Applying as an international student?

S

svs ☆

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I’m currently in year 11 (sophomore?) I’m interested in applying as an international student but idk how that would pan out. My predicted grades for my gcses are mainly A/A* but my school does not have GPAs.
I have some fairly broad extracurriculars (varsity volleyball, fencing, model un, house captain etc + charity work in and out of school) with leadership positions in my school. Does it matter what Alevels we plan on studying? Currently I’m planning on studying English lit, psychology, history, and drama (may change to physics) but I’m not sure if these subject choices would affect my chances of a successful application. I also plan on Doing my SATs in year 12 so I’m preparing for that rn.
I do not have a US citizenship but my mum’s side of the family does have history of living/holding US citizenship, would this affect anything?
I'm currently looking into getting into contact with the US embassy in my country right now but I honestly have no idea if I'm starting this process too late for admission to be possible

Thank you for any help and clarification :)
 
Based on the info here, you're not an American citizen but a foreign national. To attend an American SA, you must be a U.S. citizen or apply through your home country's military. A certain number of spots are reserved each year for cadets from allied nations. They're some of the best cadets in any class.

Start by going to the USAFA website and reading about its entrance requirements for international students. Then start researching your country's requirements. They're different for each country. Best wishes to you.
 
MidCakePa said:
Based on the info here, you're not an American citizen but a foreign national. To attend an American SA, you must be a U.S. citizen or apply through your home country's military. A certain number of spots are reserved each year for cadets from allied nations. They're some of the best cadets in any class.

Start by going to the USAFA website and reading about its entrance requirements for international students. Then start researching your country's requirements. They're different for each country. Best wishes to you.
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Thank you!
And yeah I forgot to mention I'm not an American citizen but I hope that was obvious enough.
I've looked through all of my country's requirements and seem to fit them all, currently in the process of trying to figure out the next steps to this process. Working on getting my grades up right now too so hopefully I'll do well on the SATs.
Hopefully I'll actually have a chance but we'll see
 
As many have said on this forum, “You never have a chance if you don’t apply.” I’m a U.S. Citizen, but if you need help with anything feel free to PM me!
 
Slippy13 said:
As many have said on this forum, “You never have a chance if you don’t apply.” I’m a U.S. Citizen, but if you need help with anything feel free to PM me!
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Trying my best T-T
But yeah if possible, I have a lot of questions about the general process so having someone to ask would be helpful
Thank you!
 
Hi there OP! By the sounds of it (by doing GCSEs and being in year 11) you are in a UK style education system? If so I'm currently in the UK and in year 13 applying for USNA c/o 2028 and would be happy to answer any questions you have!
 
w@113r said:
Hi there OP! By the sounds of it (by doing GCSEs and being in year 11) you are in a UK style education system? If so I'm currently in the UK and in year 13 applying for USNA c/o 2028 and would be happy to answer any questions you have!
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Yep I am, would you say starting the application now would be too late? I know most people do it between year 12 and year 13 but I'm not sure how my timeline would be because I have to go through the international application/nomination process.
Also since I'm in the process of choosing my Alevels right now, does it matter what subjects we pick?
Thanks :)
 
svs ☆ said:
Yep I am, would you say starting the application now would be too late? I know most people do it between year 12 and year 13 but I'm not sure how my timeline would be because I have to go through the international application/nomination process.
Also since I'm in the process of choosing my Alevels right now, does it matter what subjects we pick?
Thanks :)
Click to expand...
I am not very knowledgeable on this topic but I have picked up a little on these forums/elsewhere. I think what you are missing is that since you are not a US citizen or resident you cannot just submit an application to the academy in the same way 99% of applicants do. You will have to join your own country's military and apply for an academy international spot as a military member of an allied country. I don't know exactly how that works--you'll have to check with your home country's military for more info. Assuming you are able to attend the academy in this way you will then return to your home country and serve in your home country's military after graduation.

The biggest point is that you cannot just apply like a typical applicant. The academy is a military academy, so it functions fundementally differently from a civilian college. For a civilian college like MIT or Harvard you could just apply online like everyone else. But to attend a United States service academy, as someone with no US residency or citizenship, you will have to follow a completely different path to attend the academy, either by entering your home country's military and earning an international spot or by gaining US citizenship.

I apologize if this comment is confusing. I am not an expert on the topic and I don't write very concisely. Listen to what @MidCakePa said. The main addition that I want to bring to your attention is that this is not the type of situation where you can just open up an application online like everyone else. You will have to contact your home country's government / military to even see what the application process is for you

Regarding A levels and timing, this may depend on how your home country's nomination process works but 1) generally you want mostly STEM courses (particularly calc and physics) and 2) you just need all of the mandatory credits and to be between 17 and 23 years old. Also you will need to take the SAT.
 
bananafish said:
I am not very knowledgeable on this topic but I have picked up a little on these forums/elsewhere. I think what you are missing is that since you are not a US citizen or resident you cannot just submit an application to the academy in the same way 99% of applicants do. You will have to join your own country's military and apply for an academy international spot as a military member of an allied country. I don't know exactly how that works--you'll have to check with your home country's military for more info. Assuming you are able to attend the academy in this way you will then return to your home country and serve in your home country's military after graduation.

The biggest point is that you cannot just apply like a typical applicant. The academy is a military academy, so it functions fundementally differently from a civilian college. For a civilian college like MIT or Harvard you could just apply online like everyone else. But to attend a United States service academy, as someone with no US residency or citizenship, you will have to follow a completely different path to attend the academy, either by entering your home country's military and earning an international spot or by gaining US citizenship.

I apologize if this comment is confusing. I am not an expert on the topic and I don't write very concisely. Listen to what @MidCakePa said. The main addition that I want to bring to your attention is that this is not the type of situation where you can just open up an application online like everyone else. You will have to contact your home country's government / military to even see what the application process is for you

Regarding A levels and timing, this may depend on how your home country's nomination process works but 1) generally you want mostly STEM courses (particularly calc and physics) and 2) you just need all of the mandatory credits and to be between 17 and 23 years old. Also you will need to take the SAT.
Click to expand...
Right now I'm trying to figure out a way to get into contact and organise stuff with my home country's governments // very desperately convincing my family

For A levels, the choices that I have locked in (had my meeting earlier this morning T-T) are Eng lit, history, physics, and psychology - I am also going to be doing an EPQ. I'm not sure if this would be considered enough for American/USAFA standards but some unis here consider psychology as a science,, idk how that would work out here. I have asked my teachers and higher education team at my school, they think that I will not need to do A level maths in order to prepare for studying there though I'm not sure how that would look on my transcripts.

In terms of SATs, I have applied to my school's prep sessions and will probably be taking them this time next year during year 12 (hopefully earlier if possible)
 
svs ☆ said:
Right now I'm trying to figure out a way to get into contact and organise stuff with my home country's governments // very desperately convincing my family

For A levels, the choices that I have locked in (had my meeting earlier this morning T-T) are Eng lit, history, physics, and psychology - I am also going to be doing an EPQ. I'm not sure if this would be considered enough for American/USAFA standards but some unis here consider psychology as a science,, idk how that would work out here. I have asked my teachers and higher education team at my school, they think that I will not need to do A level maths in order to prepare for studying there though I'm not sure how that would look on my transcripts.

In terms of SATs, I have applied to my school's prep sessions and will probably be taking them this time next year during year 12 (hopefully earlier if possible)
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You can find the course requirements/suggestions here: https://www.academyadmissions.com/requirements/academic/ There is some flexibility (eg a computer science course is not mandatory for admission) and I imagine the standards may adapt for an international student (such as no US History requirement). However you should make every effort to take as many of the recommended courses as possible, meaning you will want to take some form of math and lab-based science next year
 
bananafish said:
You can find the course requirements/suggestions here: https://www.academyadmissions.com/requirements/academic/ There is some flexibility (eg a computer science course is not mandatory for admission) and I imagine the standards may adapt for an international student (such as no US History requirement). However you should make every effort to take as many of the recommended courses as possible, meaning you will want to take some form of math and lab-based science next year
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Thank you and yeah, that makes sense
I should have prefaced this by saying I'm looking to major in history though I'm guessing that doesn't make much of a difference in subjects needed?
Another option I'm looking into is transferring into an IB school but that may be too late to be feasible for me.
Would you think tutoring for maths outside of school is good enough? (They are basically a homeschool institution that offers tutoring too,, they offer grade reports, exams, etc)
 
svs ☆ said:
Yep I am, would you say starting the application now would be too late? I know most people do it between year 12 and year 13 but I'm not sure how my timeline would be because I have to go through the international application/nomination process.
Also since I'm in the process of choosing my Alevels right now, does it matter what subjects we pick?
Thanks :)
Click to expand...
It depends which class you are applying to, as you are in yr11 right now (age 15/16) then you will probably be looking at applying for the USAFA c/o 2030, which right now is too early to apply for (applications will open in spring/summer 2025). If you are applying for c/o 2028 applications have closed, and c/o 2029 applications will open soon. But I think you are ok, probably on the earlier side.
As for A Level choices I would suggest aiming for more STEM focussed courses, as USAFA is primarily a STEM university. That isn't to say that non-STEM subjects aren't going to help but from looking at the academic requirements, there is a heavier waiting on STEM over non-STEM and it would be better to mimic these.
IB wouldn't be a bad opportunity at all, I would have probably taken it if my school offered it as it gives more subjects to study and USAFA will certainly understand the level of learning as opposed to A Levels with which they may not be as familiar.
As for math outside of school, the structure you have seems to be sufficient (just my opinion-don't take it as fact) make sure that it is of a high standard (enough to do well on the SAT, and similar levels to AP/A Level) but wouldn't be a bad idea to ask admissions to confirm this is the best course of action: https://www.academyadmissions.com/contact/
Hope this helps!
 
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svs ☆ said:
I’m currently in year 11 (sophomore?) I’m interested in applying as an international student but idk how that would pan out. My predicted grades for my gcses are mainly A/A* but my school does not have GPAs.
I have some fairly broad extracurriculars (varsity volleyball, fencing, model un, house captain etc + charity work in and out of school) with leadership positions in my school. Does it matter what Alevels we plan on studying? Currently I’m planning on studying English lit, psychology, history, and drama (may change to physics) but I’m not sure if these subject choices would affect my chances of a successful application. I also plan on Doing my SATs in year 12 so I’m preparing for that rn.
I do not have a US citizenship but my mum’s side of the family does have history of living/holding US citizenship, would this affect anything?
I'm currently looking into getting into contact with the US embassy in my country right now but I honestly have no idea if I'm starting this process too late for admission to be possible

Thank you for any help and clarification :)
Click to expand...
As a foreign (non-U.S. citizen) applicant, you should be working through the US Embassy in your country. Specifically, the Defense Attache there. Give them a call and ask how you can go about applying to US Service Academies. They will be your liaison with the Admissions Office and advise you of the application requirements and timeline. Best of luck!
 
Cursory search brought this up:

www.academyadmissions.com

International Students | U.S. Air Force Academy

Learn about the U.S. Air Force Academy eligibility requirements and application process for international students interested in becoming a cadet.
www.academyadmissions.com www.academyadmissions.com

Which country are you from OP? Maybe someone can give you more targeted info. The link says that only 15 candidates are selected per year. I imagine these slots are probably reserved for treaty partners (with reciprocity).
 
w@113r said:
It depends which class you are applying to, as you are in yr11 right now (age 15/16) then you will probably be looking at applying for the USAFA c/o 2030, which right now is too early to apply for (applications will open in spring/summer 2025). If you are applying for c/o 2028 applications have closed, and c/o 2029 applications will open soon. But I think you are ok, probably on the earlier side.
As for A Level choices I would suggest aiming for more STEM focussed courses, as USAFA is primarily a STEM university. That isn't to say that non-STEM subjects aren't going to help but from looking at the academic requirements, there is a heavier waiting on STEM over non-STEM and it would be better to mimic these.
IB wouldn't be a bad opportunity at all, I would have probably taken it if my school offered it as it gives more subjects to study and USAFA will certainly understand the level of learning as opposed to A Levels with which they may not be as familiar.
As for math outside of school, the structure you have seems to be sufficient (just my opinion-don't take it as fact) make sure that it is of a high standard (enough to do well on the SAT, and similar levels to AP/A Level) but wouldn't be a bad idea to ask admissions to confirm this is the best course of action: https://www.academyadmissions.com/contact/
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Yep I'm looking at c/o 2030, I know it's too early to apply to right now but would you say it's too late to start the application process (getting into contact with the US embassy here for example)?
 
smcgrath said:
Cursory search brought this up:

www.academyadmissions.com

International Students | U.S. Air Force Academy

Learn about the U.S. Air Force Academy eligibility requirements and application process for international students interested in becoming a cadet.
www.academyadmissions.com www.academyadmissions.com

Which country are you from OP? Maybe someone can give you more targeted info. The link says that only 15 candidates are selected per year. I imagine these slots are probably reserved for treaty partners (with reciprocity).
Click to expand...
I assume so too, I'm Thai but I go to school in the UK (not sure if this will make anything tougher for me or no). I know there have been Thai people attending and graduating USAFA in the past so maybe its a possibility (?)
I've tried to do some research but haven't found anything useful yet,, talking to my parent to try and get them to contact the US embassy from there rn
I also do know that they have only admitted about 8 international students every year in the past couple of years, not sure if this has to do with the application rate or acceptance rate
 
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