Originally Posted by SkyHawg
Keep getting good grades. Contact your local USAFA liason officer. Beef up on your extra curriculars. Get ready to bug the hell out of your congressman for letter of recommendation. Go get in good shape cause Beast is going to mess you up and you have to pass a physical fitness test. Beast is what they call their 1st year cadet boot camp. If you want it enough and have the grades and determination there is good chance you can get in. Just be willing to pay the price.
Why "pay the price", when you can go somewhere and learn people skills and actually interact with human beings? No, I did not go to a highly touted school of the learned, but I had fun....and I learned a few things here and there. Did I mention there was no "hazing" or being locked on campus for the first year? Oh wait, that's right, there was beer too.
Most importantly I am in the same position as all those "ring knockers" out there too, flying. By the way, ROTC is just as good an avenue to pilot training than the Academy. In fact, your chances over the past 3 to 4 years have actually been better of getting a pilot slot from ROTC than the Academy. It's true.
I'm not trying to knock the service Academy's, they are good schools and you will work there! But if you don't want to subject yourself to asanine behavior on a daily basis, in effort to earning pilot wings.....there are other, much less painful avenues.