Enlisted to Prep School?

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franknd

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My son is a junior in HS. He's a strong athlete, Texas 6A district champion swimmer/team captain, and a solid leader. I think he's in line to be AFJROTC cadet commander as a senior. Academics are so-so. I'll generously call him a "B" student and his last SAT (Fall 11th grade) was 1130, evenly split.

Recently, his JROTC cadre started talking to him about enlisting as a path to the AFA. My guess is that he would be a Prep School candidate if that were to happen. My question is whether there is anything an enlisted airman can do before enlisting to increase his chances of getting selected for Prep School/AFA. I know doing a first-rate job as an airman is the first thing. But is there a process for airmen to get themselves on the radar for a nomination/appointment? His cadre may know the answers, but none of them went to academies so they may not either.
 
franknd said:
lMy son is a junior in HS. He's a strong athlete, Texas 6A district champion swimmer/team captain, and a solid leader. I think he's in line to be AFJROTC cadet commander as a senior. Academics are so-so. I'll generously call him a "B" student and his last SAT (Fall 11th grade) was 1130, evenly split.

Recently, his JROTC cadre started talking to him about enlisting as a path to the AFA. My guess is that he would be a Prep School candidate if that were to happen. My question is whether there is anything an enlisted airman can do before enlisting to increase his chances of getting selected for Prep School/AFA. I know doing a first-rate job as an airman is the first thing. But is there a process for airmen to get themselves on the radar for a nomination/appointment? His cadre may know the answers, but none of them went to academies so they may not either.
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I’ve read your post.
My two cents:

SAT: Work on getting to 1300. It can be done. Last cycle 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic with massive cancellations in every state, my DS retook the SAT 5x to get past 1300. He is in USNA Foundation Prep School now.
GPA: B or 3.0. Increase that to at least a 3.65. Maybe tutoring is needed for Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics. DS took additional Math courses in the summer… intense 4-hour sessions.
Note: Look at the class of 2025 profile to determine competitiveness.
As a former recruiting operations officer in Philly, I don’t recommend enlisting now. Recruiters have monthly quotas. It gets really intense at the end of the month to get the mission completed. Enlistment is an option… as a last resort.

 
Enlisted To commission can be accomplished going down many roads. Don‘t just think academy, explore other options lIke rotc, ocs or even GI bill after enlistment is over.
 
Old Enlisted Marine said:
Enlisted To commission can be accomplished going down many roads. Don‘t just think academy, explore other options lIke rotc, ocs or even GI bill after enlistment is over.
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Yes, understood, and those are all possibilities. Just thinking about the academy option for the moment though.
 
Banzaipipeline said:
Note: Look at the class of 2025 profile to determine competitiveness.
As a former recruiting operations officer in Philly, I don’t recommend enlisting now. Recruiters have monthly quotas. It gets really intense at the end of the month to get the mission completed. Enlistment is an option… as a last resort.

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Is there a class profile for Prep School? Or even more to the point, for enlisted personnel getting Prep School appointments? That's really my question. I could be wrong, but I just don't see that even with a 1300 his grades will pass muster. He's a second semester junior. Even if he got straight A's for this semester and next (Fall of 12th grade), I don't think a 3.65 cumulative is in the cards.

And I've long known about the dark side of recruiting. The thing here is that it's not recruiters who mentioned this to him. Hearing from some former enlisted who were selected for Prep School would be helpful/ideal to get an idea of how they emerged from the enlisted ranks to get appointments.
 
Banzaipipeline said:
I’ve read your post.
My two cents:

SAT: Work on getting to 1300. It can be done. Last cycle 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic with massive cancellations in every state, my DS retook the SAT 5x to get past 1300. He is in USNA Foundation Prep School now.
GPA: B or 3.0. Increase that to at least a 3.65. Maybe tutoring is needed for Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics. DS took additional Math courses in the summer… intense 4-hour sessions.
Note: Look at the class of 2025 profile to determine competitiveness.
As a former recruiting operations officer in Philly, I don’t recommend enlisting now. Recruiters have monthly quotas. It gets really intense at the end of the month to get the mission completed. Enlistment is an option… as a last resort.

Click to expand...
Why is enlisting a last resort ?
 
franknd said:
keIs there a class profile for Prep School? Or even more to the point, for enlisted personnel getting Prep School appointments? That's really my question. I could be wrong, but I just don't see that even with a 1300 his grades will pass muster. He's a second semester junior. Even if he got straight A's for this semester and next (Fall of 12th grade), I don't think a 3.65 cumulative is in the cards.

And I've long known about the dark side of recruiting. The thing here is that it's not recruiters who mentioned this to him. Hearing from some former enlisted who were selected for Prep School would be helpful/ideal to get an idea of how they emerged from the enlisted ranks to get appointments.
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Ok… I can talk from my DS’s experience last cycle during the pandemic. I don’t think there’s a class profile for prepsters (at least for USNA Foundation). Admissions evaluated him and found his 3.65 GPA and 1300 SAT not competitive enough. So he was offered a foundation prep school to make him competitive. He is there now running circles around the stem courses.
Regarding your DS getting in to prep school as an enlisted, there’s a 99% chance he can get in.
SAT: he needs to bring that SAT to at least 1300. Even in prep school, SAT is administered regularly so the candidates can be competitive. Hire a tutor. Buy that huge SAT Practice Exam Book. Take a SAT prep class.
CFA: Maintain a high level of fitness. See avg/max scores.
STEM courses: Take Calculus, Physics, and Chemistry. Hire a tutor if needed. Need at least a B in all classes.
I think all three above will help him get accepted.
 

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Has he considered USCGA? Coast Guard has a higher percentage of pilots in the officer corps than even Air Force. Have him take a look at the mission of the Coast Guard. Applying to 2 academies might be better than 1? My son did the CG prep school, and I'd highly recommend it.
 
If he’s going to enlist, he should be prepared to serve out his enlistment contract. While I think there is a route to an academy through the enlisted ranks, it takes a lot of work, focus, and luck. Too many things can happen between enlistment and an appointment - kids get distracted with girls/boys, get busy with their primary job, get in trouble, or get comfortable with their status and the academy goals go by the wayside. Also takes a ton of support from their chain of command, which is really a crapshoot. I’m not saying it can’t be done (I’m living proof), but it’s not a cakewalk.
 
TXSUB said:
If he’s going to enlist, he should be prepared to serve out his enlistment contract. While I think there is a route to an academy through the enlisted ranks, it takes a lot of work, focus, and luck. . . . Also takes a ton of support from their chain of command, which is really a crapshoot.
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That's kind of at the root of my question, whether there is a way to improve the odds in one's favor. Specifically, what do they look for in enlisted airman/soldiers/sailors in deciding whom to appoint to the Prep School? His head JROTC instructor, who is an impressive retired AF NCO, is the one who mentioned the idea to him. I can certainly ask him, but I thought maybe those here who had done it might have some thoughts.
 
Get good grades at his military schools, do all the little things right (haircuts, uniforms, personal appearance, well spoken, etc), stay out of trouble, maintain high standards of fitness, get involved in command activities, volunteer, communicate desires to chain of command and make sure they know all the things he’s doing to make himself standout. Do his primary military job well, work hard, and don’t complain.
 
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