Prior-Enlisted/LEAD Program Questions

[Park535]

Hello,

I am interested in applying to the Air Force Academy via the LEAD Program, but I have a couple of questions if anybody would mind answering.

1.) Would I have to get in contact with my High School counselor and teachers again for the extracurricular/teacher evaluation section of the application?
2.) Does USAFA accept ACT/SAT scores from 2017/2018 or will I have to retake them?
3.) Am I even eligible to apply to USAFA being enlisted for only 7 months?
4.) When does the application for the Class of 2026 start?

I would love to get in contact with somebody who was prior-enlisted and got accepted.

Thank you!

 

[USAFA10s]

This is linked on the USAFA admissions page - a good place to start. Plenty of successful LEAD applicants on here though, so I'm sure in time some will reach out.

https://www.academyadmissions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-USAFA-LEAD-Handbook_FINAL-APPROVED-with-signed-letter-v2.pdf

These answers took me about 5 minutes to pull together:

1. I don't think so...your letters of evaluation will likely come from your chain of command
2. Yes - scores can be up to 5 years old, but you may want to retake if they need improvement (page 5)
3. Page 239 of this https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afman36-2032/afman36-2032.pdf - if you are at 7 months now, you should be fine, I think the requirement is 1 year
4. 1 March - page 3, timetable

 

[Sprinter00]

Hello,

I am interested in applying to the Air Force Academy via the LEAD Program, but I have a couple of questions if anybody would mind answering.

1.) Would I have to get in contact with my High School counselor and teachers again for the extracurricular/teacher evaluation section of the application?
2.) Does USAFA accept ACT/SAT scores from 2017/2018 or will I have to retake them?
3.) Am I even eligible to apply to USAFA being enlisted for only 7 months?
4.) When does the application for the Class of 2026 start?

I would love to get in contact with somebody who was prior-enlisted and got accepted.

Thank you!

I am currently a LEAD applicant for the class of 2025, and have not received an appointment yet.

1. I am not sure, but you might have to. I was homeschooled, so I got in contact with my few teachers to get the info I needed.
2. They take scores from the past five years, so unless you want to get a better score on one of them you will be fine.
3. You have to have served 1 year at your duty station by the time you would leave for USAFA, so class of 2026 you will be well past that.
4. March 1st of this year.
I didn't decide to start applying until November, so I missed all the deadlines for most of the nominations, so that would be my main advice to you. Get the AF1786 signed by your commander as soon as possible, and apply for all the other nomination categories early. A large majority of LEAD applicants get sent to the Prep School just based off the fact that we have not been in school for a year or two. I've been told getting more nominations is one of the big factors in getting direct appointment instead of prep school, and wish that I had decided to apply earlier in the process. Good Luck!

 

[Park535]

I am currently a LEAD applicant for the class of 2025, and have not received an appointment yet.

1. I am not sure, but you might have to. I was homeschooled, so I got in contact with my few teachers to get the info I needed.
2. They take scores from the past five years, so unless you want to get a better score on one of them you will be fine.
3. You have to have served 1 year at your duty station by the time you would leave for USAFA, so class of 2026 you will be well past that.
4. March 1st of this year.
I didn't decide to start applying until November, so I missed all the deadlines for most of the nominations, so that would be my main advice to you. Get the AF1786 signed by your commander as soon as possible, and apply for all the other nomination categories early. A large majority of LEAD applicants get sent to the Prep School just based off the fact that we have not been in school for a year or two. I've been told getting more nominations is one of the big factors in getting direct appointment instead of prep school, and wish that I had decided to apply earlier in the process. Good Luck!

For your AF Form 1786, was it easy to get a signature from your commander or did you have to stand out from other Airmen? My problem is I've only been at this base for 3 months, so there's not a lot of things I've done to stand out and prove myself to be a LEAD applicant.

 

[AFrpaso]

For your AF Form 1786, was it easy to get a signature from your commander or did you have to stand out from other Airmen? My problem is I've only been at this base for 3 months, so there's not a lot of things I've done to stand out and prove myself to be a LEAD applicant.

The AF Form 1786 is due no later than 31 Jan of the year of entry. For you that is over 11 months away.

Every commander and aspiring applicant is different. What may have been easy for others could be difficult for you and vise versa.

 

[Sprinter00]

For your AF Form 1786, was it easy to get a signature from your commander or did you have to stand out from other Airmen? My problem is I've only been at this base for 3 months, so there's not a lot of things I've done to stand out and prove myself to be a LEAD applicant.

Mine was interesting. My commander was on deployment until December, and didn't return to post until January, so physically getting the signature and talking with her just cut the deadline pretty close. That being said, I have only been at my base post-training for a little over a year, and I only ever met my commander once before this time. I got the signature no problem, just had to sit and talk so she could get to know me, have my supervisor vouch for my work ethic and leadership, and do the evaluation.

As far as standing out, I would just make sure you do everything you can to do extra. If you don't have work to do, go find someone in a different area or shop that you can help or learn something from. It's the best way to make yourself more well rounded, and get more people that know your name and can speak well of you.

Most of the commanders that I have met are more than glad to talk to you about this sort of thing, especially if they were prior enlisted themselves. If they are doing their job, they will want the best for your career, and this sort of opportunity is not taken advantage of very often. Obviously it varies by commander, but if they are looking for you to succeed, the signature should not be hard to get.