Acceptance Standings?

[ParkCore]

Hey all,

I haven't posted in a long time, but I've been very busy. I overloaded my course load and I want your opinions on my current standings with USAFA. Is acceptance everything academics?

My schedule as a sophomore:
U.S. History - A+
H Math II (Trig, Alg II, Geom) - B-
Religion II - A+
Programming I (CSS, HTML, ASP, Javascript) - A+
French II - A+
H Chemistry I - B
H English II - A+
Introduction to Engineering - A+

The reason for the B- in math is that when we switched to geometry, I learned I was better at alg II, trig, and precalc and not so much geometry without having to study.

Next year, my schedule is as follows:
AP U.S. History
Honors Precalc (I took an independent study this year, but decided not to skip to calc)
Honors Physics
AP English III
Religion III
Engineering II (Fluid mechanics)
Programming II
French III or IV (I might be able to skip, but French IV is behind III so it does me no good at this point)

I didn't play a sport Sophomore year but I worked out constantly. I have a job at the local Menards right now, so I don't know how that will be considered.

On top of my schedule sophomore year, I did maintenance on aircraft at the local airport (retiming mags, changing cylinders, compression checks, etc) on the weekends. I also soloed and received my student pilot's license. I do aerobatics at a grass field near me as well. Will any of this give me an edge in flight school?

I'm currently ranked number 19 in my class. I'm involved in the Anthony Munoz leadership conference, the student organization committee, and am an ambassador for my school. I created a fundraiser event for the Wounded Warrior Project also, which is self-explanatory.

I plan on wrestling next year again, but I'm not sure if I can make that time commitment. I'm not sure if a job or wrestling would benefit me more.

How does my current standing look?

Thank you!

 

[E.Cadet.18]

ParkCore, there are so many unknowns that no one can account for and give you an accurate assessment of your chances/standings. Acceptance is not "everything" academics but it is very clear on the USAFA website and on different threads on this forum that academics is 60% of a candidate's profile for admissions. So it is quite important. But remember, your academic profile is not just your GPA. It is your class rank, your ACT scores also. You said your class rank is 19. Out of how many? And how competitive is your school? From my understanding the academy also will take in to consideration how competitive your high school is and where it may rank among other high schools in the students they produce for college. Then you must look at how competitive it is with others in your state/congressional district who are competing with you for an appointment (and that is pretty much impossible to know). Then that leads us to competition for a nomination. Theres DoDMERB, your candidate fitness test, etc. As you can see, the list of unknowns goes on and on. That is why so many people on this forum will tell you over and over again that no one can tell you your chances. That is why it so important for you to do the very best you can do to be the very best candidate you can be. Are you doing the very best you can do? Another unknown is just that: no one on here really knows you. When my son went through this process, I was able to give him advice. I know him and I could tell when he was giving his very best. He did give his all and he got an appointment. From what I see, you are to be commended on a job well done! You seem to be very busy and have good grades. You are very active in the field of aviation which you seem to have a passion for. You are volunteering and giving of yourself to your community and working a job. Those things are great. Because of that, I think your doing all the right things and I think you have a great shot at getting an appointment. But..............I am not on the application review board for USAFA! Haha.

It is important to do the very best with what is available to you. Take the toughest course level at your school, get the very best grades you can (always shoot for an A+), take the ACT/SAT (if you haven't yet) and shoot for a perfect score and if its not the highest score possible then take it again and again. Get involved in a varsity sport. Be a leader in whatever sport, club or EC activity that you're in. It sounds like a lot, and it is. But as you've heard before, they are looking at the "whole" candidate because the load at the academy does not get lighter, it gets even heavier.

Best wishes, ParkCore!