What percentage of female applicants are accepted?

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xray328

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Asking for my daughter...assuming you’re qualified what percentage of female applicants were accepted this year? Do females stand a better chance? Does being a female private pilot help your chances?

Thanks!
 
Hi!

I would say, from what I've seen as an ALO in the past decade or two...no, being female is not an advantage. There are SO many highly qualified candidates, both male and female, that the academy has the luxury of choosing. That being said, I remember what the "Supe" said about ten years ago when asked about how many females he'd enter (was there a percentage/quota) I think was what the person asking the question was seeking. His answer was excellent: "I'd fill the class entirely with women if they were the most qualified candidates: I want the best officer candidates, not the best male or female."

That being said, the numbers are "typically" pretty aligned with the breakdown on active duty.

As for being a private pilot...I don't see that as an entrance advantage. I see it as a big advantage for a SUPT applicant! So if she gets to USAFA, that will then be a big player in her future!

Of course, all I just said and $0.79 here will get you a large Polar Pop at Circle K...

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
flieger83 said:
His answer was excellent: "I'd fill the class entirely with women if they were the most qualified candidates: I want the best officer candidates, not the best male or female."
Click to expand...

but there was more to the quote. It finished with, provided the best officer candidates are equally spread out across every congressional district in the nation and some of them are division 1 athletes!
 
flieger83 said:
Hi!

I would say, from what I've seen as an ALO in the past decade or two...no, being female is not an advantage. There are SO many highly qualified candidates, both male and female, that the academy has the luxury of choosing. That being said, I remember what the "Supe" said about ten years ago when asked about how many females he'd enter (was there a percentage/quota) I think was what the person asking the question was seeking. His answer was excellent: "I'd fill the class entirely with women if they were the most qualified candidates: I want the best officer candidates, not the best male or female."

That being said, the numbers are "typically" pretty aligned with the breakdown on active duty.

As for being a private pilot...I don't see that as an entrance advantage. I see it as a big advantage for a SUPT applicant! So if she gets to USAFA, that will then be a big player in her future!

Of course, all I just said and $0.79 here will get you a large Polar Pop at Circle K...

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
Click to expand...

Thank you!

We had heard that civilian colleges were "rolling out the red carpet" for females wanting to go into STEM related careers, we weren't sure if the USAFA was similar in that regard.
 
xray328 said:
Asking for my daughter...assuming you’re qualified what percentage of female applicants were accepted this year? Do females stand a better chance? Does being a female private pilot help your chances?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Evidently USAFA does not make these numbers public See here: https://www.usafa.edu/app/uploads/Grad_Class_Profile_2019.pdf
USNA does make the number of female applicants vs accepted women public. See here: https://www.usafa.edu/app/uploads/Grad_Class_Profile_2019.pdf
One might extrapolate that the numbers are similar. Keep in mind (as you can see from the AFA numbers) that not all applicants are qualified.

I don't think there is really any advantage to being a woman. Points are not awarded for one's gender. When they get down to the handful of appointments to round out the class, after making all appointments required by law, then being a woman might be a small advantage.
 
From a couple of reliable — though not technically “inside” — sources: The SAs accept females in proportion to the total applicant pool. In other words, if an SA is 25% female, that’s because about 25% of applicants were female. Seems to jibe with the reasoning others have provided above.
 
xray328 said:
Asking for my daughter...assuming you’re qualified what percentage of female applicants were accepted this year? Do females stand a better chance? Does being a female private pilot help your chances?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Class of 2023 is 28% female
 
My daughter is part of the class of 2023. They are currently going to BCT. I am her father and if you have any questions, please ask away
 
xray328 said:
Bigrod said:
I believe this year there were 321 women accepted to the class of 2023
Click to expand...

How many qualified female applicants were there?
Click to expand...
Only USAFA/RRS would have that information and I don't know that its released.

I'll ask but if I don't publish it, it's because I either don't have it or have been told its not released.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
xray328 said:
Asking for my daughter...assuming you’re qualified what percentage of female applicants were accepted this year? Do females stand a better chance? Does being a female private pilot help your chances?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Class of 2023: 10,000 applicants 1147 students accepted appts. So ratio of about 9:1 applicant to matriculating cadet. Some are offered appts, but turn them down, so ratio of applicants to those offered appts might be 8.5:1. But I've not read any stats that enumerate the number of women applicants and appts offered to women.
 
The Peterson's web site has these numbers, thought they do not say for what year. The USNA numbers are pretty close though, so they should do as a rough guide. In most cases there's a very slight advantage, except for West Point. (Edit: where Advantage = rate, but honestly a lot depends on the applicant pool. There are likely a lot more guys who were raised dreaming of an academy, and dreamers probably apply beyond their grasp more than rational actors.)

Applied/ Accepted/ Rate​
Academy Female Male
USCGA 562 / 100 / 18% 1,459 / 204 / 14%
USAFA 2,834 / 440 / 16% 7,060 / 1,052 / 15%
USNA 3,761 / 378 / 10% 12,340 / 995 / 8%
USMA 3,799 / 301 / 8% 9,174 / 939 / 10%


Edit: Tables r hard
 
Last edited:
StPaulDad said:
The Peterson's web site has these numbers, thought they do not say for what year. The USNA numbers are pretty close though, so they should do as a rough guide. In most cases there's a very slight advantage, except for West Point. (Edit: where Advantage = rate, but honestly a lot depends on the applicant pool. There are likely a lot more guys who were raised dreaming of an academy, and dreamers probably apply beyond their grasp more than rational actors.)

Applied/ Accepted/ Rate​
Academy Female Male
USCGA 562 / 100 / 18% 1,459 / 204 / 14%
USAFA 2,834 / 440 / 16% 7,060 / 1,052 / 15%
USNA 3,761 / 378 / 10% 12,340 / 995 / 8%
USMA 3,799 / 301 / 8% 9,174 / 939 / 10%


Edit: Tables r hard
Click to expand...

I was surprised at the number and percentage for USMA so I looked at their class profile. To the OP's question, they do break it down to the number that is qualified and the number that is admitted. See here: https://westpoint.edu/admissions/class-profile
3,375 applied / 989 nominated / 507 qualified (physical / academic) / 292 admitted
I didn't see this on any of the other SA profiles on the website.
 
flieger83 said:
Hi!

I would say, from what I've seen as an ALO in the past decade or two...no, being female is not an advantage. There are SO many highly qualified candidates, both male and female, that the academy has the luxury of choosing. That being said, I remember what the "Supe" said about ten years ago when asked about how many females he'd enter (was there a percentage/quota) I think was what the person asking the question was seeking. His answer was excellent: "I'd fill the class entirely with women if they were the most qualified candidates: I want the best officer candidates, not the best male or female."

That being said, the numbers are "typically" pretty aligned with the breakdown on active duty.

As for being a private pilot...I don't see that as an entrance advantage. I see it as a big advantage for a SUPT applicant! So if she gets to USAFA, that will then be a big player in her future!

Of course, all I just said and $0.79 here will get you a large Polar Pop at Circle K...

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
Click to expand...
Love me some Polar Pop at Circle K...just saying
 
Do the other service academies apply the same methodology to calculate their application statistics in the same manner as USNA (e.g., applying for Summer Seminar counts as an "application")? It would interesting to know what percentage of the so-called applications relate solely to Summer Seminar and whether male/female percentages for Summer Seminar are consistent with those who actually go through the process of applying for admission.
 
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