Chances of Acceptance

[bananooo]

Hello, I am currently a Sophomore in High school (Class of 2023) and I have been hooked with the Air Force and the Academy for about a year now. I've always wanted to become a pilot and thought of going commercial for a while, but military aviation and the Air Force have caught me. I have looked through these forums for a bit now and I understand that nobody can give me a hands-down response of whether I could get in. However I just want to post my "resume" and maybe hear some feedback on what I can improve on my application.

Academics:
I attend a very competitive school (Top 100 Best Public High Schools Nationwide) and have always taken Honors and AP classes when available.
Current GPA: 3.79 Weighted 3.57 UW (Freshman Year brought it down a bit)
My School does not measure Class Rank.
I have completed course registration for next year and am taking 4 AP Classes (Calculus, US History, Enviro Sci, Comp Sci), I think I can get above a 4.0 next year and senior year. I had a rough start to highschool but I am getting into the swing of things.
Aiming for a 1350-1400 on the SAT. Not sure about goals for ACT but somewhere around 30-31

Extracurricular Activities:

- Varsity Crew: Two Years so far and we are competitively rowing on the National Level. Won several Regattas.
- Ski Team: A ski racer at a local mountain, have gone to state championships and hopefully regionals this year.
- Junior Counselor at Summer Camp: worked for freshman summer and planning to do it the rest of summers in high school. Its really fun and good leadership.
- I volunteer often at two places: A local Church that helps people struggling through the pandemic and an environmental cleanup group that cleans the local areas. I know hours don't matter but around ~150
- Working on Private Pilots License at the moment, will receive it around summer before senior year.
- Fresh member of the Robotics club, but I enjoy it and plan to stick with it throughout highschool. Maybe become a leader in the club.

I recognize my current application is not the strongest and I strive to improve on it daily. I still have some things that I want to be apart of like Civil Air Patrol or creating a club. Any feedback or information that could help me along the application process would be greatly appreciated. I have around 2 years from now until the application will be due, and I plan to take advantage of the time I have remaining to better prepare myself for the Academy.

 

[rr33h]

Seems like you got everything the academy looks for in a prospective cadet. The biggest advice I think anyone can give you is enjoy the time left you have in high school, keep up with what your doing, but focus on the "now". Make the most of the friendships, sports, and everything else that is your high school experience. Before you know it you'll be busy working on the application and everything it entails, and you don't want to look back on the time you had in high school thinking all you worked on was getting into USAFA. I think a big misconception is that you have to be some sort of superhuman to get into an academy when the reality is you don't- keep up what you've got going for you, don't make any dumb decisions, and enjoy high school. Best of luck

 

[SomeCasualLt]

The most important thing you can do to help your chances is to be sure to complete your application. If you don't complete you cannot compete. Most of the applicants who do not get in fail to complete the application. Another tip is to get more involved with your community service and clubs. Don't just attend the meeting to check a box on your resume, get a leadership position and show the Admissions Board that you have leadership experience. Be sure to document that experience on your resume as well. Otherwise, you look like a qualified candidate and I wish you the best of luck!

 

[wjfpc1]

Start your SAT prep on Khan Academy now. Treat it like a job - it is.
Start working on fitness test items now (especially basketball throw and pull ups). See Stew Smith fitness
Start running with XCountry team now. Let the coach know your goals.
Keep grades up - let each teacher know your goals and put in whatever extra time they will give you for tutoring.

Apply to summer seminar at all service academies ( or summer stem camp - USNA just opened applications). There is a place to check those boxes on the applications.

Ask your high school counselor about Boys/Girls state.

Talk to your local recruiter about ROTC scholarship - get on their radar. You will need a plan B

Best of luck

 

[shiner]

Today, I would say you are middle of the pack. However, you have time on your side to continue doing great things to strengthen your resume. If I discount the aspirational targets for standardized tests, we have a few details to work with.

Academically -
Is your weighted GPA on a 5.0 scale? If so, this is low and you will need to make this area your #1 priority. We consider academics table-stakes and something you need regardless of the rest of the resume.

Athletics -
USAFA doesn't offer crew or skiing (oddly) as a varsity sport.
The activity placeholder is awesome, but there is no chance of being recruited for this activity (USNA offers crew)

Extracurricular -
The private pilot license would go far in my opinion.


Within the camp/clubs - are you aspiring to take on leadership roles? Do leadership roles exist within the activities you participate in?
Have you considered Civil Air Patrol? With roughly 2 years until your application, you have time to progress within that system if you are aggressive.

My encouragement to you would be to visualize the whole candidate as a 3-legged stool: Academics, Athletics, and Extracurricular. You need to be good in all three areas, but great in one. What is your superpower? If you don't have one today, you have three semesters to develop it.

Good luck - the journey is hard but worth it!!

 

[CaligulasHorse]

Athletics -
USAFA doesn't offer crew or skiing (oddly) as a varsity sport.
The activity placeholder is awesome, but there is no chance of being recruited for this activity (USNA offers crew)

If you're not looking to be recruited, I wouldn't worry about whether or not USAFA has your sport at a varsity level. What's more important is to hold leadership positions where you do more than check a box. They want to see you committing heart and soul to whatever you're doing. I did Ultimate Frisbee and Nordic skiing, both available at a club level at USAFA. I was bummed I couldn't get recruited for either, but focused on highlighting my commitment to each team.