Am I on the Right Track? I messed up already?

[Pima]

Piggy backing on CC's (aka Mike) post. As you learn more about the AFA appointment process you will understand why he stated:
Believe it or not, there are 4.0gpa students who DON'T receive appointments.

Appointments start with a nom from your MOC. Some states are insanely competitive, CA, CO, NY, TX, VA quickly come to mind. These are states that you will read about "spreading the wealth" or "talking". In other words they have so many nom applicants the MOCs traditionally will talk to each other and try to guarantee that an applicant gets only one nom out of the 3 they applied for; aka spreading the wealth.

If that candidate doesn't win the appointment from their MOC, and the AFA deems them competitive they may be placed into the national pool.

The reason many posters are vocal when it comes to the Chance Me threads is due to the fact that a candidate with a 4.0 cgpa is just a very small glimpse into what also goes into this equation.

Other factors that you should start considering now besides your curriculum is every aspect of the process.

~ Medical
~~ DoDMERB will do an exam. This is where many candidates get tripped up because they never thought there would be a problem.
~~~ Vision? Prescribed meds, such as inhalers, Ritalin, or accutane? Surgeries? Every yr there are more posters than I have fingers and toes who go on the DoDMERB forum and state:
I play sports, but my doctor prescribed an inhaler when I was 16, I used it once and now I am DQ, what is next?

~ CFA
~~ It is important because if you fail just one section and max all of the others you still fail. Pull ups and BBall throw are the sections where most have problems. 3 Pull ups for males will = bust. Once the CFA is submitted only the AFA can re-open that portal.

You have so much time in front of you and I am sure you will do great. I am sure you think we are laying the hammer down on you, but we really aren't. We are seeing it differently from personal experience. Our goal is to assist you in your appointment, but more importantly to make sure you become an AF officer.

One last thing to ask, what is your AF career aspirations? Depending on your answer you will also have posters telling you to have a Plan B and C in place too.

The AFA opens doors, but what you do will be a factor if it closes once in ADAF.

 

[Kensy]

Competitive Track and Cross Country. Also for top 10 yes you do have to apply. The school only lets us take 6 classes. I finished World History. In 11th grade I am taking AP Us History.

 

[Shurstell]

Piggy backing on CC's (aka Mike) post. As you learn more about the AFA appointment process you will understand why he stated:
Believe it or not, there are 4.0gpa students who DON'T receive appointments.

And there are people with low GPAs that do. I'm a perfect example. I finished high school with a 3.2 unweighted GPA and I'm not particularly proud of it. Despite my low GPA, I was still offered full ride scholarships and an appointment to USAFA, probably more because of my ACT and involvement in extra-curriculars.

I think admissions cares more about your character/attitude and the fact that you gave high school 100% more than they care about your actual grades. So study hard and ace all the tests

 

[Pima]

This is true too!

It is why the PAR is made up of the cgpa, rank, SAT/ACT, course curriculum, and school profile. PAR is 60% of the WCS, so a lower cgpa with and outstanding SAT/ACT can be fine. Conversely it is also why a high cgpa and a low SAT can be an issue.

That is why sometimes the school profile becomes a factor. For example TJJHS in VA has been one of the top 10 public HS in the nation, if not number 1 for decades. It is a magnate that you must test into to attend. The profile of the school is very competitive where 100% go to 4 yr colleges and typically 50% of graduates go IVY. Do the math if you rank in the bottom 50% you are the dummy, yet you are getting accepted to colleges like Notre Dame, UVA, UIC, etc. on full rides.

The AFA is going to take that into account when reviewing your profile. Every yr there are candidates on this site that get a shock because on their portal their cgpa changed. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down and sometimes it stays the same. The AFA has their own mathematical equation that they use, just like every traditional college does too.

Kensy,
Are you not allowed to take APUSH as a sophomore? If you are allowed I would take it because than for 11th you can take APGOV and 12th you can take APWORLD.

I understand some schools do have requirements that AP classes are only open to X grades, in your case it may be 11th, but if they don't have that issue, take an AP history. OBTW, APGOVT is easier than APUSH, so you might want to take that 1st.

I can't remember the requirements for the AFA, but most colleges require 4 yrs of certain classes. I would check and make sure History is not one of them. In VA for a HS diploma you must take 4 yrs of Math, History,English and PE. Science and Foreign Languages are 3 yrs. Arts are 2 yrs. It maybe that the AFA only requires 3 yrs History, but as a student who wants to major in social sciences, APGOVT would be a strong match academically. As others have stated prepare for Plan B and see what colleges you like require from an academic point too.

The problem you may find later on is CA is considered one of the most competitive states. Think of it this way, every candidate will apply to all 3 MOCs. MOC districts are smaller pools, the Sens are much larger since there are only 2 of them for the entire state, and they can only submit the same amount as an MOC for their slate...10 candidates.

It is not so much if you are on track for the AFA, but also if you will be competitive in your state for a nom. No nom = no appointment.

To say you are on track for the AFA is one thing, but when you start adding in the state you are from, posters may feel differently. It is also why before you compare your stats to another candidate you place everything into the equation, not only academically, but also from an EC perspective and where they live because they are factors too that will be placed into their equation. It is why posters stress out because their state talks and shares the wealth, which means if they are on only 1 slate, they have less slates to compete on for an appointment.

OFF TOPIC: Curiosity question, so because you run track, your school makes you take track as a class? Or is it like VA you must take PE for 4 yrs and that is the class you are taking. I only ask because academic requirements vary state by state. In NC students only had to take 1 yr of PE, but also in that state they took 8 classes a yr. In NC they would not count classes from 8th grade if the student was advanced. For example DS took French 1, ALGI, Phystical sciences in 8th grade. None of those classes counted to the HS requirements, thus he ended with more yrs than the student that took the same classes in 9th grade. In VA, it did count toward the HS diploma, so students could take more electives over their HS yrs.

OFF TOPIC: Second curiosity question, you are only taking 6 classes, how long are your classes per day? In VA they take 7 classes, but they have block schedules, (A and B days). The 7th class is both A and B days for a shorter time. Each class was close to 1 hr and 45 minutes. To me that is a killer from an attention span perspective.

 

[Kensy]

We cannot take Apush in 10th grade it is mostly for juniors. For AP Government its is for Seniors because Civics/ Econ is mandatory before you finish high school.

Period 1A 7:32 AM 8:57 AM 85 min
Period 1B 8:01 AM 8:57 AM 56 min
Period 2 9:03 AM 9:59 AM 56 min
Brunch 9:59 AM 10:08 AM 9 min
Period 3 10:14 AM 11:10 AM 56 min
Period 4 11:16 AM 12:16 PM 60 min
Lunch 12:16 PM 12:56 PM 40 min
Period 5 1:02 PM 1:58 PM 56 min
Period 6A 2:04 PM 3:29 PM 85 min
Period 6B 2:04 PM 3:00 PM 56 min

 

[Kensy]

We have 2 semesters, Cross Country is first then it is Track. Our school requires 2 years of PE, but Cross Country and track fills up our PE class.

 

[haleym]

Check into a class in statistics at some point. Some HS offer AP Stats.
Good luck to you!

I agree with this. AP stat actually got me to like math. It isn't easy (very focused on details) but I actually found it to be a fun/interesting class.

 

[Pima]

Haley,

You are adorable! I loved Math until I had to take Stats. My running joke has always been I don't care if I pull a red or a green ball out of the bag, as long as I pull a ball that's all that matters.

I loved Science too until I took Physics. That joke was I don't care where the ball drops, wake me up if it doesn't drop!

Now being serious for a second, the fact is some students that are strong in classes like Geometry and Stats maybe weaker in ALG, Trig and Calc because it is a left side, right side brain issue. For our eldest and youngest Stats was a breeze, for our DD it was hours at the kitchen table studying just to pull a B on a good day.

Kensy,

Civics is mandatory here for HS graduation too, but they don't care what year you take the class.

The thing to always remember and talk to your GC about is the rigor of your course curriculum. Your GC knows the school profile, which means she knows if your peers have a more rigorous course load than you. The GC will be involved in this process, you will never see what they submit since it is done electronically. Let them know now that this is your goal, they can assist you more than anybody else here to keep you on track academically. They can also discuss with you the past students that did get an appointment to an SA and what their profile from your school looked like compared to your profile.

 

[haleym]

Haley,

You are adorable! I loved Math until I had to take Stats. My running joke has always been I don't care if I pull a red or a green ball out of the bag, as long as I pull a ball that's all that matters.

I loved Science too until I took Physics. That joke was I don't care where the ball drops, wake me up if it doesn't drop!

Now being serious for a second, the fact is some students that are strong in classes like Geometry and Stats maybe weaker in ALG, Trig and Calc because it is a left side, right side brain issue. For our eldest and youngest Stats was a breeze, for our DD it was hours at the kitchen table studying just to pull a B on a good day.

Kensy,

Civics is mandatory here for HS graduation too, but they don't care what year you take the class.

The thing to always remember and talk to your GC about is the rigor of your course curriculum. Your GC knows the school profile, which means she knows if your peers have a more rigorous course load than you. The GC will be involved in this process, you will never see what they submit since it is done electronically. Let them know now that this is your goal, they can assist you more than anybody else here to keep you on track academically. They can also discuss with you the past students that did get an appointment to an SA and what their profile from your school looked like compared to your profile.

Ha! To be fair, I had arguably one of the best stat teachers in the country, and like you stated, I am definitely more right brained and am not the best at calc. Many of my friends who like math were frustrated by statistics because it requires a lot more thought than a calc problem. I was not the best in class but I loved it anyway. And I agree with your dislike of physics.. I wish I'd taken AP chem my junior year instead because I liked chemistry better and was better at it. But what's done is done and I'll get another taste of chemistry this year! Anyways, kensy, take whatever classes you believe you will LIKE and do well at; however, keep your mind open. Like I said I am not a math person and really liked stats, and for me to figure that out I had to try it. Good luck in HS and best wishes on accomplishing your academy goal!