What is the best path to becoming an Air Force pilot?
My name is Ryan and I am going in to freshman year in high school. I don’t know much about ROTC but I have researched the USAFA. I am interested in being a pilot for the Air Force and I know that you are required to be a commissioned 2nd Lieutenant at the least. I am curious what the best way to get to that point.
I play lacrosse, and I get mostly A’s in school and one or two B’s. I am taking advanced math freshman year. My high school is ranked very high in the the country and was ranked #1 high school in Connecticut (News Week). Last year I took part in my town’s theatre group. It wasn’t really my thing so I don’t do it anymore but would that look good at all in an application? I also am part of a group that does Bible Study (I go to the meetings and camp). Alright, so that’s just a little background information on me… if you guys could answer my question on what the best path is to becoming a pilot, then that would be great. Also, any suggestions or comments on my activities or academics would help. Thanks.
Go to college for 4 years. Sign up as an officer. your MoS a pilot.
There you go
Yes, you do need to have your university degree to be a pilot in the Air Force.
The ROTC is similar to the ROTP(in Canada). I haven’t looked into what the differences are or if they’re the exact same program. Basically, after you graduate high school, you enroll into the ROTC program. There is a competitive application and selection process.
If chosen, you will be able to attend any recognized university and the Air Force will pay for it. In the ROTP, the way it is calculated is…for every month of education they pay for, you have to return 2 months of service after you get your degree.
You will have 9 years to get your degree. After you graduate, you will be a commissioned officer and begin pilot training. In the ROTP program, the Basic Officer Training is done during your schooling.
Another route is to get your degree by yourself. After you get your degree, just apply into the Direct Entry Training.
All of this information can be found at
Each year the Air Force allots 500 pilot slots to the 1,000 2nd Lieutenants commissioning at the Air Force Academy and 500 Pilot slots to the approximately 2,200 2nd Lieutenants commissioning through Afrotc. Approximately 60% of Air Force Academy Cadets are pilot qualified and not all 60% want to be pilots, so almost any Academy Cadet who is pilot qualified and wants a slot attains one. This Spring only 45% of Afrotc Cadets earned a Field Training slot which is necessary to be selected to earn an enrollment allocation to the Poc(professional officer’s course), the final two years of Afrotc. Next year this is supposed to go back up to around 65%. Besides being selected for a pilot slot, simply being selected for an enrollment allocation is a first hurdle for an Afrotc Cadet.
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Around 40% of Naval Academy Midshipmen continue on to Flight School. A pilot slot is less competitive through Nrotc than through Afrotc. The Marines will guarantee a pilot slot to Nrotc Marine Option Scholarship Midshipmen and Plc Officer Candidates who qualify as early as freshman year of college. Afrotc and Nrotc Navy Option high school scholarships are primarily awarded in Engineering, Math and a few science subjects. Future choice of academic major is not a consideration at the Air Force Academy. Nrotc Marine Option high school scholarships are not awarded according to major.
The selection process is nearly identical at the Air Force Academy, West Point, and the Naval Academy, so, whatever is stated on one service academy website or in its catalog with regard to admissions generally holds for the others. If you read the following answer and open the links it should help to explain the selection process and the path to an appointment:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Akhc017ydUhl4cmaSh5LBsHty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20101109140847AAZvjcJ
The Air Force Academy website offers outstanding advice to students prepping for a service academy, rotc scholarship or any highly selective university. Open all links to the left of the dialog box. Be sure to open the “Leadership Preparation” link and read it carefully.”
http://www.academyadmissions.com/#Page/Preparation
Don’t pay attention to the recommended Computers course. That is not in the Air Force Academy Catalog and has probably been copied since the time when several computer languages were needed to use a PC. Also, see page 19 of Chapter 2 of the Usna Catalog for suggested courses.
http://www.usna.edu/Catalog/
Good description of Afrotc:
http://airforcerotc.berkeley.edu/_afrotc-program.htm
Helpful to read all the Faq under each tab, College Life, Scholarships etc:
http://afrotc.com/help-center/faqs/
Earning an enrollment allocation for the Poc:
http://wantscheck.com/PilotSlotResources/ROTCPilotSlot/tabid/60/Default.aspx
Informative:
http://www.afrotc.ku.edu/Recruiting_Presentation_2011.pptx
Not exactly sure how advanced you are in math but if you have already taken Algebra 1 and Geometry, right now you should be prepping for the Psat. Psat tests Alg 1 and Geometry. Sat also tests Alg 2. Act tests all of the aforementioned Math subjects. Psat is only offered once each fall. Take the Sat the first time in the Spring of the year taking Algebra 2. Schedule Sat Subject exams to coincide with the final or Ap Exam for the course for colleges that require them. An extracurricular reading program looking up unknown words in a dictionary will help with Cr scores.
http://reading.berkeley.edu/
An Act that offers TIR can be helpful. Lacrosse is a heavily recruited sport at the service academies and a good team sport. If you have the opportunity to be named Captain, that will help. About 2/3 of the members of each class were athletic team captains. If you have the time, go out for another sport. Do the community service to join NHS. NHS mMembership is considered leadership and about 2/3 of each class were NHS members. Get involved in one or two non athletic extracurricular activities and stay involved throughout high school. If drama is not your thing select another mainline activity. Usafa only considers extracurricular activities from the 10th grade on. The Air Force Academy starts accepting applications for the summer seminar on Dec 1 of Junior year, just over 28 months away. West Point begins accepting applications for SLS in Mid December. Usna for its Summer Seminar on Feb 1 of junior year.
Good Luck!