USAFA Class of 2016 Profile

If I read this correctly, only 2 appointees said no.
 
If I read this correctly, only 2 appointees said no.

181 said no.

1,214 offers from 2,331 qualified candidates.

Pretty good chance (52%) if you are in the "3Q+nom" category.
 
181 said no.

1,214 offers from 2,331 qualified candidates.

Pretty good chance (52%) if you are in the "3Q+nom" category.

My DS was one of the 2331 "qualified" candidates because they o.k.ed the waiver process. If he didn't impress admissions, he would never been offered a waiver option. Putting it another way, there are a lot of potentially qualified candidates through the waiver process but the USAFA didn't want to bother. Hence, they are "unqualified" medically but never given a change to be qualified like my DS.

On average, most kids that apply are smart, athletic, and overall better candidates than the average kids applying to a state college. So that average kid with a 22 ACT didn't bother trying to apply. They know better.
 
Last edited:
Remember; it's the TOTAL PACKAGE. Of the 8000+ "CANDIDATES" many who weren't part of that 2331 qualified, were because they didn't receive a nomination. Remember, there are 4 phases. 1)Prospect; 2)Applicant; 3)Candidate; 4)Appointee.

Out of the 8000+, some will have nominations but aren't qualified. (Academically, physically, or medically). Some will be qualified but did receive a nominations. We have seen first hand, even individuals WITH an LOA, not receive an appointment because they didn't get a nomination. It is not uncommon for an applicant's representative to have 50-100 nomination applications. They can only give 10. And it's not uncommon for a state like california; texas; virginia; etc... for the senators to have a few hundred applications for nomination. Again; they can only give 10.

So when you are applying, just getting to be one of the 2331 (In this case) is a great honor. It is not uncommon to see thousands of qualified individuals not receive a nomination. Work hard and best of luck to those applying for 2017.
 
My DS was one of the 2331 "qualified" candidates because they o.k.ed the waiver process. If he didn't impress admissions, he would never been offered a waiver option. Putting it another way, there are a lot of potentially qualified candidates through the waiver process but the USAFA didn't want to bother. Hence, they are "unqualified" medically but never given a change to be qualified like my DS.

Yes, scholastically unqualified candidates are not considered for waivers anymore.

Unless they are D-1 recruited athletes.

They will go the Prep, often with academic numbers far below what we may deem as an "impressive" academic profile.

MN-Dad-2016 said:
On average, most kids that apply are smart, athletic, and overall better candidates than the average kids applying to a state college. So that average kid with a 22 ACT didn't bother trying to apply. They know better.

No, there are many in the "average kid with the 22 ACT" category - they are counted in the inflated "applicant" number of 12,274. As is anyone who fills out their name and address before stopping.

As only a qualified candidate is eligible for appointment, the "3Q + Nom" category is the only number worth looking at when gauging your chances of appointment. That is the true applicant pool. You don't compete with unqualified applicants.

:cool:
 
Last edited:
Regarding class appointments of 1035

I know that some students were "no shows" on I-Day. I think that there may have been as many as 5 "no shows" this year. Are they counted in the number of 1035, so did 1030 actually arrive at the campus for I Day?
Also, what is the current clas size for Acceptance Day?
Thanks for all of the helful information.
I am so proud of all of the cadets that did well during BCT and are excited to be awarded their shoulder boards on Acceptance Day. I know that all of the parents of these soon-to-be cadets are PROUD!!!
 
Yes, scholastically unqualified candidates are not considered for waivers anymore.

Unless they are D-1 recruited athletes.

They will go the Prep, often with academic numbers far below what we may deem as an "impressive" academic profile.

:cool:

The way it was explained to me is that any candidates with a low internal score will not be considered for a waiver anymore. So scholastically unqualified is one reason why they do not offer a waiver.


No, there are many in the "average kid with the 22 ACT" category - they are counted in the inflated "applicant" number of 12,274. As is anyone who fills out their name and address before stopping.

:cool:

We both know there will be examples of kids with an average 22 ACT that will apply. Some kids with that average ACT will apply to Stanford (36,000 students "applied" to Stanford). With standard applications, many other schools now have inflated numbers. This is the new standard. The last time I checked, you can only attend one school. For instance, my DD is applying to dental school. At the UofMN, 1000 kids apply for 95 seats. That sounds tough and impressive until you learn the average dental student applies to 7 colleges.:wink:

But statistically, smarter kids apply to harder colleges. 22 ACT kids that apply to harder admission colleges are statistical outliers. Without being privy to the statistics, I can guarantee that the average ACT scores applying to the USAFA is high (a lot fewer 22 ACT's).
 
As only a qualified candidate is eligible for appointment, the "3Q + Nom" category is the only number worth looking at when gauging your chances of appointment. That is the true applicant pool. You don't compete with unqualified applicants.

:cool:

I see your point. :) But as CC pointed out, getting to that "3Q + Nom" is challenging. The pool has also been trimmed because they don't waste their time with waivering just anyone.

The bar is raising every year. It seems the smart kids are smarter. Putting it another way in a personal example, I wouldn't have a chance to get into my college and it was competitive back then. I will extrapolate that to the SA's. An AFA alumni told me he wouldn't have a chance to get into the latest few USAFA classes. Not only because they trimmed the class size but as importantly, kids are smarter and more athletic.
 
Back
Top