Falcon Foundation Scholarship

Ok I have been doing some research and that answered questions but lets say I don't get an appointment, USAFAPS, or Falcon Foundation, but I do get an AFROTC scholarship. Would it be better for me to do ROTC or pay for myself to go to NWP? To me it does seem to terribly expensive being $8,750. Thanks for everyones comments.
 
Alpineskier, we are thinking the same things, my questions exactly. Thanks!
 
If he has been accepted to another university, would they be likely to allow him to start a semester late if he gets a Falcon Foundation scholarship and goes to NWP?

You need to check with the specific college but that is what DS did. He started at Univeristy of Louisville in January after attending NWP. He took the required Freshman orientation in the summer so he would be ready to go once back from NWP.
 
To the best of my knowledge, none of the prep school credits transfer. With the exception of NWP second semester at a CC.

This statement requires clarification. No credits will transfer to USAFA. However cadets have the opportunity to validate courses. Also NWP is not an accredited college so it doesn't even use credits for its classes. Now some of the other prep schools are accredited as community colleges so their course credit may transfer depending on the the course and the receiving university. Of course the same is true for those that attend CC for the second semester after NWP.
 
Ok I have been doing some research and that answered questions but lets say I don't get an appointment, USAFAPS, or Falcon Foundation, but I do get an AFROTC scholarship. Would it be better for me to do ROTC or pay for myself to go to NWP? To me it does seem to terribly expensive being $8,750. Thanks for everyones comments.

Tough question Alpine. No one here can tell you what is best for you.

If you were to choose the NWP route, you would need to give up the AFROTC scholarship. NWP is very good at what they do and that is prepping candidates for SAs. However, every year there are Free Agents that don't get an appointment and you will then be behind a semester and without a scholarship. DS went to NWP with a free agent who reapplied and then received a Falcon scholarship which means he will most likely get an appointment on his third try! How bad do you want USAFA?

You can get to USAFA from AFROTC if that is your goal. However, remember that the purpose of both AFROTC and USAFA is to produce 2LTs. One is not inherently better than the other. If you choose AFROTC and still want to try for USAFA, the consensus here is to immediately notify your Unit Command of your intentions. They will understand and can help you but honesty is the best policy.
 
Like Blackbird said, nobody can tell you what to do if you're torn between an AFROTC scholarship and becoming a free agent at a prep school.

I turned down an AFROTC scholarship for my Falcon Foundation scholarship, so that situation was obviously a little different. Another NWP classmate of mine turned down an AFROTC scholarship to attend NWP as a free agent. I also have friends who are reapplying to academies from civilian schools with AFROTC scholarships. It's really up to you.
 
My DD is seeking an appointment to USAFA, but I feel she may not make the cut because of her SAT/ACT scores. Here is my question..... If she is honored with a scholarship at a prep school and goes to NWP, her second semester would be spent at a local university ($$$ purposes), what if she has already taken the freshmen classes (Eng 101 & Eng 102 through PACE) and has scored high enough on the AP exams to skip the other classes (Calc & Chemistry) - what would she take?
 
Shellsea,

In my senior year of high school I took college English courses. I was at NWP last semester and this semester I DO NOT have to take the English course (since I had already taken it!) Instead I am taking an Arabic Cultures class. Once your daughter gets to NWP she will talk to the Durbecks about which classes she should take 2nd semester but it sounds like she might be able to adjust her second semester schedule.
 
Shellsea, I might want to add that no matter what she takes, she will be required to take 15 credits.
 
I would just add that you should pick the prep school based on the best fit for you. There are many perks to each choice that are not always obvious. My son went to MMI on a Falcon and he was able to validate one semester of Chemistry and Political Science at USAFA. In addition, they did swimming which he found very helpful for his water survival classes at USAFA.

Each of the choices has benefits like this, so ensure you dig into all the choices to find what is a good fit for you.

Best of luck!
 
I'm a falcon this year as well. When it comes to scholarship money, you receive a good amount, but how much you spend on the prep year depends on where you go. I attend Marion Military Institute, and will only be paying around $5,000 out of pocket for this entire year because of additional scholarship money from the school. I seriously considered NWP for a while because it was so highly recommended on this site, but instead chose MMI because it goes for the full year and gives you a taste of what it's like to live in a military environment. I decided that NWP would probably be more expensive in the long run because you only go for one semester, and I personally felt like it'd be better for me to go to the same place for the whole year as opposed to going somewhere different for this semester. Although MMI is pretty poorly located, I've grown to love it because of the people I go there with (I've heard from my father that it is similar with bases in the service.. Haha) as well as the opportunities it comes with. There's something for everyone here. Every one is different, and at first Marion wasn't even on my list of choices, but I realized soon enough it was the perfect option for me. If you receive the scholarship, be sure to weigh all of your options and make the best decision for you. :smile:
 
My DD is seeking an appointment to USAFA, but I feel she may not make the cut because of her SAT/ACT scores. Here is my question..... If she is honored with a scholarship at a prep school and goes to NWP, her second semester would be spent at a local university ($$$ purposes), what if she has already taken the freshmen classes (Eng 101 & Eng 102 through PACE) and has scored high enough on the AP exams to skip the other classes (Calc & Chemistry) - what would she take?

At NWP she is going to take PreCalc, English, and Chemistry again. NWP will advise her on what to take the next semester back at home. With regard to Calc, she should probably take the next in the sequence. I doubt that she APed out of all the Calc. If she wants to be a tech major, I think she needs all the way up to Differential Equations.
 
Classes at NWP this year included precalc, chemistry, physics, english (grammar/punctuation/syntax, not composition),vocabulary, current events, and physical training.
This was the first year they included physics in the schedule, which I was happy with because I love physics. However, the class received an enormously negative response from most of the students so I would not be surprised to not see it run again next year. I spent about 30 hours running physics study sessions on our free time (which doesn't come too often) throughout the semester. It probably will run again, however, because the Durbecks included it this year because USAFA said that they wants prepsters to be studying physics. NWP was an amazing experience for me and I would do it again a thousand times.
This semester I am taking Calculus II (I took AP Calc in high school), Chemistry II, Standard Freshman Composition, and Introduction to Programming. I feel that NWP prepared me well for these classes despite my previous knowledge in the subjects. From what I gather, this is a fairly typical second semester schedule for my fellow classmates and I.
 
Is there a set amount of money they give to everyone or does is it different for every prep school? If not what is the cheapest school?
 
At NWP she is going to take PreCalc, English, and Chemistry again. NWP will advise her on what to take the next semester back at home. With regard to Calc, she should probably take the next in the sequence. I doubt that she APed out of all the Calc. If she wants to be a tech major, I think she needs all the way up to Differential Equations.

Actually she has "APed" out of Math and took Differential Equations and is taking Calc 3 this semester at a local university. I am afraid she won't have any math to take to keep her prepared for the SA. This is the main thing I am worried about and I cannot find any answers to my concerns since she is in a unique situation. Any advice is appreciated :smile:
 
Is there a set amount of money they give to everyone or does is it different for every prep school? If not what is the cheapest school?

The scholarship is worth $5,000.
I believe the cheapest options are MMI and NMMI. I've heard that NMMI is like Marion in the desert. :rolleyes: ha!
 
Actually she has "APed" out of Math and took Differential Equations and is taking Calc 3 this semester at a local university. I am afraid she won't have any math to take to keep her prepared for the SA. This is the main thing I am worried about and I cannot find any answers to my concerns since she is in a unique situation. Any advice is appreciated :smile:

Wow that is an impressive amount of math for a high schooler. She is well prepared for math at USAFA. No worries Dad.
 
You need to check with the specific college but that is what DS did. He started at Univeristy of Louisville in January after attending NWP. He took the required Freshman orientation in the summer so he would be ready to go once back from NWP.

Blackbird,

This is off topic but I couldn't help but noticing that your DS attends UofL. Is that local for you? I'm in that area. Just curious

Soccerchic
 
Back
Top