the statistics are delayed a bit.
not sure what you mean by this - but I can break it down:
WP Class of 2007 (HS Class of 2003) - 12,688
WP Class of 2008 (HS Class of 2004) - 11,879
WP Class of 2009 (HS class of 2005) - 10,773
WP Class of 2010 (HS class of 2006) - 10,276
WP Class of 2011 (HS class of 2007) - 10,838
WP Class of 2012 (HS class of 2008) - 10,133
WP Class of 2013 (HS Class of 2009) - 11,000 +
Now go back and look at what was going on during the GWOT during those years - their appears to be a correlation.
In any case WP lost 2,500 applications over 5 years. They are now on the upswing, part may be due to the economy but I think mostly it's due to "success" in Iraq or the perceived notion that the Iraq war is over.
You are right about that!
America's Finest - don't forget, the total number of applications is not the total that are Qualifed to receive an appointment. Being qualified makes it a whole lot easier to get in!
Last year at WP while there were over 10,000 applications less than 2,000 were found qualified for 1300 slots.