Military Academies Face Drop in Applications

Students entering any of the four U.S. Military Academies this fall were chosen from a smaller pool of applicants than in years past. An article on Fox News.com says the largest drop occurred at the Air Force Academy, where applications for admission were down 23% from last year. Admission officials at the academies believe that a combination of factors have contributed to the drop. Among the causes suggested are a perceived tapering of post-September 11th patriotism, the war in Iraq, bad publicity from recent sexual harassment scandals and an improving U.S. economy.

Although admission to the academies is dropping, most say they are back to their application rates before the terrorists attacks of 2001.

The article can be found in its entirety on the Fox News Web site.