<p>The Air Force Academy is one of the military service schools. On the same par with West Point. I don’t think anyone would argue that this is not an elite institution. The acceptance rate for the academies (West Point, Annapolis, and the U.S. Air Force Academy) is about the same as that of the Ivies. They are extremely competitive schools to get into. The Air Force Prep School is just that, a preparatory high school for prospective AFA students. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the OP looking for others to join a forum. This is a prep school board, after all.</p>
<p>Oops sorry…I did not see stef’s more thorough description. My own son did apply to the Air Force Academy out of boarding school. He did not gain admittance, but he did receive a full ROTC scholarship to college.</p>
<p>Keylyme: congrats to your son- at which college did he gain admittance and ROTC scholarship? Did he have to apply for that separately?</p>
<p>For those looking for some specifics about the program, this link was very interesting:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usafa.af.mil/superintendent/pl/Incoming/Direct/DirectEntryInformationforIncomingCadetCandidates.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usafa.af.mil/superintendent/pl/Incoming/Direct/DirectEntryInformationforIncomingCadetCandidates.pdf</a></p>
<p>And I was wrong – students do not get college credit for classes there (although I have been told otherwise-- so maybe there is a program aligning with the local community college).</p>
<p>And the biggest difference between USAFA prep school and other boarding schools?? Room/Board/Tuition is free and they pay the students $800/mo to attend!</p>
<p>double post!</p>
<p>ROTC scholarships are separate from service academy applications. And you have to apply for all the service academies separately.</p>
<p>Let me underscore that, while the USAFA prep school is sui generis, it is more like a PG-only high school than a junior college. Graduates enter USAFA as first year cadets (freshmen) and receive no credit towards graduation in the way a JuCo transfer student would at a civilian school.</p>
<p>Correct – the students that I know that received college credit after attending the USAFA prep school did not attend the academy. They chose to pursue other options – and that other program may have been the vehicle where the college credit was granted.</p>
<p>In reference to a previous question, I should also mention that I know of at least two graduates of internationally-recognized prep schools (I’m trying to avoid the kids’ acronym games) who went on to USAFA. I believe West Point and Annapolis (especially) enroll more. Aside from sterling grades, SATs, service, and character, applicants need to get a congressional appointment, so if you have a son or daughter who wants to apply, make sure they don’t lose touch with their home community.</p>
<p>Salisbury School sends quit a few to Annapolis, West Point and the Air Force Academy. Occasionally, they receive a PG at the request of one of the Academys. You might see them playing later on for the their colleges’ Lacrosse, Football or Hockey teams. The individual pays for 1/3. the Academy pays for 1/3 and the school pays for 1/3 of the PG year tuition. These young men (Salisbury) are outstanding, mature additions to the Salisbury community and culture, and are always welcome.
I have heard good things about USAFA Prep.</p>
<p>The Navy has parallel programs to the two described above. Apparently only 40 to 60% of the Naval Academy plebes come direct from high school on congressional nomination. Some come through Naval Academy Foundation scholars PG program. Some come through the Naval Academy Prep School at Newport. </p>
<p>Students who, as high school grads, are not quite up to NA standards (usually having come from HS with lesser science/math programs) are recommended by the Naval Academy to the Naval Academy Foundation. The foundation offers full tuition PG scholarships resident at several colleges and prep-schools, including NMH. Students reapply to the academy and are almost assured admission.</p>
<p>The Newport prep school is generally for naval enlistees with high school educations who are internally identified as potential officer/Naval Academy material. After they bone up on academics at the Newport prep school, they transfer to the Naval Academy. Newport prep is also where recruited athletics are brought up to speed academically, without losing athletic eligibility. Newport Prep is internal; one can not apply to it from outside the Navy. It is consider less rigorous and less prestigious then the Naval Academy Foundation PG Scholarships. </p>
<p>There is also a small number of people with bachelor degrees in hand that enter the Naval Academy.</p>
<p>Regarding post #17 - hsmomstef-“I do know from personal experience that many of the athletes that attend the prep school don’t make it – the academics are just too difficult, and they drop out.”
What kind of personal experience is this?
I have a ton of personal experience through my children my brothers and myself with athletes in boarding school, and to say they flunk out or drop out just doesn’t sit right. It’s not true.
The athletes we ALL knew growing up and now(at Lawrenceville, Middlesex, Salisbury, Emma Willard, Harvard-Westlake, Deerfield, Choate, Groton, Anhdover, Cate…need I go on??) left their boarding schools because they partied too much. NOT for academic reasons.
Maybe you are just talking about the Air Force School. If so I’m just driving through:)</p>
<p>Sarum – I am talking about the USAFA Prep School ONLY! That is certainly not my opinion of athletes at prep schools, or even athletes in general.</p>
<p>My experience is entirely anecdotal. An organization I work with processes the uniforms of the cadets who do not make it through the program. They are generally athletes were wanted to attend the academy, but didn’t have the academic background to succeed – thus they were sent to the USAFA Prep school (I have no knowledge of other prep school programs). They often leave their report cards in their pockets (don’t ask me why, but they do it all the time). </p>
<p>I do not mean that athletes are not intelligent – nor that prep school athletes are not also academically oriented. I am speaking specifically to the USAFA prep school and athletes that attend. I suspect that it is one of several things – they aren’t prepared for the academic workload and lack study skills in addition to lacking the academic background that kept them out of the Academy and/or they just decide that they don’t want to do the work. The USAFA Prep School requires approximately 4 hours of study each evening after classes and another 5+ hours of study on the weekends. For kids that are used to taking easy classes and spending most of their time playing football and basketball, this is a shock.</p>
<p>I think she’s just talking about the AF preparatory school. The Academy (by which I mean the college) competes in Div-I athletics and fields teams in an unbelievable number of sports – from fencing to boxing to gymnastics. Plus, there’s a huge emphasis on having a winning football team that can go to bowl games, knock off top-10 teams, etc. So that prep school is a way to test out athletes from all over the country to see if they can get their grades up and hack the Academy experience. I’m sure there’s some illicit partying, but nothing to what I saw in NE boarding schools and college. If these kids want to party, they aren’t going to waste a year trying to get into a service academy when they could easily get a scholarship to a civilian school and party all they want.</p>
<p>I would guess there is no partying – the supervision at the USAFA Prep School is very restrictive and the consequences of breaking rules is unbelievable!</p>
<p>And you should see the size of some of these kids!! Shoes size 16 and XXL/XXL BDUs – that is a big kid!</p>
<p>Kk - thanks!
What I have heard about the kids going into the military colleges from NE Boarding Schools…they are exemplary kids and will not break the rules. They have already made up there minds as to where they want to be and won’t risk it.</p>
<p>I need information and opinions about the Northwestern Prep School in California and chances of getting into one of the Military Schools. Also need information on the ACT scores required to get into the Academy’s.
Thanks</p>
<p>Grandparent,</p>
<p>You might want to ask some folks over on this forum…</p>
<p>[Service</a> Academy Preparatory Schools - United States of America Service Academy Forums](<a href=“http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55]Service”>http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55)</p>
<p>There seem to be a couple of people familiar with that school there.</p>