Hi, working on a college search for DS3, a current junior. He is interested in Space Force and his guidance counselor has never heard of it.
He is applying to the Air Force Academy. U of Alabama, U of Alabama Huntsville and our home state. What other schools should he look at?
GPA 4.26
SAT 1450 730 V 720 Math (first test, retaking Saturday)
Varsity Soccer (All State, First Division), Varsity Ultimate, Club Soccer
Eagle Scout, SPL, Venture Crew PL
etc.
Likely a Technical Major
Our budget, no deb, 80k over 4 years.
TIA
You can look at the astronaut scholarship and which schools sponsor that. ASF | Astronaut Scholarship Foundation
Look at Florida Tech. It gives merit scholarships and an Eagle scout scholarship too. There are several astronauts who teach at the school and several grads. Many NASA internships (and SpaceX).
I think with Space Force moving to Huntsville, that’s going to be the go to school.
Great. We will add Florida Tech. Thanks. Huntsville seems solid.
$/0k a year takes out Purdue etc. Arizona will be a tad over. UAH as said. Bama. FIT and ERAU won’t come in budget. What’s your home state ?
Other ‘cheap’ schools depending on grades AND TESTS are FSU, Ms State, Miami Ohio, Arkansas. Depends on what you are looking for aerospace wise…ie engineering, astronomy or otherwise. Also cheCk out UND …yes UND
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There’s no reason to look at ANY other schools, assuming you’re Alabama residents. The need to build a long list of schools is a modern construct of rankings. If he has a safety (guaranteed, affordable admit) that fully meets all of his needs, he could apply to a single school. I did. Make the USAFA his reach, apply to both AL schools, pick the one that he like best or the one that gives him the most money if they’re equal, and enjoy a BUNCH of free time, while tons of other kids unnecessarily stress.
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@tsbna44 Well it is possible for him to either take out a loan or contribute something. Additionally, he is applying for AFROTC. So with our 20k per year and about 6k from him in loans and I guess a bit from working, we could creep up to 27 to 28k a year for a budget. That means he would have student loan debt and our other kiddos didn’t. As parents, he gets $80,000 from us whether he needs it or not. Our home state is Rhode Island.
For UAH and Bama, he gets the top merit scholarship
Thanks. We are actually from RI. We’ve never been to Alabama actually. U of A has a great AFROTC and Huntsville has NASA and soon to have Space Force.
It’s easy to overthink this process. UAH in particular sounds like a perfect fit at a great price. I wouldn’t look any further. I would however visit both Alabama schools. Alabama is not Rhode Island. 
Check out Smarter Everyday on YouTube. It’s a great channel. Destin graduated from UAH and works in the aerospace industry.
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Tons of OOS KIDS… from the Midwest, northeast and even west. It fits the…I want cheap. Check Arizona. Bama. Uah is more niche but the town is huge in space. Plus the other schools mentioned for merit.
Eyemgh is right. Go for AFA. pick 3 or 4 other ‘simple apps’ And be done.
If you do it early and decide to change gears you have time later to apply elsewhere. U of AZ. BAMA. and UAH. no essay required unless applying to Honors. 90 mins all three done. They use their own apps although AZ will take common. All should come in near budget if student is a stud.
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Now I think about it since eyemgh mentioned ROTC then you can pick your school. If the AFA is a choice so should ROTC and come in at budget. Could expand to other schools of interest.
But why if the student wants to serve in the Space Force? NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is in Huntsville and Space Command will be too. If it’s a cultural fit, then why dig any deeper? All the opportunities he will ever want will be right there at a school that’s a certain admit and affordable.
#lookin4myslamdunkgif 
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It’s an option…but if they want to go to the AFA (and please thank your son for his willingness to serve), then maybe he wants an ROTC as back up. Or perhaps he wants a large or more traditional school…ie sports. But if UAH works for the OP it’s nice and easy…agreed.
But there are others like ERAU or Arizona or Purdue with ROTC That could work. There’s others too. Just if a UAH wouldn’t work.
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He does want AFROTC and he is applying to that. I actually think he should to firm up his career selection. He might possibly be able to play D1 for soccer.
If he gets AFROTC on top of great merit (we do not qualify for any need based aid), maybe I add Purdue, Arizona just in case Alabama is not a fit (though he is resilient and if he is serving he’ll have to live wherever.)
If he gets ROTC, look at the schools that have a cadet corps within them like Va Tech and Texas A&M. If he doesn’t get the Academy, one of those could be very appealing and they do well with military placement (for obvious reasons). They won’t likely be affordable without the scholarship though.
https://vtcc.vt.edu/
https://vtcc.vt.edu/join/faq1.html
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Purdue is about $40K for OOS residents and is stingy on merit aid so run the NPC to be sure it’s affordable before adding to the list. If affordable, I agree that it’s a great addition to your list!
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Huntsville, AL is a nice little town and has a bit of a different feel to it than other places in Alabama: it’s a different part of the state with a slightly different history; and, between the university and the tie-ins with NASA/Redstone Arsenal (the headquarters of the U.S. Space Command), lots of really smart people live there.
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ROTC is a good option if Academy doesn’t work out.
The Navy and Marines like pilots too. I seem to recall a popular movie about Naval aviators. Naval Academy could be an option too. They’ve produced the most astronauts.
Auburn would be a nice option. War Eagle.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/wtop.com/news/2016/07/12-colleges-that-have-produced-the-most-astronauts/amp/
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I would be cautious about this. D1 sports and a technical field are a tough mix, especially adding something like ROTC.
My son is an engineer. He didn’t have time for intramural soccer. He did have a 12-20h per week job though.
That said, it can be done. D1 football is more time demanding than D1 soccer. Josh Dobbs was the QB at Tennessee. He was an aerospace major and perennially on the dean’s list. He’s by far the exception though.
Good luck on the hunt. It’s a fun process!
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Good advice. I am also leery myself with him playing D1 and a tech field. Huntsville is D2. He is the top high school scorer for our state which is the smallest. (club season impacted due to covid) Some D1 coaches are following his profile. IDK He probably spends 3 or 4 hours a day on fitness because he loves sports and working out. D2 would be more comfortable if he keeps soccer. Not sure how ROTC would impact that.