Hello everyone,
I thought I'd ask wisdom from like minded folks. My son has an appointment to USAFA and also received the Type 1 AF Rotc scholarship to Duke University. We asked a couple of younger usafa alumni what they would pick - they say if given such choice, they would pick Duke for the civilian side of it & bc duke is as prestigious as usafa (they're proud usafa alumni btw). Hwr, I'd like to ask older, more mature folks to weigh in. Both options are great, just looking for wise counsel on what's best in the long run. Have a great day!
My DD had to decide between USAFA, USNA, an Ivy, and a top tech school, had that type I AFROTC scholarship, which is at least as hard , if not harder, to get than admission to the 4 schools listed.
The biggest long term advantage of USAFA in my opinion is the bonding/friendships. When you put a class through a lot of crazy hardship, some productive, but at least some "toughness" for the sake of proving toughness, it cements human relationships together.
Down sides are injuries and the opportunity cost of what you could be doing with the 30% of your time at a SA that may be used on activities that don't actively help you achieve your goals.
30%? 20%? You have to figure that number for yourself. But certainly, there's a few more push-ups to do and parades to march in at a SA, or maybe a special team that is prestigious and "all-in" that takes 1000 hours, when you'd really like to devote 500 hours to it and 500 hours toward another goal, like learning a language or joining the robotics team.
And the academics of a SA are top 15%, maybe close to top 10%.
She chose the AFROTC Type 1 because:
1) Academics at school chosen are top 2% or better
2) Classmates at SA have avg ACT of about 30.5, where she's going it's 35. That's a crude measure, but it is meaningful. Elite schools like Duke have more than just an edge over academics at a SA they are a level above.
3) SAs build character, but my DD has a great character, and I believe her character after 4 yrs of AFRTOC will be as great as after a SA.
4) 1 yr less commitment. Either she wants to transition to civilian life, which means 1 more year of adding $60k+ to her income, OR she stays in AF. If you stay in AF, end of contract time is negotiating time!
5) SUMMERS -- at an elite school like Duke, there are many summer internship opportunities, PAID. Every year, she will apply to tons of those at her school and she was also apply to the AF offerings, like Project Go! Then she can pick the best thing that comes up each summer.
6) Diversity over 8 years -- AFROTC is 20% military for 4 years , then 100% military for next 4 years.
7) Less injury -- AFROTC is much less physically demanding, yet she can join a sports club or her Div 3 sports team and go all out on some sports. But she gets to control her schedule more, and less chance of real injuries that happen with all the unusual stress tests military does to you.
As for Yale cutting more than half its EAs -- I looked into that a bit and it's a shock. But, it also seemed that many of them were non-STEM. Type I means your kid has to be STEM, so this may not apply to you. Ivy's had an automatic promotion last 2 years than converted all type 2 and 7 to type Is. It looks to me like what happened at Yale was some History majors (impossible for type I) got cut. But, I do think this means the AF paid $100,000+ for 2 years of scholarship, then cut them, meaning they have to pay the next 2 years (- the fin aid they will now get), but have no 4 yr service commitment. If they really want AF, then I'm sure they will find a way, although it may take an extra year.
I have been persuaded that my DD will be just as valuable to the AF, if not more so, coming from her top tech school than from USAFA.
good luck!
Btw, some people seem to think USAFA is like some old movie about military schools. I have seen more pics of my DS eating a burrito and smiling in the last 3 months than I have in the prior 18 years of his life. Clearly USAFA cadets have less freedom, but they still have a really good time - its not like they don't have a college experience, its just a different version of what they might get at a civilian school. My other son recently witnessed a party off campus at his school turn into a mob that flipped cars over in the streets. So yeah, USAFA cadets will probably miss that type of partying, but there is a give and take.