Need some avice from any AF guys here

[Yenny]

Well, ive already go the glider license, and as soon as I turn 17 Ill have the powered too, so it would all be before I even graduate high school.

Yea, a lot of these cadet got their private, instrument, multi engine etc. It still doesn't mean much though. ^^ I'm army and I got my Pvt Lis.

[Buzzard7]

Curious as to why you don't think you would be accepted to the AF academy?
Physics and just about anything aeronautics plus ROTC is a good thing. My father did his college at Perdue in Indiana. Went to OTC after that and flew as an IP for most of his career. Did things with the T-38 that boggle the mind. Vietnam for one tour in the ov-10 and then last flight posting was Randolph AFB teaching pilots how to be IP's. The Academy does have a prep-school. Have you looked into that?

[DiabloTX]

Look no further than the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.

You'll be glad you did.

[Serenity]

Curious as to why you don't think you would be accepted to the AF academy?
Physics and just about anything aeronautics plus ROTC is a good thing. My father did his college at Perdue in Indiana. Went to OTC after that and flew as an IP for most of his career. Did things with the T-38 that boggle the mind. Vietnam for one tour in the ov-10 and then last flight posting was Randolph AFB teaching pilots how to be IP's. The Academy does have a prep-school. Have you looked into that?

Well, my grades aren't the best in the world. Theyre not bad mind you, theyre just not 4.0s. Ive always valued taking good classes over easy ones, so rather than soaring through remedial US History this year, im the only Junior in AP US History. Instead of starting with pre-alg and taking low-level math im struggling through Trig, etc. Ive taken the toughest classes my school offers, and even managed to get exceptions to get into more advanced ones, which while making me smarter than most of my classmates has left me with an unfortunately low cumulative GPA. That and I really dont have many extra curriculars. CAP takes up most of my time, and what free time was left went to earning my pilots license, and every saturday helping the boy scouts. So, my knowledge and skills are stellar in my specialties (Im not one to brag, but in all honesty, I am a damned good pilot. And I know my history.) I don't have the rounding the Academies look for in their selections.

Diablo, did you go to Texas A&M? My girlfriend is planning on going there if I dont make the Academy, and is begging me to go there too. I wasn't really looking too seriously at it though. Is it actually a good school for me?

[DiabloTX]

After the Academies no other higher learning institution puts more officers in the military than does A&M.  It's a damn fine school, had I the aptitude and the grades in HS I would have gone there in a heartbeat.  Plus, it's sort of in the boonies so it's hard to get distracted.  BUT, it is close to both Houston and Austin and sort of close to San Antonio which is the gateway to heaven, i.e. the Texas Hill Country.  If you want to be an AF pilot though stick with the technical degrees, math heavy-oriented.  A&M does offer an aerodynamics program, as does U.T.  But why would you want those lead wings the A.F. offers when the Navy's wings are made of gold?

[Serenity]

After the Academies no other higher learning institution puts more officers in the military than does A&M.  It's a damn fine school, had I the aptitude and the grades in HS I would have gone there in a heartbeat.  Plus, it's sort of in the boonies so it's hard to get distracted.  BUT, it is close to both Houston and Austin and sort of close to San Antonio which is the gateway to heaven, i.e. the Texas Hill Country.  If you want to be an AF pilot though stick with the technical degrees, math heavy-oriented.  A&M does offer an aerodynamics program, as does U.T.  But why would you want those lead wings the A.F. offers when the Navy's wings are made of gold?

Trust me, if I go to the same school as my girlfriend, there WILL be distractions...

Actually, to be honest I originally wanted to be a Navy pilot. The idea of doing the hardest thing in aviation, Carrier Ops was a real draw to me. But when I was about 12 I did a play with an AF Full-Bird (Yeah, I used to do some acting. It paid well but it wasn't my thing) and his goal when we started production was to convert me to a future AF pilot. He bombarded me daily with recruitment discs, planners, pens, posters, T-shirts, he even took me on a couple tours of Hickam. We became kinda close, (He had a son about my age back in Louissianna, but hadn't seen him for a couple years as he was divorced), and by the end he succeeded. I was in love with the Air Force and havn't looked back. Of course, theres also the motivator that my grandfather was in the Air Corps, my great uncle was in the Air Corps, my other great uncle was in the Air Corps, another great uncle was in the Air Corps, and there were a few other USAF officers scattered elsewhere in my family, all of whom were pilots. And finally, I know im too young to be thinking like this, theres the girl. I do think shes the one, but even if she isn't, some day Im gonna meet someone, and when that happens, Im not going to want to be gone 6+ months a year on a ship.

[DiabloTX]

Whether she's your girlfriend of not where there's women on campus there's always distractions.

You have some valid points about the Navy, and trust me when I say that those of use who have gone on before you to a stint or a career with the military all had girlfriends when we went in but very few, and I mean VERY few of us had the same ones when we got out.

[lowZX14]

Serenity, like Diablo says, no matter which college you go to, you will always have distractions.  My old Lt. in Iraq went to A & M and she yes she, was in the Corps of Cadets and loved it.  That's all she would talk about and actually a bunch of the officers on our base in Iraq were A & M alumni.  I suggest flooding the AF Academy, Naval Academy, West Point, A & M (even though I'm a die hard UT fan), VMI, The Citadel, etc.with your application, they can only say no.  Get a head start on all of this too, as it takes some time.  Check this link out http://www.military.com/Education/Content?file=ROTC.htm it gives you all sorts of nifty info on ROTC programs.  Also, like many others have said, don't count on flying once you become an officer.  The other thing to do is find something else you like in whatever branch you want to go in and prepare for that as well.  I do know that one of the wonderful things about USMC officers is that no matter what their MOS is, except for a couple, you can wind up doing a multitude of things with one MOS, case in point my Lt. was a Logistics Officer, and we were doing S-2 (Intel) work while in country.  Neither of us started out doing that, but learned how to.  I for one would push for the Naval Academy with the Marine option upon graduation, but I'm a little biased.  Myself, I'm currently working on finishing my degree, then I'll jump back into the active reserves as an officer.

[Phaser11]

Serenity
First go to school. Do not enlist and the go later. Were it has been done many times, it is much harder. If you can go to school first that is the way. The harder the major you take in school the better the officer jobs will open for you. A major in math or a high level science can open the cool jobs, but a major in middle school education may not.

But most of all go to school FIRST.

[superpug1]

YOU, my friend, need to look at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ. Now that my recruiting is done, out of our junior class last year we had nearly half of them get pilot/nav/abm slots. However if you need a scholarship and dont have a HSSP scholarship it is extremely tough to get one. almost everyone needs one and it is incredibly competitive since tuition is 36k a year. out of a school with 1900 students almost 300 are in AFROTC. 100 are in AROTC abouts. Thank being said, if you can deal with a sht ton of rediculous traditions A&M is for you. I looked at it, woulda had a full ride there with all the aid I have, but I dont want to walk around saying howdy and whipping out all the time. plus I dont like their uniforms. And that det is just to big. . . Has you applied for a HSSP scholarship? With CAP experience you should be gold as long as u do well on the PT test and the Interview (thats the most important part aside from extra curriculars and grades and class difficulty). I only had a 3.6 gpa, and my run time was a god awful 15:03 mile and a half (i had a 101 fever and it was sleeting...in texas). But with JROTC, CAP, AP classes, and letters, plus interview I managed to get one for what is essentially a poli sci degree (GSIS).

[Golfer]

Go to Riddle if you want to spend $150,000+ on your education and another $50,000 on flying.

[DiabloTX]

if you can deal with a sht ton of rediculous traditions A&M is for you.

Spoken like a true moron, errr, recruiter.  A&M has no more traditions than the military or any other higher learning facility.  But then again that's one thing the "librul fuqtardz" hate is tradition and the honor of passing it forward.  What A&M offers, beyond a mere sports program, is Pride.  Find that anywhere else that's not centered on the football/basketball/baseball program.  What's that you say?  It's that way at A&M?  Wrong.  The heart and soul of Aggieland is the Fightin' Texas Aggie Marching Band.

Gig 'Em!

[Shifty]

Serenity
First go to school. Do not enlist and the go later. Were it has been done many times, it is much harder. If you can go to school first that is the way. The harder the major you take in school the better the officer jobs will open for you. A major in math or a high level science can open the cool jobs, but a major in middle school education may not.

But most of all go to school FIRST.

What Phaser said. I joined the Air Force thinking I'd go to college in the evenings. This was before I discovered the wonders of being on a flightline 19 hours a day trying to get an F-111 in the air. Go to school FIRST!

[Rich46yo]

What Phaser said. I joined the Air Force thinking I'd go to college in the evenings. This was before I discovered the wonders of being on a flightline 19 hours a day trying to get an F-111 in the air. Go to school FIRST!

Yeah, if your keeping airplanes flying then there might be a lot of nights you cant make it to class. Other then that the AF always trys to accomodate school on-base. I agree dont even think about enlisting and "going later". That would be the worst mistake you ever made if you want to be an officer. Nothing wrong with being an enlisted man, "I was one", but its not the best path to being an officer.

[1pLUs44]

Alright, its getting to that point where I NEED to decide what college im going to and what courses to take. My first choice is of course, the Air Force Academy, but I dont expect I will be accepted. So, I am looking for some good alternate colleges. The first two I looked at were in Colorado, but I would also like to look at some Colleges in Texas. Basically my only requirement is that they have a USAF ROTC detatchment. While I have a list of all AFROTC colleges in TX, I figured it would be good to hear from people who went to some of these schools, and im sure there are a lot of you.

Also, Im really not too sure what to take. Ive tried talking to recruiters out here, but Officers coming from Hawaii schools seems to be almost unheard of, so all the recruiting offices say is "Enlist! You can go to college later." I know a hard science is required, and again, I have a list of what hard sciences are accepted at each school, but I would like to hear first hand what people who have gone through it would recommend.

So, basically, in order to go into the Air Force as an officer and a pilot, is there anyone here who has gone through that process or who has kids that have, who could reccomend a school or course? Thank you! I have my own oppinions of course, but its always great to hear from a third-party.

almost every college in Texas is an ROTC college. A&M has a college for all branches except Coast Guard, which is something you should be interested in if you're looking at Engineering. If you want more business related stuff, you should look at UT.

Temple Texas also has a ROTC college, I dont know if it's for the Airforce, or what, but since it's close to Fort Hood, I suspect all 4 too.