(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.
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.
Last edited: