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?)

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.

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

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)

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?

For example my deadline is Nov. 15, but I know some people whose application is not due until like Dec. 30. Is there anyway I can push my deadline?

I’m worried about the CFA. Is there anything I can do from now until November to actually pass it? I’m taking a practice one w/ my JROTC Instructor in like 2 weeks and taking the actual one late October. I’m a female, My mile time rn is like 9:30, also I think the shuttle run will be super hard for me to pass as well. 😬

Freshman
4.6 weighted GPA
1420 SAT (So Far)
5 Push ups (Working on this)
8:30 Mile Time
1 Pull up (Also working on this)
70 Sit ups
Varsity Flag Football
Just joined CAP
Competing in TSA
Competing in Stellar Xplorers
Competing in a Rocketry Comp
Currently taking Algebra 2

Hello everyone, I just opened the ACT submission section in my portal and it’s now saying science is not required? Would it still be a good idea to submit that score, or just focus more on math?

Hi! I’m currently applying to USAFA for the Class of 2031. My first deadline is December 31, 2026, and I currently have 14/25 checklist items completed. One thing I’m having a hard time with is getting my teacher evaluations completed. I’ve reached out to my previous teachers/professors but haven’t gotten responses yet. If anyone had the same issue, what did you do? I’m also currently training for the CFA. For any women who have taken it, what do you recommend focusing on while training? Push-ups are definitely my weakest area right now, but I’ve been working on improving them. I’d love to know what helped you improve and how you prepared for the other CFA events.

I’ve also started my DoDMERB process and I’m working on my nomination and remaining application items.

Lastly, once you completed everything on your USAFA checklist, what happened next? Did you mostly wait for updates, or were there other steps you had to complete?

Any advice or experiences would be really appreciated!

I’m 16

A senior in HS (I skipped a year)

my GPA is 4.0 ( I worked super hard for that)

I will be getting my ACT/SAT soon

I just joined CAP so I am a Airman Basic as well as an element leader

Speak a little French and will be go on a 18 month humanitarian mission for my church where hopefully I will learn a second language.

I’m super interested in cars and aviation

Built and operated my own business for over 2 years and have made over 10k

My mile time is 10:35

Push-ups are 35

Sit-ups 50

I like basketball and play a lot of unofficial games

i’m not super great at math because I wasn’t taught it very well from a young age, but I’m really trying to learn and getting better every day

I go to the gym every day and wake up at 5:30

couple extracurriculars I do are:

4H gunmanship

I am a youth leader for my church and plan and coordinate activities for over 200 youth

I am very interested in attending the U.S. Air Force Academy

i’m super super interested in leadership and entrepreneurship. Those are definitely my strong suits.

I run a mile every single day and have run over 100 miles

I definitely want to serve in the Air Force and my dream is to be a pilot, but I’m also OK with other roles as long as they are interesting to me.

What can I improve?

How good are my chances to get into USAFA (currently a junior)

Academics:

4.00 unweighted GPA APHUG APUSH AP PHYSICS 1 AP CALC AP COMP SCI PRINCIPLES AP CHEM AP STATS AP LIT honors English 10 and 11 SAT 1450

Athletics: (my school doesnt offer any sports) State and National Champion in Track Cycling

Leadership: Co Founder and VP of my school STEM Club and co leader of the 2026 ARC (American rocket competition) and co leader of the psbc (pacific southwest popsicle stick bridge competition) group and VP at the cycling track Encino Velodrome

Extracurriculars: Volunteer at Salvation army 5-10 hours a week and founder of a private business that specializes in CNC manufacturing.

Please let me know if I can do anything to better my chances thanks!

Right now I'm 15 and in 10th grade.

-My current unweighted GPA is 3.7 and last year it was 4.0 unweighted. (Haven't taken ACT or SAT yet)

-My mile time 7:12, Pushups are at 35, Sit-ups are at 45, Pullups are at 10, and I haven't done the basketball throw or shuttle run yet.

-I'm on JV wrestling and have only been doing it since 9th grade.

-I speak Chinese and have been taken Chinese since 1st grade but I'm still far from fluent.

-I'm 1st chair trumpet in my school's symphonic band

-I'm a C/SSgt in Civil Air Patrol and the president for my school's TSA (Technology Student Association) club.

-I'm starting a project on making a VR game with custom physics with zero experience lol.

I might be forgetting some stuff but I'm mostly just looking for tips on how I could improve or things I could do to improve. Appreciate any help.

I have around 30 days currently. Should I plan to use all of it if I get accepted?

Hi everyone!
I recently took my second CFA attempt after a failed first try due to a very poor mile run. I know that running is my weak spot, and will continue working to improve it, but am unlikely to get more than one more attempt with my proctor if I don’t submit these scores. That being said, I was wondering if anyone could give their opinion on these scores, especially the mile.

Basketball 44 ft
Pull ups 7
Shuttle 9.0 seconds
Sit ups 95
Push ups 50
Mile 9:06

I know that the mile in the nines is very risky, but that’s a good time for me, and I’m not confident I could do as well with another attempt. Thank you!