<p>I am a high school junior at one of the most prestigious high schools in Washington state. I play football for high school, and select baseball. I am also in National Honor Society and am a Second Lieutenant in Civil Air Patrol. in addition to being a volunteer at the Museum of Flight. My SAT score is 2050. The only problem is my GPA is only an 3.4 unweighted with a couple of APs thrown in here and there. I really want to go to the Air Force Academy, USC, or UVA. My backups are SJSU and Michigan. Thoughts on things to get me accepted? Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Run the Net Price calculators first, then bring the results with your parents. Have a conversation about them.
Note that “backup” and “Michigan” in the same sentence means you need to read the Fiske Guide, or Insider’s Guide to the Colleges.</p>
<p>Obviously it’s not quite a backup, but one a have a good chance of getting into. I’ve all but assured AFROTC scholarships, and have a good college fund. I’ve talked with my parents about all of them, and I have a green light to go wherever I get into. </p>
<p>Sorry, Michigan seems to be a reach for you.</p>
<p>It’s excellent you’ve already talked about costs with your parents and know they can afford 50-60,000 each year thanks to your college fund as well as other sources (I assume). You’re very lucky, congratulations ! 
Would you be recruited for football? Baseball?
UMich from out of state with a 3.4 (even from a very prestigious HS) and 2050 is a reach. Your odds of getting in are much lower than your odds of not getting in, even with the bonus of being full-freight. (Remember that in-state admitted stats don’t apply to OOS applicants). What are the Naviance results for students with similar stats?
UVA and USC are also reaches, with similar odds (perhaps higher at UVA now that they take into account full pay status, and if USC has a relationship with your school.)
SJSU is indeed a safety - but why not Cal Poly SLO, which is an upper-level SJSU?
What are your other matches and safeties?</p>
<p>I can only apply to 5 ROTC schools, so my full list is Air Force Academy, UVA, USC, UMich, with my safeties being SJSU and Embry-Riddle Prescott. Thoughts on Air Force? They take into account extracurriculars and test scores more than other schools. I’ll also have my pilot’s license. CPSLO does not have Air Force ROTC. I am good at both sports, and I’ll invite scouts to watch, but the odds are very slim of my playing D1 ball</p>
<p>I’m not going to insert myself on the “What do I need to do” aspect, because @MYOS1634 is very knowledgeable on this topic. However, I would caution the OP on listing attributes that are easily identifiable. The posting contained too much detailed information.</p>
<p>I would pick 2 among UVA, USC, and UMich, and choose another one that’s closer to a match than a reach.
You could look into D3 colleges where you could play football/baseball - that would help you somewhat.
USAFA is an entire different game - you should post on <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/u-s-service-academies/”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/u-s-service-academies/</a></p>
<p>Embry-Riddle Prescott has a very strong (if not the strongest on your list) AF ROTC detachment, with very good engineering and flight programs. I know the school is on your safety list right now, but you may want to consider it more heavily. You sound like an excellent fit.</p>
<p>MAJOR POINT… the AFROTC sholarship is normally only good for state universities in your home state. By “normally” I mean 80% of scholarships. See the details at this website: <a href=“High School Scholarship Types | Scholarships | U.S. Air Force ROTC”>http://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/high-school/overview/</a></p>
<p>So, you only have a 20% chance of being able to use your scholarship at the schools listed, even if you can get admitted to them. Plus only 5% of scholarships will pay full tuition at those schools. The remaining 15% of scholarships are limited to $18,000 per year, but you can attend any university. On the off chance that you do get one of those 20% which allow you to attend USC, UVA, SJSU, or Michigan… then, sure, apply to those schools. However, you had better also apply to the University of Washington, Washington State, and Central Washington (all of them!). There is also a way to attend the University of Portland, but it is a little tricky… see this website: <a href=“Welcome to the Office of Financial Aid! | University of Portland”>Welcome to the Office of Financial Aid! | University of Portland;
<p>Definitely worth considering, because it appears they will also give you free room and board. Also consider the University of Kentucky, if you want free room and board, because UK also gives in state tuition to out of state AFROTC scholarship students. A few other universities do this too. I will see if I can find my list of those.</p>
<p>Anyhow, do not get your hopes up for any of the schools you listed. Sorry. But, remember, the University of Washington is a very fine state school… even if it does mean living at home. 
</p>
<p>Okay, so here are some schools (besides U.Portland and Kentucky) which will allow you to use a typical AFROTC scholarship:</p>
<p>Rutgers
Mississippi State
University of St. Thomas in Minnesota (plus some help with room and board)</p>
<p>Boston University and Villanova also have ways to do this, but not guaranteed. Tulane might also work with you on this (again, not guaranteed).</p>
<p>Okay, so, it is kind of obvious that none of these compares to USC or Michigan… or even UW for that matter. Just some info to think about. Also double check this information at the websites of the respective universities. I have not looked at those websites for about a year.</p>
<p>Work hard to get into the Air Force Academy. It offers a better selection of majors than AFROTC allows, among its other advantages. If you are going to an especially demanding prep school, USAFA will know how to take that into consideration.</p>
<p>Another option is the University of Minnesota which waives out of state tuition for ROTC scholarship students. It plays football against Michigan, and has initials UM… kind of close, huh? :)) </p>
<p>Seriously, Minnesota is a fine state school. Not better than UW, but very good.</p>
<p>Also might consider Vanderbilt which provides a $6,000 per year grant to all ROTC students. Syracuse provides a $9,500 per year grant to ROTC students.</p>
<p>Look into the process of converting a 4-year Type 7 AFROTC scholarship into a 3-year Type 2 scholarship. That might work for you for out of state and private universities.</p>
<p>Finally, I am not sure that the Air Force limits you to five college choices. Last thing that I knew (last year) you could take the AFROTC scholarship to any qualifying university. This is far more flexible than Army or Navy. Double check this.</p>
<p>GOOD LUCK!</p>