WOFT Packet Timeline

[Mendacio]

Hi-

I'm a junior hoping to apply to WOFT during Senior year. I am a bit confused as to when I should be doing everything. So when should the first recruiter meeting happen, when should the packet be finished, when should I collect LOR's, and when would would the Battalion Board interviews happen?

 

Sorry if this seems like a lot, I just want to make sure I'm coordinating my time well.

 

 

[Mendacio]

And when I mean junior, I mean junior in high school.

[UH60L-IP]

Right now would be a good start.

 

It's probably going to take you awhile to find a recruiter even willing to work with you. At your age I can guarantee that pretty much every recruiter you talk to will be pushing you for an enlistment. It will take a special recruiter to work with a true high school to flight school candidate.

 

That being said, you better be prepared to truly stand out as a 18 year old looking to become a warrant officer. What have you done? School, college, other academics, etc.

 

It is possible to be selected right out of high school but you will face challenges in terms of a recruiter, convincing the right people that you deserve outstanding LORs, etc.

 

I would start now.

[Mendacio]

Thanks for the reply. I'll start contacting local recruiters.

 

As for my accomplishments..well that's where I'm struggling. I'm honestly an average student with a 3.65 unweighted GPA. I will have taken 14 AP classes by the end of senior year. Act- probably a 31-33

 

Clubs- I'm debate VP and have done it 4 years, I've been on cross country the last 2 years, I do Model UN.

 

Asides from that, there's nothing that really distinguishes me from both other highschoolers and current enlisted.

[StockTrader]

Well since we are at the beginning of the school year(and you're a junior), you have a little more time than most. Get involved with clubs that do community service throughout the year. Do you currently have a job? I ask because as little as it may be, it could help demonstrate leadership and responsibility. Crush academics this year and get your GPA as high as possible. As always, you should be maxing(or close to) the APFT by the time you take it. Get better every day.

 

Last but not least, work on the above but dont let it consume you. Enjoy your last two years of high school and keep your record clean as a whistle.

 

(After reading that to myself it sounded like one big contradiction)

[jaswhee]

Mendacio I would think about this long and hard. I'm not trying to deter you but High School and College are once in a lifetime experiences. It would almost be easier for you to go straight into College and knock out a degree before you went Active Duty. You could at a minimum maybe think about joining the Army Guard and working as a Crew Chief (Mechanic) and building rapport with the aviators. Because you are from Illinois, or at least your profile says so, you can get the National Guard grant and have 4 years of free public education. You could also deploy for 90 or so days and get another 4 years of education from the Illinois Veterans Grant. You will also get the GI bill that will help you pay for bills. There are units up by you (Midway) that do Air Assault and Dust Off (Blackhawks). Lakatos are in Springfield I think and Chinooks are in Peoria. I only say this because I enlisted right out of HS (did about 4 1/2 years active duty and a few years as a civilian technician) and I kind of regret it sometimes. Did a lot of cool things but being a non-traditional student (working multiple jobs and going to school) is pretty tough. Active Duty you would be expected to get at least an undergrad I believe before you pin on CW4 (I know that's a long time). Either way, I live out by Scott AFB and would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

[steve0]

If you are ready to put in your packet, I would always say follow your gut. There is no risk, and no obligation. If you are not selected, you might consider your options from there. College could be something you think about. Get your degree, then try again. You are young, you have plenty of time.

[Mendacio]

Mendacio I would think about this long and hard. I'm not trying to deter you but High School and College are once in a lifetime experiences. It would almost be easier for you to go straight into College and knock out a degree before you went Active Duty. You could at a minimum maybe think about joining the Army Guard and working as a Crew Chief (Mechanic) and building rapport with the aviators. Because you are from Illinois, or at least your profile says so, you can get the National Guard grant and have 4 years of free public education. You could also deploy for 90 or so days and get another 4 years of education from the Illinois Veterans Grant. You will also get the GI bill that will help you pay for bills. There are units up by you (Midway) that do Air Assault and Dust Off (Blackhawks). Lakatos are in Springfield I think and Chinooks are in Peoria. I only say this because I enlisted right out of HS (did about 4 1/2 years active duty and a few years as a civilian technician) and I kind of regret it sometimes. Did a lot of cool things but being a non-traditional student (working multiple jobs and going to school) is pretty tough. Active Duty you would be expected to get at least an undergrad I believe before you pin on CW4 (I know that's a long time). Either way, I live out by Scott AFB and would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

Yea, I've been told this a lot, that enlisting straight out of high school strips me of many opportunities. The reason I want to go to WOFT straight out of high school is that I have disliked high school so far, It's just so much busy and stressful work for things I don't want to do. I don't know if I could mentally handle doing another 4 or so years of standardized education, even if it's in a field I'm interested in. However If I don't end up making WOFT, I guess I'll go through college and do either ROTC or NROTC and try to get commissioned that way.

[Mendacio]

If you are ready to put in your packet, I would always say follow your gut. There is no risk, and no obligation. If you are not selected, you might consider your options from there. College could be something you think about. Get your degree, then try again. You are young, you have plenty of time.

Thanks for the reply

[steve0]

I have disliked high school so far, It's just so much busy and stressful work for things I don't want to do. I don't know if I could mentally handle doing another 4 or so years of standardized education

When I was swearing in last week, I witnessed the following exchange

 

Kid enlisting: "if it doesn't start till 12, why do I gotta be here at 11?"

Officer swearing us in: "Young man, you're gonna have a rough time in the army! You're joining an institution that's gonna tell you where to be, when to be, and how to be. They're gonna have you up at 4, suited up and ready to go at 5, at your destination at 6, and then you're gonna stand there for 5 hours because the building doesn't even open until 11."

[Mendacio]

When I was swearing in last week, I witnessed the following exchange

 

Kid enlisting: "if it doesn't start till 12, why do I gotta be here at 11?"

Officer swearing us in: "Young man, you're gonna have a rough time in the army! You're joining an institution that's gonna tell you where to be, when to be, and how to be. They're gonna have you up at 4, suited up and ready to go at 5, at your destination at 6, and then you're gonna stand there for 5 hours because the building doesn't even open until 11."

 

I see what you're getting at, but I think the difference is that, If I have the passion to become and stay an aviator, I should be able to deal with those type of hardships and I would be motivated to do so.

 

The only reason I have doubts about college, is not because I'm not smart or motivated enough to do it, but rather I don't like the idea of another four years in school pursuing a major I'm not yet sure of. I would rather gain some experience first and do WOFT, and come back to college later.

[Drew]

 

I see what you're getting at, but I think the difference is that, If I have the passion to become and stay an aviator, I should be able to deal with those type of hardships and I would be motivated to do so.

 

The only reason I have doubts about college, is not because I'm not smart or motivated enough to do it, but rather I don't like the idea of another four years in school pursuing a major I'm not yet sure of. I would rather gain some experience first and do WOFT, and come back to college later.

I'm all for you pursuing flight school strait out of high school, but I'll throw in my 2 cents about college. College isn't just about a major or a degree. I was still pretty immature at 18. By going to college I grew up a ton, learned how to budget my finances, made lifelong friends, traveled, .... the list can go on and on. Trying to do that while in the Army or later in life wouldn't have been the same. I don't know you, so I can't speak directly to your situation, but there are some pretty "young" soon to be aviators here in flight school, and their lack of life experience really shows... Just something to think about.

[steve0]

I was a damn fool in college. Didn't know what I wanted to do, or why I was there. Regularly skipped class, bombed my first 2 years. High school was only slightly better. I can't imagine what kind of spectacular failure I would have been if they had let me in flight school when I was 18.

[UH60L-IP]

 

Yea, I've been told this a lot, that enlisting straight out of high school strips me of many opportunities. The reason I want to go to WOFT straight out of high school is that I have disliked high school so far, It's just so much busy and stressful work for things I don't want to do. I don't know if I could mentally handle doing another 4 or so years of standardized education, even if it's in a field I'm interested in. However If I don't end up making WOFT, I guess I'll go through college and do either ROTC or NROTC and try to get commissioned that way.

 

I'll take an oppositional view to other posters. Choosing not to go to college right now does not strip you of one single opportunity. Nothing will have passed you by in the next 4 years regardless of the route you take, unless you screw up.

 

Screw college right now. If you don't like high school, college is really going to suck. Your grades will likely be poor and you'll be deeper in debt with an academic record that gets you nowhere. That being said, you better ACE high school if you want to stand any chance of going straight to WOFT.

 

My teachers in high school all advocated for college. They only pushed students that were headed to college. I was clear that I was going into the military. I held the viewpoint that they didn't give a crap about me because I wasn't an academic. I was literally told that I was throwing my life away and would never amount to anything. I didn't care - not because I didn't want to but because they were not teaching to my goals - and they didn't care about me either. My grades suffered for it and I can honestly say that I was one of the smartest students in the classroom. Looking back, I was absolutely right and they were poor teachers that only focused on those that held their beliefs and continued on a path they advocated for.

 

Fast forward and I excelled in the military. My first two promotions were meritorious. I chose to go to college at night and on the weekends and did quite well. I worked hard and made myself a success. Fast forward to now and I'm getting paid a good amount of money to fly multi-million dollar aircraft as a government contractor and extra to boot as a Guard pilot. On the rare occasion I go back home I look at the people that were supposed to be a success doing jobs that are mediocre while paying off college debt that has nothing to do with their career. I'm pretty sure I've had more success than 95% of the college bound students from my class all those years ago.

 

I am not knocking college. I believe in education and I am educated. But I do believe that it is but one route to your goals. If you don't want to go to college right now, don't friggin' go. If you don't make the cut for WOFT, enlisting may very well be the best thing you could do for yourself. It may very well be a heck of a lot better than paying to go to a place that you don't want to go and therefore don't commit to.

 

Best of luck.

[UH60L-IP]

By going to college I grew up a ton, learned how to budget my finances, made lifelong friends, traveled, .... the list can go on and on. Trying to do that while in the Army or later in life wouldn't have been the same.

 

I'm pretty sure you do each of those in the Army too. And at a faster pace.

[Creep0321]

College will always be there, regardless of your age or physical condition. If flying in the army is a goal, apply early, and apply often. If you get accepted awesome, if not then pursue college or enlistment etc...

 

But as uh60l-ip said, you better rock HS. I started the 47 course today and have a 20 year old young man in there with me, straight HS to flight school, no college.

[Mendacio]

 

I'll take an oppositional view to other posters. Choosing not to go to college right now does not strip you of one single opportunity. Nothing will have passed you by in the next 4 years regardless of the route you take, unless you screw up.

 

Screw college right now. If you don't like high school, college is really going to suck. Your grades will likely be poor and you'll be deeper in debt with an academic record that gets you nowhere. That being said, you better ACE high school if you want to stand any chance of going straight to WOFT.

 

My teachers in high school all advocated for college. They only pushed students that were headed to college. I was clear that I was going into the military. I held the viewpoint that they didn't give a crap about me because I wasn't an academic. I was literally told that I was throwing my life away and would never amount to anything. I didn't care - not because I didn't want to but because they were not teaching to my goals - and they didn't care about me either. My grades suffered for it and I can honestly say that I was one of the smartest students in the classroom. Looking back, I was absolutely right and they were poor teachers that only focused on those that held their beliefs and continued on a path they advocated for.

 

Fast forward and I excelled in the military. My first two promotions were meritorious. I chose to go to college at night and on the weekends and did quite well. I worked hard and made myself a success. Fast forward to now and I'm getting paid a good amount of money to fly multi-million dollar aircraft as a government contractor and extra to boot as a Guard pilot. On the rare occasion I go back home I look at the people that were supposed to be a success doing jobs that are mediocre while paying off college debt that has nothing to do with their career. I'm pretty sure I've had more success than 95% of the college bound students from my class all those years ago.

 

I am not knocking college. I believe in education and I am educated. But I do believe that it is but one route to your goals. If you don't want to go to college right now, don't friggin' go. If you don't make the cut for WOFT, enlisting may very well be the best thing you could do for yourself. It may very well be a heck of a lot better than paying to go to a place that you don't want to go and therefore don't commit to.

 

Best of luck.

 

Thanks, this really inspired me. I feel the exact same way as you do about high school. Too often these teachers preach a strict pipeline to success and discount everyone who doesn't follow it. It's almost dogmatic.

 

High school has kind of convinced me of my need to do something unconventional, and I don't think college would fulfill that. I think WOFT allows me to combine this desire with my passion for aviation into something beneficial.

 

Anyways, I hope that I'll be successful as you one day.

[jaswhee]

Mandacio I'm currently pursuing WOFT in the state of Illinois (Guard). If you ever decide you want to try the Guard route please let me know.

[dlogan17]

Hi-

I'm a junior hoping to apply to WOFT during Senior year. I am a bit confused as to when I should be doing everything. So when should the first recruiter meeting happen, when should the packet be finished, when should I collect LOR's, and when would would the Battalion Board interviews happen?

 

Sorry if this seems like a lot, I just want to make sure I'm coordinating my time well.

 

 

Man, I think you should go ahead and go for it, but pack a parachute. Be prepared to spend at least two years in college if your package doesn't get you selected and then submit again. I joined the Marines at 18, did that for several years and then got out, went to college and got a degree. Now that I am graduated I am competing for entry-level professional positions with guys who are 8 years younger than me. I loved my time in the Corps and am proud to be an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, but I wish I had known about this opportunity when I was your age. Getting in young can be a big leg up if this is what you really think you want to do with your life.

 

Start putting together your LoRs now, and start finding ways to insert yourself into leadership positions. Join clubs at school, volunteer in your community (and track what you've done), join the ROTC if/when you get to college, go ahead and start talking to recruiters, but don't let them talk you in to something you don't want. Get your GPA up as high as possible. You need to have a perfect PT score, at your age you have no excuse not to. Stay out of trouble. None of these things happen over night, start today. Keep your eye on the prize and your sh*t wired tight.