Falcon Foundation Scholarship Recipient

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CN27

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May 17, 2023
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My son was awarded a Falcon Foundation Scholarship today (very exciting) and he has 3 days to decide whether to accept that or to use his NROTC scholarship to VT. We would love some help:
1) Is the Falcon Foundation/ prep school experience truly the "golden ticket" to attending USAFA for class of 2028?
2) Is there "best" prep school? I hear a lot of positives for NWP, but it seems odd to only have 1 semester.
3) I know that he has to receive a nomination for AF for the next year, but does he have to go through the full application process again? We have received some conflicting information.
These are good problems to have, and it is great to have choices. Thanks in advance.
 
1) I would say it is a "golden ticket." Look for yourself on the Falcon page. https://www.falconfoundation.org/Performance. It looks to me that you have to affirmatively try, or commit some sort of misconduct, in order to not get an appointment.

2) NWP is far and away the most popular choice of FF scholars. I can't say why that is, but I can guess. And my guess is that its not being a military school, and only being a semester, are both very attractive for FF scholars. Of course, you do have to attend another college of choice for the second semester, but that's up to you.

3) Others know better than I about this.

To me, the question for your son is whether he wants to be in the Navy or Air Force, full stop. That ought to guide his decision IMO in your particular circumstance (and assuming that paying for room and board at VT isn't a big obstacle).
 
franknd said:
1) I would say it is a "golden ticket." Look for yourself on the Falcon page. https://www.falconfoundation.org/Performance. It looks to me that you have to affirmatively try, or commit some sort of misconduct, in order to not get an appointment.

2) NWP is far and away the most popular choice of FF scholars. I can't say why that is, but I can guess. And my guess is that its not being a military school, and only being a semester, are both very attractive for FF scholars. Of course, you do have to attend another college of choice for the second semester, but that's up to you.

3) Others know better than I about this.

To me, the question for your son is whether he wants to be in the Navy or Air Force, full stop. That ought to guide his decision IMO in your particular circumstance (and assuming that paying for room and board at VT isn't a big obstacle).
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Thank you. I agree, ultimately it comes down to where he would like to serve. His current goal is to fly. It seems that either of these will give him that option. I appreciate your thoughts.
 
I agree with franknd and CN27. When people say "golden ticket" for sponsored Falcon Foundation Scholarship, higher than 90% have received an appointment to USAFA in recent years. The re-application package is streamlined a little bit.
 
I was in the same boat my senior year of HS, had to decide between full ride AFROTC or FF, I ended up taking my FF and have zero regrets. To hit the questions 1 by 1:

1. It is, everyone from my prep school(MMI) with FF scholarship got an appointment, you have to do something pretty messed up during your prep year to not get the appointment. Every prep school has been doing this for a while and does a great job at making sure everyone gets their appointments.

2. There definitely isn't a "best" prep school. Each offers their own experience. At MMI, I got to experience a military school for a full year before coming to USAFA which definitely gave me good experience for basic and beyond(marching, making a military bed, that sort of thing) I know that NWP doesn't do any military related training, but everyone I know that went to NWP loved it there too. I would look into each school and give their representative a call to figure out which would be the best fit, that's what I did.

3. The application is WAY shorter for FF applicants. It took me like 45 minutes total, all you do is update any information pretty much. No new essays or anything like that. Even with nominations it might be easier, I called my MoC offices and explained the situation I was in and they didn't make me resubmit a nomination application, just an updated essay with how I was developing myself during my prep year.

If you have any other FFS related questions feel free to send them my way. I can confidently say that taking my FF scholarship was one of the best, if not best, decision I have made. Having that year of maturity before coming to the Academy makes a world of difference.
 
Good morning! My DS received a Falcon scholarship in March, accepted, and chose NWP. Besides a zoom meeting on all the prep schools there has been little communication from USAFA or the foundations, we have had info sent from NWP. Are we/he missing something or should we be patient? Basically I am asking if other FF’s have received additional information (outside of the accept/decline portal) regarding the scholarship.
 
96boom said:
Good morning! My DS received a Falcon scholarship in March, accepted, and chose NWP. Besides a zoom meeting on all the prep schools there has been little communication from USAFA or the foundations, we have had info sent from NWP. Are we/he missing something or should we be patient? Basically I am asking if other FF’s have received additional information (outside of the accept/decline portal) regarding the scholarship.
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Your son can organize his questions and call the Falcon Foundation staff, ditto the SA program coordinator /Admissions at the prep school to discuss next steps and ask about anything else to expect. At this point, he is like any other student who has earned a scholarship to a private prep school and likely has actions to complete before matriculating. I assume an application to the prep school is required. Any differential in tuition between scholarship and actual cost will have to be dealt with. Hundreds do this every year across the SAs, and these partner prep schools are well-prepared for questions and some degree of “what happens next” from sponsored prepsters. You’ll figure it out. Congratulations to your son for having earned a Falcon Scholarship!

Many posters have commented here over the years how helpful the Durbecks at NWP are:

Call our office if you have any questions!
Suzanne Durbeck
1-800-367-8839

If the Falcon Foundation staff is like the USNA Foundation staffing am familiar with, they have been fielding questions from new prepsters for years, and are happy to talk details.


Your son can organize his questions, muster his best live phone professional skills and practice proactively researching the path forward.
 
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