Trying to become competitive

T

TryingMyBestHere

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I am a sophomore in high school that is trying to become competitive for the Air Force Academy. I do have B average grades, but have been trying to boost that to an A average and I am going to take advanced classes in my junior year. I have dabbled in wrestling and am planning baseball and soccer in the future. I am also part of a club that does a lot of volunteer work. I am thinking of trying to get into the National Honors Society. I am in my high schools Army JROTC program as a LET 2 cadet Sergeant. I still feel like I could be doing more, and am trying my best to be as competitive as possible. I emailed an Air Force Major that my counselor recommended to me and she gave me this website.
 
I highly do reccomend getting into NHS because you can learn a lot from it. And if you are looking for more things to do try to see if you can join a Boy Scout troop and go for leadership positions. Practice a lot for your SAT and ACT. Pursue varsity in the sports you are doing or going to do. Good luck and work hard
 
Load up on difficult classes jr year. You should finish hs with calc 1 under your belt. APs are better if available. Start taking SAT and/or ACT. Sports with leadership is needed. Work with JROTC instuctor and discuss possible staff positions. Slide below is from summer seminar presentation showing weight of elements for admission. As you can see, academics is critical.IMG-20220819-WA0001.jpg
 
MDRDV said:
Load up on difficult classes jr year. You should finish hs with calc 1 under your belt. APs are better if available. Start taking SAT and/or ACT. Sports with leadership is needed. Work with JROTC instuctor and discuss possible staff positions. Slide below is from summer seminar presentation showing weight of elements for admission. As you can see, academics is critical.View attachment 13412
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Do you know how important the SAT is? I feel like I an really good in all the other departments it is just that I scored an 1140 (570 on math and reading section). I want to know if its possible for me to get an appointment to the Academy and not just the prep school.
 
rod said:
Do you know how important the SAT is? I feel like I an really good in all the other departments it is just that I scored an 1140 (570 on math and reading section). I want to know if its possible for me to get an appointment to the Academy and not just the prep school.
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The academy can super score, so you can re take the SAT to get better scores in different sections.
 
rod said:
Do you know how important the SAT is? I feel like I an really good in all the other departments it is just that I scored an 1140 (570 on math and reading section). I want to know if its possible for me to get an appointment to the Academy and not just the prep school.
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The value of the SAT is constantly debated and whether or not it is a real estimate of the ability to handle a college curriculum is at best debatable.
I am a professor at a polytechnic university and have been around the SAT discussion with leaders within the academic departments and there is generally a lot of disdain for the tests themselves.
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That said, when I have asked SCIENCE AND MATH Professors if there is a minimum Math SAT score that they think as a minimum to get through our program, the only debate is what the number is. FYI, the number I often heard was 600 but some thought higher. By the way, our "program" of required courses is less rigorous than USNA (or USAFA and USMA).
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Is this an hard and fast line in the sand? Of course not but understand that the numbers are not meaningless and you should know that maybe the prep school is the best place for you if USAFA is your dream.
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Good Luck
 
rod said:
Do you know how important the SAT is? I feel like I an really good in all the other departments it is just that I scored an 1140 (570 on math and reading section). I want to know if its possible for me to get an appointment to the Academy and not just the prep school.
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From what I recall in the presentation, SAT is their only objective element to score for academics. GPA differs based on many factors. That said, SAT is important if you come from a competitive region. Math is looked at more so and should be around 700 to be competitive for direct appointment. There isn't a fixed threshold, but you are weighed against all the other 3Q candidates. For example, if you are the only nominee for your nomination source, you're golden. If there are 10 nominees out of 200 seeking a nomination, you're current score isn't going to make the cut.
 
@TryingMyBestHere - the slide above calls out the weighting and that should map to your plan. As a sophomore with 3 of 8 semesters in the books, a B average is something that can be overcome. My question would be whether the B average is in ON LEVEL classes, Honors, AP, or IB? I liken the admissions process to a 3-legged stool of Academics, Fitness, and Extracurricular. You need to be good in each area and generally considered GREAT in one of the areas for an offer of appointment. Understanding that you have deficient areas today is where I would start. have a plan to get the grades up. A stellar standardized test score can potentially offset an ugly transcript because it shows aptitude.

Academic - get a plan to turbo charge your grades from here out. It may mean tutoring and out of school help.
Fitness - pick a team and stick with it. Do not dabble. If you want "varsity athlete" on the resume, you have work to do.
Leadership - JROTC is great and you have room to advance and grow here.

Adding more to your plate does not sound like a recipe for success based on what you have communicated here. Focusing on what you already do and being excellent at this could prove beneficial for your application.
 
Speaking from my own experience observing DS on his journey. Be careful not to spread yourself thin with too many sports and extra curriculars. Pick one or two sports and do it well. Find one or two activities with leadership opportunities and climb up that ladder as high as you can. You want to be competitive, but better yet make the academy notice you (in a good way of course). Find your strength and make it shine. Consider alternate plan, AFROTC is a good option.
 
You've received good advice, but I just wanted to echo the QUALITY over QUANTITY advice that you have been given.

Being excellent (star player, team captain, etc) in one sport is better than just playing a bunch of them
Having an impactful leadership role in JROTC is better than being a JROTC member and an NHS member

The point is, only add more activities if the ones you are in don't interest you/won't lead to leadership and you need to make a change. Pick what you love to do and then spend your time to excel there (and boost those academics)
 
rod said:
Do you know how important the SAT is? I feel like I an really good in all the other departments it is just that I scored an 1140 (570 on math and reading section). I want to know if its possible for me to get an appointment to the Academy and not just the prep school.
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from the USAFA website, under the academic requirements. "Students who score below 620 Evidence-based reading and writing or below 580 math on the SAT reasoning test and below 24 English/reading and 25 math/science on the ACT normally will not be competitive for an appointment directly into the Academy. However, they will be considered for the prep school or a Falcon Foundation Scholarship."
Based on that you should do what you can to raise your standardized test scores. Hope that helps.
 
NavyHopefulMom2027 said:
from the USAFA website, under the academic requirements. "Students who score below 620 Evidence-based reading and writing or below 580 math on the SAT reasoning test and below 24 English/reading and 25 math/science on the ACT normally will not be competitive for an appointment directly into the Academy. However, they will be considered for the prep school or a Falcon Foundation Scholarship."
Based on that you should do what you can to raise your standardized test scores. Hope that helps.
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Unfortuanely an 1140 is the highest I have gotten on the SAT after 2 retakes and there are no more SAT's. There is an ACT on Febuary 11th but I do not know if it will be too late. Thank you
 
rod said:
Unfortuanely an 1140 is the highest I have gotten on the SAT after 2 retakes and there are no more SAT's. There is an ACT on Febuary 11th but I do not know if it will be too late. Thank you
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The Academy website mentions that ACT/SAT scores reported in February may, or may not get to them in time, it is a unique basis per candidate I'd say, but I think they are referring to people who have taken their tests in December or January.
 
rod said:
Unfortuanely an 1140 is the highest I have gotten on the SAT after 2 retakes and there are no more SAT's. There is an ACT on Febuary 11th but I do not know if it will be too late. Thank you
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DD discussed Feb 11th ACT with her ALO and BGO. Both responded they would get the results this cycle and superscore. March results from the SAT would be too late. You can email admissions or your ALO to verify. Not a lot of time to prep though.
 
Not sure if there is a squadron in your area, but I would recommend considering Civil Air Patrol. You mentioned being in AJROTC. I am in AJROTC and CAP, and in my experience CAP provides more cadet led leadership opportunities as well as emergency service and aerospace programs. With that being said, I've found that the two programs compliment each other well. Don't overexert yourself though, make sure you can handle the time commitment.

Other than that, the advice that I wish someone would have given me is to practice all of the CFA events and prep for taking the SAT/ACT. You would be surprised how much 15-20 min a day on a prep website/practicing for the CFA will improve your scores. I used Khan Academy's SAT prep. Find what works for you and stay consistent. Good luck!
 
TryingMyBestHere said:
I am a sophomore in high school that is trying to become competitive for the Air Force Academy. I do have B average grades, but have been trying to boost that to an A average and I am going to take advanced classes in my junior year. I have dabbled in wrestling and am planning baseball and soccer in the future. I am also part of a club that does a lot of volunteer work. I am thinking of trying to get into the National Honors Society. I am in my high schools Army JROTC program as a LET 2 cadet Sergeant. I still feel like I could be doing more, and am trying my best to be as competitive as possible. I emailed an Air Force Major that my counselor recommended to me and she gave me this website.
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If you can, try to run for student council. For one, it is a great experience, and I believe it is a great automatic plus to have in the leadership category. Something to consider! From a peer point of view, I feel like you have a great start to your profile. Those above have more qualified opinions though :)!
 
TryingMyBestHere said:
I am a sophomore in high school that is trying to become competitive for the Air Force Academy. I do have B average grades, but have been trying to boost that to an A average and I am going to take advanced classes in my junior year. I have dabbled in wrestling and am planning baseball and soccer in the future. I am also part of a club that does a lot of volunteer work. I am thinking of trying to get into the National Honors Society. I am in my high schools Army JROTC program as a LET 2 cadet Sergeant. I still feel like I could be doing more, and am trying my best to be as competitive as possible. I emailed an Air Force Major that my counselor recommended to me and she gave me this website.
Click to expand...
My best advice is to ask yourself why you want to join the military. Do you know what you are getting into? Are you aware of all the rules and restrictions they have at the service academy? I hate to see young men and women are so motivated to get in, only to find out later that they don't quite fit in. Dislike all the rules and regulations, etc. This past year was an eye-opener for us parents and our cadets. The stress we went through during the application process is minor compared to the stress we are going through while they are at the academy. If you have not seen the A Year in Blue documentary, I suggest you should. talk and discuss with your parents at length, before you decide to apply. Once you've decided, stick with it no matter what. Think of the big picture of why you want to be there.
 
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