United States Air Force Academy

The United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs commissions roughly 900 officers every year. It’s a four-year federal institution, which means tuition, room, board, and a monthly stipend are provided in exchange for a service commitment. You graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as a Second Lieutenant.

Admission is among the most competitive of any college in the country. Fewer than 10 percent of applicants receive appointments in most years.

Admissions Overview

The Academy does not use a single admissions score. Selection is multi-factor: academic achievement, fitness, leadership, character, and a congressional nomination. Every civilian applicant needs a nomination to be considered.

Applications are competitive in three areas:

1. Academic: SAT/ACT scores, class rank, course rigor, and GPA. Most admitted cadets have SAT scores above 1200 and are in the top 10-20 percent of their high school class. STEM preparation is weighted heavily.
2. Leadership: varsity athletics, student government, community service, part-time employment, Eagle Scout, leadership roles in school organizations.
3. Fitness: the Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA) tests push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups (or flexed-arm hang), a 1-mile run, shuttle run, and basketball throw. Strong performance is expected, not just passing scores.

The application opens each year in early spring for the following year’s class and closes in January. Start early, the nomination process runs on a separate timeline.

The Nomination Process

The nomination is what separates USAFA from other officer paths. Every applicant needs a nomination from one of the following sources:

• U.S. Representative (the most common source)
• U.S. Senator (each state has two senators, each with nomination authority)
• Vice President (limited slots)
• Military-affiliated nominations: Presidential nomination (if your parent is an active duty officer), Secretary of the Air Force (for children of enlisted members and certain categories), and Congressional Medal of Honor nominations

Each nominating source has a limited number of slots per year, typically five per Academy per nominating member. Applications for nominations go directly to each member of Congress, not through the Academy. Start contacting your congressional offices in the spring of junior year.

The nomination process is independent of the Academy’s admissions evaluation. Receiving a nomination does not guarantee an appointment; it only makes you eligible for the Academy to offer one.

How to Apply for a Congressional Nomination

Congressional offices run their own nomination processes with their own deadlines, application forms, and interview requirements. The general approach:

1. Identify your representatives. Every applicant is eligible to apply to their U.S. Representative and both U.S. Senators, that’s three potential congressional sources in addition to any military-affiliated nominations you may qualify for.
2. Check each office’s deadline. Most congressional nomination deadlines fall between September 1 and October 31 of the year before you plan to enter. Some offices start accepting applications as early as June.
3. Submit the application packet. Most offices require an application form, high school transcripts, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement or essay. Some require an in-person or virtual interview with a panel appointed by the member of Congress.
4. Apply to multiple sources simultaneously. There is no limit on how many nomination sources you can pursue. Applying to all eligible sources maximizes your chances, since different offices have different selection criteria and competition pools.

Receiving a nomination from multiple sources does not help you more than one nomination, the Academy only needs one to consider your package. But applying broadly increases the likelihood you receive at least one.

If no nomination is available (competitive district, missed deadlines), the Secretary of the Air Force has a limited pool of nominations set aside for qualified candidates who receive no congressional nomination. This is not a guaranteed fallback but it does exist.

What Cadet Life Looks Like

The Academy is a four-year military installation, not a traditional college. The academic calendar operates on a semester system, but military obligations are constant.

Basics (Cadet Basic Training)

All incoming freshman cadets (“doolies”) begin with Cadet Basic Training, commonly called “Basics” or informally “BCT.” This approximately six-week summer program precedes the academic year and covers military customs, physical conditioning, weapons handling, and basic soldiering. It is deliberately demanding.

BCT begins in late June. New cadets report, receive haircuts and uniforms, and transition immediately into a structured schedule with no access to personal phones, social media, or civilian clothes. The program runs seven days a week with very limited personal time.

The physical demands escalate progressively. Early weeks emphasize basic physical conditioning, runs, calisthenics, and obstacle courses. Later weeks include field exercises at the Academy’s Jack’s Valley training area, where cadets conduct field operations, rifle familiarization, and team challenges over several days with minimal sleep.

The purpose of BCT is not only physical toughening, it is rapid assimilation into military culture. Cadets learn rank structure, reporting procedures, uniform maintenance, saluting, and military customs in a compressed timeframe. By the time the academic year begins, every cadet operates on the same foundational baseline regardless of prior background.

BCT ends with a formal recognition ceremony, after which incoming cadets join the cadet wing and begin academic year.

Academic Year

The academic program leads to a Bachelor of Science in a major drawn from disciplines including aeronautical engineering, political science, behavioral sciences, computer science, chemistry, and management. All cadets take a common core of courses regardless of major, including military science, ethics, and leadership studies.

Academic Year Structure

The academic year begins in August after BCT. A standard day runs roughly from 0600 to 2200, with meals in Mitchel Hall (the cadet dining facility) conducted in formation for freshman cadets. Class schedules include mandatory courses for all cadets, regardless of major, in areas like military strategy, ethics, physical education, and leadership science.

Fourth-class cadets (Doolies) carry the most restrictions. They eat at attention, walk on specific paths across the Terrazzo (the central campus plaza), and are subject to inspections of their rooms and uniforms. These restrictions ease progressively as cadets advance through the four years.

Military Structure

Cadets live in dormitory-style rooms organized by squadron. The day begins with mandatory physical training. Uniform is worn to all classes. Cadets advance through four class years (Fourthie, Thirdclassman, Secondclassman, Firstclassman) with increasing leadership responsibilities at each level. By senior year, cadets hold squadron leadership positions and oversee the younger classes.

Extracurricular and Athletic Programs

All cadets participate in intercollegiate, club, or intramural athletics. USAFA fields over 25 varsity sports teams and has one of the most active intramural programs in the country. Participation isn’t optional, physical development is part of the curriculum.

Military Training Progression

Military training does not stop after BCT. Each year adds new responsibilities and training requirements.

Second-class year (Juniors) includes a survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE) course and begins specialized military training tracks depending on intended career path. Aviation-track cadets may begin glider or powered flight training during this year through the Academy’s Airmanship programs. Soaring, parachuting, and powered flight are available to qualifying cadets.

First-class year (Seniors) is when cadets hold actual command positions within the cadet wing. First-class cadets run the training programs for incoming fourth-class cadets during Basics, serve as flight and squadron commanders, and manage the daily operations of the corps. This is the leadership application year, cadets are expected to apply everything they’ve learned, not just observe.

Career field preferences are submitted during first-class year. The process is similar in structure to AFROTC: the Academy uses a merit-based order-of-merit system to distribute rated and non-rated assignments. Aviation positions are the most competitive and have fixed slot counts each year.

Physical Standards

The Academy’s fitness standards are continuous, not just an admissions hurdle.

The CFA administered during admissions is just the start. Once enrolled, cadets are tested regularly on the Air Force Fitness Assessment components (1.5-mile run, push-ups, sit-ups, waist circumference), and aerobics-specific performance tests are also conducted. Cadets who fall below standards face additional training and potential disenrollment.

Aviation-track cadets pursuing rated positions must meet additional vision and physical standards required for a flight physical.

Service Commitment

USAFA is free to attend, but it is not a scholarship. You graduate with a five-year active duty commitment as an officer. If you disenroll after the start of your junior year, you may be required to reimburse the government for educational costs or fulfill an enlisted service obligation.

That five-year commitment begins after completing any follow-on training (pilot training, career-field schoolhouse, etc.), which can extend the total time before you’re free to separate.

After Graduation

Graduates receive their commission and typically attend the same follow-on career training as OTS and ROTC graduates. The advantage is career field selection: USAFA graduates tend to have first access to the most competitive rated positions, though this is not guaranteed.

The Academy also provides academic credentials that transfer well to civilian careers, federal service, and advanced degree programs. Many graduates pursue graduate school through programs like the Air Force Institute of Technology or civilian fellowships.

Explore Air Force officer career fields to understand where each specialty can take you after commissioning from any source.

This site is not affiliated with the U.S. Air Force or any government agency. Verify all information with official Air Force sources before making enlistment or career decisions.