In the past, EVERY AIM application was scored by two USCGA Admissions officials. It was then given a score of:
1 - Accept
2 - Hold
3 - Do Not Accept
All applicants rated as "accept" received appointments to AIM.
All applicants rated as "hold" were considered qualified and were placed in a lottery to fill the class as needed.
The scoring criteria is very selective and tries to ensure less than 450-500 "Accept" scores (the total number of AIM slots available) therefore you would always have some of the AIM applicants who were rated as "hold" to come via a "random lottery" selection.
However, the misconception that AIM selection is a total random lottery with equal chances for all is incorrect.
Call the USCGA and ask to speak to an admissions officer if you still believe otherwise.
