Just my 0.018754 cents opinion, and with 2 bucks more you can a small coffee at Starbucks!
I have known fencer since are boys were 17. She has twins that both went to USAFA, I have 1 that went AFROTC (scholarship). All 3 are pilots now, but including her twins when they were in HS they all took different paths regarding their junior/senior yr when the rubber was hitting the road.
~ I will let her explain her boys path. Yes, they were different in a very unique way.
Here is my kids path:
From the age of 8 until he was 16 (1oth grade) it was DUKE, DUKE, DUKE,
~ AFROTC with the intentional to go JAG (if you don't know what JAG is, it is lawyer for the AF). Going AF law was always his goal.
Start of his junior year we got whiplash #1...
~ Duke? No way! Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Notre Dame. Still AFROTC and JAG
~~ US: Huh, what, where did Notre Dame come from? However, ok, we will jump on the band wagon
In March of their junior year they can open up what is called the Pre-Candidate Questionnaire (PCQ). DS gives us whiplash again #2. 1 night over dinner he turns and says, I submitted the PCQ to USAFA. ... huh? what? His response: It is my plan B, I want Notre Dame. Our response after we put our neck back in place, was okay.
His dad was an F15E WSO, so we decided that if he was going to go this route to give him some flight hours for a private pilots license (PPL). The bug hit him big time. No more JAG, all in pilot...whiplash again#3.
His senior year he got all 3 MoC noms, and as a military dependent he got a Presidential nom., plus applied for the VP We pushed forward with college apps and AFROTC scholarship.
Jan. rolls around, and he gets admitted to what his Dad and I thought was just throwing out applications to appease the folks. He was admitted into the honors program, and received his AFROTC scholarship in Dec, between the merit offered and the scholarship it was a free ride.
Bullet took him to that college where DS sat down with the Commander. He walked out and said can we go to the Bursars? Whiplash again#4!
~He removed his namefrom USAFA before they even closed out the MoC noms drop date, and @6 weeks before candidate packets were due.
Now FFWD 7 yrs. Our DSs are USAF pilots. Her boys are USAFA grads, mine is AFROTC. 1 of her twins flies the exact same airframe as my DS.
I get where she was coming from. If you are smart, approach USAFA like you would any high tier college. Don't get tunnel vision. If you start sitting here when they are 13 turning 14 and reading/watching what every candidate posts as their background you will probably be 1 of the following by the time they get their appointment:
1. Grey
2. Bald
3. Alcoholic
I think her and I would love to turn back time. Speaking for me, if I could, what I would do is just to keep them on track for an elite college admission--- they too will look for well rounded applicants, not just book smart, visit collegeconfidential.com (they have subforums for almost every college), make sure there were no medical issues, and after that walk away until they are probably a sophomore in HS. Spend the time with them being a kid.
Because you see, fencer and I now live with our kids thousands of miles away where they can't go home for every holiday.
~ My DS has not been home for 1 yr. now, and it will probably be close to 2 before he does make it back to VA. Have not shared his B'day, Easter, his wedding anniversary, his wife's bday, Thanksgiving , Christmas , and New Years together in 2015. We fly out to see him next week for the 1st time since Apr. 2015. He will shortly be deployed and seeing us before next fall is off the table due to the AF. THAT IS AF LIFE.
~~ We will again this year miss his Bday, Easter, their 2nd anniversary and her birthday. Our DDs bday gift is to fly her out to visit his wife for my DILs Bday since my DS was be deployed. That is reality for our family. My youngest DS also asked for his Bday present to be an airline ticket to fly out to see my DIL while his brother is deployed....just to be there
~~ ~ OBTW, we did get to see him in October for 2 days when he flew out for his aunt's funeral.
That is our lives now. We have our responsibilities, such as work and other family commitments here, and they have theirs there, especially in the rated world.
~ Not trying to rattle you, just trying to illustrate how perspectives can change when life meets reality for the future.
Where, we, or at least me is jealous of you. Those memories still to come...braces getting off, homecoming, drivers permit, junior prom, and all of those nights where they have a friend sleep over and you scream, LIGHTS OUT because they are so loud!
To sum this up, I will end it with what my Mom would always say...Don't wish your life away!
Trust in yourself as a parent. This site is not easy to find, and if you even googled USAFA you know by USNWR, Fortune, Money, and multiple sources they are considered selective, just like HYPSM. If you agree with those statements, than you know what to do as a parent regarding scheduling his academic future.
). Just don't forget your child is 13 or 14, and has such a long road ahead. And as you know, those strong desires of pre-teens don't always turn into strong desires of adults.
