Firstie here, feel free to ask anything

Thunder

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2016
Messages
54
I'll try to answer in a timely manner! I joined this forum in 2016 and received some great insight and information when I was applying and feel like its time to give back!
 
I am currently a pre-candidate (I have yet to submit the PCQ as I have not received my SAT scores yet). Is it possible for you to share information on the writing samples? For eg: essay questions/prompts, tips, etc. I wish to start planning and writing up my writing samples as early as possible to give myself time to edit and improve them. I am most interested in the latest writing samples prompts.

Thank you. :)
 
I'll try to answer in a timely manner! I joined this forum in 2016 and received some great insight and information when I was applying and feel like its time to give back!
Thanks in advance.
Is there an option to go to law school after graduation (instead of 5-year service obligation)?
 
Thanks in advance.
Is there an option to go to law school after graduation (instead of 5-year service obligation)?

So sort of...but in general no - the more common path is to serve 2-6 years and then go to law school
 
My son is telling me that the USAFA job assignments (job drop) is scheduled for 10/31/21. Are you hearing anything differently?
 
I am currently a pre-candidate (I have yet to submit the PCQ as I have not received my SAT scores yet). Is it possible for you to share information on the writing samples? For eg: essay questions/prompts, tips, etc. I wish to start planning and writing up my writing samples as early as possible to give myself time to edit and improve them. I am most interested in the latest writing samples prompts.

Thank you. :)
Hi, you have asked this in a couple places. Are you applying for C/O ‘26? If so, Are you aware of the deadlines looming, for noms in particular? And the deadline for the USAFA is also not far off, if you haven’t started any of the process yet. Are you sure you need an SAT score to submit a PCQ?
 
My son is telling me that the USAFA job assignments (job drop) is scheduled for 10/31/21. Are you hearing anything differently?

My son is only a junior but I’m very interested to see if there are more pilot slots for this year’s seniors than last years number. Good luck to your son that he gets his first choice, no matter what it is.
 
Hi, you have asked this in a couple places. Are you applying for C/O ‘26? If so, Are you aware of the deadlines looming, for noms in particular? And the deadline for the USAFA is also not far off, if you haven’t started any of the process yet. Are you sure you need an SAT score to submit a PCQ?
Hi! Yes I am applying for c/o 26'. In term of noms, I have no choice but to apply for the VP nomination as I am an American citizen permanently residing outside of the USA. The deadline application period (according to whitehouse.gov and academyadmissions.com) is January 31. No worries as I already plan to submit my VP nom application in a few days. : )

Regarding the PCQ, I've emailed Team Blue and this is what they replied with: " You will have to enter your scores during your PCQ. If they are found to be not competitive, you will not be promoted to candidate status and you will be notified via email. You will have one more opportunity to improve your scores for this application cycle. However, if you are competitive, you will be promoted and you may update your scores in your candidate kit."

But fortunately, I am receiving my SAT scores in a few hours from now. : ))
 
Hi! Yes I am applying for c/o 26'. In term of noms, I have no choice but to apply for the VP nomination as I am an American citizen permanently residing outside of the USA. The deadline application period (according to whitehouse.gov and academyadmissions.com) is January 31. No worries as I already plan to submit my VP nom application in a few days. : )

Regarding the PCQ, I've emailed Team Blue and this is what they replied with: " You will have to enter your scores during your PCQ. If they are found to be not competitive, you will not be promoted to candidate status and you will be notified via email. You will have one more opportunity to improve your scores for this application cycle. However, if you are competitive, you will be promoted and you may update your scores in your candidate kit."

But fortunately, I am receiving my SAT scores in a few hours from now. : ))
Are either of your parents U.S. citizens? Did one or both ever live in the U.S.? I’ll put a link below which discusses voting rights. If there are voting rights, that usually means a state. That means nominations can be applied for from those elected officials. Your parents don’t even have to have voted. There are several links that come up in searches, but these are the dot-gov ones.

The VP nom, yes, but only 1-2 might be available in any given year, and pretty much every applicant applies for it.



Forge ahead with your application. Apply for all the noms you are eligible for, if possible. If the service academy really wants you, they can often figure out the nom piece, as the Superintendent has some discretionary noms that cannot be applied for. Put together the best application you can, and leverage your diversity in terms of being a U.S. citizen who resides outside the U.S.
 
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Big time, heed @capt MJ’s advice. The Nom is a significant, important piece. And the VP nom is highly competitive. You want to give yourself as many opportunities to compete as possible! That’s why they say ‘apply for every nom possible’.

You can also inquire of admissions, and check their website. Don’t leave any opportunity untouched. Not sure what resources you have locally to assist you, but perhaps USAFA has an international ALO that you could reach out to.

Good luck to you! Hopefully you got those SAT’s, and get that candidate number!
 
Are either of your parents U.S. citizens? Did one or both ever live in the U.S.? I’ll put a link below which discusses voting rights. If there are voting rights, that usually means a state. That means nominations can be applied for from those elected officials. Your parents don’t even have to have voted. There are several links that come up in searches, but these are the dot-gov ones.

The VP nom, yes, but only 1-2 might be available in any given year, and pretty much every applicant applies for it.



Forge ahead with your application. Apply for all the noms you are eligible for, if possible. If the service academy really wants you, they can often figure out the nom piece, as the Superintendent has some discretionary noms that cannot be applied for. Put together the best application you can, and leverage your diversity in terms of being a U.S. citizen who resides outside the U.S.
Neither of my parents are US citizens. They have lived in the US but only for a short period of time after my birth there. I am looking into every opportunity I'm eligible to in terms of noms. Thank you so much for the advice though, @Capt MJ and @justdoit19 . Oh btw, I've become an official candidate a few hours ago :)
 
My son is only a junior but I’m very interested to see if there are more pilot slots for this year’s seniors than last years number. Good luck to your son that he gets his first choice, no matter what it is.
He says the USAFA is anticipating more pilot spots and less pilot qualified applicants for class of 2022. We will see:). Thank you!
 
He says the USAFA is anticipating more pilot spots and less pilot qualified applicants for class of 2022. We will see:). Thank you!
The amount of pilot slots varies each year. We think of it as a pendulum over here. One year, everyone who wants pilot will get it, and a year or two later, they will undersupply pilot slots to compensate for the over supply of pilots the year before. It's incredibly hard to find the "sweet" spot of pilot slots due to many moving variables in the big Air Force and in the state of the world. Bottom line, as long as you are in the top half of the class, you have more than enough cushion room to be comfortable for pilot (of course with a good PCSM score as well!).
 
My son is telling me that the USAFA job assignments (job drop) is scheduled for 10/31/21. Are you hearing anything differently?
Great question. It was rumored jobs drops were today, but are now pushed back to mid-November.
 
What's next for you after graduation?
I'm not too sure yet. Definitely not getting my master's degree out of here. Since I am not going for a rated job, it's really up in the air right now. But we have started planning for our 60 day paid vacation!
 
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