USAFA 2-Degree (Class of 2021) here. This forum helped me out a lot back in the day, so I figured it'd be nice to help out anyone in the process of applying with questions about the Zoo. Ask whatever your heart desires (assuming it's appropriate of course)
Ask a 2-Degree Anything
- Thread starter JustADude
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OfficerToBe750
5-Year Member
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- Feb 9, 2020
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- 459
o.k....what one or two things surprised you most about USAFA? From a positive perspective and from a negative perspective? Thanks!
iwannabeapiolut
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- Oct 5, 2019
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If you had a choice to take dual enrollment or AP classes, which one would the academy like more. I know the academy accepts AP credits of 4 or 5 but does one make you more competitive than the other?
thanks
Positive perspective: the people and the academics. I was expecting to make new friends here but didn't expect for them to surpass the level of friendship with my friends back home. I was waaaaay off. The guys I'm friends with here I expect to be friends with for life. You just bond so much more here dealing with the same or very similar things. The academics I expected to be hard and not like, but I ended up enjoying them greatly. The professors are top notch, and I fully believe that you can major in anything here and both enjoy it and find it valuable later in life.
Negative: the bureaucracy. I won't go into depth (that's for you to discover
)but I'd say this is my first look at the messy bureaucracy that is a government organization, and although it's only surface deep (given it is a service academy and not the true active duty), I've grown to resent it.I can't tell you which one is more competitive than the other (I'd consult admissions for that), but what I can tell you is what I did. I took AP courses in my high school because the dual enrollment ones didn't even count for most of the non-academy schools I applied for. AP allowed me to validate the first level of calculus and chemistry here, both of which are not very well liked by most doolies. Being able to get around those is quite helpful; however, the AP score is not everything. In basic training, you'll spend a day taking validation exams for some of the core courses. The score on those, coupled with your AP score, determines whether or not you validate a course.
toboldlygo
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- Oct 22, 2018
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- 17
What was the worst part of your freshman year (including BCT) and how did you get through it?
Tennis0102
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- Feb 18, 2020
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Hi, I'm looking at the CFT and AFT and had a few questions. First, are the pull ups for the PFT cadence pull ups, or is it just as many as you can do with proper form? Second, would you do the AFT and PFT on different days, or do they sometimes make them go back to back? And finally the appointee booklet mentions a grade is given based on your performance, do you get a grade every single time you take it that affects your GPA, and how much does it play a role in your overall GPA?
Strict pull-ups. No kipping.
The AFT and PFT are taken on different days.
The "grade" is calculated into your Physical Education Average (PEA) which counts as 20% Overall Performance Average (OPA). PEA is a weighted 4.00 grading scale (50% PFT + 35% Phy Ed courses + 15% AFT).
Tennis0102
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- Feb 18, 2020
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- 16
Thank you for your response. Is it your most recent PFT grade that affects your PEA, or is it all of them that together make up 50 percent of your PEA?
You'll have a cumulative PEA and a semester PEA just like you would GPA.
Here is screenshot of the calculator I used while I was at the academy.
** yes, I am still salty about that C+. . . and missing Athletic distinction by 0.03 PEA points. No, I did not make this awful color scheme.**