How should I prep to get accepted?

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Bitterguy

5-Year Member
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Aug 7, 2012
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I am going to be junior next year (2012-2013) and I have been looking into AFROTC and I started considering it as a back up option to the USAFA.

I had a ~3.6 GPA (I had to calculate it myself) my sophomore year taking all College bound classes (my school's levels are remedial-pssa[standardized test course for juniors who didn't pass the screener for the pssa]-no preffix-college bound- honors- AP).

Next year I signed up for the same level (you have to have a 95% or above to move up and i was not motivated enough to attempt such a feat) and I am taking my third year of engineering (second in my highschool because during your 9th grade year you take junior high course because you are still in the junior high), 3rd year of concert band (hs 2nd year), programming the web ("college at highschool" course for my school, i took intro to java last year and my teacher said he would let me skip the basic html class), year one of wood shop, and my first year of german. I am maxed out on classes because including gym those take up and that leaves me with no lunch and only a 1 semester study hall because nothing else would fit into that slot, this is different in the fact that I finally get a study (haven't had lunch or study hall since we've been able to pick our schedules in 9th)

By my senior year I plan to take H physics and hopefully AP calc (H physics because my schools AP physics is entirely medically based for some reason) another programming class or two (they are semester courses) and I feel that now i have the motivation to try and get at least all Honors for my core classes.

I was on track and Cross country my sophomore year, but i can't continue those two this year because I picked up tae kwon do, and my parents didn't like school sports interfering with something they pay $45 a month for. I am also in my schools drumline in our marching band and this is my 3rd year of marching band ( first year was pit), and our school's indoor drum corps esque group "stikz"

I plan to major in either mechanical/aerospace/electrical engineering or comp science

thank you in advance, sorry about the long post i tried to make it as short as possible
 
You have a strong cgpa as of now, but just my 0.173486 cents, you may need to strengthen up 2 things. Stress may.

1. Athletics
TKD will be seen by the boards as a sport IF you compete and not just pay 45 bucks a month to workout. The latter is more like a club, the earlier is more like a school sport. Especially since you can place down stats to illustrate. EX: TKD Brown belt state champion sparring and forms.

See the difference?

I understand your parents position, regarding paying the money, obviously you enjoy TKD, see if your school has a competition team so you can continue to do it, but also get more of an advantage for your WCS out of it.

The AFA is very aware of the alt. issue there, and they want to make sure physically you are fit. Trust me, both my boys have a black belt, but I would never say the one that stuck with it for yrs and worked up the level to black belt was on the same level as the other that competed state and nationally. Not to be rude, but one was because I paid 135 bucks a month and I was their monthly paycheck. The other was their paycheck too, but because they had a jr. olympian team, and people went to them so their kids could compete, not just for classes, but mostly to train. Steve Lopez and Terrence Jennings had to start somewhere.:wink:

2. Academics
The way the system works for both AFA and AFROTC is they not only ask for your transcripts, but they want a school profile too. In that profile it was tell them course curriculum offered.

You will never get dinged if they don't offer AP's, but you may get dinged if they do and you didn't take it, instead you opted to take the lower level course. They get sometimes due to pre-reqs a student can't take an AP, hence, again why they want the profile. That profile will tell them if you could have taken the AP.

AP is run by collegeboard. AP is like the SAT and ACT, it doesn't matter if you live in Boise or in Orlando, the test is the exact same for every student in the nation. If your school offers a true AP Physics class, you should take it.

You also need to start thinking about the other AP classes your peers will be taking, such as APLIT, APENG, APUSH, APWORLD, APEURO, and APGOVT.

AFA and AFROTC want to see candidates take the most rigorous course load available to them AND do it successfully. An A in Honors is not necessarily better than a B in AP with a 5 on the test, especially when you start to get into the nit noid things like class rank and wcgpa.

You are ahead of the power curve because you have this entire yr to get it going, many candidates never find this site, and for many that do they find it at the end of their jr. yr.

For now start studying the SAT. Take the PSAT in the fall...it is the only way you can become an NMSF/NMF, something that looks good academically, especially since AFROTC only judges you until the end of your JR yr. and you have no AP's as of yet. Your SR. yr is not part of their process, it is included in the AFA process.

Also, AFROTC does not superscore the SAT/ACT. They take the best sitting, thus the reason why you want to study that SAT/ACT and take it often. AFA superscores, so again a reason to take it often.
 
Leadership, leadership, and leadership! Become a leader in a club or sport that you enjoy doing.
 
DO NOT quit the school sports for tae kwon do.

You will get way more mileage (pun intended) out of track and cross country in three ways:

1. You can have varsity sports on your application. Any kind of martial arts program isn't going to compare to varsity high school sports.

2. You will be more prepared for BCT and the AFT if you actually get in.

3. Most varsity athletes (read: most Cadets) will consider tae kwon do a joke compared to varsity team sports.


My biggest regret from high school is not running cross country... learning to be a good runner in high school is something that will be valuable for your entire military career and the rest of your life.
 
Sorry but tkd is staying. I'm not getting into varsity anyways, our varsity kids are basically all state level. I do still run on my own time though to help keep fit.

I was also looking into joing my local CAP, any tips on that?
 
Bitterguy said:
Sorry but tkd is staying. I'm not getting into varsity anyways, our varsity kids are basically all state level. I do still run on my own time though to help keep fit.

I was also looking into joing my local CAP, any tips on that?
Click to expand...

This is real simple. You sign up, participate, be a member of, etc... what you want, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO. You DON'T do it because you think you're filling out a particular square for the academy application.

In other words: If you WANT to join CAP, then join it. If you WANT to do JrROTC, then do it. If you DON'T want to do Varsity sports, then DON'T. Life is real simple.

Now; having said all that, you must realize that teamwork, fitness, athletics, and leadership is extremely important to the military/academy. That is why "Varsity Sports" is so important. It is a "Measurable" way of showing that you have experience with those attributes. If you don't want to do varsity level sports, then that's your prerogative. But unless you have a similarly documented means of displaying the attributes, then the academy will simply say you DON'T HAVE that experience. I.e. local city rec soccer league does not count. Paying to learn martial arts, does not count. Church league basketball, does not count. Now; if you are on a competitive traveling soccer league like "STING", then that DOES count. If you compete district/nationally in TKD, then that DOES count. Do you see the difference?

Doesn't matter if you like or agree with the academy's standards that you will be judged on. That's how it is. Just like any job or even sport in the world. You might not like the rules, but if you want to play/be with it, then you'll play by the rules. And the academy isn't stupid. They can tell if you're simply a "Member" of CAP, Scouts, JrROTC, etc... filling in squares for the application, or if you truly WANT to do it. 6 or 12 months in many activities isn't enough to show a true commitment. But in the end, the academies want to appoint the REAL YOU. They don't want someone who simply did and said the right things to get an appointment; then later hates it and quits. Best of luck to you. Mike....
 
I want to do CAP for more than check a checked square, I was looking into it last year but my parents said that my schedule was too full to fit anything else in.

I'm going to go to tkd tournaments in order to try and get to districts and because as you can guess I like tkd haha.

I am also going to try and become a lieutenant (the leader posistion for your section in band) for drumline my senior year
 
Bitterguy said:
I want to do CAP for more than check a checked square, I was looking into it last year but my parents said that my schedule was too full to fit anything else in.

I'm going to go to tkd tournaments in order to try and get to districts and because as you can guess I like tkd haha.

I am also going to try and become a lieutenant (the leader posistion for your section in band) for drumline my senior year
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have the right motivation and goals in mind. Good for you. Best to you. Mike...
 
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