Getting into the United States Air Force Academy is the dream of nearly 60,000 applicants throughout the United States. Applicants are selected on several grueling categories, measuring their academic performance, athletic capabilities, leadership, community involvement and belief systems. Falling short on any one of these categories could put your application in jeopardy!
Of those 60,000 applicants, approximately 1,300 are selected to enter the incoming Cadet Class each year. That's an acceptance rate of one in fifty, about 2%. What sets the successful candidate apart is a number of factors.
First, the successful candidate has to have strong academics. You don't need a straight A average, but you can't have failed any classes. The Air Force Academy will also look at what kinds of classes you took – a lower GPA taking harder classes, particularly classes dealing with solid academic subjects, like calculus and physics and Advanced Placement classes, will be weighted more strongly than ones where you took the easiest classes possible.
Second, the successful candidate has to show that they're not just a bookworm. Perform in extra-curricular activities, particularly sports, to show that you're athletically up to snuff for the Academy. Sports that are "good indicators" are basketball, football, track and field, trap shooting and fencing. All of these sports build good cardiovascular endurance, and emphasize upper body strength.
The Air Force, like all of the services, puts a strong emphasis on leadership. So, it's not enough to participate in extracurricular activities, you also have to have strong community involvement. Do things that show your ability to lead, your ability to organize and your ability to get others to sign on to your plans and make them happen.
While the Air Force is officially agnostic, candidates who are involved in their local church services tend to get preferential admission. It doesn't matter what religion you believe in, it does matter that you believe in something is the official Air Force position.
Hopefully, these bits of advice will help you become an Air Force Cadet!
However one ex-cadet in the Air Force Academy has written a secret tell all guide on how to win appointments into the Air Force Academy!
To learn more about it and get the upper hand among all the rest of the students go to http://www.my-guild.com/AirForce
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Benjamin_Chin
Friday, July 13, 2007
Air Force Academy Appointments
The Air Force Academy inducts 1,300 cadets each year, and the competition to become an Air Force Academy cadet is fierce. Cadets are selected for strong academics, athletics, character, and demonstrated leadership ability.
However, it takes more than a 4.0 GPA to get into the Academy. Cadets must also meet certain minimum physical requirements, such as an 8 minute timed run on the mile, the ability to cover 50 miles with a heavy backpack, and several other stringent requirements. However, this article isn't about those requirements. It's about the some of the more challenging ones to meet.
No Air Force Cadet ever gets into the Academy without a good letter of referral; these letters of referral should come from people prominent in your community, such as your pastor, your high school teachers, employers you've worked for and the leaders of any volunteer organizations you've belonged to. They should focus on your strength of character, your work ethic, and your ability and willingness to go to extreme efforts to help others, and to accomplish difficult tasks.
You will also need an appointment letter. Every US Congressman and US Senator is allowed to make five appointments per year, as are the US President and Vice President. Additional nomination slots are available for the children of career military personnel, the children of veterans killed or disabled in the line of duty, and the children of Congressional Medal of Honor winners. The admission process is difficult and lengthy. Most students considering an Academy appointment should start making preparations for it during their junior year of high school.
What stops most candidates who get through the initial academic screening is weak letters of recommendation. It's worth your time to try and contact other Academy inductees to see what they went through to get into the Academy. If you're weak on the academics, there are programs that you can take that will instill strong study habits in you, including rigorous time management techniques and more.
Even if you have good academic scores, you'll want to improve your study techniques. All of the service academies demand not just a rigorous course in engineering, but that every student participate in at least one sporting endeavor, while also working through leadership and character-building exercises. Solid study skills are an essential component to not flunking out of the Academy.
However, the swing vote on getting an Appointment to the Academy is almost always the letters of recommendation and the personal essay by the candidates. Academic grades, and standardized test scores tell how well a student is at taking tests and following instructions, but it's the essays and the letters of recommendation that show the leadership and character that the Academy is looking for. Candidates with excellent letters of referral and weak academics have a better chance of getting in than candidates with strong academics and average referral letters.
Recently one ex-cadet in the Air Force Academy has written a secret tell all guide on how to win appointments into the Air Force Academy!
To learn more about it and get the upper hand among all the rest of the students go to http://www.my-guild.com/AirForce
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Benjamin_Chin
However, it takes more than a 4.0 GPA to get into the Academy. Cadets must also meet certain minimum physical requirements, such as an 8 minute timed run on the mile, the ability to cover 50 miles with a heavy backpack, and several other stringent requirements. However, this article isn't about those requirements. It's about the some of the more challenging ones to meet.
No Air Force Cadet ever gets into the Academy without a good letter of referral; these letters of referral should come from people prominent in your community, such as your pastor, your high school teachers, employers you've worked for and the leaders of any volunteer organizations you've belonged to. They should focus on your strength of character, your work ethic, and your ability and willingness to go to extreme efforts to help others, and to accomplish difficult tasks.
You will also need an appointment letter. Every US Congressman and US Senator is allowed to make five appointments per year, as are the US President and Vice President. Additional nomination slots are available for the children of career military personnel, the children of veterans killed or disabled in the line of duty, and the children of Congressional Medal of Honor winners. The admission process is difficult and lengthy. Most students considering an Academy appointment should start making preparations for it during their junior year of high school.
What stops most candidates who get through the initial academic screening is weak letters of recommendation. It's worth your time to try and contact other Academy inductees to see what they went through to get into the Academy. If you're weak on the academics, there are programs that you can take that will instill strong study habits in you, including rigorous time management techniques and more.
Even if you have good academic scores, you'll want to improve your study techniques. All of the service academies demand not just a rigorous course in engineering, but that every student participate in at least one sporting endeavor, while also working through leadership and character-building exercises. Solid study skills are an essential component to not flunking out of the Academy.
However, the swing vote on getting an Appointment to the Academy is almost always the letters of recommendation and the personal essay by the candidates. Academic grades, and standardized test scores tell how well a student is at taking tests and following instructions, but it's the essays and the letters of recommendation that show the leadership and character that the Academy is looking for. Candidates with excellent letters of referral and weak academics have a better chance of getting in than candidates with strong academics and average referral letters.
Recently one ex-cadet in the Air Force Academy has written a secret tell all guide on how to win appointments into the Air Force Academy!
To learn more about it and get the upper hand among all the rest of the students go to http://www.my-guild.com/AirForce
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Benjamin_Chin
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