Forum: Future F-16 crew

Hey guys, wanted to get your advice...
Same story here as most all of you: wanted to be a pilot since forever, but always thought it'd just stay a dream...Graduated with a BA, low GPA (<2.5), but thankfully blessed with a scholarship to law school out here in VA. Now, I want the law degree so when I'm old I can practice, but between now and then, I'd love to catch on with an ANG unit and try for a pilot slot after LS...I'm 25 (28 when LS is done--barely under the max??), will be working on a PPL in the meantime, but my question is this: will a law degree make up for my low undergrad GPA? You'd think so, but wanted to make sure...Thanks alot, love browsing the site. Best wishes to all chasing the dream.

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www.wantscheck.com has alot of info on what people that have been selected for slots have gotten academically, on the AFOQT and such... http://www.wantscheck.com/PilotSlotReso ... fault.aspx

as for your age... I though I'd be pushing it at 26 when I finish my BA in Flight Science... but 28... that's pushing it even more Smile

But still possible!

i dont know if yall remember Gen. "Doc" Foglesong who was USAFE commander before he retired. he actually had a PHD in Chemistry before he went through UPT. this was back in the '70s so probably alot has changed but you can never be sure.

Thanks Redvan and CChief16...a PHD before UPT? There's hope after all =) Of course, if I was able to get in, maybe I'd be better off keeping my "lawyer" background under wraps...Friendly fire would suck...=)

I can't tell you what your chances are if you try...

But I can tell you what your chances are if you dont try Cool

Honestly though, if you wanted this that bad you should have been pushing it earlier in life. You passed up like a 100 oppurtunities already for trying for the AFA in HS, to AFROTC in college, to OTS immediatly after, Navy Academy and NROTC the same. But if you want it THAT bad then now is the time to start hauling a$$. (Actually 4 years ago was the time but you seem a bit passed that, so NOW is better than tommorow.) Check out wants-check, build up every catagory of the ROTC scoring bracket you can. Its not the same for gaurd but I'm sure they look at all that. Start coming up with a list of reasons why you didnt apply in College. Good ones..... , getting sierra faced drunk and barfing in your GF's planter isn't one of those. Instead, bring up things that drew away from your study time, like work, community service for a fraternity (dont just say frat, that can sound bad; mention the community service), taking care of a sick grand parent, something of the likes. And maybe take a class or two on interview skills. That's all I can reccommend. I'm not persueing gaurd, but whatever the reason, all power to you.

-Aaron

Tengu, thanks alot for the tips. I went to an NAIA school that had no agreements with any AFROTC dets, played football, helped start a club lacrosse team, and joined the baseball team my senior year just to see if I could. Worked two jobs, but probably spent too much time working the social skills on the weekends. I'll certainly look up the AFROTC scoring bracket you're talking about...I tried to see if I could catch on with the local detachment through law school, but was told OTS was the only option available since I have my BA. Anyway, like I said, thanks. That slim chance is definitely better than the 'no chance' of not applying...

I'm working on my Phd in Mechanical Engineering and got my slot for FY07. I'll have to take a break from it though when I go to UPT. I think you're better off trying to get a UPT slot first, then going to Law school. UPT should be your number one priority if that is what you really want to do. If you try to finish Law school first it sounds to me like that is your number one priority, not UPT. You can always go to law school but you have to be under 30 for UPT. This is just how I feel that my interview board would have looked at it though.

cchief16 wrote:

i dont know if yall remember Gen. "Doc" Foglesong who was USAFE commander before he retired. he actually had a PHD in Chemistry before he went through UPT. this was back in the '70s so probably alot has changed but you can never be sure.

True statement. However, it was only a year after he received his BS that he earned his MS...and he had his PhD a short two years after that. So...three years after graudating, he had his PhD...and he was in UPT the following year. Talk about time compression.

For the ANG, 28's pushin' it. You don't have to wait until you finish your JD before you apply. If you wait until 28, you probably won't find much success -- particularly with ANG Fighter units. That only leaves the unit 24 months to select you, get you into and through AMS, IFT, and "in the seat" at UPT before you turn 30.

I'd start researching ANG units now. You might also want to check out baseops.net. I don't know how often they update their site, but there's some useful information there.

Twoop

two, thanks--i've talked to a few folks over the last couple months; hope to talk to the unit down in sandston, va tomorrow if they're around...most everything i've read with the guard says to enlist first, show you're worth investing in, and try for a slot later...i know there's the whole time crunch to try for the cockpit, but that looks like the way to go. if anyone knows where to look to find the lengths of different job training, let me know--air guard site didn't have it, but i'll check the main af page. hope to do something that lets me get basic and ait (?) in this summer...

Hey, I haven't got a hold of any VA ANG folks yet so I wanted to check here--do any of you know of some real short mos's? (wrong term, I know--afsc?)

As I mentioned above, I'm a law student, and if I go to basic for the guard this summer I'd like to knock out the ait (?) right after that--hopefully not miss that next semester if possible...

Pleqse let me know what y'all think.

Forum: Future F-16 crew

GPA, post-BA