Anyone Have Kid Attend Airforce Academy?

[thowell]

Just looking for any tips and advice to help DD get in.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

There are some long threads from previous years. Add the following tags to your first post

 

Service academies

Air Force academy

ROTC

 

That will bring up a number of other threads.

 

What grade is your dd?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Here are some of the previous threads.  There are several board members who graduated from service academies, or who have kids who are cadets/midshipmen or recent graduates.

 

Service Academies and ROTC - Class of 2020

 

Anyone Applying to Service Academies or ROTC this Year? (Class of 2018)

 

Service academy experts - a question

 

Advice for Air Force Academy appointment?

 

Air Force Academy

 

Thoughts on Service Academy Admissions

[SilverMoon]

I haven't, but I have researched for a kid who's deeply interested. They have a page just for homeschoolers, and a very handy pdf further down with more information (under More Information).

[thowell]

Ok thank. How do I add tags???

 

ETA - DD is 15 going into her 10th year.

[In The Great White North]

I have.  I'd be happy to answer any questions.

[Twigs]

Ok thank. How do I add tags???

 

ETA - DD is 15 going into her 10th year.

 

The original poster can add a tag to the 1st post.

Underneath the Topic Title, is a field for "Topic Tags".

Just add the tags there.

As far as I know, only the original poster can add tags to the 1st post.

 

The original poster can later edit the original post and add additional tags.

To add tags, go the your 1st  post, click on edit.

Underneath the Topic Title is a field for "Topic Tags". Just add the tags there.

[thowell]

I have.  I'd be happy to answer any questions.

 

Any advice for how homeschooler can up their chances of getting in? We live in a very rural community so she doesn't have alot of opportunities. She does Archery competitively. What types of courses should she concentrate on? Does she need AP or CLEP scores? What type of extra activities would look good? I am all ears on anything that may be helpful. She has also looked into the Naval Academy but I think Air Force is her top choice right now.

 

[AK_Mom4]

DS23 graduated from USAFA last spring.  He was public-schooled all the way through, so not much help on the homeschooling front.

 

I would strongly recommend that your daughter apply for the Summer Seminar - this is for the summer between junior and senior year.  Attending this week long program was the big push that convinced DS23 that the Air Force (and flying!) was what he really wanted.

 

DS23 took only only one AP course (Calc AB), but had strong SAT scores and a good GPA.  He played baseball in high school as well as martial arts, Eagle Scout and lots of community volunteer work. He had letters of recommendation from organizations that he volunteered with and from coaches and teachers.

 

As a home schooler, I would encourage my child to find a few varied activities to be involved in, especially ones with leadership opportunities. 

[In The Great White North]

 

 

I would strongly recommend that your daughter apply for the Summer Seminar - this is for the summer between junior and senior year.  Attending this week long program was the big push that convinced DS23 that the Air Force (and flying!) was what he really wanted.

 

 

This.  Definitely.  Apply in Dec of Junior year (so take at least the PSAT by then.  Practice for it.)

 

 

 

Any advice for how homeschooler can up their chances of getting in? We live in a very rural community so she doesn't have alot of opportunities. She does Archery competitively. What types of courses should she concentrate on? Does she need AP or CLEP scores? What type of extra activities would look good? I am all ears on anything that may be helpful. She has also looked into the Naval Academy but I think Air Force is her top choice right now.

 

 

Up your chances by:

 

4 years of serious college prep coursework (with good grades, obviously), most cadets do calculus in high school (and again at the academy!)

4 years of a language (Latin doesn't count)

some computer programming, facility with the usual Office programs

Great test scores (Practice, practice, practice.  There should be no surprises on the SAT!  Start now.  USAFA superscores, so take it til you max it.)

a sport (Archery is a skill - she needs to do something to build muscles and endurance too.  The CFA should also be practiced.)

leadership - (Eagle Scout/Gold Award, Mitchell Award, etc.  or obvious leadership positions like teaching, coaching, club president, etc)

Become very familiar with their website.

 

 

These will help at USNA or USMA also.  She should apply to all three (and USCGA and USMMA if interested), as well as all their Summer Seminars.

 

I was told right out (by a USMA faculty member) that admissions doesn't consider homeschool grades, only test scores.  However, I KNOW they read the course descriptions carefully, because one of the admissions reps actually called to tell me how impressed he was by them.  So keep copious notes and wax eloquent on the course descriptions!

[thowell]

This.  Definitely.  Apply in Dec of Junior year (so take at least the PSAT by then.  Practice for it.)

 

 

 

Up your chances by:

 

4 years of serious college prep coursework (with good grades, obviously), most cadets do calculus in high school (and again at the academy!)

4 years of a language (Latin doesn't count)

some computer programming, facility with the usual Office programs

Great test scores (Practice, practice, practice.  There should be no surprises on the SAT!  Start now.  USAFA superscores, so take it til you max it.)

a sport (Archery is a skill - she needs to do something to build muscles and endurance too.  The CFA should also be practiced.)

leadership - (Eagle Scout/Gold Award, Mitchell Award, etc.  or obvious leadership positions like teaching, coaching, club president, etc)

Become very familiar with their website.

 

 

These will help at USNA or USMA also.  She should apply to all three (and USCGA and USMMA if interested), as well as all their Summer Seminars.

 

I was told right out (by a USMA faculty member) that admissions doesn't consider homeschool grades, only test scores.  However, I KNOW they read the course descriptions carefully, because one of the admissions reps actually called to tell me how impressed he was by them.  So keep copious notes and wax eloquent on the course descriptions!

 

Thank you so much!

 

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

There is some really good stuff in the other service academy threads.  I'll try to hit high points, but I'm sure I'll forget something.

 

Start with spending some time on the academy website.  Not only do they tend to have recommendations for what types of courses and activities they look for, but it is also helpful to see what cadets and midshipmen spend their time doing.  Most candidates will have an interview with a local admissions liaison (I think USAFA calls them ALO's).  During an interview, it is often clear that a student really doesn't know much about the academy other than the name and that it's "free."  Don't be that student.

 

USAFA has pulled together recommendations for homeschoolers into one document (the pdf linked in an earlier post).  It is quite helpful and applies to most of the academies.  In general they are looking for similar qualities in candidates.  (With some differences.  Coast Guard doesn't have nominations.  Coast Guard and Merchant Marine have far more limited majors.  Navy and Air Force stress math and engineering more than West Point does.)

 

I don't think that a student should apply to every academy unless they would be happy being an officer in each of those services.  There are some pretty good reasons why one or two might be a good fit, while others would not be.  On the other hand, once a student has decided they are interested in Air Force or Navy or Army, they should also pursue college ROTC for that service.  Unfortunately, the ROTC commissioning program has often been confused in the public mind with JROTC high school programs.  They are not the same.  ROTC is an officer training program that takes place at civilian colleges/universities across the country.  There are scholarships available that pay for tuition and some other costs (typically not room and board).  Even if a student doesn't get a scholarship, they can still join the ROTC unit and take the military courses.  In many cases, they are able to earn advanced standing as upperclassmen and then commission after graduation.  There are also 2-3 year scholarships available.  So in short, remember that the commission and service is the goal, not just getting into an academy (or the "free" education there).

 

The academy application timeline runs earlier than other colleges.  The applications for summer programs for the summer before senior year also count as preliminary applications.  These are typically done Dec-April of junior year.  They will ask about grades, courses taken, class rank and test scores.  So it really helps to have a quality SAT/ACT score (or at least a strong PSAT score) in hand by Dec of junior year.  For homeschoolers, test scores will carry even more weight than for students at a large high school with a known and understood school profile.

 

They tend to also require letters of recommendations from teachers.  USNA requires math and English teachers.  This was one reason why my son took pre-calculus at a local community college.  I will still probably end up writing the English letter of recommendation, but he will have two college math instructors who can speak to his math ability and work ethic.

 

Sports participation is used to gauge physical ability as well as leadership.  If high school sports aren't an option, look for club sports or rec leagues.  Or do individual sports (like running with 5k races) and then also have significant leadership experience in a non-sport role. 

 

Look at the requirements for nominations well in advance of deadlines.  (Like spring of junior year)  Remember that each nomination source sets their own deadline and requirements.  (IE, the senators and rep probably won't have the same requirements.)  Don't just copy one packet and send it off.  Send them what they ask for.  Apply for every nomination that you are eligible for.  You can't predict in advance which one you will get.  (Also, there are some options for offering appointments that are more limited towards students with Presidential nominations than with Congressional noms.  So don't do the Presidential only (for children of career/long serving military members) and then stop.  Apply to every nomination that you are eligible for.)  The deadlines are typically early in the fall.  (I've seen as early as September.)  So this is something that a student really ought not wait until senior year to figure out.

 

There are some parts of the package that generally aren't started until the student has made significant progress towards completing their package.  For example a medical exam will be scheduled once the application is about half way complete.  I schedule interviews once a student submits about 30% of their application.  So it is in the best interest of the student not to procrastinate.  If a student waits until January and then turns everything in, I may have trouble scheduling an interview and they may have trouble doing their medical exam (and submitting any paperwork for a possible medical waiver). 

 

Remember that applications are very competitive.  There isn't a minimum requirement that will put a student over the bar and make them a sure thing.  About 10% of those who start an application will receive an appointment.  About 30% of those who complete an application and are medically and physically qualified will receive an appointment.  The odds are definitely improved if you stick with it and go through the whole process.  But the academies can still fill each class several times over with fully qualified students who are great potential officers.  (See the above discussion of ROTC.)  

[thowell]

Thank you so much for all the info. Ok question now I think I am getting confused. The ROTC program you are talking about is at the college level correct? So would she still go into Academy after this or this as an alternative and then go into military after college as officer? Sorry if I have mixed this up. I have done so much reading and research with her that my head is starting to spin. lol

[thowell]

Ok found answer to my question. I will research this option as well.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank you so much for all the info. Ok question now I think I am getting confused. The ROTC program you are talking about is at the college level correct? So would she still go into Academy after this or this as an alternative and then go into military after college as officer? Sorry if I have mixed this up. I have done so much reading and research with her that my head is starting to spin. lol

ROTC is another commissioning program.

 

Academy

-4 years at a school run by the military

-graduates have a bachelor degree

-graduates are commissioned into that branch (Naval Academy graduates can be commissioned into the Navy or USMC. )

-no tuition, room or board costs. All students are paid a stipend that covers uniforms and books.

 

ROTC

-attend a civilian school with a ROTC unit for a particular service (some schools share a unit, ex Washington State and University of Idaho )

-the school might have a military corps like Texas A&M or Virginia Tech or be a state military school like VMI or Citadel (public Uni but not a federal service academy

-some students are on scholarship, others participate in hopes of a subsequent scholarship or earning advanced standing.

-must do military classes and unit drills as well as degree requirements.

-at graduation most will be commissioned but it varies from year to year based on the needs of the service.

 

OCS

-concentrated officer training program for students who already have a degree.

-may be very competitive based on the specific community they are applying to. (Ex intel may only take a few OCS officers each year and they often have languages and grad degrees)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

The above is quite simplified and may vary a lot over time. For ex in the early 1990's many ROTC cadets were not offered commissions.

 

However once commissioned the career path of an officer is based on their performance, not their commissioning source. I've known a lot of good officers and academies definitely don't have a lock on producing good ones.

[Space station]

My DD is also interested in pursuing this path. Her sport is Figure Skating - she competes in individual and team synchro skating, helps in classes for young kids, does off-ice training and power classes. She also dances and is an assistant in the younger dance classes. Do you think that sounds like enough to demonstrate the the physical fitness they are looking for, or would she need to add a more "traditional" sport?