Why do people typically fail out of the FAA academy?

What if I fail the faa academy? Can I attend it again?

No. There has been a loophole in the past where people applied to different sourced bids and got through. Ex: failed on an ots bid and re applied on a cti bid. Dont count on it.
 
No. There has been a loophole in the past where people applied to different sourced bids and got through. Ex: failed on an ots bid and re applied on a cti bid. Dont count on it.
Thanks for telling me. Also why some people only spend 2 months there but some spend 5 months?
 
You can shave a month off of either option too if you qualify for/opt to skip basics, although the percentage of people that actually do that seems to be very low.
I would have skipped now that they nerfed the per diem. We all went to get an extra month of per diem.
 
I would have skipped now that they nerfed the per diem. We all went to get an extra month of per diem.
True, but it still does give you a good opportunity to get to know your classmates and get used to how the Academy operates and whatnot. Showing up the first day across the street when everybody is already friends with everybody else probably would not be fun. Not to mention it can be a pretty big shock to some when they throw the big binder at you and try to instill the fear of God with how tough it’s going to be on day 1 of Initial Quals. We had 1 dude who went through Basics with everybody and still quit day 1 across the street because it freaked him out so much.
 
Do people who graduate from AT-CTI program, for example, Purdue University, have a higher chance of getting into the FAA academy and become an official ATC?
 
The academies have literally been designed to ensure a decent amount of people fail, after several years of high% success rates. The grading is hard on purpose. There are also many subjective factors at play, judgement calls, benefits of the doubt etc. If you are an attractive person of a certain gender, you have a far less chance of failing. That is just basic world facts though. The people who constantly study and stress and complain that their classmates don't take shit serious enough, aren't necessarily the most successful either.... because at a certain point you either have the aptitude to see a conflict and properly resolve it or not. There are a myriad of reasons but if you are smart, motivated, and don't make everyone there hate you... you have a good chance to make it. Many legacy controllers who got their academy seat through daddy nepotism have failed (much to the shock an awe of their "I pulled strings w the agency im a big shot" parent).... which is one way you know theyre doing something right!
 
Do people who graduate from AT-CTI program, for example, Purdue University, have a higher chance of getting into the FAA academy

Maybe possibly kinda. As you would know if you read the FAQs, there are two pools in a general bid: one for veterans and CTI combined, and then a second pool for normal off-the-street civilians. It used to be the two pools had to have a similar number of referees, and it used to be there were far more Pool 2 applicants than Pool 1. So if you went to a CTI school you were competing among fewer people to get referred.

As of this past year they changed the law and the pools no longer have to be equal. It remains to be seen if that'll be a benefit for CTI people (they might get favored now) or if it won't be (they'll now essentially be comparing scores among all groups instead of a smaller pool). It depends on how the FAA plays it.

and become an official ATC?

Obviously the point of the CTI program was to educate people before they got to OKC and weed out the ones who couldn't hack it, so theoretically CTI grads should pass the Academy at higher rates than non-CTI. I don't think that's been the case, historically.
 
Maybe possibly kinda. As you would know if you read the FAQs, there are two pools in a general bid: one for veterans and CTI combined, and then a second pool for normal off-the-street civilians. It used to be the two pools had to have a similar number of referees, and it used to be there were far more Pool 2 applicants than Pool 1. So if you went to a CTI school you were competing among fewer people to get referred.

As of this past year they changed the law and the pools no longer have to be equal. It remains to be seen if that'll be a benefit for CTI people (they might get favored now) or if it won't be (they'll now essentially be comparing scores among all groups instead of a smaller pool). It depends on how the FAA plays it.



Obviously the point of the CTI program was to educate people before they got to OKC and weed out the ones who couldn't hack it, so theoretically CTI grads should pass the Academy at higher rates than non-CTI. I don't think that's been the case, historically.

I've heard that the Academy teaches completely new materials, which puts CTI grads and every one else at the same starting point. Is this true?
 
I've heard that the Academy teaches completely new materials, which puts CTI grads and every one else at the same starting point. Is this true?
Basics in a nutshell:

-The FAA administrator is the head honcho.
-Say niner vs. nine.
-The dotted line on the runway is called the centerline.
-Planes use physics to fly.
-Thunderstorms are bad.
-“Look at this map and find it this airport”
-You’re going to be fatigued doing this job.

The end.
 
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