In addition to needing an appointment, which is an acceptance directly from the Air Force Academy based upon physical, academic, and leadership based performance, as well as a medical clearance from the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board, all cadets must receive a separate nomination from at least one of the following sources:
Senator: Either of the two Senators from your home state may provide a nomination. Each Senator may have up to 5 cadets attending each academy at a given time on their nomination. This nomination generally requires a resume to be mailed in or submitted online, and possibly an interview either directly with the Senator or with a panel representing them.
Representative: The Representative in Congress for your specific district may provide a nomination. This is generally an identical process to that of the Senators, including the 5 current cadet limit.
Vice President: The Vice President's application is nearly identical to that of the Senators and Congressmen, except for that the nomination can be granted to anyone nationwide and nominations are based entirely on application packages, not interviews. I believe the Vice President has the same 5 cadet cap as members of Congress.
President: Any eligible child of an active duty or career retired member of any branch of the service may apply for the Presidential nomination. While this nomination is automatically granted to all who qualify upon receiving the application letter in the mail, the Academy may only accept up to 100 cadets using this nomination each year, so it is best to seek a second nomination.
AFROTC/AFJROTC: Instructors from distinguished units may nominate up to five cadets per unit, however, I believe the cap on this category is 20 cadets per year.
Children of Medal of Honor Recipients: Any child of a Medal of Honor recipient, living or dead, receives an automatic nomination and needs only an appointment to enter the Academy.
I have likely missed a small category or two, such as I believe there exist categories for children of disabled veterans and children of prisoners of war but the vast majority of cadets enter on nominations from either the Senator, Congressman, or Presidential nomination categories.
The Air Force college IS the Air Force Academy!
No, the Air Force Academy is NOT a business. It is a government funded college for the procurement of Air Force officers.
Bangladesh Air Force Academy was created in 1973.
Hellenic Air Force Academy was created in 1919.
Portuguese Air Force Academy was created in 1978.
Turkish Air Force Academy was created in 1951.
Polish Air Force Academy was created in 1927.
Korea Air Force Academy was created in 1949.
Gagarin Air Force Academy was created in 1940.
The grounds of the Air Force Academy cover 18,000 acres
Korea Air Force Academy's motto is 'We learn and endeavor'.
Norwegian Air Force Academy's motto is 'For Luftforsvarets fremtid'.