<p>USNA experienced a 20% drop in applications with only 11,140 applications as of the January 31st deadline this year as opposed to last years which was in the high 13000s.<br>
The other academies have also suffered declines in applications, but they were not as dramatic as USNA's.</p>
<p>where did you hear this? This news is incredibly surprising.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--academyapplicatio0208feb08,0,3290763.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork%5B/url%5D">http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--academyapplicatio0208feb08,0,3290763.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork</a>
<a href="http://wjz.com/localstories/local_story_039104427.html%5B/url%5D">http://wjz.com/localstories/local_story_039104427.html</a>
Among many others. </p>
<p>Not that surprising when you think about how Iraq plays into this. I think it is very surprising though that West Point experienced the smallest decline of all 3 yet they are the...army...</p>
<p>well, its really not that unheard of when you think about it. The post 9-11 application spike is passed, and with the mess in Iraq, many people may have been deterred or just not felt the patriotic spur of the moment that many earlier classes had. The Army so far has expierienced the smallest drop, but at the same time, the army dropout rate has gone up exponentially. Almost 25% of all those attending have dropped out, making classes of just over 900 cadets. Many people applied, accepted, and decided too late that they didn't want to fight and didn't like "army" life. I don't know how they manage to get accepted, but oh well.</p>
<p>This drop is actually a good thing, it is weeding out the uncommited who are simply falling into to family pressure and giving the opportunity for those who are really proactive about this to receive an appointment.</p>
<p>well, easier to get in now.</p>
<p>cheers.</p>
<p>Dr. Snipes,</p>
<p>"This drop is actually a good thing, it is weeding out the uncommited who are simply falling into to family pressure and giving the opportunity for those who are really proactive about this to receive an appointment."</p>
<p>Your comment is very perceptive. </p>
<p>I'm sitting here looking at the USNA catalog 1998-1999, page 10, with the Class of 2001 Profile:</p>
<p>Applicants: 10,119</p>
<p>Number of applicants with
an official nom:4,768</p>
<p>Applicants
Triple Q'd: 1,728</p>
<p>Offers of
Admission: 1,447</p>
<p>Admitted: 1,175</p>
<p>So, it appears that the number of applicants is returning to relatively normal levels.
However, didn't Princeton Review and other sources rank USNA in the top ten colleges nationwide in terms of selectivity?</p>
<p>Most of us would admit that it's no cakewalk to gain admission to the U.S. service academies. In fact, many USNA alumni from years past say that they probably couldn't get in now!</p>
<p>Good luck--you've got a great attitude! (I'm ignoring that remark about parents...)</p>
<p>I heard that USNA said that while the number of applicants has declined, the amount of well-qualified individuals applying has increased. Go figure.</p>
<p>The articles about the application decline show that the drop has hit all academies.</p>
<p>West Point applications are down 16% while Air Force applications are down 24%.</p>
<p>Another item mentioned is that the drop out rate after year 2 at WP is up. This year 52 members of the second year class (2007) dropped out (compared to 32 and 18 the prior two years) leaving 963 cadets of the original 12,688 group. That's about a 25% dropout.</p>