The Air Force Academy has seen a huge year-on-year drop in the number of applicants interested in attending the service academy, amid a historic military recruiting crisis and a drive to boost diversity on campus.
This year, The Air Force Academy saw a 28 percent decline in its number of applicants from last year, according to Air Force Academy admissions statistics obtained by Breitbart News. In 2021, there were 11,615 applicants. In 2022, that number dropped to 8,393.
The drop in percentage of “qualified candidates” tracked by the academy was even more dire — 46 percent, according to the statistics. In 2021, there were 3,279 qualified candidates. In 2022, there were only 1,775 qualified candidates.
However, there were only about 100 fewer actual offers of admission from 2021 to 2022, suggesting a far less competitive selection process and lower quality recruits for an academy known for producing the Air Force’s pilots.
The lack of interest is despite the Air Force Academy actively trying to boost the “diversity” of its candidates by 10 percent, according to a former academy official.
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