I know this is straying a little off topic for this thread, but this is my first post on this forum and I hated to start a new thread. I am 16 years old and I just finished my sophomore year of high school, and I know that where I am right now my chances of getting into the acadamey are not very high. I used to be in the civil air patrol a few years ago, but quit to spend more time on school. I know it would be good if I could rejoin the CAP. I am planning on participating in cross country track and tennis next year (I know that a team sport of some kind would look better but I'm not very good at any). I will also be taking college daul enrollment classes, which I hope should help. I have very good grades with the exception of one B. I thought if I followed this plan for the next two years I would have pretty good chances, but I have been reading more about the academy recently and I recieved a brochure recently that said most cadets start the paperwork for admission the second semester of their junior year, so am I to late? I was also wondering if anyone knows of anything else that I could do related to leadership that I could use while applying? I really want this guys an help is appreciated.

 

F-111's?????????? FIGHTERS??????????

 

Well...ahhh...well...ahhh...well, that's what they told me the "F" stood for.

 

Like the F-117. Not a fighter, but a good way to trick pilots into flying it.

My brother was USAFA class of '86. Now he's a bird colonel in command of an airbase (in Del Rio). It's a good education, good experience, and the price is right.

 

My father was a liason officer for the USAFA. The campus is gorgeous. The standards are high and the investment in their students is huge. 10 years ago is was about $275k per student. I think it's about $350k per student now. That is the US Air Force's investment in every cadet for four years of training. Based on what a friend of mine who just graduated in May they are expecting almost every graduate to fly. One must actually write a letter requesting not to go to flight training at this point and time. It probobly ranks 2nd or 3rd behind West Point (1st) in Military Academies but it ranks in the top 1% of all US universities. If you have the opportunity to go there consider it a blessed opportunity.

 

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.

 

Better than just a good school. As an aside, they did teach us ring knockers how to spell a-s-i-n-i-n-e! And, as to the price...while there, they paid us a monthly stipend, not to mention the full-ride scholarship. At least in my day, if you were qualified, you were guaranteed a UPT slot ahead of all others, i.e. OTS, ROTC. The post-career network for business and industry contacts isn't too shabby, either.

 

What's a ring knocker?

 

A graduate of one of the U.S.military academies.