Why The USAFA??

FalconsRock said:
Rogers, just keep thinking of your goal and don't back down. You will be great!
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Thank you! My goal right now is to finish strong and to take my ACT/SAT one more time. (My testing window is small being a senior and going to USAFA) but I feel I could use some improvement! Even if USAFA doesn't care if I happen to score better, I care! Going in hard!
 
All these stories are amazing! Just goes to show that everyone has a story to tell. I just feel like I want to hug you all! I wish you all the best and just from what I read from each and every one of you, I have a feeling that you will succeed at anything you put your heart into. As a retired Naval officer, I take such pride in you, the young men and women that will carry the torch for our future. I have become your biggest fan! (Well, in my mind, I know that you have others that support you), but I am rooting for all of you in your future endeavors! Aim High! :0)
 
Boozebin said:
My DS falls into the "I've always wanted to go there" category.
The best story I have about wanting to go is that he didn't get his nomination and knew he didn't get in, so he started getting set to go to another University that he did get accepted to. Then he got his letter for Prep School, but at this point he switched gears and had his mind to go else where and wasn't prepared for that twist.

Boozebin- How did get offered a spot in the prep school without a nomination??? What a great story!!! Is your DS currently at the academy, and if so what year???
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FalconsRock said:
All these stories are amazing! Just goes to show that everyone has a story to tell. I just feel like I want to hug you all! I wish you all the best and just from what I read from each and every one of you, I have a feeling that you will succeed at anything you put your heart into. As a retired Naval officer, I take such pride in you, the young men and women that will carry the torch for our future. I have become your biggest fan! (Well, in my mind, I know that you have others that support you), but I am rooting for all of you in your future endeavors! Aim High! :0)
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I'm glad this thread is being enjoyed :) and thank you!
 
Rogers, thanks for the info on the SAT/ACT. My daughter makes the cut off. She plans on applying for the USAFA as well as AFROTC. Just good to know that she can compete. I can't believe the wealth of information that is available on this forum.:yikes:
 
FalconsRock said:
Rogers, thanks for the info on the SAT/ACT. My daughter makes the cut off. She plans on applying for the USAFA as well as AFROTC. Just good to know that she can compete. I can't believe the wealth of information that is available on this forum.:yikes:
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You're welcome! I hope she achieves all her goals!
 
Have not mastered the "reply" yet.....in case you didn't see in previous post....

Boozebin- How did get offered a spot in the prep school without a nomination??? What a great story!!! Is your DS currently at the academy, and if so what year???
 
What a great story!!!! For those that need that little push to encourage them to do well in their senior year, or for those who can realize becoming enlisted, can have positive attributes!! Are you currently at the academy, or entering in 2019? Congratulations to you, for such an awesome achievement!!!!



AmenToThat said:
I like this thread, always fun to hear others reasons and motivation for applying.

As an 8th grader I flew out to USAFA to see my sister graduate. Anyone who has been to an Academy graduation knows, if that does not make you want to attend then I do not think anything will! However it was not just Thunderbirds that made an impression on me. The camaraderie she had with her fellow classmates made them a family. That type of bond was something I knew I wanted. Also I knew, at that time, that I wanted to be a military pilot and the best way to get a slot is through an Academy. High school flashes by and I am sitting on a 27 NS ACT fall of my senior year. What I thought at the time was that there was no way I would be able to get into USAFA so I began to pursue state college and ROTC. Senior slide began to kick in and my grades slipped and overall just was not a very motivated individual. I get into the state school however did not receive a ROTC scholarship. My parents offered to pay my first year tuition if I promised to not repeat my senior year attitude. I felt like I wasn't mature enough to handle college at the time and I did not want to waste my parents money so I looked into enlisting in the AF since the military was something I still wanted to pursue. My sister then told me about enlisted airman have the opportunity to attend USAFA. After looking into it, my dream of attending USAFA became very real again and it lit a fire under me. Graduated HS, swore in and waited 6 awful months in DEP waiting for a job to drop and to ship to basic. Being an airman has been the greatest time of my life. I have matured greatly, learned an awesome AFSC, work with great people, appointed to USAFA, all while being paid! I was once very ignorant and thought people enlisted as a last resort type deal. I have since learned about what it means to be enlisted and have great pride in my enlisted heritage. Having this knowledge of E's will make me a better O in the end. So roundabout way to USAFA but would not change a thing! Sorry for the wall of text.

tl:dr: camaraderie, pilot slot, free education, and actively drinking the blue kool-aid!
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Momof4 said:
Boozebin- How did get offered a spot in the prep school without a nomination??? What a great story!!! Is your DS currently at the academy, and if so what year???
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I've learned with my DD that you don't need a nomination for the prep.
 
Momof4 said:
What a great story!!!! For those that need that little push to encourage them to do well in their senior year, or for those who can realize becoming enlisted, can have positive attributes!! Are you currently at the academy, or entering in 2019? Congratulations to you, for such an awesome achievement!!!!
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Thank you ma'am! Currently stationed in Oklahoma, will be entering this June!
 
I never realized that. I feel that there is such a wealth of information on this process, that I cannot retain all of it!! Information overload... They have said that there is something they see in the candidate, but they are missing something which is why they are offered prep. Wow, that's great that she still had an opportunity!! As we get closer to those receiving appointments, I am hoping that if my son does not receive an appointment, he will be offered acceptance to the prep school!!!! Congrats to your DD!!!
Annamaria said:
I've learned with my DD that you don't need a nomination for the prep.
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As I graduated high school I realized that I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I'd flipped between random careers like architect, lawyer, math professor, and geneticist. I found myself stagnating slightly. I didn't go to a four year college. I just couldn't afford it. My financial hardship put me in a situation to have tuition paid for at the local community college and I jumped on that while working nearly full time at a locally owned video store. One day a old friend of mine walked in to rent a movie and we struck up a conversation which somehow moved to military pilots. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was so excited that I researched the process for hours trying to figure out how to get all my ducks lined up just right. I took some intro private flying lessons, applied to my local state college and AFROTC unit, and planned out much of the process.

Later I found out I was rejected from the ROTC detachment I had applied to. I was pretty devastated especially since I hadn't been this excited about a future career. I decided to enlist instead. I knew that the possibility of being a pilot was nonexistent, but I was okay with that. By that point I'd already decided that spending at least some time in the military would be good for my character and future. I was assigned as an RPA Sensor Operator (that's where my screen name comes from -> Air Force Remotely Piloted Aircraft Sensor Operator) at Creech AFB, NV. I still only had a year of college and I knew finishing a degree would be very important for the future so I visited the base education office. That's when I saw the AFA brochure.

I worked with my base ALO and knocked out the application very quickly. The admissions office had extended the deadline for enlisted Airmen in an effort to get more applications. I was told I was competitive for direct entry and essentially "be ready to get appointed". But guess what? I didn't. My commander pulled me aside and informed me of the bad news. I was not accepted for direct entry and the year of community college overqualified me for the prep school. Again, I was pretty devastated. By that time I had found this forum and expressed my disappoint in one of the LEAD applicant threads. A few hours later a member here sent me a private message. They were involved in the admissions office and had pulled some strings. I was going to the Prep School! I didn't care that it was an extra year. In fact, that extra year gave such a good academic foundation that now I'm very highly ranked within my class. I'll be a junior come May and finally over the hump. I know longer want to be a pilot, instead I've set my sights on developmental engineering and want to eventually work for NASA, Boeing or maybe even SpaceX (if they even start looking for ex-military engineers).

So that's my story. I feel like I have a certain connection to this forum. Without it, I likely would never have been able to get to the Academy. I like to stick around and help when I can.
 
AFrpaso said:
As I graduated high school I realized that I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I'd flipped between random careers like architect, lawyer, math professor, and geneticist. I found myself stagnating slightly. I didn't go to a four year college. I just couldn't afford it. My financial hardship put me in a situation to have tuition paid for at the local community college and I jumped on that while working nearly full time at a locally owned video store. One day a old friend of mine walked in to rent a movie and we struck up a conversation which somehow moved to military pilots. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was so excited that I researched the process for hours trying to figure out how to get all my ducks lined up just right. I took some intro private flying lessons, applied to my local state college and AFROTC unit, and planned out much of the process.

Later I found out I was rejected from the ROTC detachment I had applied to. I was pretty devastated especially since I hadn't been this excited about a future career. I decided to enlist instead. I knew that the possibility of being a pilot was nonexistent, but I was okay with that. By that point I'd already decided that spending at least some time in the military would be good for my character and future. I was assigned as an RPA Sensor Operator (that's where my screen name comes from -> Air Force Remotely Piloted Aircraft Sensor Operator) at Creech AFB, NV. I still only had a year of college and I knew finishing a degree would be very important for the future so I visited the base education office. That's when I saw the AFA brochure.

I worked with my base ALO and knocked out the application very quickly. The admissions office had extended the deadline for enlisted Airmen in an effort to get more applications. I was told I was competitive for direct entry and essentially "be ready to get appointed". But guess what? I didn't. My commander pulled me aside and informed me of the bad news. I was not accepted for direct entry and the year of community college overqualified me for the prep school. Again, I was pretty devastated. By that time I had found this forum and expressed my disappoint in one of the LEAD applicant threads. A few hours later a member here sent me a private message. They were involved in the admissions office and had pulled some strings. I was going to the Prep School! I didn't care that it was an extra year. In fact, that extra year gave such a good academic foundation that now I'm very highly ranked within my class. I'll be a junior come May and finally over the hump. I know longer want to be a pilot, instead I've set my sights on developmental engineering and want to eventually work for NASA, Boeing or maybe even SpaceX (if they even start looking for ex-military engineers).

So that's my story. I feel like I have a certain connection to this forum. Without it, I likely would never have been able to get to the Academy. I like to stick around and help when I can.
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Inspiring story! You really stuck it out!
 
Momof4 said:
I never realized that. I feel that there is such a wealth of information on this process, that I cannot retain all of it!! Information overload... They have said that there is something they see in the candidate, but they are missing something which is why they are offered prep. Wow, that's great that she still had an opportunity!! As we get closer to those receiving appointments, I am hoping that if my son does not receive an appointment, he will be offered acceptance to the prep school!!!! Congrats to your DD!!!
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She did end up getting the nomination after she accepted the prep. The problem with her is that no matter the grades, volunteer work, athletics, she can't get that English SAT score up. Math has never been a problem but English is horrible for her. This will give her the chance to show that she can do the work even if she doesn't do well in standardized tests.
 
Annamaria said:
She did end up getting the nomination after she accepted the prep. The problem with her is that no matter the grades, volunteer work, athletics, she can't get that English SAT score up. Math has never been a problem but English is horrible for her. This will give her the chance to show that she can do the work even if she doesn't do well in standardized tests.
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She can do it!! My husband, also an 88 grad, went to USAFA prep school first because of his SAT scores. His Math SAT was high, but his English was abysmal. SO he went to the prep school and took that test over and over and over. Never scored higher than a 420! However he was one of the top graduates in his prep school class. He was accepted into USAFA, became a Mech E major, and graduated in top 15% of our USAFA class. He then went on to pilot training and was the NUMBER ONE graduate in his UPT class.
 
Momof4 said:
I never realized that. I feel that there is such a wealth of information on this process, that I cannot retain all of it!! Information overload... They have said that there is something they see in the candidate, but they are missing something which is why they are offered prep. Wow, that's great that she still had an opportunity!! As we get closer to those receiving appointments, I am hoping that if my son does not receive an appointment, he will be offered acceptance to the prep school!!!! Congrats to your DD!!!
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Wow this thread took off since last I read! Sorry it took me a while to get back to you Momof4 but it looks like you got the answer to your main question. He's currently at Prep right now loving it and hating it :yllol: at the same time to answer your second.

Now back on track, it's great to hear peoples stories and I'd love to read some of the long time posters.
 
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