I agree with kinnem's position that sequestration is impacting the results.
All areas within AETC could be impacted by sequestration. There will be substantial cuts to funding for national advertising for recruiting and commissioning programs such as ROTC. Professional Military Education and Readiness training quotas will be reduced. Advanced pilot and instructor training courses will be curtailed beginning April 1 in order to protect initial flying training, which is expected to stand down in late August or early September. If Congress fails to act and the automatic cuts are enacted, AETC will start implementing actions as soon as March 1.
If you look on other forums everyone is now discussing the real impact of sequestration on not only the govt., the AD world, but also the SAs and ROTC programs.
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?p=294432#post294432
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=30621
It is all about dollars and cents plus prioritization of the needs of the AF. SLS would IMPHO rank at the very, very, very bottom. The costs are high, and the return on the investment is low compared to even AFROTC SUmmer Field Training (SFT) SFT is for AFROTC cadets in the system as a rising jr. in college. It is @4 weeks. They would be entering AD in 2 yrs, and if contracted they have signed their papers...no turning back.
It would be interesting to see the statistics of the percentage of cadets this yr that receive appointments, and the % that accept the appointment. Many kids will do all 3 summer programs at each SA. Hence, it is an ROI perspective from a fiscal perspective, especially when you are prepared to ground the Thunderbirds, and UPT training for a month because they need to cut 203K flight hours to save money.
I am not saying there will be no SLS, just thinking out loud that it may be the smallest number ever.
I am taking a guesstimate that the sequestration will also impact the paperwork side of things. Many of the admin. depts have GS employees. They will be furloughed 1 day a week starting in April for 22 weeks to the end of Sept.
This is something to keep in mind as you start the PCQ process. The regional admissions personnel are not ADAF. They are contracted civilians that work for the AF as GS's. I am betting you will see a slow down there too.
It all will trickle down one way or another. Good luck, but if you don't get it, just realize that it is more probably due to the budget cuts than your application.
The thing you will realize is many people in the AF will say timing can be everything. It is true. Again, don't think that the AFA is going to look at this harshly if you don't get it, they already know the circumstances for the yr IF they cut the size of accepted.
Good luck. A yr from now this will all be a memory.