Do I have a realistic chance of getting into USAFA?

M

meadmar

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Joined
Oct 11, 2020
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Hi! I'm a current senior in high school and am in the Candidate stage for my USAFA application. I would like to know if I have a good chance or not. I know theres really no way of telling but I would like brutally honest answers. Also even if everyone says no I have no chance I will still try :)

Heres my Academics resume:
GPA: 3.56 unweighted 3.85 weighted
Class Rank: 113/522 (which seems low but I attend a STEM school and STEM students have special AP classes for their pathways)
Senior Year Schedule: AP Language, AP French Language, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Biology Seminar, and AVID (a college prep class)
Previous Grades: I have always been in Honors classes and Junior Year I took AP U.S. Government and Politics and
AP Physics
PSAT: 1040 from my 10th grade year
SAT: Being taken this Wednesday, all of my other ones have been cancelled due to COVID-19
ACT: Unsure whether I should take or not
Honor Roll every quarter of high school
Perfect Attendance almost every semester

Athletic Resume:
- JV Volleyball 9th grade and Varsity starter from 10th-12th grade (Captain this year)
- Club Volleyball Elite Teams since 9th grade, have received 4 MVP of the tournament my 10th grade year and Captain for my 11th grade year

Extracurriculars:
French National Honor Society
Science National Honor Society
Volleyball 24/7

I know my current application doesn't look too strong but I am still optimistic!

What I want to do at the Air Force Academy:
Major in Biology (specifically Biomedical Engineering)
Minor in either French or Meteorology
Pursue a career as an Aerospace and Operational Physiologist

Again please be honest and if you are also applying I wish you luck!
 
No one on these forums can give an accurate prediction, but based on this, your resume looks good. Academics are slightly lower, but the AP classes help with this.
As far as the ACT/SAT, you should take it. USAFA came out with an update about a month ago that makes it test optional(ish). Meaning, they will determine everything on a case by case basis. If you score great on it, then it will help your application a lot.
There are also numerous other factors that go into your application as well. Leadership, physical, community service, etc.
You never know unless you try.
Good luck on the rest of your app
 
At my school this Wednesday is a “non-reportable”
SAT day. Pretty sure it’s nation wide. I’m not sure you can use those scores but it would be good practice!
 
FlyFalcon said:
My school has said nothing about not using them. For us it's just a madatory state required test
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Hhhmmmm the PSAT for my school is mandatory for sophomores (Juniors have to pay) because it’s a national merit scoring test but I’m not sure about that SAT. For us it’s “Senior skip day”
 
Normally it would be for the juniors in March to see who we're doing and seniors would get off. Freshies and sophomores would take the PSAT as practice. I live in IL so in order to see how we hold up as a state we have to take the SAT. I really hope I can send these scores in as my ACT score weren't the best and I'm much better at the SAT ( aiming for a 1420 at least)
 
Your academics look good and Captain of the volleyball team looks good too. 1040 PSAT when converted indicates a a lower than average USAFA SAT. Make sure you prep for your SAT. I always recommend taking both SAT and ACT - some kids do better on one vs the other. And then take it again. This year is odd and you may not get that chance.

You also need to be able to express your passion and interests. There are a lot of kids with great grades and leadership in high school. That's a the standard for strong applicants. Think about what makes you different and figure out the compelling reason why you, instead of someone else.
 
You say nothing about your golf game. ;)

Seriously though, take the ACT it won't hurt. There is also nothing about your CFA, have you completed it? Are you working on it?
 
You wanted brutal honesty - your academics look on the weaker side, both GPA and PSAT. It could be that your school's profile will result in a bit of an (unweighted) GPA bump given your description, but as is I'd say you will want to offset an average to below average (for USAFA) GPA with a GREAT test score. With that in mind DEFINITELY try to take both the SAT and the ACT. COVID is going to make it tough for everyone to post good scores this year, but you'll definitely need at least a pretty solid one. The low end of the average range is about a 1230. Everything else makes you look very competitive.
 
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THParent said:
You say nothing about your golf game. ;)

Seriously though, take the ACT it won't hurt. There is also nothing about your CFA, have you completed it? Are you working on it?
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Regarding the CFA, I have not found someone to administer it yet but I am working towards above the averages for the listed events. Along with that I have conditioning for volleyball which also helps! I will have to check if the ACT is accessible through my school. Thank you for your reply!
 
USAFA10s said:
You wanted brutal honesty - your academics look on the weaker side, both GPA and PSAT. It could be that your school's profile will result in a bit of an (unweighted) GPA bump given your description, but as is I'd say you will want to offset an average to below average (for USAFA) GPA with a GREAT test score. With that in mind DEFINITELY try to take both the SAT and the ACT. COVID is going to make it tough for everyone to post good scores this year, but you'll definitely need at least a pretty solid one. The low end of the average range is about a 1230. Everything else makes you look very competitive.
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First off I want to thank you for the brutal honesty! My GPA took a dive after first semester of my junior year due to a family death that took a toll on me. The PSAT was from my sophomore year and since then I have been in my schools SAT prep club and have been studying often so I am hopeful the score improves around 300 points. It's definitely tricky going to a Magnet school with STEM because the competition in Honors and AP classes is a lot stronger than standard classes. Thank you for your reply!
 
BuckeyeDad20 said:
Your academics look good and Captain of the volleyball team looks good too. 1040 PSAT when converted indicates a a lower than average USAFA SAT. Make sure you prep for your SAT. I always recommend taking both SAT and ACT - some kids do better on one vs the other. And then take it again. This year is odd and you may not get that chance.

You also need to be able to express your passion and interests. There are a lot of kids with great grades and leadership in high school. That's a the standard for strong applicants. Think about what makes you different and figure out the compelling reason why you, instead of someone else.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply! Surprisingly in 10th grade when I took the PSAT my 1040 was in the 15% percentile of the whole grade. Since then i've been in SAT Prep at my school and have been studying from home. Hopefully my score since then will increase roughly 300 points. I will definitely be looking into the ACT near me and hopefully be able to take it! Thank you!
 
Just a hint, but USAFA doesn’t want to hear excuses about how hard your school is. A lot of people come from tough schools and do well in those schools, but if you tell them my school is hard they’ll probably forget about you. They want people who succeed in them.
 
@meadmar congrats to you for finding this forum and for taking constructive criticism on your life's body of work as it relates to your goal of attending USAFA. Academics are less than most applicants who successfully gain admission, but they are not at a level that would be considered impossibly low. That category is low, you own it and have a story to tell should anyone ask for details behind the stats. Extracurricular/Athletic is outstanding. Leadership experience is TBD and will depend on what you can convey through an essay or interview.

Understand that there are many paths into USAFA, but are generally viewed as direct and indirect. If you are not already in contact with the Volleyball coach - visit goairforcefalcons.com to get on their radar. If you are a recruit prospect, chances for direct admission and prep school go up.

For all candidates, if you really want this, and for whatever reason were not selected in this cycle - do not be deterred from your goal and know that you can reapply. The admissions process alone is quite stressful, but having a solid Plan B locked up should provide a degree of comfort to those on the path to SA admissions. If the direct path does not pan out, there are fantastic indirect routes through self prep or sponsored prep programs. Dedicated prep programs can overcome resume gaps or low performance categories from High School. The indirect path is not guaranteed, but those who choose that path are often highly successful in their pursuit of an appointment, and are often much more competitive applicants than when they originally applied as a senior in High School. If you have self-prep as PLAN-B, my suggestion is to see where your preferred SA sends their sponsored prep students. Certainly, USAFA has their own prep school - but that is mostly prior enlisted and athletic recruits. Outside of the in-house prep school, where do they send other sponsored prep students? Each SA is slightly different in the private prep-schools they feed into, but you should investigate it further as a Plan B while still charging ahead with Plan A.
 
2025mustelse said:
Just a hint, but USAFA doesn’t want to hear excuses about how hard your school is.
Click to expand...
Understand that USAFA receives information annually pertaining to the demographics of each school. They are abreast of many data points that allow them to evaluate different schools and this is a factor in their candidate evaluation. Additional data points to consider would be how well prior students from your HS performed at the SA. Details like this must be considered because of the huge disparity between schools from around the country.

My suggestion for any applicant would be to call it out when asked, but be armed with data to support the claim and not just "it's hard y'all." EXAMPLE QUESTION FROM INTERVIEWER - "Most successful applicants are in the top 10% of their class, you are only in the top 25% - are you sure you can hack it?" - RESPONSE "Thank you for the question, and I understand why that may be concerning on paper and out of context, but I own it and as former Air Force Football and longtime NFL coach Bill Parcells famously said - 'you are what your record says you are.' I am proud to attend a high school that is as challenging as XYZ High where we have a 99% college attendee rate post graduation, are ranked in the top 1% of all college prep schools in the United States according to USA Today, and have more National Merit Finalists than any other school in the nation. So, yeah, it's a competitive environment and my record shows I held my own and can be successful at a Service Academy."
 
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shiner said:
Understand that USAFA receives information annually pertaining to the demographics of each school. They are abreast of many data points that allow them to evaluate different schools and this is a factor in their candidate evaluation. Additional data points to consider would be how well prior students from your HS performed at the SA. Details like this must be considered because of the huge disparity between schools from around the country.

My suggestion for any applicant would be to call it out when asked, but be armed with data to support the claim and not just "it's hard y'all." EXAMPLE QUESTION FROM INTERVIEWER - "Most successful applicants are in the top 10% of their class, you are only in the top 25% - are you sure you can hack it?" - RESPONSE "Thank you for the question, and I understand why that may be concerning on paper and out of context, but I own it and as former Air Force Football and longtime NFL coach Bill Parcells famously said - 'you are what your record says you are.' I am proud to attend a high school that is as challenging as XYZ High where we have a 99% college attendee rate post graduation, are ranked in the top 1% of all college prep schools in the United States according to USA Today, and have more National Merit Finalists than any other school in the nation. So, yeah, it's a competitive environment and my record shows I held my own and can be successful at a Service Academy."
Click to expand...

Your point about the data point about how well prior students at one's HS did at the SA is interesting. I'm at a boarding school (non-military) with brutal grade deflation, but that always sends a few graduates to the academies. Do you think as a matter of course that Admissions will dig enough to know that a particular high school regularly "feeds" to that particular academy, and if so, how do they assess how well students from my HS performed at the SA?
 
shiner said:
@meadmar congrats to you for finding this forum and for taking constructive criticism on your life's body of work as it relates to your goal of attending USAFA. Academics are less than most applicants who successfully gain admission, but they are not at a level that would be considered impossibly low. That category is low, you own it and have a story to tell should anyone ask for details behind the stats. Extracurricular/Athletic is outstanding. Leadership experience is TBD and will depend on what you can convey through an essay or interview.

Understand that there are many paths into USAFA, but are generally viewed as direct and indirect. If you are not already in contact with the Volleyball coach - visit goairforcefalcons.com to get on their radar. If you are a recruit prospect, chances for direct admission and prep school go up.

For all candidates, if you really want this, and for whatever reason were not selected in this cycle - do not be deterred from your goal and know that you can reapply. The admissions process alone is quite stressful, but having a solid Plan B locked up should provide a degree of comfort to those on the path to SA admissions. If the direct path does not pan out, there are fantastic indirect routes through self prep or sponsored prep programs. Dedicated prep programs can overcome resume gaps or low performance categories from High School. The indirect path is not guaranteed, but those who choose that path are often highly successful in their pursuit of an appointment, and are often much more competitive applicants than when they originally applied as a senior in High School. If you have self-prep as PLAN-B, my suggestion is to see where your preferred SA sends their sponsored prep students. Certainly, USAFA has their own prep school - but that is mostly prior enlisted and athletic recruits. Outside of the in-house prep school, where do they send other sponsored prep students? Each SA is slightly different in the private prep-schools they feed into, but you should investigate it further as a Plan B while still charging ahead with Plan A.
Click to expand...

Thank you! With admission into the class of 2025 as me Plan A my Plan B would definitely be to enlist and then possibly gain admission into class of 2026 or 2027. I would like to get in contact with the Volleyball coach but with my club season ending abruptly earlier this year I do not have game footage to really show the coach. I will try to contact them and explain the footage situation but regardless I don't need to play volleyball at USAFA but it would be an awesome plus side! If i'm not accepted this cycle I will reapply because this is something i really want for myself!
 
2025mustelse said:
Just a hint, but USAFA doesn’t want to hear excuses about how hard your school is. A lot of people come from tough schools and do well in those schools, but if you tell them my school is hard they’ll probably forget about you. They want people who succeed in them.
Click to expand...

Yes obviously I'm not going to just sit there and say "oh my schools hard". I was explaining my situation and how I got there. Just because my GPA isn't 4.0 doesn't mean I'm not succeeding in my academics.
 
DeepWaters said:
Do you think as a matter of course that Admissions will dig enough to know that a particular high school regularly "feeds" to that particular academy, and if so, how do they assess how well students from my HS performed at the SA?
Click to expand...
Yes. The admissions team is constantly shaping the model profile of a successful student. This data model shapes their admissions decisions and is based on students who were previously successful.

Considering the variation in High School, my assumption is that standardised test scores are weighted more heavily than HS GPA because of the consistent playing field for all participants. It would not surprise me if SA admissions teams normalized HS grade point averages based on an algorithm that factors in data behind the high school when factoring your whole candidate score. This possible variable adds to the mystery behind the admissions process and how candidates are evaluated.
 
Why didn't you take PSAT as a junior? That is the one that counts for the National Merit Scholarship.
 
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