<p>I am a sophomore in high school, and want to apply for the USAFA. Here are some of my stats:</p>
<p>3.9 GPA (unweighted)
Captain (and programmer) of FRC robotics team
I play classical guitar, and am very involved in orchestra
Washington Aerospace scholar
Honor society
Attending SIMUW summer mathematics program
Ranked 3rd in my class
Varsity letter in Community service (United Way)
I am in pre-calculus now, and will take math through Calculus 2.</p>
<p>Other things:
I am a published android developer, with over 10000 downloads,
I mentor a middle school robotics team and teach programming
I run about 3 miles every day,
Fly planes as a hobby
My dad has lots of friends who went to the academy, one of which is a liaison.</p>
<p>The problem is that I attend and arts-based high school. It does not have ap/honors classes, or sports. Most of my electives are music-based. I could supplement this by taking ap courses online my next two years. I am very interested in aerospace, computer science, and flying.</p>
<p>Now, I have the opportunity to transfer to an elite private school. There I would take AP classes, go out for sports, and still participate in robotics and orchestra. Would it be a smart move to switch? Does the academy look at what kind of school you attend?</p>
<p>Thank you
-Frankie </p>
<p>P.S. Would it hurt my chances if I am not religious?</p>
<p>It looks like your GPA is pretty good. Getting through Calc 2 in high school is excellent. That should set you up to validate some math classes (a good thing).</p>
<p>Being the captain of a team is good. Volunteering is good. I’m not sure how much the programming will be worth, but it sounds good.</p>
<p>For your school, yes, the profile of the school does matter. Third in a class where 60% drop out is certainly different than third in a class where 40% go to Ivy League type schools! The important thing is to do well in the most difficult classes your school offers.</p>
<p>The only weakness I can really see is a lack of athletics. Being fit is good, but the academy also likes organized athletics. Organized athletics usually shows teamwork, competitiveness, and athleticism.</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation you are! A sophomore trying to figure out ways to get them better chances at the academy! Another forum you could try is serviceacademyforums.com, post your stats there again and you can get responses from cadets at AFA, their parents, and retired military! Good luck!</p>
<p>I am also looking into joining Civil Air Patrol. Is this a good program? Does the academy like the program?</p>
<p>CAP can be a good program. The real question is, “will it be a good program for you?” It is often easy to tell if someone participates in programs just to “check the box” on the application forms. That is not what the academy wants. They want you to be involved in things you like, that demonstrate things like leadership, volunteerism, teamwork, and athleticism.</p>
<p>I joined CAP pretty late (I was 16 I think) but I still got a lot out of it and it did help me know what to expect at USAFA since my family is not military at all. </p>
<p>-38 days till graduation :)</p>