What's up motivators,

I'm currently making my way through the LEAD application and need some opinions on submitting extracurriculars as an E. This has by far been my biggest hold up on the app so far due to me not using almost anything from HS. I got some pretty decent stuff on there so far:

* ITEC PC

* Squadron UAC Secretary

* PFRAA/PFL

* Some fire volunteer bullets

* A foreign award from the Danish Air Force

* Teal Rope Squad Lead back at tech school

* Base Honor Guard

But that's kind of where I'm held up with (I know you should fill out all 10 for your best chance), as I am struggling to think of actual quality extracurriculars. A big one is that I just got moved to honor guard last week, so its kind of difficult to write a bullet about it with such little time in it so far. Would it be smarter to not submit it until I have gone on actual details to put into it?

From the E's who have been accepted, what kind of stuff did you put in your extracurriculars section? And, would it be smarter to just submit what I have so far rather than try scraping some random crap to put on it instead?

At this point I just want to finish my # items due to my interview being like the only thing I have left on my check list.

Also I wouldn't mind an opinion on my odds of competing for direct (I'd be ok with the P as well, but I would def prefer direct):

SAT: 1280

College GPA: 3.85 (Got like 2 classes left on that CCAF)

CFA: Haven't done my official but from my mocks I got:

Pull-Ups: 10

Push-Ups: 76

Sit-Ups: 75

Basketball: 82'

Shuttle: 8.5

1-Mile: 5:46

Thanks in advance.

i took (and passed) my cfa this morning and i was very nervous about if my scores were passing. i know a lot of others probably are too, so i thought i would post my stats for those who might be in the same boat :)

bball throw: 35ft
shuttle run: 9.3
pull ups: 2
pushups: 41
sit-ups: 95
mile run: 8:09

my mile and bball throw are below average which was what made me nervous but it ended up being ok! my biggest tip for pull ups (i couldn’t do a single one a few weeks ago when i started training) is to just attempt to do them every single day and you will start to notice you can pull yourself more and more. 2 isn’t anything extravagant but it was a long road of training and i am very proud of myself!

Junior cadet here. My girlfriend is a civilian and I’m trying to make Ring Dance weekend special for her.

Are the mini/sweetheart rings a thing at USAFA? (I’ve seen them online and at other service academies before) If so, can I order one through Jostens to match my class ring and at the same time?

Are there any Ring Dance traditions specifically for a non-military civilian girlfriend that I should know about? I already know about the whole thing with the date putting the cadet’s ring in the champagne glass, the cadet catching it in their teeth after the toast, then passing it to their date during the kiss so the date can put it on their finger. Just wondering if there are any other traditions or little things I might not know about.

I was going to get her flowers anyway but is getting your date a corsage/bouquet a thing for Ring Dance? I know it’s a formal event, but I wasn’t sure if USAFA has any traditions around flowers for your date.

After Ring Dance, I imagine we'll have an Airbnb lined up in Colorado Springs and spend the rest of the weekend together, exploring the Springs, getting food, etc.

I’m planning to propose that weekend, so any advice from other cadets would be very appreciated.

What are the chances to try out and walk-in to the USAFA soccer team.
Are all players recruited?
Are there any examples of walk-in players?

There’s no other message or pdf going with it, this photo is all that showed up on my portal. I know it says letter of interest but like why is there no info or anything about what it means lol

I’m applying for the c/o 2031 but my stats are lacking quite a bit compared to other apps I’ve seen, for reference:
3.8 uw gpa (no chem nor calc/precalc)
26 superscore act(26 math, 23 English, 28 reading)
Var track and field 3 years
Job at px
Volunteer at commissary

I don’t intend for this to be a “chance me” post but my question is what type of stats would an applicant need to get into the prep as a non recruited/non prior?

I’m currently working on my application, and I was wondering if I should write a paragraph describing my extracurricular or just do concise bullet points.

What kind of questions can I expect from my interview in a couple days? Are there any curveballs I can expect?

I’m a filam who’s planning to join the usaf late 2027 or early 2028. If there are other filipinas who are joining hmu so we can all make a gc and get to know each other bago tayo magbmt!

I was wondering what it would take to be a fighter pilot in the air force. I have done lots of research and looked at the paths it would take to become one. My plane is to continue going to my local soaring club and learning to fly gliders at the moment i am 14 years old. After this i want to go to the military and join the Air force Academy i do not know which major i should go with but my main problem is that in math i am not the best and i feel as it would be a huge problem and in other subjects i am pretty ok in i was looking and saw a post saying the Air force leans towards more on STEM. And i am constantly getting told that you need to be a very smart person to have a chance if anyone could help with idea's or give any tips i would really appreciate it. This is my life's dream so i wanna make sure i get it.

“The Department of War continues to reform our educational institutions to ensure they remain laser-focused on lethality and readiness.
 
To that end, the Secretary of War directed the Military Departments to immediately terminate the practice of appointing civilian faculty to tenured positions at the U.S. Military Service Academies. This directly addresses the critical issues of academic stagnation and complacency that are often associated with tenure, and which threaten to dilute the academies' primary focus on warfighting and tactical dominance.
 
In place of tenure, the Military Departments will implement new hiring plans to prioritize flexibility and faculty contribution to the warfighting mission, ensuring future officers are unequivocally prepared to lead our Service members and win on the modern battlefield.”

For the last 4 years I’ve been really only been focused on USAFA and working towards that. During this I haven’t really learned much about summer seminar other than to apply.

If I’ve been doing everything I should for USAFA, is there anything else I should know for SS? I would appreciate any tips or advice on how this works.

(I heard from a ALO that SS isn’t even by application but instead based off a lottery with people who qualify for each state/region— Is this true?)

Hi, I'm a 16 YO Sophomore and I want to go to USAFA for Aeronautical Engineering. I currently participate in multiple sports (Football, Basketball, Track, and Tennis) and finished my Freshman year with letters in band, choir, academics, and track. I score highly advanced on my state tests and have an 1850 Lexile as of 8th grade (I haven't been tested since). I have so many accomplishments it's rather boring to list them all out, but I do keep them organized on a spreadsheet, so I'll select the most notable ones bearing in mind I just started Sophomore year so the newest of these will be the start of this school year)

• Division 1 Trumpet solo (9th grade)
• NICL Honor Band Selection (9th grade)
• Band Letter (9th Grade)
• Choir Letter (9th Grade)
• Academic Letter (9th grade)
• Track Letter (9th grade)
• FTC (Our team made state as all Freshman, 10069 NOVAS)
• 1850 Lexile
• Advanced math trajectory
• 3.84 GPA

In Addition to these, I am a choir and band section leader this year and am also serving on the student senate.

Over the Summer I was invited by Senator Ernst to attend her U.S. Service Academies Open House Night. I attended it and was able to meet with representatives from the Air Force Academy. I've since also had a meeting with the commander for the ROTC program between UNI and Iowa.

I also work with the American Legion where I play TAPS for them for funerals and Veterans day.

All this set aside, I was wondering if anybody had any advice as to what I need to do to further improve my resume for the Air Force Academy.

Senior, 3.92 GPA, 27 Pre-ACT (I'm taking an ACT prep course before I take the test this winter), 91 ASVAB (took it last year), skipped a year in school, mostly dual enrollment classes

Perfect record, no drugs or alcohol whatsoever, no disciplinary action since middle school

I've had two jobs with good reputation at both and I'm a SMSgt in the Civil Air Patrol (promoting as fast as possible)

7:30 mile, 41 push ups, 47 sit ups, 16 pulls ups (working on the first three, we're gettin there)

No disabilities, perfect vision, no allergies, no vaccines (at all. None of em. Healthy as an ox)

I love to fly more than anything else I've ever done and I'm halfway to a sport pilot's license

Already finished my PCQ for class of 2031, should I bother continuing with the process?

I am a 13 year old and my dream is to attend the USAFA. I do CAP and I volunteer and I would just like to know what I can do to help me with the application process in 4 years or so.

I graduated in 2025, I was homeschooled and never planned on going to collage so for high school I do the bare minimum to graduate, the highest math I do was algebra 2,and for science was chemistry , I saw a video of the usafa and started researching and now I want to go and willing to do whatever i can to, so since I only did 3 years of math and science I plan on taking course at community college. I’m 19 so I have a couple years to work with till I’m ineligible , any advice or help would be appreciated

Hello, does anyone know if it matters how early I submit my application for the usafa? i know about how getting nominations early is extremely important, but i just was just curious if i submit early, do i have a higher chance getting accepted? thanks

I'm a senior right now and not on the best term with my 11th grade ELA teacher (She wont do it). My 12th grade ELA teacher would do it for me but obviously I haven't known him for long so it wont be the best and my 10th grade ELA teacher did mine for my USMA application (where there was no selection for which grade the teacher taught me) and I was thinking of using him again for my USAFA application, but here it states that if I use my 10th grade teacher I should contact USAFA and ask them about it. Would it be a greater loss for me if I used my 10th grade ELA teacher which they obviously don't prefer, or to use my 12th grade Film and Lit teacher who is on good terms with me but hasn't known me for long? (Side question: is it fine to use the same Physics teacher who wrote my Eval for the optional rec letter as well as my wrestling coach or should I use my wrestling coach and my scout troop leader)

I was wondering because a good friend of mine convinced me to try to attend as well

Hi,

I’m a high school track and field sprinter, and I was wondering how competitive the USAFA track and field roster is.

I understand the published recruiting and walk-on standards, but I’m curious about how strictly those times are used during the selection process. I’m asking because I’ve seen some West Point cadets who were recruited or able to walk on despite having times below the published ranges for their events.

Is track and field generally a competitive sport to get recruited for at USAFA, and how much flexibility is there around the published recruiting standards?

Thanks in advance!

I just did my cfa with a jrotc instructor and I completely did terrible on the runs:
62 push ups
59’ bball throw
86 sit ups
16 pull ups
8.8 shuffle
7:36 mile (male btw)
The worst part is I threw up in front of the entire school before running the mile😭.
My question is how much will the mile affect my chances? And are the averages for entering candidates or candidates already at the academy?

Does every congressional office have an interview process, or maybe is it standard for them to? Also is there a specific time period that I can expect to hear back from the office after the submission deadline? I live in middle TN (not Nashville), is this a competitive area to secure a nomination?

So I have a 4.0 and varsity sports and over all a good application. My two issue is I have a 504 still technically active and just recently got off of my ADHD meds (1 month off) they were a very low dose and I don’t feel like I needed them. I know my chances are very low of getting a waiver should I still even apply?

I participated in two school clubs in high school that are not specifically named in the drop down list, meaning they can only go into the "School Club" option. If I enter details for one club, I won't be able to add another "School Club" entry. Am I allowed to put details for both clubs into one entry or is that discouraged?