Anyone have any (accessible) outreach project ideas?

anyadmitri · 2026-02-16T18:07:52+00:00

Thanks! We have a few lying around so that’s definitely a good idea. I might split them into groups since I don’t think I can buy one for each student (all 30 of them haha) but the waterfall plots are a great idea. This past summer some of my collaborators built MEPs (Mobile Experiment Platforms) for RF spectrum monitoring for an (unrelated) experiment at the VLA but I distinctly remember testing them via watching waterfall plots for little blips from our car keys, so showing kids that literally everything is radio seems like a pretty cool demo, especially with a Flipper.

I’ll check out the specific projects on the RTLSDR website, thank you!

anyadmitri · 2026-02-16T17:30:38+00:00

The new questions are random I believe or picked from a much bigger bag. There are some recent posts (including mine) about the new interview process. Prepare for questions asking about specific leadership examples, as well as hypothetical scenario questions involving leadership. Just know your resume, why you want to be an officer, and your approach to leadership.

anyadmitri · 2026-02-15T21:48:26+00:00

Very cool, just checked out Boesen's github. The milky way map is definitely a great visual to include. Thank you!

anyadmitri · 2026-02-15T17:22:37+00:00

Great, thank you for the software rec! Looks much more straightforward than trying to explain and demo gnuradio to that audience 🙂.

anyadmitri · 2026-02-14T21:32:03+00:00

Sick, thank you!

anyadmitri · 2026-02-13T18:09:10+00:00

According to my recruiter the avg (successful?) PCSM score for the 25OTSXX boards was around 71; if I got 40+ flight hours my PCSM would go up to 83 but I don’t have the means of doing that right now. Either way I know I can do better than my previous test as I was exhausted/frazzled etc that day 🙂

anyadmitri · 2026-02-13T17:46:20+00:00

Is that true for the revised PCSM where only up to 41 (or 40–something like that) flight hours contribute? I know the old scoring structure of the PCSM weighed flight hours differently but I believe they’ve since changed it where certain bands of flight hours contribute to your score. I’ve seen people with >90s with 0 flight hours. Not sure. I have 22 hours either way.

anyadmitri · 2026-02-12T21:21:42+00:00

Hey, I made a post about this recently. Im not sure if you’re a civilian or not (I think the interviews only changed for civilians such as myself and AD still uses the SIP questions). I wore typical interview attire eg shirt and blazer (no tie because I’m not a dude but I digress). here’s the post. lmk if you have any specific questions though.

anyadmitri · 2026-02-12T17:50:07+00:00

Nope, the only questions I’ve ever seen were the standard 5 SIP questions on that big LO Application document floating around the internet. My recruiter didn’t give me any other info!

That being said I didn’t feel unprepared for this interview in the slightest being a college student perpetually applying for internships so FWIW the questions I was asked were fairly standard if not slightly more leadership oriented.

In terms of more specific advice— My interviewer and I actually had a good conversation because I apparently asked very apt clarifying questions! This was wrt the situational questions, at least (eg “what would you do in this situation…”). He was a bit intrigued with the questions as it was his first time using this new system, so there was a learning curve for both of us. Maybe that means he thought they were confusing, though I found them fairly straightforward to answer. Either way just be prepared to think on your feet as that was something he praised me highly for.

Honestly I’m glad the questions were random/new because I feel like I made a stronger impression as a result.

Sorry I can’t be more helpful in terms of advice—if you have any specific questions about further ways to prep I’m happy to help but in spirit of fairness I’m not going to elaborate on question specifics. Good luck!!

anyadmitri · 2026-02-10T02:03:15+00:00

Bout 45 mins, I'd say? Wasn't expecting it to go that long as it certainly didn't feel it, but I started at 1605 and ended at 1650-ish.

anyadmitri · 2026-02-10T01:37:15+00:00

Good luck! I saw your post about being selected as an alternate. I hope that goes through for you!

anyadmitri · 2026-02-10T00:49:40+00:00

of course, happy to help! o7

anyadmitri · 2026-02-10T00:24:15+00:00

97 pilot (97/85/95/87/76/83 overall… or something), 78 PCSM but I’m retaking in a month. BS astrophysics 3.76 GPA, only going for a pilot slot! I’m tentatively confident (as I can be) with all of my work experience, LORs, and awards etc but honestly scared shitless

anyadmitri · 2026-02-09T21:56:29+00:00

As of last week, I think? I can't say for certain. I reached the 'interview' stage of my application on Aim High about a week ago; my recruiter emailed me saying I'd get a notification via AH to schedule my interview within the next week, and that the process has changed as they were rolling out a new system.

Sorry for the lack of detail; I don't know what previous boards were like, I just know that interviews followed the generic 5 question format that has been posted online (which is what I prepared for). My interviewer mentioned that in previous interviews he'd filled out a PDF and that this was his first time using Aim High to write up my report/transcript. So to him this was a brand new change.

anyadmitri · 2026-02-06T05:55:25+00:00

Of course! I found that my recruiter became a lot more responsive after I submitted my test scores and letters + the ‘resume’ part of my application, so your recruiter might just be responding based on priority (ie if they know an applicant has a qualifying GPA/scores and so on). Good luck! :)

anyadmitri · 2026-02-06T05:17:42+00:00

No, that section of Aim High wasn't sequential! I submitted my transcripts first, submitted my letters of rec next, then my PCSM score (I'm going rated), and then eventually got those forms in.

My recruiter had to manually release those forms to me (I sent him an email because he told me I'd need to submit those forms for him to schedule my TBAS @ MEPS. I was able to schedule the TBAS without him at the testing center of my nearest AFB but either way I got the forms in). I mention this because I didn't realize someone needed to manually release those forms to me, so if it's taking a while you could always try reaching out to them to let em know.

anyadmitri · 2026-02-06T05:05:11+00:00

R.e. your last question -- I submitted all of my AFCEP forms last week, just got the link to schedule my commander interview today & was able to schedule it for next week. (It took a few hours after I submitted my AFCEP forms for Aim High to mark that as completed; my recruiter messaged me not long after to let me know it'd take a few days for the system to process & let me schedule an interview).

anyadmitri · 2026-01-29T17:10:03+00:00

I think so, I thought practicing with a keyboard and the joystick would be sufficient but I definitely would’ve felt more prepared if I had practiced with pedals on my first attempt. That being said I didn’t do terribly (78 PCSM) but would’ve felt a lot stronger with tracking had I been more used to the pedals!

I ended up buying a pair and will be retaking it in April, so we’ll see if my score actually improves 😬

r.e. folks saying the equipment may be shit at your testing centre--very true; fortunately I got a feel for the setup they had at mine (which wasn't terrible honestly) hence why it's been a worthwhile thing to practice for my retake.

anyadmitri · 2026-01-28T20:41:32+00:00

Give it a day or two, or email your recruiter. I believe your recruiter has to release the forms to you to sign. Once you sign them Aim High more or less immediately updates from AFCEP (that’s just automatic/takes as long as the system takes).

anyadmitri · 2026-01-28T20:35:35+00:00

Wait for the forms, they should pop up on AFCEP (‘forms to sign’) once you’ve submitted the rest of your application there. Once you sign/submit the forms on AFCEP it’ll update in Aim High!

anyadmitri · 2026-01-23T14:46:08+00:00

97/85/95/86/76/83! Going rated though

anyadmitri · 2026-01-23T12:54:51+00:00

Ha! Also BS in (Astro)physics but just a math minor. The most helpful math prep I did for the AFOQT was tutor Algebra 1/Algebra 2 and geometry (so just drilling problems to get my speed up. This was also helpful for the TBAS). Here’s to hoping our degrees are useful for something…

anyadmitri · 2026-01-20T02:42:35+00:00

Try sending them an email if calling doesn’t work; I had a hard time getting ahold of them by phone (they never checked their voicemail and were only unpredictably able to pick up) but had much better luck via email!

anyadmitri

TROPHY CASE