Test Pilot?
If I remember correctly - there's a few pilots around here
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I talked with someone the other day and learned of a would-be 3rd generation USAFA applicant was denied, was valedictorian, president of all kinds of clubs, eagle scout, near perfect SAT, letters from congressmen, yada yada. When those type of kiddos get denied, something is going on and it don’t sound merit-based to me.
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If it means anything? Our son lost out to an athlete. He ran against him in track. My son was not impressed in anything outside of his sports…certainly not academic or leadership.
AF Academy told us (to our faces) “he’s a top 300 student in the United States as far as we are concerned, get a nom and keep your grades up and we will give you a spot at the USAFA”.
They lied.
To shed some light for your friend?
USAFA went to a “waitlist” for the first time in history this yr. My son was like “wow, not only did I not make it, but I didn’t even make the waitlist”…hard to believe if they do their “waitlist” like the West Point.
To put things in perspective on the West Point side? We knew early that he was going to not make it due to a direct nom/appointment…but he got a nom for West Point. West Point was reaching out in January with the LOE and NWL info and pretty much begged him to keep up with info/updating his portal and that he was “highly qualified”.
He was scooped up in the mandatory “Top 150” after selections/slates had been cleaned at West Point. He will not be charged to the congressman.
So he got scooped up by West Point from the mandatory “next 150” on the NWL, received a 4yr USAFA ROTC scholarship, 4yr Army ROTC scholarship…and couldn’t even make a new “waitlist” for the Air Force?
He’s “all in” for West Point though. Different career in 30 years, but he’ll get one of the best educations known to man at West Point. He’s going mech engineering and will probably try becoming a pilot if they let him.
FYI? His “whole candidate score” based off someone that ran ROTC in the U.S and is now currently a U.S ambassador? Said “his whole candidate score is off the charts”. He told me “top 5-10%”. That was me just giving him the numbers/his achievements.
I have a friend (father was my golf coach in college) that runs admissions for a Big School in Ohio. He processed my son through “their system” to see what they would offer/compare him academically to all the others that applied. He called me back and said “he’ll get selected for all 3 academies, but we’ll send him out a very good offer, probably more than anyone else will receive from out of state, and that’s with me not adding or manipulating a single thing”.
Univ of TN total scholarships? $65K/4 yrs. Honors. That was before we were notified of the ROTC stuff. Once he notifified them of the ROTC, they looked and gave him another $6K if he’d come to school in “material sciences/engineering”…so $71K in academic scholarships +$82K in ROTC.
I’m not bragging. I am impressed. I never knew he was “that competitive” nationally. I just thought that he was a “normal intelligent kid”…until the phones started ringing and the scores started coming in.
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That’s awesome! I know you’re proud and you should be! I hope my boy achieves some of that one day. Right now he’s speech delayed, pretty dang fat, and has one ear that droops way lower than the other one 
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He can solo a glider in about 13 years!
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Hilarious.
He’s viewing West Point as a “right of passage” basically. He’s thinking pilot, but is going to be “flexible”. He’s 100% on board with the Combat Arms for a few years after he graduates West Point.
I’d say he’s only leaning 60-70% towards being a pilot in the Army…where USAFA was 100%. He’s all for jumping out of planes, rappelling out of helicopters, or ranger school. Kid plinks 7500-10K rounds/yr…he’d make a real good sniper if he wanted to be one.
He’s looking at the Army as “what do I really want to be”. Where he was looking at Air Force as “Pilot w/STEM background”.
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My solo a glider comment was for Ben’s youngster 
. Jesse I think that whatever he decides to do, West Point will be a great school! He could go any direction he wants from there.
I wanted to inform some of the “future college student” parents out there…
Those numbers above from Univ of TN? That’s the “entire” or “all in” cost of sending one to college over 4 years at a major “State Univ”.
$150K covers…
Tuition, books, class fees, meal plan, room (dorms), board, etc…“all in” cost for a 4 yr degree. That $150K also gives them $300-$500/month spending money for cell phones, cars/gas/entertainment.
$150K is a pretty good number to put in your head for “all in” costs if you have one going in a few years.
Last “out of the house” soon. Momma and I have already been bloodied, battered, beaten, and bruised by helping our 1st two with tuition…with one in her 2nd year and one coming out with masters…and they both received TONS of academic scholarships also.
Prepare properly Mom and Dad or they will have to run up MOUNTAINS of debt. Also, hold your HS responsible for preparing them for college - a 4 yr degree only takes 4 years if they are properly educated in high school. If it takes 5 yrs? Well, that’s another $35K they’ll have to pay…hold your local HS accountable.
That’s the number ($150k) that you should prepare for. “All in” over 4 yrs.
I knew it was. Then I did the math for flying coming out of West Point and thought “dang that sounds like the exact same timeline”…so I scratched my head and commented simply on the correlation, really.
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So for all you pilots out there, a wee bit of twisted history -
If Burt Rutan designed the B-17…
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The B-17 needs pusher props
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Closure. West Point showed up during his “Senior Awards Ceremony” the morning before graduation. He walked away with a ton of awards…but this was icing on the cake.
Thanks to all of you that offered advice.
(Momma recorded this with a toaster and the background noise if the sound of pouring rain).
edit to add -
At age 11 he approached me with “dad teach me how to play chess”. I told him I would, but that if I did, he had to read “The Art of War”. He agreed. I played 10 games with him over 3-5 days teaching him strategy. The next week he and his mother thought it would be a good idea to enroll him in a Nashville area chess tournament…an “Open tournament” (no age restriction, kids - adults all compete on the same playing field). I thought it was crazy to drop $150 for entry since he had only played 10 games or so.
Eli managed to eliminate 3 adults in the tournament…that’s when I first came to realize the “potential”.
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In West Point for the week. Son graduated basic Monday. Didn’t get to talk with him, but did see him on his 14.7-mile ruck back.
I was a bit leery at first, but after a phone call a week or so ago and the comment of “this is where I am supposed to be”, then all was well in the universe. He’s thriving. They placed him academically in Advanced Calc and Advanced Physics…gonna have to use his brain more than he had to in hs.
Just an FYI. He’s doing good!
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I just wanted to let you know that this guy is doing well at West Point. The pic of him and my wife was taken earlier this year at the “formal”. We managed to pull some strings and ended up with a room at the historical Thayer Hotel at the last minute… rained all over us on the way into the mess hall for dinner/pic you see.
We’ve been traveling up there every chance we get. Since I’m a day trader and she works from home, we can hit the road, visit him, and then sneak up through the East coast to Maine or “wherever” or a few days… and we’ve been doing exactly that.
He managed to survive his first year, has been home for about 15 days now for summer break, and will be heading back out in 15 days. He ended up in the first summer training session. Lived out in the woods playing soldier. All you Army folks know what I’m talking about.
He’s doing well. Ranked around 700 out of roughly 1200. Was ranked around 900 after a tough initial semester with a challenging 300-level math class that gave him some trouble (C+), but he got his GPA up and is now ranked 700.
FYI he’s not even 19 yet and has his Plebe year under his belt.
Life is good. He’s settling in.
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