<p>Remind your family that it's FREE. Actually, it's better than free. Cadet pay is over $750 per month--from which they deduct uniforms, books, fees, hiarcuts, etc. A visit will help, too.</p>
<p>Your journey is going to be very difficult without family support, but truth be told, I think as they see your enthusiasm and dedication they will soon share it. My mother was initially very against my choice too, but the more she researched the academy and talked with different people (my ALO, her cousin who was a graduate of USNA, her friends who were parents of cadets, etc), the more she began to like it. At the same time, I really think that she saw how happy the idea of going there made me as well as my enthusiasm during the whole application process, and that finally "converted" her so to speak.</p>
<p>I think if you continue to keep your marks high and don't let your determination die, you can make it easily into SS (and hopefully later the class of 2010), and your family will eventually support you too. Also, I think if you talk with them about how much Summer Seminar means to you, they'll probably at least listen (and maybe come around, too?), since I assume they want you to be happy.</p>
<p>If they still don't support you even if you get an appointment, I would recommend a very heartfelt chat with them, but since that's a long long ways away, I'd just concentrate on getting into SS. :)</p>
<p>Good luck, and don't let them get you down. This is <em>your</em> dream, so you should pursue it until completion if it's what you feel is right.</p>
<p>Hopefully this will answer alot of the questions people have of "what are my chances" </p>
<p>unlike other colleges, the academy's selection is less concrete, Unlike other schools who's admissions crition are 80%-90% academic and 10-20% recs, activities, essays,etc The academy had a very different break down, and here it is</p>
<p>50-60% academics (SAT/ACT and class rank, however class rank is not really considered, mostly SAT/ACTY (with heavy consideration on math) scores are considered b/c that's the only way they can compare every one on a national level) </p>
<p>30% activities (E.G. Leadership, Athletics Etc, Community service and leadership being very important) </p>
<p>10-20% PAE + Liason office interview</p>
<p>I'm sure the admissions board takes into account Grades, difficulty of your HS, recs, Writting sample and essays into account but this is the basic break down, very different than other colleges. so I wish I could answer people's quesitons of "do I have a shot" but this is why it's so hard. You hear of salutorians w/ 1500s getting rejected but people with 1010s get offers. </p>
<p>For you Falcon hopefulls, hopefully this helped alittle bit</p>
<p>for myself I'm persuing admissions right now too, so I have by no means any expertise or can vouch from experience, but I am an alum of the summer seminar and they spent a whole night explaining all of this stuff to us, so hopefully it helps</p>
<p>tbby2's breakdown is generally correct, though assigning percentages may seem a little misleading. There are certainly "Pass/Fail" parts of the process for which even a 1600 SAT or All-America status won't compensate. The PAE and ALO interview come to mind. Flunk either of those and your chances are VERY slim (or none). Balance is the key folks. USAFA and the other academies want "Whole People." More strength in one area than the others is okay, so long as you're not too hard over. The "geeks" will struggle mightily with athletics/sports, the pure jocks will flunk out (you still have to pass two semesters of calculus, plus one or more courses in EE, Aero, Astro, CE, etc), and then there's the legal parts discussed in other threads concerning congressional nominations, slots, etc.</p>
<p>It's very hard to say if someone will get in for sure. If you're Class President with 1400+ SATs, and a three-year Varsity Letterman--yoúr chances are probably pretty good. But, I've still heard of those folks blowing their ALO interview so badly the ALO wrote "no way in hell does he/she belong at USAFA," or they simply come from such a competitive congressional district that there are even better candidates above them.</p>
<p>It's a long, tough, road that doesn't seem totally fair all of the time, but it's the system in which you must operate...</p>
<p>docfrance, your last comment of "it doesn't seem totally fair all the time" actually reminded me of a concern I had. </p>
<p>The military academies pride themselves on recruiting and admitting the best, people who have the best probability of becomming an effective officer in the US armed forces. </p>
<p>however, how does the Academy justify it's use of URM ( under represented minorites) or Affirmative action? </p>
<p>I understand, since it is a public institution, they must keep certain percentages of each minority/race/gender. However, I personally believe that the academy should not be held to the standards/restrictions of a "normal college". The academies should be looking for simply the Best of the best, no if , ands, or buts. </p>
<p>for example, why will a female hispanic, make a better officer in the armed forces than a white anglo-saxen protestant male? </p>
<p>I believe the people the acadmies recruit should be the best, because these people will be not only protecting our nation, but me, my family, my neighbors, my neighbor's family, your family. </p>
<p>can any one else shed light on the subject, or have any opinions??</p>
<p>Tbby2 - </p>
<p>If you google "University of Michigan affirmative action" you'll find that the Joint Chiefs of staff weighed in on this very point before the US Supreme Court. It's not a decision that's been made casually, and reflects the importance to morale and cohesion of having an officer corps that reflects the makeup of the enlisted personnel.</p>
<p>I can't remember the AF numbers off the top of my head, but as I recall generally, female whole person scores are at or above the AFA average. Minorities are below, but so are athletes. </p>
<p>In my opinion, there's more built-in disparity due to the forced geographic distribution of nominations. Much weaker candidates can be accepted from small states than from larger states.</p>
<p>I think Kate's on the money here. (No, I won't share my opinions on this.) I TRY to deal in facts here, as I best understand them.</p>
<p>Can anyone give me some feedback on my resume so far?</p>
<p>As we speak, I have about a 3.5 GPA with 3 AP classes (GOvernor's School Program in Virginia) (could be higher i know :()
I have gotten a 219 (70 Grammar, 76 Math, 73 CR) on the PSAT.
I have gotten a 1410 in SAT (670 Math, 740 Verbal)</p>
<p>I am a member of key club, the scholastic bowl team, and vice president of the Japanese Club.
I have played two years of JV lacrosse, where i was captain in my sophmore year</p>
<p>any feedback on my chances for the SSS for Air Force would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>*edit, o does it also help that my brother is currently in the AFA? i heard that you get some kind of an advantage, but i was wondering how so?</p>
<p>Geez, i hate to double post but it won't let me edit</p>
<p>but i forgot one more thing</p>
<p>i am business manager of our school's newspaper (pretty much an editor)</p>
<p>SSS chances and admission chances are both very good. Stay in shape and get a varsity letter in lacrosse (or something else), pass the PAE with flying colors, stay healthy, and I'd say you're a near lock.</p>
<p>^Many thanks for the good advice.</p>
<p>Alright, finals are now over for me and I've turned my attention to the summer seminar aplication. I'm preety close to being done with my resume, but I have one question. In their suggested resume format they have #4 as Civic Involvement. What exactly are they looking for here? Is this more extra-cirricular activities, because there really isn't a good spot to show these anywhere else, or is it focusing more on work done in the community?? Any answers/examples would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>community service/volunteer work</p>
<p>My son received his acceptance to SS on Monday. He is attending the second session. Sounds like a fantastic opportunity to see AFA up close and personal.</p>
<p>^wait, i thought that the application deadline wasn't even up yet... how can you know already?</p>
<p>It seems that admission to SS is on a rolling basis. He applied around January 3 and had his ALO interview at home around the 20th. The decision was based on accomplishments and the ALO interview. We were both floored by the quick decision!</p>
<p>BTW - I'm new to posting to the board, but I've been lurking as an avid fan of DocFrance and have used all of that great knowledge to educate myself and my son about AFA and the process of preparing. By heeding much of the advice from DocFrance - I think it helped him get ahead of the game. Good luck to all - it's an exciting time!</p>
<p>The same thing happened with my daughter last year. She sent in her application for summer seminar in Jan and had an acceptance letter by the first or second week of February. It does appear to be a "rolling admissions" type application process.</p>
<p>Nothemomma, would you mind telling some of your son's stats? like:</p>
<p>GPA
SAT/PSAT Scores
Extracirrciular activities</p>
<p>Please do not think me as nosy, I would just like to gauge my own chances. Thanks!</p>
<p>ilovetocamp - I don't think it's being nosy at all. I'm not sure that the stats really tell the whole story about a person. Again, the wisdom of docfrance sums up the "whole person" concpet the Academy is looking for. I think you have an outstanding chance!</p>
<p>GPA: 4/4.5 - All honors courses
Class Rank: 50/800
PSAT: High 60's in each section - Taking New SAT in March</p>
<p>Rugby team captain
Glider pilot (lots of hours)
AFJROTC
Competitive shooting sports - rifle,pistol,shotgun
Club president</p>
<p>Working out with a trainer to ace the PAE at SS. I think a good ALO interview is really a key factor.</p>