A word from your friendly admissions rep...
When I was at SLS a couple of squad leaders were talking about how the Beast I Commander is going to try to make Beast harder than normal to get more people to quit since the class is too big.
Let's please get over the idea that this class is "too big." The class is NOT "too big." This year, we experienced an unusually low number of declined offers. That means that candidates who finished their files late and in past years would have received offers under the rolling admissions process did not receive them this year because so few of the earlier offers were turned down. It does NOT mean that the class is accidentally too big.
The admissions department doesn't send out offers willy-nilly with no accountability. They keep careful track of the offers and make more offers or decline to make more offers as the number of acceptances dictate. No one at Bldg 606 woke up one morning and said "Holy crap, there are way too many in this class!" This isn't Cap'n Crunch cereal, people. We didn't put too many Crunchberries in the box, so to speak.
This class is larger than previous classes because the somewhat recent increase in the authorized end strength of the Corps (from 4000 to 4400) has yet to be achieved due to natural attrition and smaller class sizes in previous years. As a result, the decision was made to increase the number of admissions to reach that end strength. Believe it or not, there is a method to the madness.
Additionally (I've said it before and I'll say it again):
WEST POINT DOES NOT SEEK TO MAKE PEOPLE QUIT.
I hope I don't need to repeat that again, but I no doubt will. West Point sets standards--high standards--that must be achieved because they are expected of those who will lead Soldiers in our nation's finest force. Cadets will fail and/or quit because they do not meet those standards. But, again, those standards are NOT set in order to make a certain percentage quit, despite the nefarious intentions that some folks think West Point harbors. I assure you the Commandant is not wringing his hands and waxing his villainous handlebar mustache while he sets traps to make Cadets fail. Rather, he sets standards that reflect the bare minimum of what a leader in our Army must be capable of doing. In the end, some kids won't meet those standards. The Dean sets academic standards in accordance with what is expected of one of the world's finest univeristies. Some kids won't measure up to those either. It's a fact of the military, and a fact of life.
Lastly, the Beast Regiment Commander (the cadet) his very little say about what actually happens in CBT as far as standards or training. So we can dispense with the rumor that he is trying to "make things hard."
Thanks, and thanks for thinking coherently about all this.
-SP