spanky2 said:
My 2 cents as a zoomie (USAFAPTWOB), T-38 IP (CBM), and Fighter pilot (all over).
One step at a time. Get thru doolie year. Then get thru SERE. Then 3rd degree, etc, etc.
Dude, you beat me to it!
As a prior enlisted Preppie, I entered the Zoo at an advantage, as does your (usafa) son by virtue of him attending Wentworth. I wanted to go the Zoo and be a pilot before I finished the second grade, so I had no question about why I was there. And I'd do it all over again.
The Zoo is a meat grinder; no two ways about it. It challenges you on so many different levels that I rarely saw anyone get through the Zoo who did not face challenges in at least one area. I don't think that's changed.
While a 'guaranteed' UPT slot motivated me to drag myself through some tough times and graduate from the Zoo, he should not think about UPT in more than an abstract sense prior to 28 May 08 (his graduation date; make hotel reservations NOW!).
Currently your son has an advantage due to attending Wentworth. I had ~3.4 GPA my doolie year; finished up ~2.5. I wasn't the brightest in my class; my SATs were ~1300, but I used doolie year to my advantage. My peers caught up and surpassed me academically by the time 3 degree year started.
In spite of what fellow grads may say, the Zoo will handicap most graduates socially for about a year. I was fortunate in that my girlfriend (now ex-wife) lived in Denver and I saw her just about every weekend after doolie year. ... no correlation with my poor upperclassman GPA
I'll touch briefly on UPT, keeping in mind that it's putting the cart in front of the horse. I recommend a few hours of aerobatic training prior to UPT along with learning and flying an overhead pattern. I was a T-38 IP, so I didn't suffer through the overhead in the T-37, but I remember that was where most of my classmates found themselves suddenly filling non-pilot assignments.
I found that the most gifted pilots were right brain artistic types; I am a left brain and cursed with Hormel hands. I found that right brain people think in more abstract terms and are able to master the basics of flying much faster than us left brainers. But don't lose hope if your son has no artistic ability; as long as he's willing to gut out another year, he'll graduate from UPT.
That being said, tell your son to major in an area that interests him. I went there to major in engineering; I left with an economics degree (yeah, I know; weird). The fact that he graduated from a service academy will open many doors to him in the future; no matter his path in life.
One last thing that got me through the Zoo, the inscription on my ring: 'Illegitimi Non Carborundum.' This will explain it:
http://www.santacruzpl.org/readyref/files/a-b/bastard.shtml
