROPHY FOR PARTICIPATION doesn't hold water at the academy or military. If you're involved in activities that you're passionate about; you will naturally excel in them. If you're trying to "FILL A BLOCK", that too will be known.

Part time work is simply an "ACTIVITY". No better or worse than any other activity. There is one caveat however. I mentioned that you can't be involved in just say one activity and nothing else with your time. But as BBBRRRTT mentioned, it's the WHOLE PERSON. If you live at home, with your mother and other siblings, and your other parent is no longer part of your core family (For whatever reason), and you are working 8 hrs a day every day after school to help your mother support your family, and all you have time for is little league baseball in the summer when school is out, then you have shown that you are doing the MOST with what you have available. Each person is unique and different. It's your job to show your uniqueness. Think of this as a JOB INTERVIEW/Application. For the most important job of your life.

Best of luck
Mike

Thank you so much CC/Mike. Helps explain lot of thing, will share this post with my DD who is a rising junior. This may help her decide what should be her priorities.

Thank again sir
 
My question is, during the summer should I work, or take some sort of course at like a community college or something?
 
My question is, during the summer should I work, or take some sort of course at like a community college or something?

This answer is really outside of the Academy question. As earlier posts have discussed, for Academy application purposes do something productive with your summer. From an academic standpoint your grades and test scores are going to carry more weight than took a class over the summer. But, if taking a class over the summer prepares you to be an excellent student in the fall, then maybe you should.

That being said, live your life to the fullest. Don't live it just to build up an academy application. Everyone would like to know what 10 things they can do to get into an academy. There are no 10 things. Besides the obvious - get good grades, score high on ACT/SAT, play team sports, and find leadership opportunities - there really is no silver bullet. Not to mention, you could all of those things and still not get in because of any number of reasons and then you may have pursued activities that you didn't enjoy just to pad a resume that ended up not being enough anyway.

As an example, I was in AFROTC. There were plenty of students in AFROTC who were fanatical about having done JROTC, but they couldn't earn the respect of their classmates and/or had bad grades and were never selected for the POC. These activities mean nothing if you don't grow from doing them.

Live your life. If you know your passion, pursue it without rest. Become more knowledgeable, more capable and more experienced in whatever pursuit this is. If you don't have a passion yet, don't worry, you are young. I would tell you to go try different things to spark your interest and help you determine your what you do have a passion for. Study hard, get good grades, stay out of trouble, try different things, when you find something you like, explore it with intensity. It will help you get into an academy, but more importantly will help you in life.
 
My question is, during the summer should I work, or take some sort of course at like a community college or something?

Not to question. BUT.... Are you trying to "FILL IN" some squares that you think is going to help you get an appointment? If so....... DON'T!

You need to answer the questions for yourself.
What do you WANT TO DO during the summer. If working is what you WANT to do; then work. If being on a summer Baseball team/league is what you WANT, because you don't have enough time during the school year to play sports, then DO THAT. If going off to a summer camp for Scouts, Band, etc... is what you WANT to do; then do that!!!

WHATEVER you choose to do; NO ONE ACTIVITY is going to be MORE important than any other activity. Obviously, there are some minimum requirements; such as GPA, ACT/SAT, Physical Fitness, team athletics..... but when it comes to your ACTIVITIES, NONE of them are more important than another. Do what you are PASSIONATE about. WHY is being "Passionate" important?

Because in the end, it's NOT WHAT Activity you were involved in. It's WHAT ACTIVITY YOU EXCELLED IN!!! The academies know when a person is involved with an activity strictly as a "PARTICIPANT" who is trying to pad their application. (So does ALL OTHER UNIVERSITIES you apply to). What matters is what you DO with that activity. Do you become a LEADER in it? Do you help the activity somehow be BETTER? Is it something you did for numerous years/summers and advance up the ladder.

Do whatever you want to in the summer. Just have fun and EXCEL in it. Be a LEADER in the activity. Advance in the activity. Make the activity BETTER because of your contributions.

Best of luck.
 
My question is, during the summer should I work, or take some sort of course at like a community college or something?

Not to question. BUT.... Are you trying to "FILL IN" some squares that you think is going to help you get an appointment? If so....... DON'T!

You need to answer the questions for yourself.
What do you WANT TO DO during the summer. If working is what you WANT to do; then work. If being on a summer Baseball team/league is what you WANT, because you don't have enough time during the school year to play sports, then DO THAT. If going off to a summer camp for Scouts, Band, etc... is what you WANT to do; then do that!!!

WHATEVER you choose to do; NO ONE ACTIVITY is going to be MORE important than any other activity. Obviously, there are some minimum requirements; such as GPA, ACT/SAT, Physical Fitness, team athletics..... but when it comes to your ACTIVITIES, NONE of them are more important than another. Do what you are PASSIONATE about. WHY is being "Passionate" important?

Because in the end, it's NOT WHAT Activity you were involved in. It's WHAT ACTIVITY YOU EXCELLED IN!!! The academies know when a person is involved with an activity strictly as a "PARTICIPANT" who is trying to pad their application. (So does ALL OTHER UNIVERSITIES you apply to). What matters is what you DO with that activity. Do you become a LEADER in it? Do you help the activity somehow be BETTER? Is it something you did for numerous years/summers and advance up the ladder.

Do whatever you want to in the summer. Just have fun and EXCEL in it. Be a LEADER in the activity. Advance in the activity. Make the activity BETTER because of your contributions.

Best of luck.
So do you think it would be a good idea to get a summer job? I would work at my local camp that I've been going to for just about my entire life. I would only have 2 summers there, and you do move up the chain, but the leadership roles are given to either A: the older staff or B: the more experienced staff.
 
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