People who received appointments and LOA's

[dogface51]

Hello everyone. I know there are a lot of people out there (including myself) who are unsure of their grades and extracurricular activities are good enough to get into USAFA. I was wondering if people on this forum who have received appointments and even LOA's could reply to this and just give an overview of what their resume's looked like. Thanks. (I'm not sure if there are any sort of rules against this)

 

[USAFA_86]

I received a principal nomination in November and an appointment in December. Here are my stats:

- 4.0 Unweighted GPA with lots of honors and AP classes (Although in the portal it showed as a 3.98 which I never figured out)
- 34 ACT
- Vice-president of our school's community service club and representative at the state conference
- Founding member of our school's anti-suicide organization
- I was a peer mentor during my Junior year (I helped students who were struggling with math)
- Captain of the debate team and three-time state qualifier
- I played football for three years, ran cross country this past fall, and have play tennis all four years in the spring
- I am in charge of all high school volunteers at my local nursing home
- I started a project at my school where students write letters to deployed soldiers to let them know our gratitude.
- Member of the NHS and Spanish NHS
- I took a lot of time on my essays and had my English teachers help me out a lot. In the interview for my nomination, the board said that my essay was one of the best they had seen and that my recommendations were also extremely good.

Make sure your application really shows who you are and why you want a slot at USAFA. Good luck!!

 

[Jman0714]

Hi.

I know you are unsure of yourself, but in my opinion comparing yourself to others isn’t the way to handle the anxiety and nerves while waiting to see if you receive an appointment to USAFA.

People who have received LOAs usually have stellar academics, but that doesn’t reflect every candidate. Every single aspect of your application is unique and when admissions is deciding who to send out an appointment to, USAFA looks at everything you put down and takes it into consideration. Seeing what others have won’t change what you have. Seeing what my SAT score isn't going to make yours more valuable. Seeing what my extra-cirrculars are isn't going to make yours less valuable. Seeing my candidate profile isn't going to affect your chances of admission. While it could put it at a state of peace, it could also make you even more anxious. To me, it just isn't worth.

Don’t think “I’m not good enough”. Have the confidence and say “My application is a true reflection of who I am. At the time and moment that I submitted it, I did everything in my ability to make myself a qualified candidate.” I have thought that since I have submitted it. I am an applicant myself and haven't received an appointment or LOA. And some days I do think "how do I compare? What do other people have?". But then I just remind myself of the points that I made.

The peak for self reported appointments I believe is somewhere between February and March. Don't be uneasy if you haven't received any form of communication from USAFA. Most of us haven't.

Hope this helps.

 

[USAFA_86]

Don’t think “I’m not good enough”. Have the confidence and say “My application is a true reflection of who I am.

This is perfect advice

 

[CaligulasHorse]

SAT:1490 ACT:34
Unweighted GPA 3.98 Weighted GPA:4.84 (4.84 displayed in portal)
No Rank
Varsity Nordic Ski 4 Years/Captain 2 years (Top 10 skier in state)
Varsity Ultimate Frisbee 4 years/Captain 3 years (led effort to make UF a varsity sport at my school, and led multiple fundraising drives)
Varsity XC runner senior year
Substantial volunteering with church, 3 years of 1 week mission trips

I teach XC skiing in the winter and work at a boat rental place in the summer (same company/boss for both jobs)
Both my ski coach and my boss wrote me glowing review letters, which I think were probably more important than many of my stats.

Final note: I was frustrated filling out the Candidate activities form because I had never heard of most of the things on there (Civil Air Patrol, Boys state/nation, PPL) and had never done JROTC or Scouts or anything, but I tried to focus in my interviews on how deeply I was involved with the things I did do (UF, skiing, volunteering).

I really have no idea why I received an early appointment, but the interviewer for my congressman made it sound like the slate of noms wasn't very competitive.

Good luck to everyone waiting!

 

[dogface51]

Hi.

I know you are unsure of yourself, but in my opinion comparing yourself to others isn’t the way to handle the anxiety and nerves while waiting to see if you receive an appointment to USAFA.

People who have received LOAs usually have stellar academics, but that doesn’t reflect every candidate. Every single aspect of your application is unique and when admissions is deciding who to send out an appointment to, USAFA looks at everything you put down and takes it into consideration. Seeing what others have won’t change what you have. Seeing what my SAT score isn't going to make yours more valuable. Seeing what my extra-cirrculars are isn't going to make yours less valuable. Seeing my candidate profile isn't going to affect your chances of admission. While it could put it at a state of peace, it could also make you even more anxious. To me, it just isn't worth.

Don’t think “I’m not good enough”. Have the confidence and say “My application is a true reflection of who I am. At the time and moment that I submitted it, I did everything in my ability to make myself a qualified candidate.” I have thought that since I have submitted it. I am an applicant myself and haven't received an appointment or LOA. And some days I do think "how do I compare? What do other people have?". But then I just remind myself of the points that I made.

The peak for self reported appointments I believe is somewhere between February and March. Don't be uneasy if you haven't received any form of communication from USAFA. Most of us haven't.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice! I will keep it in mind. However, I should have made myself more clear. I don't apply until next year, and I was more curious if there was anything else I should do/what test scores I should aim for to make myself more competitive. Thanks though, and good luck with your application!

 

[Volbeater7734]

Have no sports on my application at all. Looked at previous posts and was terrified of my chances. Now got a principal nom for one academy and LOA/nom for another. Focus on making your application the best it can possibly be. Only person who can stop you is you.

 

[venezuela]

Thanks for the advice! I will keep it in mind. However, I should have made myself more clear. I don't apply until next year, and I was more curious if there was anything else I should do/what test scores I should aim for to make myself more competitive. Thanks though, and good luck with your application!

DS visited USAFA 8th grade and throughout high school worried he wouldn't make it. He just followed his passions and did well in school, then showed motivation in his interviews and got a principal nom in a very competitive district.

Basically, there are no extra steps you need to do. Don't join an activity that doesn't interest you just to boost your resume. Challenge yourself in the 3 areas that the academy looks for--academic, physical, leadership--and it'll all fall into place.

 

[lukeL]

-GPA: 4.0 UW (took something like 9 AP classes over the course of HS)
- rank: 46/510
- SAT: 1380
- ECA's: Student Council officer, Math and science club, Academic Decathlon, YMCA Swim Instructor
- Varsity basketball for 2 years, team captain
- Boys State
- NHS, Math NHS, German NHS

That's a pretty basic overview of my app. Keep in mind that stats and ECA's are very important, but aren't everything in an application. IMO my interview and essays helped make my application stand out and get an early November appointment. Good luck to everyone applying!

 

[Ranchinmom]

4.0 / 4.8 gpa
SAT 1500
ACT 32
Class rank 1/220
Class President (x2)
Senior class VP
varsity track 3 yrs
Varsity water polo 4 years
Team captain x2
FFA
Summer camps

 

[GordonF2025]

4.5 GPA
ACT 34
Track 4 years
XC 4 years (team captain 2 years)
Student ambassador
Student government representative
Founded service organization
Summer jobs
NHS
Math honor society
National Spanish honor society
AP scholar with honor
Boys State
Eagle Scout
Student pilot

ECA’s are of course important but better to have depth within a few than too many that don’t lead to leadership opportunities.

 

[Swimmomstl]

36 ACT
3.69 UW/GPA
4 year Varsity Swimmer, 2x Captain, 3x State Finalist
12+years USA Swimming
SAME Scholarship Recipient
AP Scholar with Honor
National Merit Scholar
AP Physics, E&M, AP AB/BC/Vector Calculus, AP Mandarin, AP Psych, AP Chem
PPL
Women in Aviation
Type 1 AFROTC, Aero/Astro Engineering

 

[yellowfisherman]

Academics
GPA (UW/W): 4.0/4.5
SAT: 1510
Class Rank: 3/500
Relevant Coursework: AP Calc AB/BC, Calc 3, Linear Algebra, AP Stats, AP Physics 1&2, AP Chem, AP Lang, AP Lit, 4 years of Chinese
12 AP classes taken (including senior year courses)

Extracurriculars
Science Team President (In charge of logistics and we compete in regional tournaments)
Knitting Club Vice President (Embroider/Knit stuff to send to charities)
Marching Band (2 years, 1 year leadership)
JV Track (2 years)
Regional Youth Orchestra (4 years, performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall)
100 hours of volunteering
Officer of Math Honor Society (In charge of school-wide tutoring)
Fundraised $500 for Veteran non-profits
Officer of Music Honor Society

 

[T-37IP]

This is an excellent way to drive yourself crazy. There is much more to this process than just a math problem (extracurriculars plus academics equals some magic entry score). The way you present yourself during the interviews and other intangibles are equally, if not more, important. For example, my DS only has a 3.81 GPA and a 31 ACT BUT has an LOA/Appt/nom to USAFA, a nom to USMMA, and a very early appt to USCGA. His "whole person" is unique though. He lives with a very special needs brother, has lived most of his life globally with a unique set of experiences and circumstances. and is so well rounded he is a sphere. As silly as this sounds, "Be the best you, you can be" and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[You]

Agree with @T-37IP. For most of us, our chances at an appointment is just a crapshoot. The best you can really do is apply yourself to the things that you love, and always give 110%. They're looking grit and determination, not just a brainiac or a PT stud.

Also, try to make contact with your ALO and/or Air Force recruiters as early as possible. They are a great source of information, and they can help you get a better idea of which roads you should take in your AF career.