Hello everyone, first post on here, and I was wondering how strong my credentials are currently and what I can do to improve. I am currently on the tail-end of my high school year. I am currently in high school golf, aiming to stay in through senior year for 4 years total, although it is unlikely that I will make varsity. I am also a Boy Scout (and have been since 1st grade, Tiger cub) and am on track to make Eagle this summer or next fall. I have already taken 2 AP classes, taking 2 right now, and plan to take 6 next year (cannot be changed). My other extracurriculars are a bit lacking since I don’t have much time after Boy Scouts and Golf, but I have been to a few computer science competitions, one of which on a national level. Most likely gain employment at a golf course this summer (if it matters). Interested in a Computer Science or Engineering degree.
Are you talking about USAFA? I did a semester there and left after that. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it. And this is coming from someone who is actually in the Air Force and has been in for almost 8 years.
If you really want want to get in, I can tell you how, but again, I would highly recommend against attending USAFA. I applied as a prior enlisted. I had a 24 on the ACT, a 3.72 GPA in HS and I did absolutely nothing but play video games all throughout middle/high school. I got a Prep School appointment. You could get a direct appointment easily as a prior enlisted with your superior grades. But I want to state it again. I HIGHLY recommend against attending USAFA. I could go into more detail if you PM me if you really want to know why.
If you really want to be a military officer, it doesn’t matter where you go to school. There are officers with University of Phoenix and DeVry degrees. You school’s prestige means absolutely nothing once you’re an officer. A USAFA graduate is the same as a graduate of a no-name, unranked school and where your degree came from has zero influence on your promotion rate. Also, USAFA grads have the stigma of being huge jerks in the actual Air Force, so I want to really stress to you that the prestige means nothing once you’re in.
Going to a cheap school and participating in ROTC will get you to the same place, and you’ll save a lot of money and your sanity. Attending an Ivy League/Tier 1 school, then commissioning is a waste of your $200,000+ tuition because the whole point of gaining the brand name of those schools is for the civilian opportunities it opens for you. It does not open any military opportunities for you. Where you go to school also doesn’t affect your selection chances for being an officer. It’s strictly down to GPA, so a guy with a 4.0 from Podunk University is more competitive for the coveted Pilot slot that you with a 3.5 from Rice/Vanderbilt.
The Air National Guard offers tons of ways to pay for college, and being military allows you to beat out many applicants at college admissions if you just want to go to a prestigious college and work a regular job. Sounds like you’re in Texas. So am I. I’d like to help a fellow Texan.
USAFA does make a difference if you want to get a slot at Undergraduate Pilot Training since there’s a strong bias towards giving them first to USAFA grads and then ROTC grads. The OP didn’t discuss the congressional nomination process, and that would be the biggest hurdle for him right now, to get a nomination from his congressperson or senator.
The nomination process might be an obstacle, but I think that my Eagle Scout will help with that, and of course I will have my recruiter to help me. From my state alone, I get 5 chances from my local rep and 10 from my senators
Mmmmm, only kindasorta. If you’d mentioned, say, AFROTC programs at low-prestige nonprofit universities, I might’ve been right there with you, but from my observation (from outside the Air Force, but knowing more than my share of officers), DeVry or UPhoenix would be seen as at least a bit of a negative, at least at certain career points. (There’s also the pilot training thing mentioned upthread, and that has an effect on promotions, too.)
@dfbdfb I flew with many pilots for 3 years. I was aircrew. I was literally right there sitting next to the guys asking them questions. My squadron was full of pilots. I know how it works. I’m not going by observation. Where they got their degree doesn’t matter. It’s not even listed on their Officer Evaluation Report, so no one will even know where you went to school unless you tell them. Pedigree is different in the civilian world, but it means nothing in the military. The Air Force promotes pilots the most, but you don’t have to attend USAFA to be a pilot. There are easier, faster and more guaranteed ways to get pilot slots.
@NoVADad99 You would be more likely to get a pilot slot out of USAFA, but it’s not guaranteed at all, so you can waste 4 years there and not get it. The Air Force wants more UAV pilots than real pilots right now, so guess which kind of pilot you’re more likely to end up as if you don’t get a pilot slot. If you want a direct pilot slot, then you can apply for slots through the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve. It works just like a job interview, and if you’re selected, it’s GUARANTEED. As a bonus, you’ll be hired to fly a specific aircraft, so you’ll already know what you’ll be flying beforehand. And if you want another easy route to a guaranteed pilot slot, the Coast Guard’s Wilks’ Flight Initiative GUARANTEES a pilot slot. Guess how many people applied for that program in 2015? ONE PERSON! There are many easier ways to get a pilot slot that is 100% guaranteed. USAFA is a waste of time.
Two things
a. How does the Air National Guard (Texas) compare to the real Air Force? Will they pay for my college education anywhere? Will it only be for tuition?
b. What are my actual chances at USAFA/Vandy/Rice?
Of course there are no guarantees of getting a pilot slot from USAFA, or anywhere. If that is what the OP wants. But most UPT slots are given to USAFA grads. That’s not in dispute. I don’t know what other service schools he’s interested in, but since he asked about USAFA, that’s what the question here is about.
As far as the OPs chances for any of the schools he’s mentioned, just remember all of them are reaches. His grades and test scores look good, but the ECs do not look all that impressive. Even with an Eagle Scout rank, that is a bonus, but not a deal clincher. He needs more ECs.
@alphafoxtrot4545 Imagine you lived chained up in a cell your whole life. It was the only way you knew how to live. You dealt with it because hey, it was at least 3 square meals a day and a place to sleep. Then, all of a sudden, you’re freed from that cell, and you find out that there’s a whole new world out there of infinite possibilities.
That’s what the Air National Guard is like compared to the regular Air Force. It’s like you escaped that cell.
For real, though. Regular AF is a full time job. You’ll work 40+ hours a week, and you won’t have time to go to school in person. ANG is 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks a year. You’re a weekend warrior. You’ll get a bit of cash each month for your drill days, but you also qualify for great benefits, like super cheap health insurance, and generally most military benefits apply to the ANG as well.
The ANG pays for college in the state that you’re in. The benefits vary by state. Texas ANG will only pay for Texas schools. Oklahoma ANG will only pay for Oklahoma schools. Generally, they also only pay for public schools. Some will do private schools, but it’s not common. Benefits vary by state, and tons of states have great benefits. Texas is a bit weaker for people who have never served on active duty, but there are ways to get active duty time without joining active duty.
ANG is also pretty good to make up for lack of extracurriculars, by the way.