Reapplicant Questions

[Pretzel01]

Hey all,

I will be a college freshman this fall and will be reapplying to USAFA c/o 2025. I was wondering if there is anyone who can answer some of these questions for me (as far as I'm aware my ALO hasn't dealt with a reapplicant yet):

1. Since my portal opens on July 1st, will that mean that the rolling deadline starts on that date? Or do not all reapplicants' portals (re)open on the same day?

2. I assume that the essay prompts will be different than those for c/o 2024 - would it be in my best interest to wait until I have more "life happen" (i.e. college, AFROTC, college sports, etc.) to write responses? My main concern is that based on last years questions, I won't have anything new to write about.

3. In terms of academic evaluation - will I be submitting these evaluations using the same teachers I did last year? (It's been far too long to assume that I can rely on an 11th grade teacher to evaluate me). Or can I wait and use a college professor (mid-semester) to complete those - any advice with this question particularly is helpful!

I'm 100% confident I'll have more questions - thanks to everyone for all of the help last cycle! I'm sure I'll be coming back here quite frequently in the next few months!

 

[Pretzel01]

Oh, and for a little bit of context - in terms of strengthening my application this fall - I'll be taking Calc III (multivariable, woo hoo!), Physics II (electrostatics) and chem I (gen chem - a class I think hurt my app last year because I didn't have it). I have already completed (and exceeded) the english requirement for the college I'm attending (via dual-enrollment), but if anyone has suggestions as to how to improve on the "english class" suggestion on the TWE I'd appreciate it!

 

[usafaco9496]

Hey all,

I will be a college freshman this fall and will be reapplying to USAFA c/o 2025. I was wondering if there is anyone who can answer some of these questions for me (as far as I'm aware my ALO hasn't dealt with a reapplicant yet):

1. Since my portal opens on July 1st, will that mean that the rolling deadline starts on that date? Or do not all reapplicants' portals (re)open on the same day?

2. I assume that the essay prompts will be different than those for c/o 2024 - would it be in my best interest to wait until I have more "life happen" (i.e. college, AFROTC, college sports, etc.) to write responses? My main concern is that based on last years questions, I won't have anything new to write about.

3. In terms of academic evaluation - will I be submitting these evaluations using the same teachers I did last year? (It's been far too long to assume that I can rely on an 11th grade teacher to evaluate me). Or can I wait and use a college professor (mid-semester) to complete those - any advice with this question particularly is helpful!

I'm 100% confident I'll have more questions - thanks to everyone for all of the help last cycle! I'm sure I'll be coming back here quite frequently in the next few months!

1. All reapplicant portals open 7/1.
2. Essay questions were the same for 2023 & 2024, so I’m assuming they will be for 2025, or similar. You’ll definitely have more to write about for the rejection topic. My DS improved/changed all three over the course of the summer. I’d suggest you get it done before you begin college.
3. My DS used his college professors for his evaluators the second time around.
I think the most helpful addition to his reapplication process is that he joined AFROTC. Great preparation plus it showed his commitment to serve.
Good luck!

 

[Pretzel01]

1. All reapplicant portals open 7/1.
2. Essay questions were the same for 2023 & 2024, so I’m assuming they will be for 2025, or similar. You’ll definitely have more to write about for the rejection topic. My DS improved/changed all three over the course of the summer. I’d suggest you get it done before you begin college.
3. My DS used his college professors for his evaluators the second time around.
I think the most helpful addition to his reapplication process is that he joined AFROTC. Great preparation plus it showed his commitment to serve.
Good luck!

Thanks so much for all the advice! I too will be doing AFROTC and look forward to using it as a learning opportunity (and of course another potential nomination source).

In terms of essays, did your DS do both (all three) before he entered the college semester? Or did he wait until he had some experiences with ROTC and all?

~Thanks again for all the help!~

 

[Aldo.dector]

Thanks so much for all the advice! I too will be doing AFROTC and look forward to using it as a learning opportunity (and of course another potential nomination source).

In terms of essays, did your DS do both (all three) before he entered the college semester? Or did he wait until he had some experiences with ROTC and all?

~Thanks again for all the help!~

As a 2024 reapplicant, I’d recommend waiting until later in the semester/ year to write them. I opened my application as soon as I was able to and my due date was 1/31/20. I think the due date is different for reapplicants because they have to submit their final transcripts.

 

[Pretzel01]

As a 2024 reapplicant, I’d recommend waiting until later in the semester/ year to write them. I opened my application as soon as I was able to and my due date was 1/31/20. I think the due date is different for reapplicants because they have to submit their final transcripts.

Ah - that definitely makes sense. Yeah, I plan on having my essays generally laid out this July and then finish them in September or October.

~Thanks!

 

[usafaco9496]

Ah - that definitely makes sense. Yeah, I plan on having my essays generally laid out this July and then finish them in September or October.

~Thanks!

This is the best plan....brainstorm and rough draft your essays then add details and activities later. My DS did get them done ahead of time in the summer, though. He was really busy during the year away so that worked best for him. Awesome that you’re doing ROTC. The best thing that happened for my DS is that he loved ROTC and the balance of military and civilian life, so the second time around for the application process was a breeze. It was a Win-Win. He would’ve been happy to keep going with ROTC. Fortunately, his dream came true and I credit his ROTC as the biggest contributor.

 

[Bash On]

Ah - that definitely makes sense. Yeah, I plan on having my essays generally laid out this July and then finish them in September or October.

My DD was a successful reapplicant (different SA) and was in ROTC. It's my understanding that all the SAs want to see your first semester grades before reviewing your college reapplicant application. If that's correct for the AFA also, there's no need to rush your essays. In DD's case, she didn't finalize her essays until after the first semester (worked on them over Christmas break). Like DD, I bet you'll have a lot of growth, new experiences, and a fresh perspective from your first taste of college and ROTC. Take full advantage of that for your reapplication essays.

 

[kinnem]

+1 to Bash On. One course that is often taken first semester freshman year is English Composition. Having that under your belt might help improve your essay.... or not.

 

[Pretzel01]

Thanks for the advice - @kinnem: I was looking into that, but since I've already taken a college level english comp class (equivalent of USAFA's ENGL 111) as a dual-enrollment student, the next level of english course is intermediate literary analysis at the 200 level. And I don't think taking that class is the wisest investment of my time given the class schedule I already have...

 

[kinnem]

Thanks for the advice - @kinnem: I was looking into that, but since I've already taken a college level english comp class (equivalent of USAFA's ENGL 111) as a dual-enrollment student, the next level of english course is intermediate literary analysis at the 200 level. And I don't think taking that class is the wisest investment of my time given the class schedule I already have...

Cool