This might be more of a product of ROTC programs raising their admission standards for prospective ROTC students in the wake of the current military drawdowns much like the raising of enlisting standards in the news for the same reasons.
It’s no different than what happened in the '90s as a result of the end of the Cold War and the massive RIF and the massive raising of recruitment standards or what tended to happen after wars/conflicts have ended.
Some older veterans I’ve known would be inclined to cite the old cynical accusation about the military branches prioritizing/“protecting” FSA cadets/graduates over graduates of other commissioning sources even though studies from the last few decades have found otherwise.
^^I heard the same thing when I was trying to figure out ahead of time if my D would be likely to qualify for a waiver.
It seems hard to invest oneself in applying when it’s so competitive to begin with and you are dealing with a disqualifying condition and the waivers are given on a case by case basis.
My son would love to go ROTC and go into the Navy, but we aren’t even going to try to get a waiver for his medical condition. My brother went to the Naval Academy on a waiver way back when, but I don’t think he would get it today. All the research I’ve done has led me to believe that in today’s competitive environment, they have to really, really, really want you to get that waiver and I know my son wouldn’t be competitive enough.