<p>nah i was joking about three...i was just poking fun at you zoomies' (is that what they're called) competative nature. BTW i don't think i've ever posted in this forum before. Good luck with USAFA....but remember USMA was the first air foce academy. ;)</p>
<p>Snipper! You've thought about SIU? Awesome! :) Be sure to eat at El Greekos on the main drag if you go for a visit anytime. My old stomping grounds. I knew I liked you! HA!</p>
<p>Yup, SIU is most likely my plan C (currently on plan B right now) after i get my Associates of Engineering Science. It will be nice, ill only have to be at a major civilian college for two years (one of many reasons i want to go to a military academy) plus ill still do ROTC. Actually from the people ive talked too in ROTC, if you have less than perfect vision its alot easier to get laser correction and fly than it is to get laser correction from an academy. Not sure i was understanding everything properly but thats what it sounded like. </p>
<p>El greekos? Mmm sounds yummy. I will indeed take a stop there.</p>
<p>I don't think the Academy does any lasers yet. Or they do and its only PRK? I've heard different things.</p>
<p>PRK IS lasers. It is different from LASIK in that PRK does not cut a "flap" in the cornea, but rather shoots straight through the cornea, destroying corneal tissue in the process. LASIK bypasses the cornea (because it is cut and displaced to the side) and gets right to where it needs to cut to enhance vision. LASIK is more efficient than PRK because (1) it has a quicker healing time and (2) it can correct a greater degree of diopter. However, the Air Force is still hesitant about LASIK because they are afraid that in high performance jets the flap could become dislodged when placed under high G-forces. But who knows where the Air Force will be in four years? They could be doing LASIK regularly at USAFA...or not. I know the warfighter program uses wavefront LASIK technology for all other fields besides aviation, so in four years...YMMV.</p>
<p>I think what you were referring to is RK, which does not use lasers, but rather cuts incisions in a radial shape around the cornea, which only slightly improves vision. Hope this helps...if anyone has anything to add, feel free.</p>
<p>I saw that PRK was lasers, which confused me cause of what I heard. What is the surgery that Juniors can apply for at the AFA?</p>
<p>I think PRK is the only one offered at this time for cadets hoping to become PQ'd.</p>
<p>This is sort of a weird thing for USAFA I think. While at SS, my leader was having to decide wether or not to be a pilot. I thought that was kind of weird because he wore glasses with a -2.75 correction. I asked him if he was going to get PRK and he said no and that you have to have a prescription of -3.00 or something to qualify for laser correction. He said they would just give him a vision waiver to go into pilot training with the justification that he will have suffered 4 years at the academy and he deserves it.</p>
<p>It may have been easier for him to get the waiver though because he is in the top ten people in his class. He also is currently in exchange at USNA, btw.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that they did 50ish PRK surgeries at USAFA last year to make people PQ.</p>
<p>But you have to have really bad vision to get it? </p>
<p>If so, I think that's odd. Cadets here, NEED INFO!!! lol</p>
<p>To get back to the original question--my dd has applied to Hillsdale and NROTC at Embry-Riddle. The plan was for her to apply to Purdue and CalMaritime, but as she has gotten a scholarship to ERAU, she won't be bothering with the other two. She's also gotten an acceptance to CO School of Mines.</p>