Questions + USAFA

[Joshrk22]

Is it better to get your PPL + IR before you go to USAFA? Seems like you would be so busy that it would be impossible to remain current.

Also, I'm a junior in HS now; I took the ACT when I was a soph. and scored a
26. You can take the ACT as many times as you want, and I still have about a year until I need to apply to the USAFA. I plan on taking it again, but, do you think a 26 is too low? My GPA right now is 3.892 with 5 AP classes in my schedule for the next two years. How's it lookin' ehh?

 

[Deuce130]

Pretty good so far, I'd say. Make sure you're doing some kind of extracurricular activity. There's also a saying (not really true but it sounds good) that "not all athletes are cadets, but all cadets are athletes." It helps if you're playing some kind of sport in HS, especially if you excel at it or are team captain. Look for leadership roles at your high school - clubs, student government, etc. If you do get your ratings while in HS, it will be difficult to fly at the zoo, though there is a top notch aero club there, including a pretty good flying team that you can try out for. Other flying opportunities include sailplanes and the "Wings of Blue" parachute team. Good luck.

 

[Gorilla]

^^^ Correct. Well-roundedness is very important. They don't want one-dimensional characters. While MIT is happy to take a totally skinny, "Mr. Scientist" type with nothing on his plate except AP calculus and science, USAFA wants extracurriculars that demonstrate leadership, athleticism, as well as good grades. You should participate in clubs, CAP, community programs, boy scouts, etc.

Take your exams as many times as you want. I think someone who takes them multiple times shows determination to improve and excel. I took the SAT's three times, the ACT's once.

As for your aviation background, it doesn't hurt, but your chances to keep current the first year are pretty low. After that, there are opportunities. Soaring especially is a great way to go if you can become a CFIG there.


After re-reading your post, I'd recommend you take the time that you'd invest in a PPL and do a varsity sport instead. That'd have more power in your resume than a PPL. Saying "Solo'd a C152" will mean just as much as saying "Private pilot".

 

[Joshrk22]

Thanks for your replies guys. Well I already have my 2nd varsity letter. I'm quitting football to work and do my flying lessons. I figured work would have the same effect as football. I'm still doing varsity B-ball and track. When I graduate I will have 6 varsity letters.

I want to do my PPL now just in case I don't go, I'm still ahead of the game. I'm also a CAP cadet and am doing the lessons through there.

I go into my mom's school and volunteer an hour about twice a week.

This is going to be my third year in student council. The class president thing didn't work out, nothing I can do about that though. At least I was class secretary last year though!

I'm just deciding if quitting football was a bad move. I know I'm going to miss it, and I hate work, but I love flying more than football.

I have other numerous awards, but I'm not going to list them all; I keep them in a folder labeled "USAFA". Thanks for your replies I just wanted to get a general idea how my chances looked.

 

[Gorilla]

Your resume sounds excellent. If this fall is your Junior year, it is the most important in H.S. Start getting your stuff together and begin the annoying nomination process. Get your SAT's done, and compare them to historic levels for USAFA appointees. You may be questioned as to "why" you ceased a particular activity such as football. Just be sure the answer is something like "I wanted to devote more time to CAP" or something along those lines.

Good luck!

 

[Scrapdog]

I concur with everything Gorilla said. I did get the fortunate chance to get my PPL, my IR, and my multiengine IR before leaving high school for USAFA. While it didn't help at USAFA, I think it definetly showed my commitment to flying and my desire to be a professional officer. Bottom line - anything you can get extra besides just good grades will help in some way or another. Good luck - it's a great place to be from, but it has its rough times while you're there.

 

[Andy]

I'm quitting football to work and do my flying lessons.

I'd caution against it. Athletics will make you more attractive to the AFA than flying lessons & work experience.

I think that your ACT scores are a bit low for the zoo (nickname for USAFA; Annapolis is Canoe U; West Point is Hudson High). I'd take a study course to improve your scores; I think that you should find tutoring programs in your area.

What state are you from? This is fairly critical; if you're from CO, you will have greater competition to get into the zoo. If you're from OR, you've got significantly better chances.

If rejected, there are a couple of other paths to the zoo. If you're an athlete and they're interested in you, you may be able to get into the AFA Prep School. As an alum of the Prep School, I can tell you that it was well worth the extra year.
The second route, which I took, was enlisting and THEN applying for the Prep School. I'm no athlete, but was able to get in based on my SATs/ACTs (1310/1600 SAT; all but one ACT score >29). The foundation that I got at the Prep School got me through the zoo.

It sounds like you're a bit impatient on the flying thing. Get some lessons; don't worry about currency or certificates. If you graduate from the zoo, it's practically guaranteed that you'll go to SUPT as long as you're still pilot qualed and aren't near the bottom of the class (I graduated when 2.0 & go was good enough; I overachieved with a 2.5). Prior to attending SUPT, I highly recommend a few hours of acro.
Don't concentrate on flying today; it'll come. Take flying lessons during your summer break from the zoo; make your parents pay for them; tell them that they're not paying for your college.

Just my 2 centavos.

 

[Merlin'05]

Get your PPL. It doesn't help as much as many people think for the actual application, but it does a little.

I would say get it for the intangible reasons, because there it was immensely helpful.

You're going to understand concepts that other people will probably be scratching their heads at, especially early on. That may help in classes or other random parts of the Academy through your four years.

You'll gain some traits when you learn to fly that will help immensely at the Academy. This is the intangible stuff I was talking about. I still don't know how to really quantify it, but many of the things that help make someone a good (key word) pilot will also serve them very well in the Academy--if you are able to use knowledge learned in one area and apply it to a totally unrelated situation. Some people can't do that, so it didn't help them much. It also taught me to ALWAYS take the hard road if you have the option, it will serve you better later on. More on that at the end.

Doors will open if you have your PPL at the Academy that otherwise wouldn't. Of course there's the flying team. I was the last person cut for my year--it was my fault and non-flying/aviation related, darn those sub 3.0 grades. That was something I learned too late, other doors will close based on your GPA.

It helped me do much better in soaring, as well as make me a much more appealing candidate for being picked up for instructor upgrade--which by far was one of the best things I did there. Getting a chance to fly around every couple of days for three years, even more in the summer, for free--who can beat that?

Make sure you find a good instructor for your PPL though, that is much more important then how cheap the instructor is. Most people who had their PPL at the Academy, I wouldn't fly with them if my life depended on it (because it would). They sucked because their instructors didn't teach them much, only the min required, pushed them through at minimum time, and got the easiest flight evaluator they could find. Sure they may have had a more enjoyable time, didn't have to work as hard, and it cost less, but the end result was pretty clear.

My instructor worked under the philosophy that he would be the only person teaching me how to fly in my life, if he didn't teach it, or teach it well, he considered I would never get it later on, so the weight was on his shoulders. When he would teach me in the air, good enough wouldn’t cut it. If it wasn’t perfect, I would do it over again until it was. Furthermore, I would be the only person in the aircraft, there wouldn't be any one else to help me. It was up to me and only me to stay out of trouble, or if I did get in trouble, to be able to get out of it myself. If I didn't, I would be a smoking hole in the ground. He didn't want to see me on an accident report (I agreed with him). I had to prove to him on a daily basis that I knew my stuff and knew it enough to fly on my own in any situation. Because of that, he had a 100% PPL checkride pass rate with every student he had ever sent to an examiner (which of course I didn’t find out about until after the checkride).

I don't say that to brag. I say that to let you know the importance of flying with a good instructor. If your instructor isn't like that, go find another one who is. If you do that and take the hard road, what you learn will serve you extremely well, especially during your Academy years, flying later on, and throughout your life.