Dilemma

U

usafacan2023

FFS NWP ‘23 | USAFA ‘28
Joined
Aug 25, 2022
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92
I received a 4 year Army Rotc Scholarship as well as a Falcon Foundatiom Scholarship for USAFA. I have now decided that flying is no longer something I want to do and that USMA may be a better fit for me. Should I still take the FFS and prep school route and apply for USMA or take the ROTC route to get another nomination to USMA? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
 
It would be frowned upon to take the falcon foundation scholarship and apply to any other academy. So if indeed you want to go to usma then you should immediately contact admissions/or your field rep at usma and find out if you might still be elibile for an AOG scholarship? If you are not then I would choose your ROTC scholarship and re-apply.
 
If you don't intend to go Air Force and you do intend to go Army then it might be a good plan to direct the steps you take while working toward your goal in your long-term direction. I'd go ROTC since any time spent not getting into USMA still carries you towards your commission. It also makes those Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years questions a lot less uncomfortable.
 
The Falcon Scholarship is an investment and a gift - in real dollars - in you being offered a chance to better prepare for a USAFA appointment, which you would be expected to sincerely want. What seems like the most honest thing to do? In your updated reapplication essays to USMA, how would you diplomatically address your personal growth and professional development as a Falcon Scholar who knew when he/she accepted the offer they did not intend to go to USAFA?

If you no longer want to be an AF officer - remember there are non-flying jobs - just stop and proceed no further on that path. Gratefully decline. Perhaps someone else who wants desperately to go to USAFA via FFS may benefit.

If your goal is to become an Army officer, would not Army ROTC be an immediate step toward that goal? You would have to be 100% committed to being a good cadet and EARNING that ROTC nom to USMA from the unit’s leadership, should you reapply. Army ROTC is a fine path to a commission; you may find you are happy there and that becomes your path.

Be clear about what you want, be open to the path, avoid magical thinking, act with integrity.
 
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StPaulDad said:
If you don't intend to go Air Force and you do intend to go Army then it might be a good plan to direct the steps you take while working toward your goal in your long-term direction. I'd go ROTC since any time spent not getting into USMA still carries you towards your commission. It also makes those Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years questions a lot less uncomfortable.
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Could I still receive this scholarship even though I didn’t apply to USMA?
 
Falcon scholarship, AROTC scholarship and USMA application are 3 independent processes. I assumed you had applied to USMA this past cycle. You have great material for a USMA essay, how your thinking changed and aligned more toward an Army officer career, and how you turned from a USAFA Falcon Foundation Scholarship to more immediately pursue professional training in Army ROTC.

Are you by any chance referring to the USMA AOG Scholarship, the parallel prep program scholarship for USMA applicants? USMA identifies a list of applicants who won’t be offered an appointment in the current cycle but are promising candidates for the next, and they share that with the West Point Assn of Graduates, which extends the civilian prep offer. Works the same as USAFA and how you were offered a prep scholarship. Yes, I think you would have had to apply to USMA.
 
Capt MJ said:
Falcon scholarship, AROTC scholarship and USMA application are 3 independent processes. I assumed you had applied to USMA this past cycle. You have great material for a USMA essay, how your thinking changed and aligned more toward an Army officer career, and how you turned from a USAFA Falcon Foundation Scholarship to more immediately pursue professional training in Army ROTC.

Are you by any chance referring to the USMA AOG Scholarship, the parallel prep program scholarship for USMA applicants? USMA identifies a list of applicants who won’t be offered an appointment in the current cycle but are promising candidates for the next, and they share that with the West Point Assn of Graduates, which extends the civilian prep offer. Works the same as USAFA and how you were offered a prep scholarship. Yes, I think you would have had to apply to USMA.
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Do you have any idea how many AROTC nominations/appointments/applications there are each year?
 
I believe it is 20 spread across all applicants from AROTC, NROTC, AFROTC. Of course, you would also be applying for 2 Senators, 1 Representative, VP and any others you are eligible for.
 
I am out of answers for you. I don’t have the background to address Army programs.

Perhaps @MohawkArmyROTC will drop by and give you better insight.

You are focused waaaaay down the road and overlooking the near-term focus on becoming a top-performing first year cadet at your chosen ROTC unit, as well as a strong academic performer at the SA appointment potential level. Performance there will be your key to any shot at USMA.

You can also go to your chosen AROTC unit website, look at cadre, find the recruiting officer, who will be informed on various programs.

Siri substitute out.

Adding on: As I understand it, the point of the SMP scholarship program is designed to send people into the Army Reserve or Army National Guard. Once again, you would look like you are taking the benefit of a scholarship but planning to not deliver on service in the target program as a payback in those two areas of service, but try to use the program to apply to USMA. If you don’t get into USMA, are you prepared to carry out the SMP agreement? Be thorough in your research of how various scenarios play out.

Your goal is what service do you want to be an officer in. How you get there is not a goal in and of itself, it’s a 4-year waystation to prepare you for officer service for at least 5 years.
 
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You seem way more focused on nominations and academies than service right now. Take a step back, consider your immediate options and your long-term goals and then map a course. First thing I'd do is investigate the services and decide if Air Force or Army fits you better. Look at what you think you want to do for a career and which service offers things like that. Navy isn't all SWO, Air Force is not just pilots, Army is way more than infantry. (But yes, Marines are all Marines. If you want that then you really want that.) Figure it out, then take the first step toward that goal by picking the appropriate program this fall. Finally, start laying the groundwork for getting accepted to USAFA or USMA (or USNA or USCGA) for 2028. That includes getting good grades, staying in shape, and sincerely participating in unit activities without a lingering eye on where you want to be the following year. Invest yourself fully where ever you are, and do not treat it like a waypoint on your way to something better. People can tell when you're looking past them while conversing, and units can tell who is interested and who is biding their time. Choosing the ROTC or FFS path tells the academies where your heart is, so don't pick FFS if you really want USMA.
 
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