Why are the service academies so selective?

[Anonymous]

Is it just because they're free?

[Anonymous]

Because it’s not a normal experience. Most people couldn’t/wouldn’t tolerate it (myself included).
Are you willing to shave your head? Be scheduled from sun up to sun down? Do basic training? Not be allowed to come and go from campus at will? Commit to being deployed once college is over? Nothing is free. You pay for it somehow.

[Anonymous]

Because they have far more people who want to attend than they have slots. It's the same reason any school is selective.

[Anonymous]

Because more people are interested in that education and experience than they can accommodate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it’s not a normal experience. Most people couldn’t/wouldn’t tolerate it (myself included).
Are you willing to shave your head? Be scheduled from sun up to sun down? Do basic training? Not be allowed to come and go from campus at will? Commit to being deployed once college is over? Nothing is free. You pay for it somehow.

What does that have to do with the question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because more people are interested in that education and experience than they can accommodate.

But why? We don't currently know any, and we're a military family (dual, at one point in time).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it’s not a normal experience. Most people couldn’t/wouldn’t tolerate it (myself included).
Are you willing to shave your head? Be scheduled from sun up to sun down? Do basic training? Not be allowed to come and go from campus at will? Commit to being deployed once college is over? Nothing is free. You pay for it somehow.

What does that have to do with the question?

If they weren’t selective they would have a ton of dropouts once the school year began. It’s one reason the application process is so dang long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because they have far more people who want to attend than they have slots. It's the same reason any school is selective.

But why don't they create more slots??

Just kidding. The demographic for service academies is different than the whiners who insist more slots are allegedly possible - they would not last a minute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it’s not a normal experience. Most people couldn’t/wouldn’t tolerate it (myself included).
Are you willing to shave your head? Be scheduled from sun up to sun down? Do basic training? Not be allowed to come and go from campus at will? Commit to being deployed once college is over? Nothing is free. You pay for it somehow.

What does that have to do with the question?

If they weren’t selective they would have a ton of dropouts once the school year began. It’s one reason the application process is so dang long.

Ah, sorry, no coffee this morning. I thought you were explaining why it was free.

[Anonymous]

Lots of families have a long academy history and continue. Other folks meet someone that may have attended one, and aspire. The interested hasn't waned significantly from when I was a kid in the 80s.

It's also a top-notch education in $ value. I wouldn't have done it on a bet!

[Anonymous]

They're not actually that selective. They juice their "acceptance rates" by including mountains of incomplete applications. A kid who's at least a reasonably good student and at least a reasonably good athlete who completes his application and doesn't get medically DQ'd is well more likely than not to be admitted to any of the service academies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're not actually that selective. They juice their "acceptance rates" by including mountains of incomplete applications. A kid who's at least a reasonably good student and at least a reasonably good athlete who completes his application and doesn't get medically DQ'd is well more likely than not to be admitted to any of the service academies.

This is no longer legal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're not actually that selective. They juice their "acceptance rates" by including mountains of incomplete applications. A kid who's at least a reasonably good student and at least a reasonably good athlete who completes his application and doesn't get medically DQ'd is well more likely than not to be admitted to any of the service academies.

+1 they count anyone who starts the process as an applicant, even if they aren't close to finishing the process to be actually considered. Many kids do the first step and don't put any more time into it. Taking that out, the service academies would likely be 2x the acceptance rate than the one advertised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're not actually that selective. They juice their "acceptance rates" by including mountains of incomplete applications. A kid who's at least a reasonably good student and at least a reasonably good athlete who completes his application and doesn't get medically DQ'd is well more likely than not to be admitted to any of the service academies.

+1 they count anyone who starts the process as an applicant, even if they aren't close to finishing the process to be actually considered. Many kids do the first step and don't put any more time into it. Taking that out, the service academies would likely be 2x the acceptance rate than the one advertised.

They haven't done this since Annapolis got caught doing it.

[Anonymous]

Published July 2023:

"The West Point Acceptance Rate originates from the total number of applicants that start files with the West Point Admissions team. This doesn’t include qualified candidates, only students who are interested in attending. They haven’t received a congressional nomination yet or gone through any of the admissions processes. From a recent class profile, this totals 12,294.

Since only 1,210 were admitted, this leads the public to believe that the admissions rate was 9.8%.

In reality, only 2,228 were qualified academically and in physical aptitude according to the admissions team. This results in a much higher acceptance rate of 54% if you are qualified."