cmac88

I second what everyone else and Grumble said..... you can do AFROTC at many schools...... I haven't seen a big state school yet that doesn't have a detachment.....

rickair7777

If you want to be a career military officer, you should go to the AF Academy. If you can't do that, you should do ROTC. That will help to set you up for a successful career. But military officers are leaders and managers first, pilots second...especially as you progress in rank. What is best for your career may not give you the best shot at getting fighters.

Actually you have many hurdles in front of you and you need to focus on them one at a time (keep fighters in the back of your mind, but focus on what you need to do NOW to take the next step)

1. Medical: If you apply for an ROTC or academy scholarship they will send you for a comprehensive medical exam. Do that asap...that way you can find out if you will even pass the medical. I'd guess about 40-50% don't.

2. Then you need to decide whether to shoot for regular AF or ANG/USAFR. The latter is the only way you to ensure you have a shot at "picking" your airplane.

3. If you decide to go ANG/USAFR, go to college. Priority is good grades and being a well-rounded student/citizen. Also try to to do some GA flying, get a PPL and maybe an instrument rating. During your senior year start applying to or at least contacting ANG/USAFR squadrons. After graduation get a civilian jon while you work your way through the application process. If you don't get a fighter squadron, you are still young...you can now apply to other aircraft squadrons or simply go AD USAF. If you go AD, you might still get fighters.

4. If you decide on ROTC, decide whether you want a scholarship. They offer 4, 3, and even 2 year scholarships. If you your grades in HS weren't so hot maybe you can bust your butt, pull straight A's early in college and get a 3 or 2 year scholarship (worked for me).

There are three kinds of ROTC students:

Academy: This is actually not ROTC but it works about the same way. You will be going AD after graduation and will probably have first shot at available pilot slots over ROTC students. You need to start applying early in your junior year of HS. But if you do not qualify for a flight slot, you will be doing something else on AD for five years.

Scholarship: Generally guaranteed an AD commission, with a better shot at a flight slot. The AF has selected and invested in these guys, so they set them up first. Getting school paid for is nice but the big downside is that you are committed and will be going AD, in whatever career they assign you (maybe not flight). If awarded a scholarship you can use it at any school which has an AFROTC unit, including ivy league. (assuming you get accepted to the school)

Non-scholarship: These folks may be offered an AD commission if the AF needs bodies. They will probably have a lower priority for the choice jobs, and are probably not obligated to do AD if they do not want to. Advantage here is that if your vision goes bad or something you are not obligated to a non-flying AD job. Also by the time you graduate, you should have a pretty good idea of the AF's need for pilots. If 80% are going to UAV's or whatever, you could simply graduate and then go look for a ANG/USAFR slot. You will probably be obligate to the USAFR reserve, but I'm pretty sure you switch to ANG easily.


5. Get good grades (technical major prefered), stay out of trouble, and graduate.

6. Next, get a flight slot.

7. Now complete OTS (if you didn't do ROTC), and do well in UPT.

8. If you get awarded fighters, then complete the fighter pipeline.

If you graduate from college and can't get into the AF, also consider the other services. Be aware that the AF offers the best chance of fixed-wing aircraft, and probably the best chance of fighters too.

Bloodhound

Also, make sure your parents read this and are involved. I wanted to go to the Naval Academy and the help from my parents was the reason I got the nomination (I didn't get the appointment).

gearmaid

Enlist in an air national guard unit with fighters when you turn 17. Go to boot camp junior year summer and ait senior year summer. The guard will pay for your tuition at a state school where you can get a well rounded degree. Join ROTC at that school, they also offer scholorships. Party like crazy and study hard to keep your grades up. When you get your degree you should be in a great position for your national guard unit to hire you as a pilot.

Rsrv4ever

There are definitely other much smaller disqualifying legal issues such as an intox in public (class 4 misdemeanor, the lowest offense misdemeanor). Ive tried both the Air Force and the Reserves. In both cases I talked to several recruiters and they said it was a flat out disqualification without the possibility of a waiver. Sorry to get off subject, just thought it might be a good fyi.

Grumble

Yeah at somewhere other than Riddle. Don't waste your time with that school. You'll have a MUUUUCH better time at a big state school with a foot ball team, chicks, bars, and chicks. Oh, and chicks.

Don't get me wrong, ERAU does exactly what they advertise. They take a **** load of your money, and you come out the other side with your ratings, a few hundred hours, and a college degree of classes in everything you'll learn in a professional flying career anyway. Plus an Aero Sci degree is worthless outside of flying. Now ERAU has a VERY good engineering program, which I would highley recommend if you were going to go that direction.

Climbto450

I can only speak for my friends who graduated ROTC from Embry-Riddle 4 grads 4 fighter pilots, only one of them had an Aero Science degree they other ones where computer science. In speaking to my friends who have gone the route you are looking for they said "outside of the Air Force acadamy Embry-Riddle's ROTC has one of the highest air force pilots acceptance rates" they also graduted in years with high demands to fill pilot slots. From my experience, if you love aviation you will love Embry-Riddle it is an aviators dream school. As for getting in it used to be much harder to get accepted to Embry-Riddle then it has been in recent years. I think it is pretty easy know. When I was attending in 1993 Time magazine called Embry-Riddle "the Harvard of the sky". Do you think any one every called Harvard the Embry-Riddle of the ground? Just joking, good luck.

Purpleanga

You sound like the perfect future emory riddle pylot. You will definitely place in the top 10% on the acceptance list at emory riddle. In fact just ask the same exact thing to the admissions office. Adding the fighter pilot thing on there is also a nice touch.

Purpleanga

That's how people do it BUT it's easier said than done and it assumes you already know what you'll be doing 10/20 years later at the age of 16 and you have to be committed.

gearmaid

Well thats for him to decide. I'm simply telling him an option that many take. He will find out the obstacles in the road as he goes through. But if he isn't even getting above a 3.2 in highschool then it'll probably be a long and hard road for him. And the fact that he talks about being "rich enough" isn't a good sign either. Maybe instead of worrying about paying for school he should worry about earning good grades and making a good name for himself in sports/extracurricular/volunteering. Anyhow, this option is smarter than spending 150 grand at Riddle to accomplish the same thing.