Need Some Advice

Colleges and Universities A-Z Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs
1

<p>So i was surfing through the forums about the Summer Seminar’s for the multiple academies. I have wanted to go to the AFA since i was about 8 years old believe it or not and it’s a dream of mine to be an officer and hopefully a pilot for the Air Force or Navy. As far as the application goes I am afraid i dont have the best shot at getting in as I am no 4.2 student. I am banking on hopefully my leadership roles to help get me in.</p>

<p>Here is a brief look at my profile:</p>

<p>Class Rank: N/A (hasnt been updated by my school for the current semester yet)
Class Size: 265</p>

<p>1) Academic Achievements
- 3.71 GPA --Updated GPA will be recieved by 2/10/12 (Current GPA and class rank has not been updated by the school since last school year)
- BETA Club Member (National Honor Society for my school; 3.5 GPA or higher, leadership qualities, etc.)<br>
- National English Honor Society
- AP World History, AP US History, AP Engligh; all advanced classes
- SAT Scores will be recieved by middle of Feb.*</p>

<p>2) Athletic Achievements
- JV Football- 9. Varsity Football- 10,11
- JV Baseball- Captain, selected by the team; 9. Varsity Baseball- 10
- Varsity Ice Hockey (Club)- 9,10. Ice Hockey Captain; shows high level of skills, and leadership roles. Selected by the team.</p>

<pre><code>- 5k Drumstick Dash Volunteer Race, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11
</code></pre>

<p>3) Civic Involvements
- Active Volunteer At Local Rescue Mission
- Many hours at Local Animal Shelter<br>
- Member of Key Club (Volunteer Club)<br>
- I organized/planned volunteer trips at the local rescue Mission for clubs I am in at school. (FBLA, Key Club)
- I am responsible for gathering members of my Varsity and Junior Varsity Football team and organizing multiple trips to Rescue Mission for volunteer work (multiple years in a row)
- I have learned to not take things for granted, always have a helpful heart, and the importance of giving back to the community through my works at the local Rescue Mission and Animal Shelter.</p>

<p>4) Work/Job Experience
- Worked in the kitchen at Hidden Valley Country Club during the late school year and through the summer<br>
- I was incharge of educating and supervising new employees to the club’s kitchen
- On a weekly average I would work anywhere from 20-30 hours.</p>

<p>5) Leadership Positions
- President of FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America)
- Member of the Leadership Team for DECA club
- Wyldlife Leader (local church outreach to kids in middle school)
- Helped lead and organize Tomorrow’s Titans Summer Camp for Football and Baseball which is for younger kids to be introduced to high school athletics and to help them excel in the sport.
- Active in multiple clubs as well, Latin Club, DECA, Key Club, History Club, FBLA, and BETA (National Honor Society)</p>

<p>6) Other Noteworthy Achievements(s)/Experience (e.g., speak fluent Chinese, lived overseas, Private Pilots License, parent(s), relative serviced in military, have sibling at another at AFA or other Academy, etc.)
- Multiple Family Members who were in the Air Force, Navy, and Army. Granddad was in the Army, Both Uncle’s were in the Air Force, one Uncle was Para-Rescue in the Air Force (Currently at Eglin AFB)
- I have lived in several states and gone to several different schools since the beginning of my Elementary School Career
- Took flying lessons at age 6 (Eden Prairie, MN)
- I have wanted to attend the Air Force Academy since I saw the Thunderbirds in Fort Worth, Texas at age 8.
- Member of the BRSS (blue ridge soaring society), Sail plane club. Get to fly gliders on weekends, as well as weekdays every now and then all year round.
- In training for pilots license (sailplane only); should have it by middle of summer 2012.</p>

<hr>

<p>So after seeing that what are my odds for the Summer Seminar? I was rejected from West Point because my profile wasnt competitive enough and i was unable to provide hardly any leadership things except for the boxes they asked you to check off. My local Air Force Rep wrote a letter of reccomendation so i dont know if that means anything. </p>

<p>What do you guys think? Am I chasing a dream that i’ll never catch? Thanks for any input.</p>

<p>By the way, my application is still under consideration, i applied the day it opened.</p>

2

<p>I don’t do chance threads, but without knowing your SAT scores I don’t believe anyone is going to be able to give you an accurate “chance”. Your GPA is not bad and your athletics and ECs seem excellent. Hope for a 700 in both CR and Math on your SATs and I think you’ll have an excellent chance.</p>

<p>BTW - don’t worry about any of the Summer Seminars…they do NOT predict who will eventually be admitted into a SA.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

3

<p>I am assuming you are a junior? Based on your other achievements it also sounds like your 3.7 GPA is unweighted? If it is that’s very good it’s actually higher than mine (3.6) and I just received my principle nomination to the AFA… your sports and leadership looks really good to me, as for what the other response says about your SATs they’re right in that they are definitely a huge factor. Definately try and break 700 in math, especially if you plan on majoring in math in science. Also the higher your math score the lower your reading score can be. I got a 740 in math and a 650 in verbal but since I want to major in engineering you can see why the 740 is what they really wanted to see? I’d also suggest taking all APs and the next highest level classes during your senior year the AFA is going to care more about course rigor than your grades so long as your grades are decent, and I would suggest making sure you’ve taken physics, chemistry, and calculus before you graduate. I know it’s probably not required by your high school but those are three hard classes that they want to see you taking. From your description I’d say you have a great chance of getting in to the summer seminar and the AFA as well but just like the other response, you don’t have a significantly worse chance of getting in if you don’t go to the summer seminar…Last piece of advice would be to make sure your recommendations are really good, in all my nomination interviews they brought up my recommendation letters and told me that they were a big reason for why they had confidence in nominating me! Good luck!</p>