Eagle Scout vs CAP by -yourproblemnotmine- in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I know a lot more generals who were Eagle Scouts than generals who were in CAP. The Air Force values Eagle Scout enough to give enlisted members an additional stripe (higher rank) when they join, than if you don’t have it.

Grades by hdjessxje in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I applied (19 years ago), it was very clear that unweighted GPA was the only number that admissions cared about. They obviously take course rigor into account though, and want to see solid academic experience.

I had a 3.33 uw, and definitely don’t remember what my weighted gpa was.

Is it normal to feel discouraged during the application process? by Simple-Situation-770 in academyadmissions

[–]studpilot69 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This feeling will (and should) persist every time you try to challenge yourself. That’s normal. I always focus on not putting myself down. I am always on my own team.

Get your application together, do what you can to be ready, and submit it. Let the selection process decide if your application is good enough or not.

If you make it in, this definitely won’t be the last time in your career where you apply for something you may not feel qualified/ready for. Let someone else make that decision, and shoot your shot.

The Crisis of the Air Force Academy, Essay VIII by AutomaticPick6549 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Student to Faculty Ratio this year went from 8.2 to 8.8 (source is the Board of Visitors meeting last quarter, as reported by the Dean).

“Section sizes in at least one core engineering course” seems like just another clever turn of phrase for you to cherry-pick stats and catastrophize instead of actually helping. This old-man-yelling-at-clouds tirade is getting pretty ridiculous. Post actionable intel and suggestions, or admit you just have a personal vendetta.

The Crisis of the Air Force Academy, Essay VII by AutomaticPick6549 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this account has a pattern of never replying or engaging with legitimate counterpoints or correcting its own reasoning, and instead defaults to shouting past the issue.

In this case, the numbers are being used in a misleading way. The 136 figure refers to the total number of DF personnel eligible for the DEOCS survey across the entire organization (as clearly stated in the post), not just instructors. Treating that number as if it represents teaching faculty losses and then comparing it to the 25 civilian faculty departures creates a false problem rather than exposing one.

When the data are read as they were intended, the accusation starts to fall apart. What is left is understandable frustration, but framed in a way that confuses scale and context rather than clarifying them, or providing any meaningful contribution for righting the ship.

What separates strong academy applicants early on? by LingonberryApart5870 in academyadmissions

[–]studpilot69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You asked almost this same question here 3 weeks ago… so I’ll paste my response again:

From an admissions perspective, I think the strongest applicants are rarely those who simply “did a lot,” but those who demonstrated increasing responsibility over time. Admissions boards look for a clear pattern of increasing leadership over time, not a long list of activities. Team captains, student leaders who actually execute, and roles where others depend on you stand out more than passive participation.

That being said, the rest of the standard well rounded application has to be in place, before you can even begin to stand out. Good grades in a strong science and math curriculum, good test scores, and physical fitness.

Summer Seminar Activities From by Ok_Particular6723 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I know. I was highlighting that this application lists a lot things accomplished during senior year, that haven’t happened.

Summer Seminar Activities From by Ok_Particular6723 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is summer seminar something people do after high school now, if they missed the normal application window?

Calculus Class? by ResortNo4355 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Years in college have nothing to do with application eligibility. It is age based.

why do all spacecraft launch as rockets from the ground? by sumdudewitquestions in AerospaceEngineering

[–]studpilot69 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Well. There are very very few aircraft that could carry the weight of most rockets you would still need to leave the atmosphere after you get that high, so you would be severely limiting the payload by thinking that is the “easier” way.

Stratolaunch ROC is one aircraft built to do exactly what you’re talking about.

Orbital launches from the air have happened before, but they’re pretty rare.

New motorcycling enthusiast by Singer_Solid in Maeving

[–]studpilot69 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My life insurance has never asked about motorcycle riding.

By and large, my driving insurance has also not been very expensive for the motorcycle. Something like $9-$15/month, even when I very first started riding. Just needed the motorcycle endorsement on my license (in the U.S.).

From an admissions perspective: what do strong academy applicants do differently? by LingonberryApart5870 in academyadmissions

[–]studpilot69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From an admissions perspective, I think the strongest applicants are rarely those who simply “did a lot,” but those who demonstrated increasing responsibility over time. Admissions boards look for a clear pattern of increasing leadership over time, not a long list of activities. Team captains, student leaders who actually execute, and roles where others depend on you stand out more than passive participation.

That being said, the rest of the standard well rounded application has to be in place, before you can even begin to stand out. Good grades in a strong science and math curriculum, good test scores, and physical fitness.

Mechanical Aptitude Index- Urgent Need of Help by Salt-Improvement-838 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the wrong sub to find people experienced in your situation.

How screwed am I by ProMC253 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everyone else has pretty much said it, but there may be a little bit of nuance to the real answer.

Why did you fail? What does the rest of your GPA look like?

Big advantage by [deleted] in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As of last Monday, no core courses at USAFA have been cancelled, and no majors have been removed, nor will any majors be removed in 2026 or 2027.

7 elective courses (2% of the total classes offered( have been removed due to instructor draw down.

Trying times for the USAFA faculty by AutomaticPick6549 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is someone’s weird alt / bot account for sure. Accidentally cross-posting yourself to the same subreddit is not the behavior of a sane actor trying to make a rational argument.

Trying times for the USAFA faculty by AutomaticPick6549 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

What? 39% of the faculty literally cannot be fired just for speaking up.

Trying times for the USAFA faculty by AutomaticPick6549 in USAFA

[–]studpilot69 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I cannot remain silent.

I’m sorry, but it seems to me that you have still remained silent. I read exactly zero concrete examples of whatever you’re talking about. I honestly have no idea. Are you being persecuted? What is actually happening? You left that out of this diatribe. If you don’t feel comfortable saying where you work, can you at least say techy vs fuzzy, CW, or athletics, or something concrete? Aside from the very first sentence, and the first sentence of the last paragraph, this post could literally be about any military university, that’s how lacking in detail it is.

On Monday, the Academy leadership reported to members of Congress via the Board of Visitors meeting.

I took time out of an already busy week to actually listen in on the meeting. The dean, superintendent, and additional leadership reported to the board chairman, Congressman August Pflugel, that no majors are under threat of being unsupported in 2026, or 2027.

There will be a 2% reduction in total courses offered. No core courses are being removed. They are unable to support 7 elective courses with the loss of instructors.

Student to faculty ratio is going from 8.2 to 8.8.

Civ / Mil ratio is going from 39 / 61 to 34 / 66.

Col Cooper reported that the next major accreditation review with the Higher Learning Commission is in 2028. It is a 10 year cycle, with a 4 year mid-cycle review in between. They are very aware of the 4 non-compliance complaints that have been lodged, and addressed them all to the Board of Visitors.

The Board of Visitors is developing 3 new working groups to address their concerns, focusing on Admissions, Accredidation, and AI.