AFROTC Chances/Advice

kurispyg

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Joined
Dec 5, 2014
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(Long post ahead, will try to TL;DR)
I've been doing alot of reading here on SAF and you all seem to be a wonderful bunch that have very helpful/applicable advice, but I've yet to see anything like case I'm about to post.

I've been "in" college since 2008 and have a total of 95 completed units through SF State. College was very difficult for me since day 1 (4 hour daily commutes, first in family to go to university, difficult major, new city, limited family resources from recession, etc.) and it devastated me my first year and a half at college. I flunked almost every course that entire time; no need to tell me how BAD that is, I've heard it non-stop for years.

I decided to switch my major to accounting, get an apartment nearby the university, and focus for the next year and a half and barely got myself to a 2.0 now. I was also working to put myself through school. (SFSU has a fairly rigorous and well-known Accounting program that made straight A's difficult to achieve.) On a side-note I'm rather miffed that AFROTC puts SFSU's accounting degree and any easy-A major into the same non-tech basket; bad luck on my part.

I took a break for 2 years to get my act and finances together for coming back to college and realized I had always wanted to be an officer in the Air Force but never chased it because how discouraging my peers always were in college about military careers. Recently I saw that an old highschool friend was commissioned into the AF and is loving it, and she helped motivate me. I finally have resources and the right attitude to get myself back in school and attend AFROTC through cross-town.

I've spoken to several captains and majors for the surrounding detachments in my area and all say I have a chance of getting selected if I can push my gpa to at LEAST 2.7 in a tech-degree by the time its taken into consideration for SFT. Some of them seemed generally enthusiastic ,but I'm left wondering if they're just telling me what I want to hear.. Right now Berkeley is looking like the most realistic Det choice but Sacramento is a close 2nd (the same distance from my house).

~The Plan:
-Go for AFROTC, take classes winter summer and fall to boost that GPA in 1 year, consider going rated to up my chances. If I make it, rest would be just hard work in my tech major til commission. Declaring new tech major makes me a Sophomore again because of the pre-reqs I need to complete.
-If not selected first time, possible chance for 2nd which means a whole year to increase my gpa further (risky).
-If AFROTC doesn't work out, finish up degree in accounting through SFSU.

Now that everything's explained, I need to ask:
I have all my GE pretty much completed. So is it an option to take majority easy-A courses and a few pre-reqs for my new tech major?

I've done the calculations over a hundred times (they're correct) and concluded that if I work VERY hard, I could achieve a 2.7-2.9 GPA (3.0 if I get straight A's all semesters) by next Fall/Winter. Do I have an honest shot at becoming an officer with a tech major/rated? Even with a 2.9 GPA will my convoluted "college career" negatively affect me?

If I pursue AFROTC, I plan on becoming heavily involved with my detachment, extra-curricular activities, practicing for PFA, AFOQT/SAT/ACT. Would this be enough?

Lastly, I want to thank anyone reading this and especially any willing to offer a word of advice. Anything is greatly appreciated. It's been a hard couple of years, and most people who have heard my story have only ever asked me why don't I just quit. One thing I know about myself (excuse the slight ego) is when I'm truly motivated about something I go 110%. I'm ready to take responsibility for how poorly I've performed in the past and kick it into overdrive.
 
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You definitely seem to want to be an officer instead of just chasing the scholarship. The AFROTC program is a little tricky, but I'm pretty sure you can join as college program even if you don't get the scholarship. I don't know if you're being in college affects that or not though.

Unless you absolutely need the scholarship to continue in school, I would still try to participate even if I didn't get the scholarship if I were you.

Sorry to seem like a Debbie Downer about the scholarship but it's super competitive. Best of luck.


Nosce Temet
 
JMPO, I would complete the degree you want and go for OCS. The problem you are facing in AFROTC is they will use ALL of your college grades, including those classes that you failed, even if you retook them. IOWS if you failed English 101, retook it and got an A, AFROTC does not see it as a 4.0, they will see it as a 2.0.

The way AFROTC works is you need to be selected for summer field training in your sophomore year. The avg cgpa is 3.0/3.1 for tech majors. Non tech is @3.3/3.4. Last year @55% were selected. If not selected they will most likely disenroll you.
~ They will also ask you to sign paperwork whether you are going to apply for a rated spot or non rated. Nonrated slots will need even a higher cgpa.

You can apply for an OCS slot starting a year prior to graduation. It is very competitive, but it will give you more time to pull up your cgpa, plus you can study for the AFOQT and knock it out of the ball park.

Honestly, once in the AF, nobody cares how you were commissioned.

The AF does not see accounting as an easy A major, it is they want tech majors. 80-85% of all scholarships go to tech majors. The AF wants them because the majority of career fields in the AF deal with technical issues....I.e. Airplanes, nukes and cyber to name a few. Nontech jobs like accounting and finance or public affairs are few on any base.
 
Forgot to say don't go rated just to up your chances.

If you think juggling 18 credit hours, ROTC and a part time job is difficult you will be eaten alive in UPT. The avg day for a UPT student is 12 hours of academics, simulators and flying. You than come home and study/chair fly for next four hours. Repeat every day. Friday night and Saturday are your down days.Sunday it is back to studying.
~ Your first exam at IFS is the day after you arrive. It is called the BOLD test. This test is knowing where every period, comma, colon, etc. If you fail that test, they will allow you to retake it two days later....but....while you are studying to retake it, the rest of the class is studying to take the next test that will occur the day after you take the retake. That means you are behind the eight ball immediately. This is the type of pace you will have in every stage of UPT.
~ Most parents will tell you that during UPT they talk to their child maybe 10-15 minutes a week on the weekends. If thy get a call during the week it is either going to be a very bad call or a very good call. Busted a ride or passed a check ride!

Repeat for @ 2 years! IFS (initial flight screening) = 3 weeks. UPT=54 weeks. Airframe training is 6-9 months.
~ My DS started IFS March 2013 and he will finally arrive at his first operational base in February.

I also didn't even go into that statistically, @50% will not wing. @25% fail out of IFS, 25% bust 1st phase (T6) and than 25% will bust the 2nd pass (T1/38) .

If you wash out at any of these phases you will meet a flight evaluation board. They will than decide whether to allow you go non-rated or to separate you from the AF.

It is important you understand the process for pilot training.
 
JMPO, I would complete the degree you want and go for OCS. The problem you are facing in AFROTC is they will use ALL of your college grades, including those classes that you failed, even if you retook them. IOWS if you failed English 101, retook it and got an A, AFROTC does not see it as a 4.0, they will see it as a 2.0.

Thanks for your reply Pima,
The 'course retake' factor won't be a problem to my current GPA. My university's policy with classes and transcripts functions just like AFROTC. Took alot of work to pull myself to a passing GPA after all those F's to get to a 2.0. The real problem for me is that I have so many units already completed, regardless of a change of major or not, that a full semester of A's doesn't have a significant impact.
Forgot to even put down the first time around. If I score a ton of A's during my time with AFROTC, will that be something noteworthy on my performance within AFROTC? (Maybe helping out with CoC Rec?) Inversely, will AFROTC look at those past F's even with a decent cGPA?
Also I've read a ton about the politics going into a CoC recommending a less-than-stellar cGPA student.

You're right, to get a 3.2-3.4 it would take multiple semesters. Just wondering if PFA, CoC Rec, and AFOQT is enough to offput a 2.7-2.9 GPA.

OCS sounds like a great opportunity, but I feel I won't be competitive at all in that environment. Outside of AFROTC it would be hard to gain the leadership experience needed to compete.

Thanks for elaborating about going rated. I must admit I know very little about the process going into that. If you go rated and you don't wing (fail IFS or bust 1st 2nd phase) are you disenrolled?


ikadiggit No worries, it's not about the money here. Just a great desire for the career of an AF Officer :thumb:
 
Kurispyg,

First... Kudos on your drive and determination. Just staying in the fight is a victory in itself.

Second... There are some real ROCT experts on here, so I will leave it to them to give you that advice. But I have a different thought for you...

Have you considered Air National Guard? Some of the guard units are still looking hard for certain officer roles (including pilots for some of them). Depending on your role, you can get a full-time gig even and you would be a commissioned officer.

But know it's hit or miss.... because guard units don't typically PCS folks around, they may be desperate for a certain officer slot. Or you could walk on water and you still won't get in. For someone in your situation, it might be worth looking at.

Hope this helps and good luck!
 
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