Forum: Future F-16 crew

Hey everyone,

I have a problem I want to join the AFROTC but my current college does not offer it or have any attachments to any other school. I was considering transfering to another school that does offer ROTC the only problem is the moving part of it and parents and friend situation. I want to work to get a pilot slot and I have heard that being in the ROTC and proving yourself you just might get a [Link pending approval] my question is, is there anything else that i can do for the time being in my school to actually be able to get a pilot slot, im sure that if i go through four years of school and dont do anything my chances of getting a pilot slot are slim, right? Other than that I was considering joining the Civil Air Patrol, but have also heard that it dosent necessarly help me get a slot such as the ROTC i might have a better shot at a slot.

PS: I am also a private pilot and have a [Link pending approval] gpa Finance major if that helps [Link pending approval]

Any response is greatly appreciated

Joshua

F-16.net Sponsor

Join you local Air Guard unit as an enlisted troop while still going to school. Pick a career field in the operations area or in finance since thats your major. If you pick a finance career field you are getting real world experience in the area of your major. If you pick an operations related job you will be dealing with the areas you will work with once you become a pilot. Since you are a unit member you'll have a leg up on non-members trying for slots and the military experience you will get will beat anything ROTC can provide. Plus, they will help you pay for school.

Good Luck!

If you are worried about leaving your family and friends right now to go to college what's gonna happen when you join the military and only get to see them MAYBE once a year??? If you are that set on getting a viper slot then I would be taking every chance that's thrown at you to get one. just my Two Cents

Thanks for the info everyone

also fixinaviper the real problem is that my parents dont want me to leave and i really cant go against them because they are picking up the tab for my current college. I am in the process of showing them all the benifits of leaving [Link pending approval]

Does the CAP help at all?

Raptor_DCTR wrote:

If you are worried about leaving your family and friends right now to go to college what's gonna happen when you join the military and only get to see them MAYBE once a year??? If you are that set on getting a viper slot then I would be taking every chance that's thrown at you to get one. just my Two Cents

Raptor_DCTR said it perfectly. If you truly want to go AFROTC you're going to have to move and sacrific seeing your family and friends. That's what I did when I came to the Academy. It's hard but over time you get used to it, meet new people, get on with life, and you'll look back and see that it was worth it in the end.

Dude I understand the dilema with your parents picking up the tab but at some point you gotta cut the umbilical. Like Delta said, you move on and meet new people and when you do go home you can stick your chest out because you are doing something that they can't even wrap their minds around. Also, they are TONS of ways to get the military to pay for school, TONS!!! Do a little more research before making a decision, talk to someone in the military face to face. A recruiter is not a good idea because he's gonna fill your head with all kinds of BS to get you to join. Stop be a gaurd base and talk to some troops. Your best bet is to talk to average joe airman that works the flightline every day to get an honest answer. They are the guys/gals that are out there everyday tunring jets, they don't have anything to gain by getting you to join.

thanks for all the replies i will deff. do that when i visit my local guard [Link pending approval]

So i guess joining cap won't help my efforts at all?

It can't hurt to join CAP, but I don't know how much it is really going to help you.

I dont know... lots of people think CAP cadets are tools.... even ROTC cadets think CAP cadets are tools Rolling Eyes

thats pretty sad cause the rest of the AF thinks we are tools..... just less tools than AFA cadets Razz

There is a whole heirarchy of "tooldom" floatin around I guess. I think its unanimously decided if you dont want to be tooled you should swing guard or OTS :p What a life....

Anyways, on topic...

Heres the deal man.... Yeah, it would be cool to have your parents pay for college... My parents offered to pay for mine but in reality you cant let their "well I say this and that" thing get to you. You 18 now, you own your own tax ID number and you can claim yourself your own dependent when you file your IRS reports. Time to step outa the nest, or fly for better lack of words. It is, believe it or not, entirely possible to pay for you own college. In fact, prolly 50% of kids do. The first thing you need to to do is hit up FAFSA and see what kind of loans you qualify for. Sure youll be paying them off untill your old and retired but who cares, youll be flying fighter planes too! Then you need to look into scholarships. There are litterally tousands of dollars in scholarships out there that are easy to get because most people never even apply for them! There are list of them floating around the web just google for one. A job helps too. If you are real gung ho you can do like others said and enlist air guard, picking up a GI bill. The ONLY thing to be aware of about this is that there is now a 6 year commitment to pick up a GI bill. I believe this commitment continues once you enter AD.

But heres the thing man. You aren't going to the academy. And you aren't going to do ROTC. That means your only shot is Guard because right now OTS is void of civilian applicants. (Or so I heard) If you want to do this, you'll find ways! Best of all circumstance you go to a school with ROTC and you do well and pick up a scholarship after your first year.

Lastly, show your parents your interested so they understand. Go out and get a book called "To be a US Air Force Pilot" by Henry Holden. ISBN # : 0760317917 Educate yourself on what requirements need to be filled to get a pilot slot in the AF. Then come back here and get ask about what current events are happening in the USAF that change some of these requirements a bit. After you have all that you should be able to step right in front of mom and dad and say "look.... This is what I want to do in life, and this is what I HAVE to do to do it. If thats not what you want me to do... I dont care, you dont have to do it, I do! Either you can support me and help me in this and help to make my life a success, or I will do it with out you because I learned all about student loans, scholarships and grants." More than likely your parents aren't going to like the idea that you are willing to leave them out of your life to persue happiness but they will be happy that you are willing to take the responsibility to do so much yourself. Hopefully they will compromise.

It took me a long time to make my dad understand I didnt really care if he thought I could make lots of money as an engineer. I just didn't want to do it. All parents have a problem letting go of their children at college and they still want to run your life. Your basically going to have to brick them in the face with "I'm and adult and im not letting this happen anymore."

That's my best advice man.

-Aaron

Aaron thanks man for the advice man I definelty will use it. I am going up to show my parents this school in september and talk with the colonel of the AFROTC at umass. I have also read that book and it is great information on how to become a pilot for the AF. My parents have now become fine with it and tell me if its what i want to do go for it and they will help me along the way. I appreciate everyones advice and esp. yours Aaron and hopefully I will someday get to fly with you guys in the Air Force.

Joshua

Forum: Future F-16 crew

AFROTC - In a little dilema please help...