<p>Regarding your concern about why some people don’t apply to cc if they have strong academic credentials, I think it’s because those who have had a gap year(except for veterans) would be automatically “transferred” to the GS pool even if they originally applied to cc.</p>
<p>I do know a few cases in which a student with a gap year chose GS(applied to cc and got transferred) over HYPS for various reasons.</p>