Current Doolie here to answer any questions.

keg said:
How old were you when you decided you wanted to attend a service academy (or specifically the Air Force Academy)?
Click to expand...


I had a desire to come starting around 8th grade, but I really decided it's what I wanted during my freshman year.

Whenever you decide, as long as you have been working hard you have a shot!
Do ABSOLUTELY everything you can. Admission is getting more and more difficult, with next year's class admitting even less than we did.
 
I am a junior in high school this year. I have complete the pre-candidate questionnaire, and in the next month I will be taking the ACT and SAT for the second time. What else should I get started on? Is now a good time to contact my ALO, senators, etc.?
Just overall help on beginning the application process.
 
madi1131 said:
I am a junior in high school this year. I have complete the pre-candidate questionnaire, and in the next month I will be taking the ACT and SAT for the second time. What else should I get started on? Is now a good time to contact my ALO, senators, etc.?
Just overall help on beginning the application process.
Click to expand...

Make a resume of all of your extracurricular activities/leadership postions/sports. When the Summer Seminar application opens up in November or December, apply early to that. As for senators/ALO contact, it's not necessary at this point. They are in the thick of things with 2016, and you will get lost in the shuffle. If you want, you can look on the representatives/senators page for their application just so you have an idea and can prepare for next year, but do not send anything in at this point. If they have Academy days, go to those to ask questions. If you have anybody else you can contact just to ask questions, do that. At this point, there isn't much on record you can do, but you can get stuff prepared for when you can actually start the full application.
 
I'm currently applying to the Class of 2016. My worries involve my ECAs. I don't have many of them (softball, Computer club, NHS, probably soccer), but i've been dedicated to these activities for a long time. I'm a co-captain/president in softball as well as president for the computer club. These are my top interests, but is it enough for admissions?
 
billy2012 said:
I'm currently applying to the Class of 2016. My worries involve my ECAs. I don't have many of them (softball, Computer club, NHS, probably soccer), but i've been dedicated to these activities for a long time. I'm a co-captain/president in softball as well as president for the computer club. These are my top interests, but is it enough for admissions?
Click to expand...

Billy,

Academy Admissions is looking for quality in EC's not quantity. It is better to be active in leadership in one EC than to be minimally involved in 10 different EC's. The point of EC's is that you are doing activities that you enjoy not just to pad a resume and that you are excelling at each activity and showing leadership abilities.

Admissions also looks at how long you have been involved and your consistency. I am not sure that joining an EC for one semester just to put it down is of ANY value. However, being President of two clubs is great. Having varsity letters in soccer and softball would be great as well. EC's can also be outside of school. Work, church, and volunteer activities count.
 
Last edited:
I really like what Blackbird said. He's totally correct, but that shouldn't stop you from going all out. When I was in my senior year, most of my resume had been established. That didn't stop me from doing anything in sight though. I always looked at in the perspective that the academy is going to be daunting with homework and ECA's, so why not get used to it now. I'm glad I did, I overloaded all I did, within reason. That doens't mean go all out and fail your classes, or giv up your oppurtunity at state. Learn how to balance yourself amongst too much. Frankly I'm pretty bored at the academy right now, I did a lot in highschool, always keeping myself busy. I'm sure it'll pick up in time, but for now, I'm glad I did what I did. It makes time fly, and keeps you out of trouble. But, always do what's best for you. Best of luck.
 
Lol.. Or I'm doing it right. The academies responsibilty is not to make everyone here miserable, yet some people lost that concept long ago. Really the bad part about this place. Some people here just understand that this place is a game, and the key is to play it smart.
 
It is a game, to a point. Due to the academic setting, many things are necessarily artificial. Sometimes it is more about building habits than the actual task. Cadets who can see that tend to do better than either those who buy into the system without critically thinking about it or those that view the system as a hassle to be overcome. When wing leadership sees that, they can also create some beneficial and fun events.
 
raimius said:
It is a game, to a point. Due to the academic setting, many things are necessarily artificial. Sometimes it is more about building habits than the actual task. Cadets who can see that tend to do better than either those who buy into the system without critically thinking about it or those that view the system as a hassle to be overcome. When wing leadership sees that, they can also create some beneficial and fun events.
Click to expand...


:thumb:
 
yea well all i'm saying is that 4 degree year should be a period of high intensity and high stress during (most of) the whole year -- if you aren't being challenged then you are either not applying yourself our your squadron is doing a crappy job at training.

and i don't know about you, but i've never been "bored" in the front leaning rest....no matter how "right" i was doing it.
 
USAFA_2012 said:
yea well all i'm saying is that 4 degree year should be a period of high intensity and high stress during (most of) the whole year -- if you aren't being challenged then you are either not applying yourself our your squadron is doing a crappy job at training.

and i don't know about you, but i've never been "bored" in the front leaning rest....no matter how "right" i was doing it.
Click to expand...

Well then my squad must be doing it wrong too. Yeah there are things about this year that sucks, and tasks that seem pointless, but that doesn't mean our lives have to be terrible. There is something to be said for having fun, but knowing when to lock it up. That is one thing I can truly appreciate about my squad. They work us hard, but we also have fun when it appropriate. Also, not all training sessions have to be beat sessions. Our squad has practical training sessions too, like land navigation and room clearing tactics.

I think that there is a misconception about this place and the level of suckage. It really doesn't have to be terrible, but your attitude dictates how it is. If you have fun with the training, then it doesn't suck as bad. If you dwell on it though, it is that much more miserable. It is all how you look at things and I hope the appointees keep that in mind. There are many things here you can't change or really have any input in, but the one thing you can dictate, no matter what, is your attitude.
 
A whole lot is how you look at stuff. I was on probation all of my 4 dig year (and most of 3 dig year). It was my own fault for failing the first PFT miserably, so I accepted that. During 2nd semester, our training officer set a class average of either 85 or 90% on knowledge tests as the minimum. If we didn't pass it, our squad's 4 digs would be restricted. Well, the wing training NCO decided to go ridiculously hardcore on knowledge tests (1 or 2 squads had 80% averages or above, IIRC). Well, after weeks and weeks of being restricted, my classmates were pretty bummed out. For me, it was as it always was, so I didn't stress over it (still passed my K-tests though). So, for my squad mates, their weekends were "ruined," while mine were the same as always. I had already found plenty to do on my weekends at USAFA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top