Usafa Puns

I’m a 17 year old kid who’s spent time thinking about joining the Air Force. I struggle with school because of poor time management habits that I’ve been slowly improving on, I’m just curious on how competitive it is to become an officer. How much competition is there and how well do I need to preform in college?

Enlisted recently and I'm currently in DEP. I've decided I'd rather get my piloting license outside of the Air Force as it will be more of a hobby than a career for me (I'm 5'2"). If I were then to decide to complete 20 years of service, it would be reasonable to commision after a few years right?

- What are the pros and cons between applying for USAFA vs OTS considering my situation above?

Do I apply, or do I have to talk with cadre?

Currently a junior in a public high school. Asian Female GPA: 3.78 (unweighted) and 4.21 (weighted) PSAT: 1120 (550 E and 570 M) SAT/ACT: took the ACT and realized I liked the SAT format more so my practice SAT scores atm is around 1360

HON/AP: took 3 ap classes so far but planning on taking one or two more senior year. Besides that most of my classes are honors.

EC: Fresh- •special olympics •track •community orchestra group Soph- •xc •track •National English Honors Society Jr- •xc (ran one varsity race) •track •National English Honors Society •Fresh Connect Leader (an organization in our school that leads a group of freshmen in the beginning of hs) •MV Connect Leader (another organization in our school that leads a class to better our school environment)

WORK/VOLUNTEERING: •I have 0 volunteering hours atm…def planning on adding to that this year though •I’ve been working at two restaurants ever since start of sophomore year working 15+ hrs per week

OTHERS(?) I will probably have a seal of biliteracy by senior year of hs because English is my second language (dk if that helps w applications tho)

CFA: basketball throw: N/A (havent gotten a chance to try it) pull ups: pr is 4 atm sit ups: 42 push ups: 68 mile run: 6:35

Just curious on what I can improve for now and if I even have a chance of getting into USAFA. Thanks for stopping by!!

It’s a fun night and a great way to support quite a few COS and Southern Colorado bands. These kids really put in the effort. Four months of practices. Hot or cold. Rain or shine.
Come see our bands at their best!

EDIT: info page includes times and stadium info including prices.

http://www.cbamarching.com/2021statechampionships.html

Hello everyone, I have an offer to go to the Air Force Academy, and I am wondering about the academy to Air Force transition. What jobs are the hardest to get following the academy? I am really interested in either flight or intelligence, and I would imagine those fields are very competitive.

Introduction

I'm 18M high school graduate and currently in DEP. As far as I can remember, being an astronaut has always been my dream career. Though after I stopped growing at 5'2", I've decided that aerospace engineer/astrophysicist would be more pragmatic. I admit that my personality would be more fitting to ROTC but I'm willing to learn and adapt to USAFA's higher standards.

Body

I have only looked into applying for USAFA through LEAD and understand that I generally would just need a nomination from my commander.

- How does ROTC work and would it be harder to get into a top university considering I graduated abroad through a different curriculum; never having done SATs?

- Are there significant advantages over each other in the long run and in the civilian world (specifically when applying for NASA)?

Edit: Consider that I have no achievements and volunteering experience from school, just high grades.

Enlisted here at Osan AB and I’m going through the application process into USAFA Prep school. In high school I had a 3.8 gpa, 1100 SAT, was involved moderately.

In my first semester In college, I did terribly in 4 classes with all Ds due to personal reasons.

While In technical training school I was exceedingly involved in the squadron and base. I was the commander of the Airmen Leadership program and lead many events. I’m currently a PTL at Osan and lead squadron workouts. I’m constantly getting involved in the squadron and base.

Im retaking the SAT in December and I have some pretty good bullets under my belt.

With this, what are my chances getting into the prep school? How bad will my grades in college affect my application process and what are chances I’m getting in the prep school?

How long did it take for my Prior Es to get through the DODMERB Process?

How was the transition from being enlisted to being at the academy?

Any feedback and answers will be greatly appreciated!

I had like 4 F's Freshman Year of High School. Now in SOPH year and have all A's and one B. If I continue down the slot of having a good amount of AP classes and all A's, will the Air Force even care since I bombed Freshman Year? Will that immediately disqualify me?

I'm really hoping to get into either the Air Force Academy or West Point, in that order. I live in Ohio's 5th Congressional District.

GPA: 3.99 on a 4.0 scale

ACT: 34 with and 8 on the writing

Scholastic Honors:

• Freshman: Biology and Health awards

• Sophomore: Chemistry award

• Junior: Four County Student of the Month, Business Professionals of America (BPA) SQL Database Fundamentals First Place Regional, BPA Information Technology Concepts Fourth Place Regional, BPA Computer Programming Concepts Fifth Place Regional, BPA SQL Database Fundamentals Third Place State, BPA SQL Database Fundamentals Seventh Place Nationals, BPA Computer Programming Concepts Fifth Place Nationals

Athletic Activities (My school doesn’t do team captains for the sports I participate in):

• Freshman: Baseball, Golf, Archery (Lettered)

• Sophomore: Golf (Lettered), Archery (Lettered)

• Junior: Golf (Lettered), Archery (Lettered)

• Senior: Golf (Lettered), Archery (Lettered)

Extracurricular Activities:

• Freshman: 4H President, Quiz Bowl, Writer for School Newspaper, Band, Church Youth Group Member

• Sophomore: 4H Member, Quiz Bowl, Writer for School Newspaper, Band, Church Youth Group Member

• Junior: 4H Member, Business Professionals of America Vice-President, National Honor Society Member, National Technical Honor Society Member, Four County Student Ambassador, Writer for School Newspaper, Quiz Bowl (Varsity), Church Youth Group Member, Boy's State, West Point Summer Leaders Experience

• Senior: 4H Member, BPA President, National Honor Society Member, National Technical Honor Society Leadership Team, Four County Student Ambassador, Writer for School Newspaper, Band, Quiz Bowl (Varsity), Church Youth Group Member

Dual Enrollment Classes:

Comp I, Database Management, Microsoft Applications, Java Programming, Python Programming, Gen Chem I, Trigonometry, American Goverment.

My school doesn't offer AP classes but from what I understand Dual Enrollment counts the same as AP.

CFA (Passed):

Basketball throw: 53 ft

Pull-ups: 14

Shuttle run: 9.4 seconds

Sit-ups: 95

Push-ups: 62 for West Point 66 for USAFA

1-mile: 6:34

I already passed the medical exam. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!

Anyone know about this? Will this be a thing in 2022?

Found it here: https://www.afrotc.com/about/more-than-an-education/professional-development/

Hi all, a little background info:

No debt. Very debt averse due to my family’s experience with it. $4.5k in a Roth, $500 emergency fund, old car that constantly needs repairs.

I followed the conventional wisdom of getting an old beater with cash (~$4k) last June and have paid at least that much in repairs since I have owned the vehicle. The shitbox started leaking oil again today and I am wondering if it is time to cut my losses. I feel as if I am pouring money into a leaking bucket, literally. I want to set money aside to bolster my emergency fund (which keeps getting drained by the car) and keep contributing to my Roth, but as of now that is pretty much impossible. (On a much smaller note, it is preventing me from pursuing my hobby of fly fishing, but there are obviously much bigger problems in the world.)

So if you were in my position, would you sell the car (probably get $500-1000) and take out part of the career starter loan (.75% interest rate) in order to get a more reliable ride, or continue to patch up the shitbox in order to avoid debt? Thanks

So with housing the way it is I might apply for the waitlist at both Peterson (My soon to be base) and the academy. If I live on the USAFA but work at Peterson how bad would the drive be?

And does anyone have the stats for that?

I am currently a sophomore at an IB and I have been presented with the option of taking the diploma program, but I have heard some awful things about it. I already plan on taking a couple of IB classes but I have only seen a few vague answers from my searches on whether or not it is worth it. Any help will be much appreciated🙏 any tips or bonuses on how to aid my chances are also welcomed. God bless. (edit: typo)

I’m a cadet at USAFA and was just wondering if it’s ever been discussed/stated

Backstory: I'm a prior enlisted Airman who was accepted to the Air Force Academy through the LEAD program back in 2018. After doing a stint at the [Preparatory School] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/comments/a1uj6v/update_from_lead_program_and_usafa_preparatory/), I've now completed full years at the Academy, and have committed to doing two more. Throughout this time I've been making occasional posts to highlight the less known LEAD program, as well as shine a light on the nebulous institution that is the Air Force Academy. This is a long post, mainly for people who have been considering the program, so feel free to skip it if you're not into novels.

Also my original username u/BetTheCow has been locked and I am unable to recover it, so that's why my post history is a little light.

Sophomore Year: As a Sophomore, or Third-Degree Cadet (three dig), life improved significantly from the previous experience as a Freshman (Doolie). Life at the Academy still wasn't a normal college experience, but I felt like and was treated much more like an adult than I had been as a Freshman. Make no mistake, there were still some restrictions; I still couldn't own or maintain a vehicle at the Academy. Room still had to be in military order for most days of the week, and in one month I wore my blues more than I ever had on the enlisted side. Aside from that, the military obligations of this place were manageable. Academics certainly turned up a notch however; Both semesters I had six classes; four of them were technical. The Academy tends to make the core techy classes easy enough that a brick can pass them. But now that I'm getting into major's classes, there have been a couple nights where I've had to cancel plans because I was still working on homework. Still committed to what I'm doing though. As I've said before, it's easier to stomach harder classes when you actually care about what's being taught.

Leadership: After Freshman year, we start getting involved in the leadership of the Cadet Wing. Initial emphasis is primarily on building one on one leadership skills in a coach/coachee relationship. At a minimum, a Sophomore will be responsible for at least one freshman in their squad as their "coach", but supervisor would be a closer word to what the responsibilities actually entail. Additionally, Sophomores are given jobs in Squadron carrying out parts of the mission elements. The PA NCO will be writing news letters. The athletics NCO will be coordinatin

1. Sub 5.5 seconds shotgun time
2. Respectable body count
3. Reference from the Sendy Trinity (SaamO, OT, Hudbob)
4. Snap score in the range of 500k-1mil (if you’re over a million you’re green)

Sorry to all the applicants that are green and just realized they probably won’t get in. If it makes you feel any better you can always go to a state school, they take anybody.

I've had this conversion with dozens of grads at this point and the answer is usually no. Especially the pilots.

The consensus is that the military held them back, forced them into various terrible living and professional situations and that a civilian life would have been better in basically every way

Filling out the application, it asks for a ACT or SAT score. I scored a 22 on the ACT, I could probably do better if I studied. Should I retake the ACT or is this sufficient?

I ask because I don't know how much the ACT is weighted when looking into applicants. I had a high school GPA of 3.84 in honors classes. Are they looking at that stuff or more into my airmanship/letters of recommendation? Thanks.

I'm currently an A1C going through IQT/MQT for my job. My goal is to get to my first base in March, get qualified and deployed this summer/fall, and begin an application to USAFA next fall. I'll turn 22 in the spring before I'd hopefully start in the summer of 2023, which gives me one shot at an application. What are my odds of getting in directly to USAFA?

HS Stats:
HS GPA: 3.7
ACT: 33
Extracurriculars: Eagle Scout, mock trial, Model UN (w/ award from Harvard), several musicals, varsity Golf, National Honor Society, taught English in 3rd world preschool for 2 years, Knights of Columbus officer, member of a national committee of the Boy Scouts of America, led several 100+ person teams at national BSA events, student pilot, lots of other less noteworthy ECs

AF info:
1A AFSC, assigned to selectively-manned AFSOC flying unit
Rope in tech school (for those of you who are familiar with ropes, I did everything in my power to not be one of those ropes)
SQ award winner
Volunteering with Catholic Charities supporting Afghan Refugee Resettlement, with BSA, and in parish
Student pilot with 40 hours, will finish PPL soon

I haven't taken the CFA, but I'm in the high 80s on the AF PT test and working to up those numbers every day. PT is probably my weakest component, but I'm confident I can get a good score in a year.

In addition to the nomination from my SQ/CC, I'd be applying for congressional nominations in South Dakota, along with a Presidential nomination.

Do I have a reasonable shot?

Of course, assuming your grades are good etc, would being in an IB school for the 4 years of high school boost the chances (even slightly) of getting into the USAFA?

ANY advice helps!

Stats:

For context I am on my Junior year.

Academics:

• Unweighted GPA: 4.00
• Class Rank: 1 of 116
• ACT: I am taking the PSAT on Wednesday so I do not know where I sit there, but I have been prepping myself and I estimate I am within USAFA ranges.
• Honors/AP: Taken 2 honors and 1 AP. 3 Honors, and 3 AP after this year. Planning on 4 honors, and 5-6 AP senior year.

Certifications:

• Certified in Web Development 1 (only one in my class of ~30 to pass that exam)
• Video Productions 1
• Graphic Design 1

*Utah State Board of Education

EC:

• Debate: 3 years (I have a few awards from tournaments)
• Might be too late to join NHS this year but I will definitely join next year.
• I am working hard on fitness I might join track and field or cross country.

Other:

• Foreign Language: On 4th year of Spanish (not sure if this counts but I reckon they'll like my dedication)

Fitness:

As of now I can do 12 pull ups with good form and 80+ situps. I am skinny and have to work on push ups and my mile. I am on my second semester of my weights class and have it scheduled for another semester, I plan on taking it my senior year as well.

Hello I'm a citizen of Slovenia, a small country east of Italy, that is part of NATO.

I'm wondering what the process is for joining the USAFA as an exchange student, after graduating from high as a technician of pharmaceutical science, and serving with a Green Card after getting my Master's in anything science related.

I know I have to fill out an I-551, get a medical and background check, and have my educational documents translated.

As a side note my English is better than my mother tongue, so I don't think that will be a problem at any point.

So I would be extremely grateful for any information regarding the process.

Ultimately I want to become a transport heli pilot.

Thank you.

When I get to my first base in mid September I want to talk to my supervisor about going for a spot for the USAFA. I'm 19, single, 3.0 GPA (I regret not trying enough in high school). What prerequisites should I be aware of before I talk to my supervisor about potentially making the move?

So, Im just curious, assuming I get good grades, am in good shape, get into the USAFA etc, how likely am I to get a pilot slot? Just trying to figure some things out

Hey guys,

Did the co '25 portal say that aspiring re-applicants were to wait until July 1st to reapply? It doesn't say it there now, but I had something along those lines written down in my calendar, so I'm just curious if I'm misremembering the whole thing.

Really not all that important, but now I'm just wondering whether I'm here on time or 3 months late lol.

("Applications for the class of 2026 will open on March 1")

Thanks and good luck,

Asp

Hello,

Assuming a person was of service academy caliber, would choosing AFROTC over USAFA significantly worsen one's chances of commissioning? The subreddit's panic over the past few weeks has me thinking as much.

I would think, among the many other benefits of USAFA, academy graduates would receive commissioning priority- but I'm curious to hear if you think it's enough to be worried about as an incoming freshman.

Edit: I'm trying to get as much information as I can to make the best decision possible, both are amazing. Thanks for all the comments!