United States Air Force Academy
Colorado Springs cadets speak about their experiences
Class of 2014 Statistics
Last year 11,627 students, a majority of them graduating high school seniors, wanted to go back to school in the fall and they demonstrated this by applying for acceptance into the United States Air Force Academy’s (USAFA) Class of 2014. The Academy is located approximately 105 miles from Black Hawk north of Colorado Springs on a gorgeous 19,304-acre campus in the foothills.
The mission of the Academy is: “To educate, train and inspire men and women to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation.” The Academy was established in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, but women were not admitted until 1976, graduating in 1980. Graduates earn a Bachelor of Science degree and are commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Air Force.
The Class of 2014 had a mean Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.87, College Board Scores (SAT) scores of 600-680 in verbal and 630-700 in mathematics.
The USAFA selection process for new cadets resulted in 7,543 students or 65% of the applicants qualifying for the Candidate Pool. The next step in the selection process resulted in 2,445 or 21% of the applicants who were considered Qualified Candidates. The final step in the process produced Offers of Admission to 1,566 or 14% of the initial students who had applied.
The Class of 2014 admitted 1,269 new United States cadets, 17 new international students, and eight returning “turnbacks” for a total of 1,294 members. According to the admissions department, 99 students from Colorado were admitted this year.
Federal Service Academies
The United States maintains a total of five federal service academies including the USAFA. These other academies with their undergraduate acceptance rates in percentages are: the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut, 8%; the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York, 26%; the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, 16%; and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, 14%.
In comparison, the University of Colorado, Boulder, a four-year state university, accepts 78% of its applicants. Leland Stanford Junior University, a four-year private university, located in Stanford, California, accepts 9% of its applicants.
Four out of the five academies, with the exception of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, provide a four-year college education at no cost for tuition, room and board, books and supplies. According to an Academy official, the average cost of a complete four-year education at the school is $346,000.
In mid-August the USAFA was ranked the “Best in the West” school by U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 Best Colleges for the fourth straight year. The Academy was also ranked the 11th Best College in the Nation by Forbes Magazine’s 2010 America’s Best Colleges list.
The Academy’s Cadets
The new cadets are easily noticeable on the Academy’s campus. They are the uniformed air-men and -women without wings, constantly shuffling across the student terrazzo, confined to running only on its marble grid at right angles, greeting and saluting everyone in sight. The new cadets vigorously cough, not only acclimating to the physically-demanding life in a service academy, but also living at 7,258 feet above sea-level with less oxygen.
Potential Candidate Recruitment
A former Gilpin RE-1 student, who attended the Gilpin elementary and middle schools, a competitive swimmer, was contacted Casey Converse, head coach for the USAFA Falcons Women’s Swimming and Diving team, during her junior year in high school about an interest in applying to the Academy.
The swimmer had trained with the Peak to Peak Piranhas of Gilpin County, Golden Marlins of Golden and Foothills swim teams. Her times were just on the edge of qualifying her for the school through their intercollegiate swimming program.
Eventually, the swimmer did not attend the Academy but went on to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Class of 2013), a four-year private university in Prescott, Arizona, majoring in aeronautical engineering with flight training.
The Academy maintains its own prep school on the campus grounds, offering potential candidates a year of preparatory academic and physical education before formal acceptance into the school.
Cadet Interviews
Several cadet interviews were conducted under the supervision of Master Sergeant (MSgt) Christopher Dewitt, Public Affairs, primarily in an office located on the third floor of the dormitory wing for the “Raging Bull’ squadron.
Cadet 1st Class or Senior
Jennifer Bandi (Class of 2011) originally from Boston, Massachusetts, is a confident young female cadet who glows with good health. Bandi was recruited to the Academy through basketball. After her second year at the school, she decided to switch over to triathlete training and participates in grueling combined sports events of competitive swimming, running, and bicycling.
Bandi’s future plans after graduation include attending graduate school where she plans on training in the intelligence field and receiving deployment overseas.
When questioned about her worst experience at the Academy, Bandi replied, “It was health issues and an athletic coach.” Bandi has suffered through three broken bones and surgeries during college. What got her through the tough times were “great teammates” and a solid sense of the cadet community—everyone helps everyone to adapt and adjust to their situations.
Bandi laughed when remembering her Basic Cadet Training, remarking that “we were just little things,” who had to carry backpacks everywhere and were “always on parade,” or under scrutiny by others. Her summation of her overall training included the realization that to be able to lead, you must first be able to be led. Not an easy experience.
Bandi recommended that students interested in the Academy should talk to people who have attended the school in deciding whether it is “a good fit” for the individual student. Bandi believes that the academy seeks “well-rounded individuals” who have demonstrated interest in academics, athletics and community service. She said, “You have to like community service.”
Cadet 2nd Class or Junior
A self-assured third year male cadet (Class of 2012) from Marysville, Ohio, spoke about his years at the academy, analytically commenting that this is “not your typical college experience.” He was contacted mainly by Academy staff in his junior year of high school. He had applied to several other colleges, including Annapolis, where he was accepted. Stating that he “hadn’t been challenged in life” at that time, he went for one of the demanding service academies.
Why did he choose to attend the Air Force Academy over Annapolis–for its heritage and its highly respected intercollegiate track and field sports team. That’s his sport, track and field, in which he lettered last year. Running is part of his job and he fits in 85-90 miles of running weekly. And as a runner, he looks forward to the “pasta Mondays” dinner buffet offered by the dining hall.
When questioned about his worst experience at the Academy, he replied that he had encountered a situation of “leadership fear versus leadership respect.” It was a situation where his leaders demanded respect rather than earning it from their charges. The Academy is all about training future military leaders and it is a “leadership laboratory” in his words.
How did he get through this situation and any other similar circumstances? “My friends get me though the day.”
The cadet originally came to the Academy to become a pilot. He discovered that it was not what he wanted to do. An exchange cadet from West Point had come into his squadron and through their talks and an e-mail mentorship, the Academy cadet discovered he wanted to be a part of special forces. He is actively pursuing training in this field and post-graduation, plans on entering Air Force Special Operations in Florida.
This career path change led to be his best personal Academy experience: teaching the evasive portion of combat survival training for five days with “rising sophomores” in Pike National Park. It put him into a “real leadership role” and his most significant instructions were “don’t kill ‘em.”
The cadet’s recommendations for high school students thinking of attending the Academy included focusing on academics, involvement in extra-curricular activities and taking on real leadership roles. He cited an example of “spearheading a fundraiser” for good leadership experience.
Cadet 4th Class or Freshman
Cadet Daniel Hayduchok (Class of 2014) from New Jersey first became interested in attending the academy in the seventh grade. Part of his interest stemmed from seeing the Blue Angels at air shows and wanting to be a pilot. He followed his dream by joining the Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer organization which is an official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.
A typical day for him begins at 0500 hours or 5:00 a.m. where cleaning-up and other responsibilities are performed until 6:00 a.m. “Minutes” follow next where the 4th Class cadets stand in line and memorize information, such as who’s the officer of the day, etc.
Breakfast is followed by academics or classes. Each class is 53 minutes long. Lunch is followed by more classes until 4:30 p.m. After that he participates in an intramural sport for half an hour before dinner. His sport of choice is volleyball which “is pretty chill.” The team will be going to Hawaii for a competition.
The cadet stated that “learning is on you” and academics usually require an hour’s prep before each class, then class itself, and homework and prep again for the next day. Hayduchok said you had to “teach yourself” as homework problems were the focus of class time, not necessarily subject instruction. The end of his day is at 8:00 p.m., but he can study in his room as long as he likes.
It’s all about time management and any free periods are used wisely—in preparing for classes. The school provides cadets with an on-line calendar for scheduling appointments and events, and for sharing this information with other classmates. Hayduchok said he checks his e-mail throughout the day as he receives between 50-200 e-mails daily.
As a new cadet how does Hayduchok anticipate getting through the year? He replied, “Milestones,” which means focusing on one event and then the next, one step at a time, in getting to graduation. His recommendation for education at the academy is to “go all out for it.”
Academic Progression
The attrition rate for any class varies. A major with the “Raging Bull” squadron estimated that out of his 34 cadets, nine to ten cadets may end up leaving before graduating. Cadets need to maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA for three consecutive semesters to remain at the academy.
The “big commitment” occurs between the sophomore and junior years, as once the cadet commits to receiving an education at the academy, it is in exchange for a number of years of active duty in the air force.
For Consideration
Every Monday, depending on Colorado’s weather, the Academy cadets gather by squadron for a public parade at noon in the terrazzo area. Visitors are highly encouraged to attend this exceptionally impressive event. Please call the Visitor Center for updated information at 719-333-7743.
A good source for general college information can be found on www.collegeprowler.com for high school students searching for “a good fit” in deciding upon their college of choice. For further research on the USAFA, please visit their official website at www.usafa.af.mil.
This article was prompted by and composed from several visits to the Academy and could not have been completed without the courtesy and generosity of: Larry Wells, Visitor Center Manager, Public Affairs; Stephen “Pete” Peterson, Cadet Chapel, Public Relations Director and his staff; Casey Converse, Head Coach, Women’s Swimming and Diving, and his staff; Master Sergeant Christopher DeWitt, USAF Academy Public Affairs; and especially the USAFA cadets. Thank you.