<p>I don't really have much info to give but I was just saying that the Coast Guard Academy is a little less "war machine" and more normal then some of the other academies. I was never interested in one myself so I don't know a ton about them(all of the military academies) but I'm sure you can search on here and find some info.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>A junior for my school has been going to this prep thing (for 3 years) for the air force and he's been flying planes for quite a while now. I talked to him and he's going to get me the brochures. I want to visit this place soon (hopefully over the weekend). I'm excited. </p>
<p>Pinhole glasses seem strange but their "Evidence" looks very promising. (Are pinhole glasses the same thing as Stenopeic spectacles?) I think I'll make an appointment with my optometrist and research further before ordering them though. Also, I'm not sure how wearing pinhole glasses are different from wearing regular glasses. I mean, vision only improves while you are wearing the glasses. With my regular glasses, I think my vision becomes 20/20 while with pinhole glasses, my vision might only improve to 20/70. </p>
<p>I'm not sure how much the See Clearly Method will improve my vision. It most likely will not improve it up to the standards because my vision is truly terrible. Again, I'll ask my optometrist.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for telling me about these two products though. I hated seeing my vision worsen (sometime during 5th and 6th grade) and any improvement would be wonderful, especially if it means that I can become a pilot.</p>
<p>I read that LASIK wasn't allowed cuz they didn't know what the pressure changes would do to the eyes... Darn. I think I'm going to wait until the technology improves more because laser eye surgery is still a relatively new tech. and improving quickly. Hopefully the rules will change once some new method is developed. I don't want to chance anything right now. </p>
<p>This was my biggest concern in regards to the physical aspect of AFROTC/piloting/NASA. Again, thank you very much for the advice.</p>
<p>I can do 10-15 push ups now! Whoohoo! (Yes, not even close to meeting requirements, but still... it was better than before.)</p>
<p>Now for a purely personal question... how did you tell/convince your parents? I have a feeling applications require parent signatures and mine will not be happy at all... They didn't let me take surfing lessons cuz it was too dangerous...</p>
<p>If your in the air force you do not have to live on base. YOu get a housing allowance every month which you can use on renting a house or on a mortgage. Many officers/ pilots live off base and receive the monthly housing allowance and many of these people rent a house with a couple other people and make a few hundred dollars extra a month since they arent using all of their monthly allowance.</p>
<p>To answer you other question- Who would you rather hire, A person that has had 10 years in the military and has the best training available or a person who only has a couple years of flying charter planes.</p>
<p>airlinepilotpay.com</p>
<p>read myopia.org or something like that</p>
<p>it explains about pinhole glasses and how bad glasses are. Glasses only decrease your vision where pinhole glasses only make your eyes better. I'll tell you how they are once i get mine in. </p>
<p>The parent issue.. I dont recall having my parents sign anything at all. Maybe they did? Just tell them that you have a full year of afrotc if your on scholarship to decide if u whish to continue. If you arent on a scholarship then you have 2 years to decide. </p>
<p>Another thing is what if you dont get the pilot slot. Im sure your parents will ask this. Well since your on this site im sure you know that if you wnat something you need to get the job done. Baseops.net as a ton of info about whats competitive to get a slot. It really isnt too hard. Just work hard for a good GPA, study for the AFOQT, participate in the AFROTC department, and do well on the PFT.</p>
<p>Yes the Baseops.net site does have a ton of information. A bit overwhelming. So there are more standarized tests to come... When is it recommended to take the AFOQT?</p>
<p>Also, the site mentioned some other acronyms, such as BAT, PCSM, ANG, AFRES... Apparantly the PCSM stands for Pilot Candidate Selection Method... Are these things more tests/programs? </p>
<p>I'll do more research into them. Hahah those people say these things with such ease, like they've grown up knowing about them the same way middle/high schoolers know about the SAT/ACT... I'm not starting this too late, am I?</p>
<p>The prep thing I mentioned last time is the Civil Air Patrol. The guy from school has been a member for 3 years now. Is joining this part of the pathway to becoming a pilot/astronaut?</p>
<p>As I look further into this, I'll probably discover the answers to my questions on testing for myself, but at this moment, I am feeling slightly out of my depth (is that how you say it?) and felt the need to post on this thread. </p>
<p>Main question from this rambling post: Am I too late to change focus and pursue piloting?</p>
<p>I also want to be an astronaut!</p>
<p>The top schools I'm looking at are UMICH and Purdue. I'll probably double major in aerospace engineering and physics. I'm joining the AFROTC, you should look into that. They offer very nice scholarships.</p>
<p>We should talk. My sn is funkmasterlloyd</p>
<p>I'm from NY by the way</p>
<p>If anyone wants more info on Embry-Riddle, I go there... (Prescott campus) The AFROTC program is pretty big, and there is Aero. Eng., Space physics, aeronautical science, and more.</p>
<p>Do you like it? How are the classes/professors/students/environment? =)</p>
<p>I really love it here. All the students and professors are really interested in aviation. Classes are rarely boring--the profs know what they are talking about. The envonment could take some getting used to for most students--very close-knit, small, rural, mostly male, military-friendly (probably 20% ROTC), tough academics, little sports, but extra curriculars are abundant, the list could go on. The students are pretty focused. Ask just about everyone and they know exactly what they want to do after college. Career services is very helpful. </p>
<p>The downsides are also the same as the advantages, a small town can get boring, but academics keep me pretty busy. The english department and just about everything besides aviation, engineering, and flight courses is below par. But, that is pretty much to be expected. The school spends their money and hires top profs for what they are known for. No one comes here for music or languages really. lol.</p>
<p>Anything else I didn't cover? Sorry I'm a bit biased because I think Riddle is an awesome school.</p>
<p>Well, I hope to become a test pilot, so I'm either going to double major at a school like UND, Riddle, Ohio State, etc. with aviation and aerospace/mechanical engineering. Or if i get into an Ivy leage, I'll get my engineering degree there and then go to a place like the Mesa Airlines pilot program and get all my certifications in less than 2 years</p>
<p>Since when can you "be" an astronaut just because you want to?</p>
<p>My sister's fiancee graduated from Embry Riddle - Daytona. He loved it there. He works for a major airline now making about 100k+ a year, so you should def look into that school.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend University of Colorado, Boulder if you're interested in aerospace engineering or astrophysics. They have a world class program.</p>
<p>I was reading an article in Popular Mechanics in Nov issue, Buzz Aldrin was proposing his new lunar orbit system for mars travel. The reason I tell you this is because Buzz got his doctorate from MIT in Physics I believe, this is all before he went to the moon, so maybe this will help, good luck hope to see you on mars in 2025 :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
and a doctorate of science in Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. His thesis was "Guidance for Manned Orbital Rendezvous." Aldrin has honorary degrees from six colleges and universities.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>:)</p>