Hello, current Falcon Foundation Scholar here. Here's how the Falcon Foundation Scholarship works: when you apply to USAFA, if admissions thinks that you are not competitive enough for a direct appointment (for a wide variety of reasons, for me I have a feeling it was test scores) but they still want you, you may be considered for a spot at the USAFA Prep School (actually on the USAFA campus in CO Springs, a lot of recruited athletes go there, however, some are not), or a Falcon Foundation Scholarship. There is no separate application to apply for a Foundation Scholarship, it is all included in with your USAFA application. In fact, if you scroll to the bottom of your USAFA portal, you will see a list of organizations that may see your USAFA application, and the Falcon Foundation is included in that list.
Anyway, if you are one of the lucky 60-70 applicants offered one of these scholarships, TAKE IT. Some of my friends that are Falcons at my prep school with me said that they received a USAFA rejection letter, and then their scholarship offer came in later. Personally, I never received a rejection, just the Falcon Foundation Scholarship offer. Just keep on the lookout.
This scholarship is often referred to as a "golden ticket." In meetings that I have been in with the foundation directors say that as long as we stay focused and do what we are supposed to do, we have a spot at USAFA in the Class of 2025 (of course if you slack off and don't do what you are supposed to, you won't make it). In regards to picking the school, there are five to choose from I believe, and YOU make the choice. There is NWP, MMI, RMA, NMMI, and GMC, links to these schools are on the Falcon Foundation website.
In my personal opinion, this has definitely been the better route for me. Spending this year to brush up on the academics that the academy wants us to know when we arrive on I-Day, has been amazing. We also focus a lot on the CFA as well, as we are required to complete the entire USAFA application over again during the Falcon Foundation year, with the exception of the essay, and the interview. We are still required to re-obtain a nomination, and of course pass the CFA (you won't just pass however, as I took mine yesterday, and had improvement in every single event from last year).
I also like to note, that if an academy is truly your goal, you can still go to some of these prep schools as a "Free Agent," as I mentioned earlier, only 60-70 Falcon Foundation Scholarships are given to the nearly 11,000 people who apply to USAFA every year. I know that my prep school, NWP, has a great number of students as free agents, and there is absolutely ZERO difference in the instruction we receive. Everyone is treated the same, and everyone has a great bond.
So I hope that this clears up your question, if you have any further questions, you can either leave a response here, or feel free to PM me.