Will I get accepted

tmichie

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Mar 29, 2017
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I've recently applied to the Air Force Academy and am very anxious to hear back. I figured in the meantime I would ask on what others think my chances are. I currently only have a 3.2 gap which isn't awesome but for the past two years I've had straight A's. Freshman and Sophomore was bad for me. I got an 1170 on the new SAT. I am an eagle scout, student body president, three years of varsity soccer, soccer captain, soccer state champion (undefeated), junior class treasurer, head of marketing for KDHS.FM and have three years of employment under my belt bagging groceries at the commissary. I received recommendations from an army officer and two retired air force. Still hoping to hear just hoping to hear what people think.
 
From what I understand (from reading posts all around the forum), no one here can really tell you if you're competitive or not. It's all about how competitive the class entering is, and how the Admissions Board sees you among them. They pride themselves on the "whole person" aspect, so there's really no way for any of us to say whether or not you are FOR SURE competitive. Sure we can make guesses, but in the end, it all comes down to the board. Just like you I am still waiting. Academics were my stronger side (29 ACT and 4.3 GPA), but I struggled with my physical side (CFA run killed me). We'll just have to wait and see what happens. If you don't get in this year and the Academy is really what you want, apply again next year. I've heard reapplying is something they like to see; it shows determination in an individual. In the meantime, keep your head and chin up!
 
There's copies of it for every year out there. Just do a google search for air force academy class profile 20XX. And this September, you'll see the one for 2021 posted.
 
I've recently applied to the Air Force Academy and am very anxious to hear back. I figured in the meantime I would ask on what others think my chances are. I currently only have a 3.2 gap which isn't awesome but for the past two years I've had straight A's. Freshman and Sophomore was bad for me. I got an 1170 on the new SAT. I am an eagle scout, student body president, three years of varsity soccer, soccer captain, soccer state champion (undefeated), junior class treasurer, head of marketing for KDHS.FM and have three years of employment under my belt bagging groceries at the commissary. I received recommendations from an army officer and two retired air force. Still hoping to hear just hoping to hear what people think.

You've made it this far so you are still competing.
Note that majority of the appointments are released in early to mid March.
Non-selects and selections for Falcon Foundation and USAFA Preparatory School are sent in April to May.
It's good to hope (like me for my DS) but be realistic and have a solid Plan B and C.
Good luck!
 
I've recently applied to the Air Force Academy and am very anxious to hear back. I figured in the meantime I would ask on what others think my chances are. I currently only have a 3.2 gap which isn't awesome but for the past two years I've had straight A's. Freshman and Sophomore was bad for me. I got an 1170 on the new SAT. I am an eagle scout, student body president, three years of varsity soccer, soccer captain, soccer state champion (undefeated), junior class treasurer, head of marketing for KDHS.FM and have three years of employment under my belt bagging groceries at the commissary. I received recommendations from an army officer and two retired air force. Still hoping to hear just hoping to hear what people think.
I just wanted to tell you that my DS received his appointment email in early June. I saw what my DS went through...lows and highs...and I somewhat understand. Don't give up. Have a plan B. I hope you won't have to wait til June... but if you do, it will all be worth it. Good Luck!
 
You've made it this far so you are still competing.
Note that majority of the appointments are released in early to mid March.
Non-selects and selections for Falcon Foundation and USAFA Preparatory School are sent in April to May.
It's good to hope (like me for my DS) but be realistic and have a solid Plan B and C.
Good luck!

Wait so no appointments to main campus on April or???
 
Oh okay thank you. I just wanted to make sure. Hopefully I will get some sort of notification before then.
 
I've recently applied to the Air Force Academy and am very anxious to hear back. I figured in the meantime I would ask on what others think my chances are. I currently only have a 3.2 gap which isn't awesome but for the past two years I've had straight A's. Freshman and Sophomore was bad for me. I got an 1170 on the new SAT. I am an eagle scout, student body president, three years of varsity soccer, soccer captain, soccer state champion (undefeated), junior class treasurer, head of marketing for KDHS.FM and have three years of employment under my belt bagging groceries at the commissary. I received recommendations from an army officer and two retired air force. Still hoping to hear just hoping to hear what people think.
Well, this year I had a 4.2 GPA, 1290 SAT (670 math, 620 reading) , maxed out most CFA tests but was above average on all, skipped eleventh grade, varsity letters in soccer as well as track, president of student council, and I had two congressional nominations one of which was a principal nomination from my senator. I got a call from my admissions councilor two weeks ago where he told me my reading SAT score was too low for direct entry. Although prep and falcon scholarships haven't been completed yet, it doesn't look good for a direct entry.
 
justin_S, thanks for the info. Based on you feedback, we are looking/hoping for Prep school offer.

From reading tons of information out on the web and posts here, the majority of prep school appointments are reserved for "a red shirt" year for the D1 athletes and a method to help back fill the required quotas. If you fall in either category you have a great shot at the prep route. If you do not fall into either of those categories , a good starting point would a 32+ ACT and 4.0+ GPA, below that is a very steep uphill battle.
 
From reading tons of information out on the web and posts here, the majority of prep school appointments are reserved for "a red shirt" year for the D1 athletes and a method to help back fill the required quotas. If you fall in either category you have a great shot at the prep route. If you do not fall into either of those categories , a good starting point would a 32+ ACT and 4.0+ GPA, below that is a very steep uphill battle.

The majority of prep school slots are not reserved for D1 athletes to have a red shirt year. Almost 25% of the prep school; about 50-55 are prior enlisted. And for what it's worth, the main reason the prep school was established, was for prior enlisted. As for the rest, you will see every makeup of students you can imagine. White, Black, hispanic, men, women, athletes and non-athletes.

Do some students at the prep school happen to be potential D1 athletes at the academy? Yes; of course. But considering that the academy sponsors 29 intercollegiate teams, and 27 of them are sanctioned NCAA teams, (More than just about ANY university in the country) and considering that 25% / 1000+/- cadets are intercollegiate athletes (Physical fitness is paramount and one of the most important attributes in the military); then it's quite likely that some at the prep school are going to be potential D1 athletes. But they aren't the majority.

The prep school is for applicants the academy feels has an outstanding application, except in an area that needs work on. Usually academics or leadership. There's an outstanding chance, that if you had a 32ACT and 4.0gpa, you wouldn't be offered the prep school. You obviously don't need help in academics.

The academy and the military wants a cadet corp that is as diverse and representative of the "Enlisted Corp" that they are going to be leading in the near future. Every attribute that a cadet brings to the academy contributes. Just like the academy was looking for the "WHOLE PERSON CONCEPT" when they reviewed your application; the same goes for the class itself. They want the "WHOLE CLASS CONCEPT". They want a class that makes for a well rounded class. A class representing every attribute imaginable. White, Black, women, men, rich, poor, athlete, band, JrROTC, CAP, Spanish club, inner city, suburb, farm and ranch, brainiacs, work experience, single parent, first in family to go to college, etc. You name the attribute, the academy wants that as part of the class. Why??????????? BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE ENLISTED CORP they are going to lead.

So yes, the prep school has some students who will play Intercollegiate sports. Well guess what? 25% of the academy is going to play Intercollegiate sports. And yes, the prep school will have minorities in it. So does the academy and the real military. But the prep school is not a place to provide a "RED SHIRT" year for athletes, or for unqualified minorities so they can prep them to qualify for the academy. The #1 purpose of the prep school; is for active duty airmen applying to the academy. The rest of the slots, are for individuals that have an excellent application, minus an area such as academics or leadership, that the academy feels has great potential. And FWIW; only about 75-80% of those who complete the prep school, receive an appointment to the academy.
 
I maybe misinformed, but the statistics quoted in these articles do have some merit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/sports/ncaafootball/navy-midshipmen-army-football.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/opinion/nocera-the-military-prep-school-scam.html

http://gazette.com/gazette-exclusiv...chools-to-fill-athletic-teams/article/1537071


To think this is not a quota driven system is ignorant, not necessarily for minorities but for a number of different classifications. For instance, on our tour of the USNA, we were told they must at least admit 25% females in the future classes. That is a quota. That reduces the chance for a male to be admitted. Maybe it should be a higher percentage if the female applicants are the most qualified. But that is quota. 25% of each class is D1 athletes. You will be challenged to find another school in the country with that percentage. Non D1 athletes chances are reduced. If you do not fit in a certain category your chances statistically diminish.

I am not judging whether it is wrong or right, but I will not ignore the facts. Those are the challenges faced by all applicants. If do you not fit in a category, your chances are reduced for admittance. This opinion was shared with me by multiple career military officers.
 
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It is semantics, but I'm OK with that. The academy wants diversity. They want their officer corp to be representative of their enlisted corp. I have no problem with that either.

The problem I have, is when people try and define "MOST QUALIFIED". Unfortunately, most people only know how to define that trait using academic scores. Well; unlike a traditional school, academics isn't the only thing the academies care about. They care about leadership; character; extracurricular activities; social involvement; physical fitness; medical fitness; etc. Matter of fact, academics only make up 50% of the candidate's composite score.

Unfortunately, most people looking at this from a Non-Admissions point of view, don't know how to accurately score or judge an applicant's qualifications. Except for academics. There are many intangibles that the average person doesn't see. They don't see the perspective of the 4000+ cadet corp as being a symbiotic relationship. And that symbiotic relationship between the cadets is what helps them grow, mature, develop leadership and team building skills, and eventually/hopefully to become great military leaders.

That symbiosis is developed by having members of diverse backgrounds. In this regard, too many people limit their definition to Blacks/Minorities and/or women. But the academy is much deeper than that. Diversity includes economic diverse backgrounds, educational diverse backgrounds, as I mentioned previously, city kids, country kids, single parent kids, first generation college kids, kids who have lived overseas, kids who were home schooled, and the list goes on. Yes, it can be subjective in many people's eyes; but that's understandable. Most people aren't involved with the goals or process of making a diverse military cadet class. And again, this is very important. The relationships between these diverse cadets over a 4 year period is what helps develop these future military officers to be able to relate, understand, motivate, and lead the enlisted corp in the future.

In a traditional university, it's very simple. Have enough money and have the highest gpa/act/sat compared to the competing applicants, and you'll probably be accepted to that university. But even many of the most sought after universities that are highly competitive, have realized that they too need diversity. They realize that it helps the social structure of their university. But in the end, each individual graduating from a traditional university, is going off on their own. No matter what they do in life, their social environment in college isn't a prerequisite. They can "Grow Up" and work their way up the corporate ladder in time through experience. The military doesn't have that luxury. Some of these 22 year old officers are going to be thrown in head first into leading others. Some, quite a bit older than themselves. In some cases, people's lives will be in their hands. LITERALLY.

So when you think that the academy SHOULD be trying to take the BEST APPLICANTS IN; realize that THEY ARE. Unfortunately, what some people define as the BEST and MOST QUALIFIED, may not be the same definition that the academy has. Why would the academy even have MINIMUM STANDARDS??? Couldn't they just take the 1,200 applicants who had the highest combined GPA, ACT/SAT, CFA Score??? They could, but there's a lot more to the WHOLE PERSON than what 3 pieces of paper can show. I've seen a lot of 4.0gpa and 33+ ACT applicants not receive an appointment. I've also seen a number of RECRUITED ATHLETES not receive appointments. And I've also seen some 28 ACT and 3.7 GPA applicants who do receive appointments. And they weren't all Recruited Athletes. They weren't all Black or women or some other minority.

I understand it's difficult to understand that the academy and military's definition of BEST or MOST QUALIFIED isn't necessarily the same as many individuals reading these posts. But even I, when I hire people, (Which I do a LOT of), I don't always hire the person with the most years of experience and the most academic background. For many, they would consider them to be the MOST QUALIFIED. But to me, where I work, MOST QUALIFIED also includes the applicants applying for the job, being the RIGHT FIT in our organization. An individual who can contribute to our organization's growth, expansion, and success. I'm sure you or many others either experienced or knows someone who experienced applying for a job and NOT GETTING IT. You might even have thought that you were MORE QUALIFIED. Especially in a promotion where you know the others. Sometimes there's a lot more to "MOST QUALIFIED" than what you think.
 
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Not challenging the methodology or purpose, which you keep defending.

Just looking at the simple facts and statistics. There are absolute seats set aside for categories: recruited athletes, women, minorities, ROTC, Presidential, college reapps, prep school transfers, and enlisted. Out of the 1200+ seats for appointments, the seats left for those who do not fall into one of those categories has greatly been reduced.

I hope that the process is succeeding in the selection and training of "CAREER" military officers.
 
I understand what you're saying. Unfortunately, you aren't quite correct. There aren't ABSOLUTE SEATS SET ASIDE for each of those categories. Are the academies trying to have a diverse class, that INCLUDES those categories? Yes. Unfortunately, you keep forgetting to add ALL the other categories of diversity that I've mentioned. That's because you're convinced that there are EXACTLY "X" amount of seats for women; "Y" amount of seats for blacks; "R" amount of seats for athletes; etc. Sorry; but it's simply not that precise. Based on demographics, does the academy look at trying to recruit more of certain diverse backgrounds? Yes, of course. But to have ABSOLUTE SEATS set aside, is just about logistically impossible. Heck; even the census bureau only breaks down to about 6 categories for measuring.

So based on your list of ABSOLUTE SEATS SET ASIDE; I guess if you didn't fall into ANY of those categories, you'd be:
1. White
2. Male
3. No family military history
4. No athletics

Your list of what you consider absolute seats set aside, simply is not true. Recruited athletes for instance. ANY applicant who is interested in playing sports at the academy, and isn't a WALK ON; is considered a "Recruited Athlete". This is a term the academies use to IMPRESS kids. Because it's the term traditional colleges use to provide a scholarship to an athlete. The academies don't have scholarships. A traditional school can only LEGALLY RECRUIT "X" amount of players on scholarship. Each year, the academy football team has between 50-60 players in the freshman class. And HALF of them, they will CUT from the team within the first 6-8 months. They aren't "RECRUITED ATHLETES" in the sense you know. REAL HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER athletes???? Yea, there's a couple. Not many. On the football team, there's maybe a handful. Literally; around 5.

Look at the link below. I'm sure you've seen it before. They have one for every year. I only chose this one because it was on a corresponding post and easy to find. It shows how DIVERSE the academy wants to be. They list the entire profile. Not just race and gender, but many different backgrounds. And even when you see "Recruited Athletes"; again, this doesn't mean the same as it does in a traditional school. Remember, 25% of the academy play intercollegiate sports. They have 29 teams. That's MORE than any other university. Physical fitness, team work, sports, etc. is an integral part of the military. That's why 82% of the cadets had varsity letters. Why MORE than 90% played high school level sports. It's only natural that the academy would have quite a few IC Athletes. But sorry; the ABSOLUTE SEATS set aside for all these groups; and isolating the White, Male, with no Athletics or Military Background; is simply stretching it a bit.

http://paulryan.house.gov/uploadedfiles/usafa_class_of_2019.pdf
 
Here is what I know. At USAFA, there are a plethora of slim, white males that are tall (>6'). My DS fit that bill. So it seems that cosmetically speaking, I can see why admissions is looking for a more diverse group of leaders. That's not to say that those taller white slim males aren't "diverse" in other categories. They are. So if academies are looking to ascertain more females or cadets with different ethnic backgrounds, I get it.

That said, it goes without saying that no system is 100% fair. Example: if a coach really wants a player on her team and happens to have a good relationship with admissions, I would expect and predict they JUST might have some influence to get them a prep spot. It's no different if a General made a phone call into admissions to round up their son or daughter. Yep. That makes sense to me.

Just like youth sports, the trick is to get off the bubble. The people who b_tch the most are people who let some politics get into their way of following their dreams. Solution: get off the bubble by working harder and smarter than the other people who are in the bubble. Take it out of their hands by outworking others.

In summary, nothing will ever be 100% "fair". But I think the SA selections is extremely objective with a dash of politics/relationships dotted in the process; Welcome to the real world. If life was fair, we all would have to take our turns living in poverty, suffer with severe illness etc, etc. I for one don't want life to be fair.
 
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