1) They don't want cadets who can only perform well in the rigorous aptitude tests and skill assessment.
I disagree.
GAA will never know who can truly perform well as they decided they would not give everyone the opportunity to go through selection (even though the applicant would be paying).
That means you might actually have individuals who'll be able to outperform the so called "academics".
It is ultimately the selection process which will determine whether:
a. You've got what it takes to successfully complete your abinitio training
b. You've got what it takes to successfully gain employment as a first officer.
I hope you'll agree with me that you won't be typing up essays to convey arguments validated by evidence at 35,000 feet.
Flight training is vocational in nature. Your high school GPA will not show your potential for leadership, it will not show how well you can recall, it will not show how spatially aware you are, it will not show your hand/eye co-ordination or team working abilities etc.
The rest of applicants will be kept in a "hold pool" if you like to call it! In case the initial 100 applicants don't qualify to any subsequent stage
Again, this supports my argument that they should all be allowed to go through the selection process instead of having to resort to feeding off a hold pool because the "academics" haven't lived upto their expectations.
One rationale behind limiting the number to only 100 cadets is the overbooking issue in Oxford Aviation Academy.
I have no issue with them limiting numbers, but as i said in my previous post, the number crunching should be done after they have gone through selection.
Who's running the show at GAA?