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@Janus1:

haha, yes, im well aware of that. but i had no interest in going to annapolis. part of my interest was focused on West Point itself (which i suppose contributed to my turning away from that path eventually). but another reason is that while all military academies have a heavy focus on math and sciences (i believe you graduate with a B.S. no matter what you major in), annapolis and Air Force academy are even more focused on math and science then West Point (im not a math/science fan). besides, if i was going to be a marine, i would enlist.  :mrgreen:

Ah OK.  Yes, like 95% of USAFA grads end up with a BS in Engineering of one form or another.  I was one of those very rare admissions:  one of the 5% in a non-engineering field (admitted as a Social Sciences Major).  There were not that many of us, and after I trashed my knees in Jack’s Valley, there was one fewer.

I had the option of Annapolis or USAFA.  Navy wanted me to do a year of prep-school first since my HS was weak on hard science.  Also turned down the scholarship to Stanford when I accepted the USAFA appointment.  Always wonder what would have happened had I been somewhere else and not ripped up my knees on the Assault Course…

@Janus1:

yea. Ive heard from knowledgeable people (graduates of USMA) that I could have converted my AFA acceptance into a West Point acceptance rather easily, though Im not sure how. But it wouldnt have been possible anyway, because I hadnt opened an application with the Air Force academy (having 0 interest in going there) and i was notified of my appointment several days before the deadline. I couldnt have completed the application in that time, had i wanted to. But by that point, i had decided against a military academy. i wonder what would have happened if i had elected to pursue my appointment.

BNot to bust your bubble, just correcting terminology.  You had a Nomination to USAFA, which means you had the listing from a politician.  In order to get an appointment, you have to fill out the application, go through a lot of screening, especially medical.  Then if you pass the screening AND if you get a nomination, you move on to final review for an appointment.

It is possible to get an appointment without a Nomination, but it is very rare.  And to get an appointment after being nominated but without going through the Pre-Candidate and Candidate screening process is impossible.  You can get to USAFA prep-school that way And then get direct admission the following year) but without the med screenings, no way to get an actual appointment (though in your case, having pursued West Point, you may have been able to get in based on that physical, etc.).

Each politician (Congressman and Senator) has 5 “slots” for each Academy.  Each year, for each available “slot” they have, they can submit up to 10 Nominations.  The politician can set up one of these as a “primary” which means that if the primary nomination is qualified, he MUST be accepted and get an appointment, or it can be an open list and the Academy can take any of the 10.  In my case, Congressman Shuster had nominated the son of a campaign contributor as his primary, but the kid did not meet standards for admission, so I was selected by USAFA as Shuster’s Nominee from the remaining 9 names.

Just trying to correct the various terms :-)

it doesnt matter where your fighting, you cant capture squat without the marines. :mrgreen:

:x can  we get back to the original topic you Corp haters? :x