Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, The United States Air Force Academy is one of the five service academies in the nation. It is a unique, prestigious school that has an amazing athletic program and top-notch academics, perfect for those who want a challenge mentally and physically.

A five-day program called the Summer Seminar is a great experience for rising seniors who are looking into attending the academy. Applications opened early January, and students were notified whether they were accepted late February. If accepted, students were able to choose which sessions they wished to attend: A or B.  Session A took place on June 12-17, and Session B on June 19-24.

The program itself is very competitive. This year, 3,000 people across the country applied and only a mere 640 were admitted.

“It was hard, but the best part about it was making new friends and seeing what cadet life is really like,” Chloe Camello said, a participant of Session A from Honolulu, Hawaii, “If I could describe my experience in one word, it would be fun.”

The first day, the students were given the keys to their dorms and played sports ranging from football to ultimate frisbee on the intramural fields to get acclimated to the altitude of 7,258 feet above sea level. The next day was Milex Day, formerly known as “Doolie For a Day”. It is a day where students get a taste of what basic cadet training is like through a rough, early morning wake-up, vigorous physical training, and drilling. Academic classes like Aerospace Physiology or Field Biology were put away for the third and fourth day, and the fifth day was full of briefings and seminars to wrap the week up.

It may be only five days, but the camaraderie and the friendship that is built among the students becomes a solid foundation for their journeys into becoming Air Force Academy cadets.

“I will never forget this experience, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the academy next year,” Kitty Bee said, a Session A participant from Fairfax, Virginia, “Hopefully, I will be lucky enough to be apart of the Class of 2021!”