Guidelines for Home-Schooled Students

Home-schooled students are as competitive for appointment as any other student – academic, athletic and leadership potential are evaluated the same as with any other applicant.

While not absolutely necessary, we highly recommend that home-school students attend college or junior college for a year before entering the Academy. Taking a full academic load, as determined by the college and participating in the classroom environment will enhance your chances of adapting quickly and easily to the highly structured life of a cadet, should you receive an appointment.

NOTE: Because the home-school curriculum is often tailored to the particular student, we recommend you contact the Admissions Office to discuss your specific situation.

You can request an application or get more information about the Academy by filling out our online request form or if you prefer, mailing a request to:

HQ USAFA/RRS
2304 Cadet Drive, Suite 2300
USAF Academy, CO 80840

Academics

Home-schooled students compete against the same standards as students coming from a traditional school setting.

The following admissions formula is used to consider all applicants, home schooled or otherwise:

Academics: 60% of the overall score.
Extracurricular activities (both athletic and nonathletic): 20%
Admissions Liaison Officer interview and Selection Panel review: 20%

NOTE: In the absence of graded coursework completed at a public or private high school, we place greater weight on the standardized ACT and SAT scores.

Curriculum

To be competitive for an Academy appointment, we recommend the home-school curriculum include the following courses:

• English: 4 years
• College-Prep Math: 4 years
• Social Studies: 3 years
• Modern Foreign Language*: 2 years
• Computer Science: 1 year

*A modern foreign language is basically any language except Latin. The most beneficial languages are those taught at the Academy: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, French and Russian.

In addition, some background in Laboratory Sciences and proficiency in typing will be beneficial.

Be sure to let us know if your school is recognized by your local school board or the State Board of Education. Home-schooled students must provide a transcript that includes, at a minimum, the following academic information:

• Course/class title
• Length of course and date completed
• Grade
• Grading Scale
• G.P.A.
• Curriculum/course description
• Text/materials used

Athletics

This is the portion of the application process we use to predict leadership potential.

Although many home-schooled students are able to qualify academically for admission, their overall record is often not strong enough to compete due to a significant weakness in the area of extracurricular activities.

Some states and local school districts allow home-schooled students to participate with public school children in interscholastic activities. If this is not the case where you live, then you must be creative. Following are some suggestions that may be helpful:

• Swimming, Tennis, Gymnastics: Join a local club and participate in competition.
• Baseball: Play in a summer league affiliated with Babe Ruth, Little League, American Legion, etc.
• Track/Cross-Country: Run 5K and 10K races
• Basketball: YMCA, Boys/Girls Clubs

Remember, athletic participation is an important part of our evaluation of your overall potential to succeed at the Academy. Take a look at these statistics:

• About 95% of accepted candidates have participated in high school sports
• About 85% have earned varsity letters.

Without some athletic participation in an organized and sanctioned league sport, your chances of getting an appointment are greatly reduced.

Extracurricular Activities

Participation in nonathletic extracurricular activities is also an important part of our evaluation of your overall potential to succeed at the Academy: Little or no participation in this area will greatly reduce your chances of being accepted.

We're primarily looking for demonstrated leadership in a few activities (club officer, Eagle/Gold/Billy Mitchell award, etc.) rather than simple participation in many activities. Here are some ideas:

• Participate in leadership of church youth group
• Join and excel in a scouting organization
• Give speeches to local service clubs (Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, etc.)
• Give musical recital in church
• Work/Community service

You can also check with your local school system to see if they allow home-schooled students to participate in their after-school activities.

Depending on where you live, some of these activities may not be readily available. In such cases it may be necessary to go to a neighboring community in order to participate.

NOTE: For further assistance we suggest you contact your local or state home-school organization. You may also find helpful information at your public library or in local bookstores.