ntmp

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*3.71 unweighted GPA
*Top 25 percent of class
*Taken college level (Dual Enrollment) classes for Chemistry and Pre Calculus
*Taken all honors classes (A's and B's)
*28 ACT
*Hispanic Female
*Desired major is Physics
*NHS Member
*Student Government Member
*Lettered in Varisty Softball 9-11th grade (team went to all state)
*Team Spiritual Leader (no "captains")
*Played soccer 9-10th (injury Junior year)
*Musician (finalist for TN All-State and International Choirs at Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House)
*Theater - Actress and Stage director
*Very involved in school activities
*JSA (Junior State of America) Debate Team
*Volunteer work at local retirement home
*Volunteer Academic Tutor
*Active in church groups for young women like Missionettes
*Assitant for Children's Church Director
*Praise and Worship leader at church
*Praise and Worship leader at school
*Hoping to get about a 90 on the PFA

How good am I looking? I'd be happy even with a 3 year Type 2 scholarship (Type 7)
 
From my unqualified perspective, based on the AFROTC application, where competitive>good>above average:

*3.71 unweighted GPA - competitive
*Top 25 percent of class - above average
*Taken college level (Dual Enrollment) classes for Chemistry and Pre Calculus - doesn't matter as long as you got A's
*Taken all honors classes (A's and B's) - doesn't matter, AFROTC only cares about AP/IB courses
*28 ACT - slightly above average
*Hispanic Female - helps a little
*Desired major is Physics - good
*NHS Member - doesn't matter unless you were leadership
*Student Government Member - doesn't matter unless you were leadership
*Lettered in Varisty Softball 9-11th grade (team went to all state) - competitive
*Team Spiritual Leader (no "captains") - doesn't really matter except during your interview. Only leadership positions matter, and "spiritual leader" is too mushy-- you led or you didn't.
*Played soccer 9-10th (injury Junior year) - doesn't matter unless it was varsity. The injury may work against you, be careful with that.
*Musician (finalist for TN All-State and International Choirs at Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House) - good
*Theater - Actress and Stage director - need to quantify what this means. As-is, it doesn't matter.
*Very involved in school activities - need to quantify this "very involved" is meaningless
*JSA (Junior State of America) Debate Team - good, but would be better if you were the team leader
*Volunteer work at local retirement home - quantify this
*Volunteer Academic Tutor - quantify this
*Hoping to get about a 90 on the PFA - for this to be competitive, you should exceed the equivalent of an AFPFT score of 92-93. The PFA does not have a score attached to it. USAF female fitness standards are pretty low for athletes (which you seem to be). You should be able to max your sit-ups, get 35+ pushups and be running a sub-11 minute 1.5 mile if you really want this to be competitive. Currently, >50% of the active duty Air Force achieves at least a 90-- keep that in mind.

How good am I looking? I'd be happy even with a 3 year Type 2 scholarship (Type 7) - I would be surprised if you did not get a T7 offer. With your ACT score and the lack of leadership history listed above, I'd be a little surprised to see a T1 offer.

**EDIT** I see you added a few more volunteer things on there while I was replying. Same comments apply to those as above. Unless you held leadership roles or lead in those volunteer activities, they can really only be used as volunteer activities. To have a competitive package, you should really hammer home your leadership history and bring up your ACT score. It will be very tough to get anything other than a T7 without a competitive package. T1 is only awarded to the top 5-10%.


Per the detachments I have spoke to in the past, the interview is about 60% of your package, though. PFA is around 10%. That should indicate where you place your preparation efforts.

Again, this is my personal opinion. That being said, why even post this question on here? If someone said "your chances are terrible", would you NOT apply?
 
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Again, this is my personal opinion. That being said, why even post this question on here? If someone said "your chances are terrible", would you NOT apply?

@Tbpxece does a great job of dissecting the OP’s credentials. But the disclaimer above is the most important part of the response. @ntmp, do you really want to base your thoughts and actions, as they pertain to college, on the opinions of random strangers?

It’s been said many times on this forum: No one here can “chance you” with any reliability. Every case is different, nuanced and complex.

Now, that said, here’s the opinion of another random stranger: Be ready to highlight your leadership impact. Titles only get you so far; a lot of leadership roles go to popular people, not to effective leaders. Speak to how you left an organization or community in better shape than when you found it. Best wishes to you.
 
I got A's in my Dual Enrollment Math classes and B in my Dual Enrollment Chemistry class. I did get an A in physics my sophomore year but it was not an honors class as that was not offered at my school
 
From my unqualified perspective, based on the AFROTC application, where competitive>good>above average:

*3.71 unweighted GPA - competitive
*Top 25 percent of class - above average
*Taken college level (Dual Enrollment) classes for Chemistry and Pre Calculus - doesn't matter as long as you got A's
*Taken all honors classes (A's and B's) - doesn't matter, AFROTC only cares about AP/IB courses
*28 ACT - slightly above average
*Hispanic Female - helps a little
*Desired major is Physics - good
*NHS Member - doesn't matter unless you were leadership
*Student Government Member - doesn't matter unless you were leadership
*Lettered in Varisty Softball 9-11th grade (team went to all state) - competitive
*Team Spiritual Leader (no "captains") - doesn't really matter except during your interview. Only leadership positions matter, and "spiritual leader" is too mushy-- you led or you didn't.
*Played soccer 9-10th (injury Junior year) - doesn't matter unless it was varsity. The injury may work against you, be careful with that.
*Musician (finalist for TN All-State and International Choirs at Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House) - good
*Theater - Actress and Stage director - need to quantify what this means. As-is, it doesn't matter.
*Very involved in school activities - need to quantify this "very involved" is meaningless
*JSA (Junior State of America) Debate Team - good, but would be better if you were the team leader
*Volunteer work at local retirement home - quantify this
*Volunteer Academic Tutor - quantify this
*Hoping to get about a 90 on the PFA - for this to be competitive, you should exceed the equivalent of an AFPFT score of 92-93. The PFA does not have a score attached to it. USAF female fitness standards are pretty low for athletes (which you seem to be). You should be able to max your sit-ups, get 35+ pushups and be running a sub-11 minute 1.5 mile if you really want this to be competitive. Currently, >50% of the active duty Air Force achieves at least a 90-- keep that in mind.

How good am I looking? I'd be happy even with a 3 year Type 2 scholarship (Type 7) - I would be surprised if you did not get a T7 offer. With your ACT score and the lack of leadership history listed above, I'd be a little surprised to see a T1 offer.

**EDIT** I see you added a few more volunteer things on there while I was replying. Same comments apply to those as above. Unless you held leadership roles or lead in those volunteer activities, they can really only be used as volunteer activities. To have a competitive package, you should really hammer home your leadership history and bring up your ACT score. It will be very tough to get anything other than a T7 without a competitive package. T1 is only awarded to the top 5-10%.


Per the detachments I have spoke to in the past, the interview is about 60% of your package, though. PFA is around 10%. That should indicate where you place your preparation efforts.

Again, this is my personal opinion. That being said, why even post this question on here? If someone said "your chances are terrible", would you NOT apply?

To clarify, I was an NHS Leader. I did not realize member and leader meant 2 different things.
 
Again, this is my personal opinion. That being said, why even post this question on here? If someone said "your chances are terrible", would you NOT apply?

@Tbpxece does a great job of dissecting the OP’s credentials. But the disclaimer above is the most important part of the response. @ntmp, do you really want to base your thoughts and actions, as they pertain to college, on the opinions of random strangers?

It’s been said many times on this forum: No one here can “chance you” with any reliability. Every case is different, nuanced and complex.

Now, that said, here’s the opinion of another random stranger: Be ready to highlight your leadership impact. Titles only get you so far; a lot of leadership roles go to popular people, not to effective leaders. Speak to how you left an organization or community in better shape than when you found it. Best wishes to you.

Hopefully the dissection is seen in a helpful way-- it is not meant to discourage :). AFROTC scholarships are a little weird and it helps to understand what the AF values.

"Membership" and "participation" is largely meaningless. They are pretty clear they want to see leadership and active roles.

Similarly, they are open about only really looking at class ranking, unweighted GPA, and AP/IB classes. This is where it sucks for the early college/dual-enrollment crowd. As-is, those community college courses often drive down GPA (because the High School weighs it back up-- which the USAF then disregards) and impacts class standing. I don't know why honors classes aren't considered, but they aren't. And that sucks.

OP, tailor your application to meet what the AF and AFROTC are looking for-- high grades, leadership, varsity sports, employment history, and volunteerism. Their ideal candidate possesses those traits. Meet that and your package will strengthen.

That being said, you've already missed the first two boards and still need to complete your application and interview. You need to get this done...
 


To clarify, I was an NHS Leader. I did not realize member and leader meant 2 different things.

For real-- take the advice and apply it, but quit justifying yourself in a public forum by adding more personal info-- you don't have to convince me. :)

Member = I qualified for some reason and maybe paid money to get a membership certificate.

Leader = I was a leader and took an active role.

When you get to college, you will get all kinds of invitations to "Honor Societies"-- again, most are just appeals to your ego to separate you from your ca$h.
 
You have 0% chance if you do not apply.

Nobody here sits on the board, and if they did they would not let you know what they think your chances are regarding a scholarship. I think due to their desires for diversity you have a stronger chance for a type 7. Your ACT, even if it best sitting is below avg. Class ranking nobody can give a positive or negative without knowing your HS profile.
~ 25% and 0% go Ivy, is different than 25% and 35% go Ivy.
~ Same is true for your uwcgpa. Is it a 10 pt scale or a 7 pt scale. Do they weight honors, or just APs? If so what is the weight they give, 4.5, 5.0, 6.0

Good luck, and push forward.
 
My GPA was on a 10 pt grading scale, so my weighted GPA would have been about a 3.9 but from what I understand my unweighted GPA is what is taken into consideration.

At my old school, my class rank was in the top 10 percent because my class had about 130 students but at my current school, I am 11/43 which really sucks
 
My GPA was on a 10 pt grading scale, so my weighted GPA would have been about a 3.9 but from what I understand my unweighted GPA is what is taken into consideration.

At my old school, my class rank was in the top 10 percent because my class had about 130 students but at my current school, I am 11/43 which really sucks
Yep-- it sucks.

Bring up that nuance in your interview.
 
Will my application be reviewed by a board before or after an interview?
 
You must have the interview to be boarded. The interview score is part of the WCS.
 
Use the search tab here there are tons and tons of interview threads. As you will read through them you will see that the interviews vary from one candidate to another.
 
Is there a breakdown of how the entire application is scored? I have searched online for a while and cannot find anything AFROTC specific. (Sorry for all the questions)
 
Is there a breakdown of how the entire application is scored? I have searched online for a while and cannot find anything AFROTC specific. (Sorry for all the questions)

I have seen quite a bit of speculation over the years about specific scoring criteria for each of the SAs and ROTC scholarships, but these formulas are closely held by each of the services and will evolve over time to meet the current need of each organization.

Since there is no valid way of comparing your package to other applicants, I would focus on those things that you have direct control over. IMHO.
 
The breakdown is similar to USAFA, with a few tweaks here and there. However, the big bulk will be the PAR portion, think like 60% of the WCS. The PFA, ECs, and interview will round it out. Of course tech or non-tech will add into the equation.

As FMHS stated control what you can, and move on from there.
 
Not sure what "PAR" means either, but:

PFA - Your fitness test

EC's - Extracurricular Activities

WCS - Whole Candidate Score

ntmp, get your AFROTC application completed and submitted as soon as you can. Once you do that, if AFROTC wants to pursue you, you will be assigned an interview at a local AFRTOC detachment. Following that interview, you can update and change that application up until the next board date, which is in early February.

Keep in mind that what a lot of the detachments are saying is that just because you get your application submitted, there is no guarantee you will get an interview. A ton of the weed-out occurs at this point. Generally, if you do not have a 3.5+ GPA, ACT in the high 20's, and sufficient leadership history (or varsity sports), your odds of getting an interview are low. This is a new development from previous years, but is why award rates were so high for those applicants that actually made it to the interview last year.

If you get the interview request, then prepare to answer the following:

- Hammer down on basic questions like "How will you enhance the AF's officer force?" "Why do you want to be an AF officer?" "What do you plan on doing with your degree?", "What does 'integrity' mean to you?"
- Additional questions can include standard interview fare like "Discuss a time where you led a complex project with other people and had to motivate them to achieve a goal", "What is a time you experienced a failure or setback, and how did you overcome and learn from it?", "When is a time when you had to show integrity?"
- Beyond that, expect to spend most of your interview going through your EC's, defending them, and explaining how you exhibited leadership in each one. If you have spent any time outside of the region in which you live, prepare to discuss that-- especially if you can speak to cultural differences and your ability to navigate them.
- You mentioned being Hispanic. If you are fluent in Spanish (i.e. you can read, write, speak and understand at least 90% of your ability in English), bring that ability up. If you are not, then don't.

You will be assessed not just on your answers, but how you answer them. This means:
  • body language
  • posture
  • emotional response (i.e. do not show inappropriate or excessive emotion. Especially crying, arrogance, or anger)
  • articulation
  • use of slang or jargon
  • eye contact
  • firm handshake
  • confidence
  • bearing
  • friendliness and charisma
Your interview does not begin when you sit down with the interviewer. It begins when they first see you walking in, and ends when you are pulling away in your car. Keep that in mind. Don't saunter in with your hands in your pockets, or slump while you walk up to the Det door. Hold off on any post-interview phone calls until you are out of eyesight and earshot.

To succeed at the interview, you will be best prepared by real-world practice. Find someone who works in a professional field (preferably a military officer, civilian manager, or HR representative) and ask them to let you run through a few practice interviews. Take their feedback and incorporate it. I really recommend against assuming that just because you get along with folks you will do well, or assuming that your likeability will carry the day. The interview will last around an hour.

Lastly, open up AFI 36-2903 (Google it) and try to keep your personal grooming and clothing choice as close to AF standard as possible. You want to look like you fit in from the first minute they see you.

The best position to be in for something serious like this is over-prepared. Remember, that even if you aren't intending to join the Det where your interview is held, you are still effectively trying to sway the interviewer (who will be an Active-Duty experienced officer) to let you in the club. Being an AF officer is kind of like a club-- they won't let you in if they don't think you are a good fit.
 
When you submit your application they will recalculate your GPA. My DS had a 4.6/5.0 GPA that was recalculated to a 3.95 for AFROTC. His classes included 5 AP level (Physics 1, Physics 2, Calculus AB, US History & English) as well as all Honors classes except for Health & Gym. He also had a 1470 SAT and was offered a Type 7 4-year scholarship. Like everyone else has said, if you don't apply you'll never know. Good luck!
 
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