Ask a doolie!

So, one thing I've wondered about... From the prep school, of those who do not eventually get an offer, what's the common denominator?
 
Hey! I was wondering how many times so far you've gone off the base? Are you able to go out on the weekends? If not, what do you do during your free time/weekends?
 
Can you tell us what is the most important item you have and wish you had?
 
f15fighterpilot said:
I don't think you can do anything to prepare. I would say just prepare to be very optimistic.
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Def1964 said:
If I may ask, what made you choose AF and not another academy or means of service?
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AF is closer to home for me so that was a plus. Personally, I didn't really mind which I went to but I really liked the location of USNA and the career opportunities of USAFA. I feel any military academy is a good choice, but I personally wanted to be in the air force or navy since I have ties to the branches.
 
caernarvonkjaer said:
So, one thing I've wondered about... From the prep school, of those who do not eventually get an offer, what's the common denominator?
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The ones who don't get an offer are the ones who really don't try. They're failing classes or just have a bad attitude and not holding themselves as a member of the military.
 
rotccandidate2211 said:
Hey! I was wondering how many times so far you've gone off the base? Are you able to go out on the weekends? If not, what do you do during your free time/weekends?
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You have passes after parents' weekend which is in September. You get three passes, so you can decide how you want to use them. There are opportunities to go off base on "approved" passes which means they won't count towards your actual passes. I've been off base quite a lot so you're never trapped here per say. When I'm here on the weekends, I normally sleep, catch up on homework or meet with friends at the pool or library. There's also a lot of sporting events to support your friends!
 
702mom said:
Can you tell us what is the most important item you have and wish you had?
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The most important item I have is probably my white board where I write all my assignments for the month. Keeps me from stressing throughout the week. I wish I had a fridge to put leftovers in.
 
I am currently in ROTC and have been very involved with my detachment's SOFPREP program(an extra-curricular group that focuses on the physical aspect of the CRO/TACP pipelines). Does the academy offer similar programs that focus on building physical and mental strength for these fields?
 
tnraised23 said:
I am currently in ROTC and have been very involved with my detachment's SOFPREP program(an extra-curricular group that focuses on the physical aspect of the CRO/TACP pipelines). Does the academy offer similar programs that focus on building physical and mental strength for these fields?
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Yep!
 
f15fighterpilot said:
They are really hard. I had nearly a 4.0 in HS and then I came here and I have a 2.7 which isn't bad since I got all B's. You'll have a 60% in a class and just be glad you're passing. Some people are really smart and do not struggle but most of us do so expect some low grades. You're taking STEM classes with the limited amounts of time you do have a doolie. They are not impossible though and help is everywhere. My most challenging classes right now is physics and Calc II. I did not validate any AP classes but if you do you just move onto harder classes so honestly I wouldn't to keep my GPA decent for my freshman year but if you can handle it go for it! Most highschools tend to "inflate" your grades, but they absolutely do not do that here. There's not a lot of extra credit and there's no asking "can you bump my grade" or "can I retake it". The academics here I think are a little more serious than what HS offers. But I'm comparing it to my school.
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This is very insightful. Curious if you would have gone STEM degree if you were to have gone to a regular college? My DD is seriously evaluating ROTC International Studies/Russian degree vs. a Military Academy. While she's good at STEM classes, it's not her passion. Also, how do you adjust from being a star student to accepting the lower GPAs. I suspect most are high achievers, so this would be a big adjustment. Thanks and best of luck to you!
 
teamarl said:
This is very insightful. Curious if you would have gone STEM degree if you were to have gone to a regular college? My DD is seriously evaluating ROTC International Studies/Russian degree vs. a Military Academy. While she's good at STEM classes, it's not her passion. Also, how do you adjust from being a star student to accepting the lower GPAs. I suspect most are high achievers, so this would be a big adjustment. Thanks and best of luck to you!
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My ultimate plan is to go Premed so I still would have pursued a STEM degree either here or a different school. STEM isn't a lot of our passions but we still take the classes since they are required and grant us a Science bachelor of whatever degree you're studying. A lot of people choose management or english as majors. They're free anyway so might as well take the advantage of the cost. Most of us just cry, I know I did, but when you hear about mostly everyone struggling it makes you feel a little better. Everyone will tell you the classes hard, even the smart ones. No one here makes you feel stupid if you have low grades. The ones who even have good grades usually say "I don't know why I do". When you get here, you realize you're not good at everything so you finally just get used to "taking the L" on some assignments/ aspects of academy life. You can't possibly do everything right here, unless you're just an amazing human which some people just are. Stay positive and just committing yourself to doing better is what keeps cadets going. If you fail, acknowledge it and then move on!
 
I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind answering. If you were offered a prep school slot, does that guarantee an appointment for yourself? And how does the BFE for prep school work (is there even one, if so when was it delivered for you?
 
I was s
brightfulfuture said:
I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind answering. If you were offered a prep school slot, does that guarantee an appointment for yourself? And how does the BFE for prep school work (is there even one, if so when was it delivered for you?
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I know I am just a parent... but getting an appointment is never a guarantee. You still have to perform and apply for your congressional nomination... that said, my understanding is that if the academy gave you a coveted prep slot, rather than just sending you the TWE, they see something in you and feel you would be a great cadet at the SA.

But you still have to want to be there and do well...

As for the BFE (I am assuming this is the big envelope...) yes. My preppie got a big envelope with a certificate of appointment to the USAFA Prep School and was told he would be getting his large packet with all other details towards the end of April.
 
f15fighterpilot said:
My ultimate plan is to go Premed so I still would have pursued a STEM degree either here or a different school. STEM isn't a lot of our passions but we still take the classes since they are required and grant us a Science bachelor of whatever degree you're studying. A lot of people choose management or english as majors. They're free anyway so might as well take the advantage of the cost. Most of us just cry, I know I did, but when you hear about mostly everyone struggling it makes you feel a little better. Everyone will tell you the classes hard, even the smart ones. No one here makes you feel stupid if you have low grades. The ones who even have good grades usually say "I don't know why I do". When you get here, you realize you're not good at everything so you finally just get used to "taking the L" on some assignments/ aspects of academy life. You can't possibly do everything right here, unless you're just an amazing human which some people just are. Stay positive and just committing yourself to doing better is what keeps cadets going. If you fail, acknowledge it and then move on!
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what does ‘taking the L’ mean?
 
brightfulfuture said:
I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind answering. If you were offered a prep school slot, does that guarantee an appointment for yourself? And how does the BFE for prep school work (is there even one, if so when was it delivered for you?
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Legally they can't say that but as long as you do what you need to do then you have nothing to worry about. Last year, we all met in the theater and they handed out all of our appointments in envelopes.
@AFBoyMom basically took the words out my mouth.
 
Oops, I had phrased it incorrectly; I meant in regards to the appointment to the prep school itself, not the actual AFA. What I was trying to ask: is the admission committee able to rescind your prep school slot after you have accepted it?. I would assume in the case of being in high school, if you didn't gradate, or fail a class, etc., than your acceptance would still be valid and you'll be able to attend the prep school. Does that make sense? Sorry about the confusion, I should have made myself more clear. Thank you for answering my previous question though.
 
brightfulfuture said:
Oops, I had phrased it incorrectly; I meant in regards to the appointment to the prep school itself, not the actual AFA. What I was trying to ask: is the admission committee able to rescind your prep school slot after you have accepted it?. I would assume in the case of being in high school, if you didn't gradate, or fail a class, etc., than your acceptance would still be valid and you'll be able to attend the prep school. Does that make sense? Sorry about the confusion, I should have made myself more clear. Thank you for answering my previous question though.
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I would assume they would do that if you did something illegal to jeopardize your appointment. If it's something medical they can medically turn you back or maybe not take you. But try to stay out of trouble and focus on graduating. If you fail a class, I would assume they wouldn't care unless it messed with you graduating on time to report to basic. Do you have specific concerns?
 
Its most likely that I'm overthinking about my case. My concern was that I had failed a class (that has no bearing on me graduating or not, just affected my GPA and class rank thats all), during my 7th semester. However, the fact is that I mailed the 7th semester transcript to the admission office, and according to the portal the document has been reviewed and approved by the admissions team, yet in the end I still received a call from my House of Representative that although I didn't get a direct entry, I was offered a prep school slot (to which I'm extremely grateful for). In the end, I'm on track to graduate without any implications, so that was my main worry, if they rescind the offer, but they (admission) should been aware of the fact already. Sorry about the amount of questions, and thank you for quick responses and your answers have been extremely helpful.
 
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