My personal opinion is that this "new" method of selecting the class is ALL about ensuring the class size meets the mandated target number. Again....JMPO.
Director of Admissions addressed the changes in a briefing last spring.... Several key drivers:
- USMA moving back down to authorized strength due to RIF'ish Army needs
- Larger & better qualified applicant pool with several factors driving that sea change. Comment from either Admissions or BTD one: Many cadets admitted in earlier classes would not have made the cut in the current applicant pools. This has been a trend for several years.
- Aligning timing better with the competing colleges to remove that as a barrier in the decision process. (Later initial notification, but longer acceptance window. Specifically, acceptance cutoff will after key competition announces their acceptances)
I've not compared current windows/approach exactly to her comments, but they seem in alignment.
There is not a scheme to get rid of cadets, but they did give very direct input even then that USMA was going to enforce Academic/physical/military standards more strictly to make sure slots were free for those who really wanted to be there. (Almost exact quote). Which was shortly followed by Firsties & USMAPS behavioral separations. And multiple wave of APFT & academic separations this AY.
So my read is the current admissions approach was set months ago and is unrelated to the current budget crunch. It is directly related to future needs of the army, and that is surfacing in many areas.
Even the much bemoaned 2016 CBT was impacted by needs of the Army.... training was directly adjusted based on external input. Ex: '16 cadets trained with Grenades like a regular soldier did in basic.