<p>AFwings: The point of the SAs is to provide the Navy and Marine Corps with well-qualified officers. The powers that be have decided that the officer corps demographics should mimic the demographics of the fleet. Their decision, not yours to make.</p>
<p>Someone else brought up differences in socioeconomic backgrounds. Numerous studies have shown that gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are significant predictors of success on standard tests such as the SAT or ACT. It is pure fact that the median PSAT scores in Massachusetts, for instance, are significantly higher each year than in poorer states such as MS, WVA, or KY. That’s why a number of top universities (including Princeton and some other Ivy league schools) are either not using those scores, or are minimizing the weight of those scores as they calculate their equivalent of the “whole person score.” Lowering the impact of these scores does not mean letting in incapable people. It means providing a more even playing field.</p>
<p>You don’t like it that certain groups may have higher or lower test score ranges be acceptable for admittance. Tough. Life’s not fair. So long as every candidate who walks in the door on I-day has the ability to make it through to toss their cover at graduation, and they commit themselves to service, they’re good enough.</p>
<p>Since people have questioned posters’ ties to USNA, most who have read my posts know that I have a current Plebe daughter. Did she receive any “special favors” to get in? Nope.</p>