<p>Not to make the story too long, but my son was accepted for admission, but did not accept. He has since been in college for 2 years and is an A student double majoring in Aerospace engineering and professional pilot. He has said to us on several occasions lately that he made a huge mistake by turning down his appointment to the academy. He is seriously thinking of applying again. I was just wondering if any of you have heard of others doing this same thing. If so, how has it gone? Will the committee hold it against him that he declined his first appointment? Is there any advice that he would need? He really feels that the AFA is the place he should be and regrets that it has taken him this long to really realize it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Is he in ROTC? If he is I would suggest he talk to his leadership at the det. I ask because you do not mention ROTC at all in the post.</p>
<p>Has he thought seriously about the fact that he will be starting his college yrs all over again? That means 4 more yrs of taking tests, and studying. He can’t just transfer in as a jr. </p>
<p>Additionally, at this point he is really behind the power curve if he is just start considering this, since most MOC’s have a cut off date of mid Oct for noms. In real world terms that actually mean he is not entering as a sr, but a freshman…again it tallies to be 7 yrs of college. What if after 1 yr he says the heck with it? That causes issues because he can’t just transfer back and be at the same point he was before, because most colleges require X amount of credits, and his USAFA as a freshman would most likely not transfer over. So now he will still have to repeat 1 more yr.</p>
<p>Many kids do this. There are several that I have read on boards who have even started after they got their undergrad. It does happen, but he really needs to think long and hard if he is willing to dedicate 4 more yrs of his life to get the AFA commission.</p>
<p>Have him go to his det commander, they can give him more personalized info regarding his chances than just the generic one here.</p>
<p>Thank you so much. He is not in ROTC at the time. He and I had that same discussion last night and he is going to really think it through and then call his ALO and talk with him as well. Do you think he will be “penalized” by the admissions committee for turning down an appointment?</p>
<p>Why didn’t he go ROTC?</p>
<p>The AFA is not only about the educational level, but it is also about serving in the AF.</p>
<p>Our DS opted like your DS not to go to the AFA, however, he went full ride AFROTC. He wanted to be a college kid, but had a commitment to serving AD in the AF after college.</p>
<p>As a parent I am not understanding why that if he wanted to serve in the AF, but not the AFA life he didn’t go AFROTC. </p>
<p>I do get it if you say he regrets not having the opportunity to serve in the AF as an officer in the AF because he turned it down. Yet, then I left with the question did he look into AFROTC as an option over the past 2 yrs? </p>
<p>Does he want only an AFA commission, and nothing else?</p>
<p>Positive…those are the candidates that make it because all they want is the AFA.</p>
<p>Does he only want a specific career field in the AF?</p>
<p>Negative…those are the candidates that are not the ideal officers because there is no guarantee 4 yrs later they will get that career field.</p>
<p>Having the goal is great to motivate you, but remember they serve at the luxury of the AF, thus, if it is only 1 career code they want and they don’t get it, it doesn’t matter, they still ow the time.</p>
<p>You need to be brutally honest with him about his motives. I suggest that you join [United</a> States of America Service Academy Forums - Powered by vBulletin](<a href=“http://www.serviceacademyforums.com%5DUnited”>http://www.serviceacademyforums.com) and PM FLIEGER. He is also here, but very active over there. Flieger, is an ALO, a past AFA grad, and AD military member. My opinion, is just that an opinion. His is different, he can personally assist your DS.</p>
<p>Good luck, I am sure he will be a great AFA candidate/cadet.</p>
<p>We have been talking with him a lot. For a little more of the story… he received an appointment early via an LOA in November. He was extremely excited. He was working at the nearby airport and happened to be working on the day when a hometown airman arrived backhome in a casket. I think it really upset him and made the word committment fully realized. I think he panicked and didn’t think he was ready to say that he could make that kind of sacrifice. AFter that, he sort of floundered a little. He never even considered ROTC, as he always wanted to go the the academy. Late last semester, he talked to the ROTC recruiters at his school, but they never returned his call to discuss things further and he has not looked into it again. He is still not sure that he really wants to put in another 4 years of college before becoming an officer. He is coming home this weekend and we plan to have some good family discussions to see how we can help him decide on his best career path or at least help him come up with a plan and a list of people to contact to help him sort through his options. Thank you for all of your help.</p>
<p>I mean this as nice as possible, but from an outsider looking in, I kind of wonder if his motivation is not about serving in the AF, but a safety net.</p>
<p>I get concerned when people say it is an SA or nothing else. I have to ask why? If you want to serve in the military you will take the SA, ROTC or OTS commission…all you want is to serve.</p>
<p>I get that the commitment issue scared him at 18 when he saw the casket coming off of the plane. You need to ask why now he is willing to be that body in the casket? Honestly, nobody talks about it, but it is a risk. </p>
<p>I don’t get that he gave up on ROTC when they didn’t return his phone calls. If he wants to serve than he should have continually contacted the ROTC personnel. By your admission he gave up.</p>
<p>You state he is still not sure about 4 more yrs. IMHPO, you need to really grill him. He will not only owe 4 yrs (starting at 21-22), but 5 yrs after that. He will be at least 30 before he can leave. If he takes TA for his Masters he could be much older. At the least we are talking close to a decade from tomorrow. A DECADE…TEN YEARS and that doesn’t include time owed for TA, promotion or PCS.</p>
<p>What are his military intentions? What does he expect to get from attending the AFA? Why does he want to start this educational process all over again at 21-22? What will he do if he doesn’t get into the AFA, he will be a college grad afterall? Will he feel comfortable taking orders from 19 yos? Will he be happy living with an 18 yo, or restricted priviledges? Will it tick him off to eat at attention and chew 7 bites at meals?</p>
<p>He needs to be honest why now.</p>
<p>I wish you and him the best. The AFA is great, the AF life is wonderful.</p>
<p>All very good questions and ones that we intend to ask this weekend. thanks!</p>