Mogus said:
I'm applying to the U.S. Naval Academy and am still waiting to hear from them about my status. It's looking good, but I'm feeling out my options just in case I'm rejected. I'm looking for a school that offers accelerated Instrument and Commercial ME training at a reasonable price. I was thinking I could find a job flying freight or something similar for a year, while I applied to the USAFA, USNA and a few other schools. I'm looking for the type of school mentioned above, and advice on how to go about finding a job doing this kind of work. Thanks.
What exactly is your "waiting to hear" status? Have you received a nomination, or are you hoping to receive a nomination? Who are you waiting to hear from, and why do you think you might be rejected?
What is your primary goal? Is the USNA or USAFA a means to your goal, or is it THE goal?
The advice that's appropriate will depend on answers to these questions.
Perhaps I'm reading too much into the situation, but your suggestion that you might accelerate your flying career while you wait another year to get accepted indicates two things to me.
1) You might not realize what the service academies want in their candidates. Academic qualifications are critical, but other activities are important as well. Flying hours is NOT important. I'd venture that the vast majority of appointees have very few flying hours, and I doubt very highly that accelerating your flying experience will make you a more attractive candidate a year later. Greatly improved ACT's and SAT's will help, as will straight A's in freshman college-level courses should help.
2) You might have goals that don't necessarily include a service academy. The fact that you're highly interested in accelerating your flying indicates, to me, that you really want to fly. There are faster ways that do not involve a 10-year military commitment to achieve a goal of flying. Sure, you pay in different ways, but you get to make your own choices all along the way. You don’t have the luxury of having someone do your laundry for the next 4 years, but you DO have the luxury of saying, "No thanks, I don’t want to move there" or "thanks, let me think about that job offer and I'll get back to you."
If you're considering USNA and USAFA because of the paid education and the prestige of the institution, please think again. Those are certainly benefits, but they're not good enough to keep you there when the going gets tough.
