Am I competitive?

Folks,

I'm not sure where most of you are going, whether you're trying to help the OP, put them down, criticize (constructive or otherwise) or ? This is all over the area!!!

17Lives....here's my perspective; and the folks that have answered have hit it, and gone over/under. Please understand they're just trying to help!!

The GPA is a concern for me as an ALO in that, while not a disqualifyer at all; it is a bit lower than the "typical" appointee. However there are plenty of appointee's and graduates that entered with a similar GPA. I like the school letter in JROTC; is it for drill, orienteering, rifle, or ? Does your JROTC have a "raider" team? If so and you're on it, that's an excellent "sport/fitness" bullet for your application! CAP also has the fitness requirements, you need to ensure your ALO knows all about that.

I would like to see more community service hours; check with your JROTC leaders about how many of the activities you participate in are considered "service" events. That might bump up your total.

All in all, you have a good package working...I'd like to see higher grades...and some serious ACT/SAT scores! Also, and this is for ANY candidate; if you live in a single-parent home, what do you do to help? This is an area of "life diversity" that is a focus of USAFA's.

Just my 57 cents worth.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
17Lives: It would be interesting to know: Have you decided to apply? I believe everyone on here is trying to help you and are willing to continue if you will persevere. Hope to hear something soon !
 
Flieger, first thank you for providing meaningful feedback. You told me what i needed to improve on and how. Youve given me more than I can say for others on this post. My letter is not for anything specific, just JROTC. No my unit does no have a raider team. As far as what do i do to help with the single-parent home: I do my part (grades,EC's,etc.) Honestly, theres not really much I can do. My mother has stated, "If you do your part I can take care of everything else." I dont know if that answers your question. Thank you for your help again.
 
17Lives said:
Badge, I have decided to apply but I am not getting my hopes up.
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Sadly that's how all of us applicants have to think. I feel ya bro. I recommend taking as many difficult classes as possible to burn up all your time so you don't have time to think about it. Or maybe start a normal running routine to ease some stress
 
17,

I wish you all of my best that I can give you during this journey.

However, your last post was a little disheartening to me. Just my opinion, but I think you took other posters posts personally. Here is why:
flieger83 said:
17Lives....here's my perspective; and the folks that have answered have hit it, and gone over/under. Please understand they're just trying to help!!
Click to expand...

flieger politely said impo, that several of us gave you the same examples back on page 1 that flieger stated, however, it was probably put into a stronger tone than you were willing to see or read.

This is not an easy path that you are about to start. It is going to take a lot of confidence and maturity.
~Confidence....starting in the late summer when LOAs start dropping, early fall when the appointments start dripping out, reading other posters stats (resume or CFA), and G forbid getting a DQ for DoDMERB.
~Maturity...to not take anything personally on an anonymous forum. Maturity to understand that as harsh as anything you read here, it is probably the sweetest of criticism that you will face at USAFA or in ROTC. It is meant with kindness to give you a true wake up call. It is not personal, it is impo a reality check for June 2017 when you get on that bus on IDAY.

Finally, this statement of yours confused me:
17Lives said:
My mother has stated, "If you do your part I can take care of everything else."
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Huh? Is she taking care of everything else? Maybe, it is my pea brain, but that is how it reads...Mom is going to scoop in regarding the final touches...helo parent.

Emotionally, mentally this is not a senior year in hs only thing, with every year for the next 9 years (USAFA/college +5 commitment) the stress amps up another level.
~ BCT = very limited contact with the outside world, while you are told you are not the best thing since hot slice bread.
~ C2C year is hoping that your cgpa is high enough to get that dream AFSC or Educational Delay (ED)
~ Go Pilot, and the slate is wiped clean again. They don't care if you are a USAFA, ROTC or OCS commission. Fencers DS (USAFA) and my DS (ROTC scholarship) were in the same UPT class. 1 F22 dropped...it went to a prior E OCS grad.
 
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17Lives,
Good call on your decision to apply. Life is funny....you just never know how things will turn up. I think too many people give up easily and don't really realize how good we have it. How many immigrants, specifically from Asian countries, come here, don't speak a lick of English, kick a$$ in school and take up a good majority of the slots at our nation's top tier schools? 'nuff said! We live in the greatest country (yeah, going down hill but everything is relative) in the world with tremendous amount of opportunities. How many countries can you think of where you can be complete screw up in high school, start with a clean slate in a junior college, then end up at a prestigious university/institution? I've lived in a couple of countries and traveled worldwide and I can tell you that I can't think of any. In fact, in many of these countries, your destiny is determined at a very early age, as in elementary school. There, if you can't keep up at in school, they'll just leave you behind. Many countries in Asia have a high school entrance exam, much like the SAT/ACT. Not everyone can/will go to high school. If you can't get into a "good" high school, your chances of going to a decent college are slim to none, not to mention the hellish college entrance exams that one has to ace in order to get accepted. Children as young as 8 years old commit suicide, more often than anyone would like to hear, from the stresses of life. Their typical day can be as long as 16 hours, 6 days a week. Ouch!
Dude, get used to the brutally honest opinions that people give you on this forum because actual military training is far worse. Most everyone means well and they're trying to help. You asked and we answered.
 
JestFutureFalcon said:
17Lives said:
Badge, I have decided to apply but I am not getting my hopes up.
Click to expand...
Sadly that's how all of us applicants have to think. I feel ya bro. I recommend taking as many difficult classes as possible to burn up all your time so you don't have time to think about it. Or maybe start a normal running routine to ease some stress
Click to expand...

17Lives, Jest and other applicants: I want to encourage you to keep a positive attitude throughout this process ! It is wise to hope for the best but plan for the worst. It is wise to work on plan B, C, D. Enjoy your final, fleeting moments of your senior year. It goes by all too fast. So approach all this with an optimistic outlook. I believe that will help you get through this process more than anything (especially more than being pessimistic about it!). Do your very best. That's all you can do at this point. No one has told you "NO" yet to the Academy. That means you're still in the game! The glass is not half empty; its half full. In the end, if you don't get in the Class of 2020, its not the end of the line. There's prep school, AFROTC, Falcon Foundation Scholarship, self-prep, attending college and working hard and re-applying. For some people Plan "B" or "C" just turned out to be a better Plan "A" than their original Plan A. There are many ways to get where you want to be in life. But you have to really want it and start believing in yourself. Do not rely on nameless, faceless people on a forum to prop you up and give you confidence. If you listen to peoples' opinions of what you should do or how you should do it, your life will be all over the place. That confidence has to come from within YOU. You must believe whether anyone else does or not.
For the record, 17Lives, I am so glad to hear you are applying. I think you can do it. But that does not really matter. YOU must believe you can do it.
 
Good on you 17!

Now, forget having mom take care of everything. YOU take care of business, starting today. Mom can cook your supper and buy you some new socks, but YOU are responsible for your future!!! Y.O.U.

Put on a positive attitude (no one wants to select Eeyore!)!
 
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