College Grades Question

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USAFAhopeful18

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Joined
Jan 26, 2015
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How's it going everyone? I was hoping that some of you fountains of knowledge would have some insight concerning what I can expect if I potentially pull 2 C's in my third semester of college. Now, these 2 C's are in pretty difficult courses, if I do say so myself: Calc 2 and Data Structures ( a computer programming course). Will this be a huge problem for me? I think the rest of my stats are pretty darn good, but I am really very worried about my college grades hampering my efforts to earn an appointment. Also, I am painfully aware that the admissions boards want to see that candidates are sufficiently equipped academically, and I know that C's aren't exactly showing them that, and I also know that I could have tried harder to get better grades, but hindsight is 20/20. Anyways, thank you all for your help! (I can also provide further stats if requested)

Follow-up:

If this does end up hurting me tremendously, is there anything I can do to try and rectify the situation?
 
Last edited:
Hopeful,

Glad to see a fellow college student applying.

I'm pursuing a nursing degree at my college but I want to attend the USAFA and become a CRO.

I'm currently taking 200 level biology classes and believe me they are tough. I hope to earn a 2.0 and above because USAFA doesn't accept anything below a 2.0. My ALO told me that if I can excel in college it can offset my high school GPA.

I've gotten 4.0s on most of my classes but the core sciences for nursing have been tough on me.

I plan on majoring in biology at the academy so I know this will help me once I get there. I'm sending in my final transcripts after grades are finalized early January.

Good luck with finals and your app!
 
I think there is more to your story that could be relevant. You say you are a 3rd semester college student. What classes did you take for your first two semesters and what grades did you get? What grades did you get in the other 3rd semester courses?

A second question would be: are you on track to graduate in 4 years, i.e. do you have the credits completed that fits into a major that you will complete in 4 years and what would that major be?
 
I apologize for the late response, finals are here and I was a tad busy trying to salvage some points.

I am on track to graduate in 4 years in a nationally recognized computer science program. My past two semester course loads consisted of a pretty regular freshman schedule, pre-cal, politics, physics, composition, calculus 1, two programming courses, and a course in environmental systems. From those two semesters I have right around a 3.2 GPA. I averaged 16 hours per semester. But my GPA will probably tank a bit after this semester which is really bumming me out, but I'm still going for it.

Just for additional insight:

High school GPA (USAFA adjusted): 3.84
SAT Super Scored: 2140
Math: 710
Reading: 690
Writing: 740
CFA:
BB throw: 85 ft
Pull ups: 18
Shuttle: 8.3
Push-ups: 75
Sit ups: 95
Mile: 6:20
Eagle Scout
Assistant Scoutmaster
Good number of service hours
High school student council
Track team captain (high school)
Type 2 AFROTC Scholarship winner (current cadet)
And a few other things
 
Your original question was "is there anything I can do to rectify the situation?" and the answer would have to be: Nope.
Everything has already been done and what is---is. I, too, wish life was a do-over but that is not the case as you are finding out. The admissions board really is a bunch of gamblers with a $500,000 chip that they are looking to throw your way and they look at everything you do trying to see into the future. Does this person have a talent for leadership that we can develop? Is he physically fit to last him through stress for a 20 year AF career? Has he got the smarts the handle the buzz saw of academics and military we will throw at him? And finally, does he have the motivation and drive to go through all this to become an officer. The Board will look at your individual grades and will only be interested in the ones that correspond to the Academy's curriculum so that 3.2 GPA may be good or not so good depending on what it is based on. The Board is using that as its academic crystal ball for you. I sincerely wish you luck.

If you truly are on track to graduate in 4 years in computer science program, OCS would be an excellent target as that will put you into a pilot's seat or whatever job you are hot for a lot quicker. Remember the Academy is only one bridge to get to that job. The Air Force has all the Cadets it needs, it wants officers.
 
Well....I reapplied to USAFA with a 4.0 college GPA in engineering and I still didn't get in. However, I will be commissioning this May via AFROTC and am very happy I chose the AFROTC route. As Spud has said, there are other ways to your goal!!
 
Thank you guys for your insight! I'm currently a cadet in AFROTC, so I'm (hopefully) going to reach my goal no matter what. At the very least I have a drive to do so. While ROTC would undoubtedly be the quickest way for me to be commissioned (assuming I make the grades...), I have my reasons for reapplying. I'd like to think that they're noble-ish, but I guess that's not really for me to decide. Thanks again posters, y'all never disappoint.
 
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