Falcon Foundation Scholarship

Alpineskier

5-Year Member
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Oct 30, 2012
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I was looking at the Falcon Foundation website and it does not give a lot of information. For anyone who has gotten a scholarship do they pay for most of the scholarship? And if you receive a scholarship do you get to choose your prep school? Also what are the odds of you receiving an appointment? Thanks for the info.
 
I'm a Falcon this year. You will receive a decent size scholarship, but it won't cover everything. The schools are all differently priced, and some of them have additional scholarships available for Falcons.

You do get to choose your prep school. At least for the past few years, over half of the Falcons have gone to Northwestern Prep in CA.

The odds of receiving an appointment are really up to you...but if you successfully complete your prep school, stay out of medical/legal trouble, and receive another nomination, your chances are very good.
 
Those are not something you have to apply separately for right? When do those offers usually come out?
 
No, you don't have to apply separately. My offer came in May, but I know people who got theirs in April.
 
One thing to understand about the offers, is the system.

Let's assume the AFA offers 1300 apptmts. and have 100 Falcon scholarships. It is not necessarily given to numbers 1301-1401. Actually it is unlikely that those in that range will get anything more than the TWE.

Falcon cadets have the whole package except a lower SAT/ACT. It exists to beef up their academics. The one thing from an academic perspective that is hard to level out is the school's system for grading. SAT/ACT is national and they can see the level from that end. Thus, if you have a high cgpa and a low SAT they are concerned that the academic foundation is not there for a direct admit. One more yr of academics in a program that they know the quality and standards will make it more likely for success at the AFA.

Thus, if you have a great cgpa and a strong SAT (1300 +/-) you are not their ideal candidate for this path.
 
Actually....that's not really true. Students have to be fully qualified in order to receive a Falcon scholarship. My CR+M SAT score was certainly above 1300 before I went to my prep school, and there were Falcons there who had scores higher than mine BEFORE coming to prep school.

I guess my scores were good enough to get an AFROTC scholarship last year, too.

Not to say there aren't things I've needed to work on academically, or that the prep school wasn't helpful. I managed to bring up my SAT to a 2200 and my ACT to a 33. :thumb:
 
Sorry I was thinking Falcon prep., not scholarship.
 
I'm a Falcon this year as well. You do get to choose your prep school. There are eight options, four being non-military, four being military. I chose the cheapest military option and applied for financial aid; I didn't have to pay anything. Im actually coming out with a surplus considering that we get a small allowance from the Army for doing ROTC.

Your chances of getting in is like 95%. The remaining 5% accounts for people who committed "fatal error", such as failing classes, alcohol/drug consumption, etc. Just don't do anything they tell you not to do, and do everything they tell you to do and do it well.

You don't have to apply for it separately; you just have to apply for USAFA. I got my USAFA rejection letter in March and was set to go to another academy before I had to withdraw when I got offered Falcon Foundation in May.
 
Most of what has been said is true.
There were 60 FF scholarships awarded this year, which is significantly fewer than years previous.
Essentially they're just saying improve your scores and get in better shape for a year before USAFA. However, there are always a couple falcons that get hurt or in trouble and a.) lose the $5000 scholarship and b.) don't get into the academy.
This being said, we're not looked at any differently than other applicants from an admissions point of view. We are just tagged as having potential to raise our scores high enough to get in after a prep year.
I went to NWP and had an excellent experience. I met great friends that I will be unbelievably grateful to know at the academy.
Another thing to note- regardless of whether you are in scholarship or not, you are only at NWP for one semester. The second semester you spend and a Jr college or university back home.

Feel free to message me any questions about the program if you want a personal answer.
I had a great experience with the program and I would take this path over a direct appointment again because I feel much more prepared.
 
Here is another option for your consideration. The prep schools (not USAFA Prep but schools like MMI and NWP) also provide the opportunity for "free agent" prepsters. If a candidate receives a TWE and does not get a Falcon scholarship, they can still attend a prep school if their goal is USAFA. Now the odds of getting an appointment are not as good as the Falcons. The appointment is a Falcons to lose as has been said. If they do what they are told they will receive an appointment. However each year some of the free agents also receive appointments.

When DS was a HS senior and waiting to hear, I suspected that he might get the dreaded TWE. I came to this conclusion after reading lots of threads on this site. As a B plan we talked with Mrs D at NWP and registered DS for the next Fall in February. All fees were fully refundable if had received an appointment. When he received the Falcon scholarship in May, he was ready to go and did not need to analyze his options. This was important because the Falcon scholarships are first come first served. (They send out more letters than there are spots. At least they did two years ago)
 
I was awarded a Falcon Foundation scholarship last April and I am so glad that I accepted it. You can choose which prep school to go to and you have to fill out their application, however, as a Falcon, you are guaranteed admission to whichever school you choose. I went to Northwestern Preparatory School in CA and, personally, I think it was the best option. It may be a civilian school, but the Durbecks are beyond awesome and their number one goal is to make us prepared and ready for the Academies. I would highly recommend looking at the NWP website or calling Mrs. Durbeck if you want to find out more.
 
Wow thanks!! Thanks much more than I expected and I was looking at Northwest Prep but I didn't know it was only a semester. Im not saying that would be a bad thing, but my dad is in the Army and going back to Korea would be a pain. Im still really considering NWP, but what would people say are the top three?
 
As a side note-one of my NWP classmates has a family that lives overseas as well. She's going to college in VA this semester, so staying in the US for second semester schooling could be an option for you as well.
 
As BlahuKahuna said there is a girl who is living away from her family for second semester... A lot of kids are also going to the schools that they had been planning on going to before they heard about the Falcon Foundation scholarship just for the semester... If you had other colleges in the US that you had applied to you could see about maybe going to one of those for second semester! Northwestern Prep is definitely number one. I'm not saying that because I'm biased (biased though I may be) but because NWP students' performance is generally statistically higher. Also, NWP is solely focused on getting us into the Academy whereas at the other prep schools there might be only a few of you there trying to go to USAFA and their main goal is to run as a military junior college.
 
Ok cool I never knew you could do that!! Also does the Air Force Academy look at what college you would go to for your second semester? For example would it improve my chances if I went to University of Maryland for a semester over Montana State?
 
NWP

If you do decide to attend NWP, your second semester classes at a school near you will be similar to your Plebe year. Such as Chem w/lab, Calculus, English comp. etc. This year at NWP there was a “Free Agent” who received an appointment before the Falcons in December. Just an example of how strong their program is.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
Thanks all

We also live overseas, and I have liked what I have heard about NWP, but wanted to get DS son settled for the year before we return. This is really helpful.

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?

I asked in another thread what the other prep schools are like and how they compare to one another; which are military and which aren't?
 
Prep Schools

New Mexico Military Institute, Marion Military Institute, Greystone etc. . are two semester or year round Prep Schools. They are a military type programs that is part of a Community College or NMMI is a high school with a post high school program. They are all excellent.
Northwestern Prep School in Crestline, CA is just one semester in the fall and not a military style school. The second semester the student must enroll in either a four year or a Community College and take college level courses that are similar to a Plebe year. For example Calculus, Chem w/ Lab, English etc. Or 16 to 18 units.
To the best of my knowledge, none of the prep school credits transfer. With the exception of NWP second semester at a CC. However, the increase in your ACT/SAT scores, study skills are well worth the effort and you are better prepared for success in a SA or college.

You will need to investigate the best program for your needs. All schools are on the inside fence with the academies and monitor your progress or lack of.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
If i went to NWP for the first semester would I get money for my second semester at my four year college? or would that be out of pocket?
 
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