AFROTC or USAFAPS

A

ambsar'22

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Hi! So I'm coming on here because I want to know other opinions. I just received word this morning that I was accepted to USAFAPS. This is super exciting since I've been waiting to hear back from them for so long. I also received the J-100 AFROTC scholarship and I had committed to UCSD as my backup plan just in case I didn't get into USAFA/USAFAPS or if my waiver for NAPS didn't go through. Now that I have a choice I'm kinda torn. Because of my scholarship, I have a full ride + benefits to UCSD. I've wanted to go to USAFA since my sophomore year and I'm wondering if the prep school is worth the extra year? If I attended UCSD, I would be able to finish my BS in two years since I have two associate's degrees and maybe go for a second BS who knows. I'm torn because the USAFAPS route is a 5-year program and I don't know if the extra year is worth it? (Especially since an appointment still isn't guaranteed). I also think it took so long for USAFA to get back to me I started to try to envision myself at UCSD and now I feel like I don't know what I want. I'd like to hear if anyone has been in a similar situation. Or maybe insight from cadets who attended prep school. I just want to make sure I make the right decision since it's potentially the next 5 years of my life. Thank you in advance for your advice :)
 
ambsar'22 said:
Hi! So I'm coming on here because I want to know other opinions. I just received word this morning that I was accepted to USAFAPS. This is super exciting since I've been waiting to hear back from them for so long. I also received the J-100 AFROTC scholarship and I had committed to UCSD as my backup plan just in case I didn't get into USAFA/USAFAPS or if my waiver for NAPS didn't go through. Now that I have a choice I'm kinda torn. Because of my scholarship, I have a full ride + benefits to UCSD. I've wanted to go to USAFA since my sophomore year and I'm wondering if the prep school is worth the extra year? If I attended UCSD, I would be able to finish my BS in two years since I have two associate's degrees and maybe go for a second BS who knows. I'm torn because the USAFAPS route is a 5-year program and I don't know if the extra year is worth it? (Especially since an appointment still isn't guaranteed). I also think it took so long for USAFA to get back to me I started to try to envision myself at UCSD and now I feel like I don't know what I want. I'd like to hear if anyone has been in a similar situation. Or maybe insight from cadets who attended prep school. I just want to make sure I make the right decision since it's potentially the next 5 years of my life. Thank you in advance for your advice :)
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AFROTC is not guaranteed. Even if you have a J-100 scholarship, you may not get an EA and have to go 5-years anyway as an AS500. I would take the prep school offer, if you complete the prep school and graduate, you will commission, bar medical/honor/academic issues. USCD is a huge state school and USAFA is a world-class education. I have many friends at USCD, and you will be a number in huge classes.

I know many who went through USAFAPS and would have had it no other way, in fact preferred it to a direct appointment. In the long run, another year is nothing.
 
What do you want to do in the Air Force? What do you want to study?
 
Are you really thinking about choosing a state school over a path that can ultimately lead you to an appointment to a unique once-in-a-lifetime world class-education to become an officer in the U.S Air Force? If becoming an officer through USAFA is your goal, choose the USAFAPS. If you do well, it can lead you to an appointment if you set your heart into it and meet the criteria. If you wanted USAFA badly enough, you wouldn’t even mind going an extra year and putting in the extra work to achieve this dream. If earning your degree earlier means more to you and you envision yourself better at a civilian college, choose UCSD. Yes, your AFROTC scholarship (which congratulations btw) can guarantee you a full ride and benefits to UCSD, but USAFA will also guarantee you a full ride with probably even more benefits and more unique opportunities. You’ve stated that you wanted to go to USAFA since your sophomore year and you’ve been waiting for a long time to hear back from admissions, and UCSD was your “backup plan”...telling me that USAFA was most likely your first choice and you've been thinking about it for a long time. Go with your first choice. If I was in your position, I would take the prep school offer in a heartbeat. In the end, it really depends what your ultimate goal is.
 
ambsar'22 said:
Hi! So I'm coming on here because I want to know other opinions. I just received word this morning that I was accepted to USAFAPS. This is super exciting since I've been waiting to hear back from them for so long. I also received the J-100 AFROTC scholarship and I had committed to UCSD as my backup plan just in case I didn't get into USAFA/USAFAPS or if my waiver for NAPS didn't go through. Now that I have a choice I'm kinda torn. Because of my scholarship, I have a full ride + benefits to UCSD. I've wanted to go to USAFA since my sophomore year and I'm wondering if the prep school is worth the extra year? If I attended UCSD, I would be able to finish my BS in two years since I have two associate's degrees and maybe go for a second BS who knows. I'm torn because the USAFAPS route is a 5-year program and I don't know if the extra year is worth it? (Especially since an appointment still isn't guaranteed). I also think it took so long for USAFA to get back to me I started to try to envision myself at UCSD and now I feel like I don't know what I want. I'd like to hear if anyone has been in a similar situation. Or maybe insight from cadets who attended prep school. I just want to make sure I make the right decision since it's potentially the next 5 years of my life. Thank you in advance for your advice :)
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I would say it really depends on what you want to do as an officer. I am a prior enlisted about to finish the Prep School, so for me the Prep was a great option to get me caught back up to speed on school before heading to the hill. I had just under an associates worth of college credit coming here, so I did lose some of that, but the bigger goal is in mind. As far as appointments are concerned, if you do even just average in the academics, athletics, and military and keep your nose clean, you are pretty much guaranteed an appointment. If you just follow the simple rules and do what is right, it is hard NOT to get an appointment.
If your goal is to be a pilot, USAFA is probably where you want to be. Pilot slots are so hard to get in general, but USAFA has the highest statistical probability of getting a slot. Like you said, it is a long process, but in the end you will have a degree from the Air Force Academy, which is recognized and respected everywhere.
If you are not dead set on piloting or a rated spot, I would probably say to take the other option at UCSD, since you are already much closer to that goal.
If you have more questions about the P or my opinion, feel free to PM me!
 
prep school is basically a guarantee unless you mess it up. In that case you would lose the ROTC too. I would take the prep
 
I’m not sure if you can get two BS degrees on an ROTC scholarship? Someone else can weigh in…



Prep school is an extra year, but it is a productive year. You will learn a lot and be well prepared academically, militarily, and physically to succeed at USAFA. Many people that attended PS are glad they did and actually preferred it over a direct appointment because of how much they grew as a person.
It is essentially the closest guarantee to an appointment a reapplicant could hope for as well.
If you’ve wanted USAFA as you said, then it is waiting for you.
 
This really comes down to where you will thrive the best, a SA with a 24x7 environment or a regular college. The 1 year at Prep School in all honesty should not be a deterrent by any means. 1 year in the scheme of things is not alot of time. It can also be a great year, if you use it right. You will be well prepared to enter USAFA academically, physically, and emotionally. You will also be a year older and more mature when you enter USAFA. You will be familiar with a more rigid environment, understand the military lifestyle better and have the home sickness out of you already. You will also be a year older and more mature when you commission. If you want a SA lifestyle and all the opportunities it opens up in regards to training and leadership, then by all means accept the prep school offer.
 
Congrats on your acceptance to the P! My year there was probably one of the best years of my life (it for sure beats doolie year), and it truly set me up for success here. Yes, it is another year here and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't second guess myself before about taking the extra year over going to a state school, but I haven't regretted it for a second. The choice is completely yours, but you've worked incredibly hard to earn a spot here at USAFA, and I'm sure that a degree from here after 5 years speaks volumes to your work ethic. Also, an appointment from USAFAPS is *almost* guaranteed. Get decent grades, don't get in too much trouble, and you'll be fine. From my year, we only had about 4 people out of our entire class not get in.
 
Congrats on your offers! I'd suggest deciding upon a professional career path first. Do you want to fly for the military? If so, I'd take the Prep School offer. I'm a graduate of the USAFA prep school and that additional year made all the difference in negotiating the academic rigors of the academy - it made my life MUCH easier. If you don't want to fly, but do wish to serve, then I would recommend the ROTC scholarship. USAFA is a pilot's school and its programs and idiosyncrasies are designed to prepare you for the fraternal culture of the flying world. If you don't want to fly, but attend the academy, you will have invested and sacrificed so much more than your ROTC and OTS counterparts only to find yourself on equal professional footing the day you graduate. Why pay more for the same outcome?
 
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