@ Landof8:
Wrong! You should seriously consider speaking solely for the Navy. I am a Student Naval Aviator (SNA) in the Marines, and I can state, with certainty, that 90 percent of my peers are not academy graduates. Nor do they pick an MOS out of the Naval Academy. Those that are not lawyers or SNAs are assigned an MOS while at the Basic School based on company standing and the quality spread.
Now as far as this easily becoming a fighter pilot business, that is a load of $h!t. In the Marines, 71% of aviators fly helos, another 9% fly C-130s and the remaining 20% fly jets (roughly). That came from the CO of the training group. To get a jet slot:
1. first and foremost the Marine Corps NEEDS a jet pilot (needs of the Corps trumps all)
2. You have to have an NSS qualifying you to fly jets.
Not completely sure how the NSS works, but it is a ranking/grading system that compares you to the 200 students before you on a scale from 20-80. I think you need at least a 50 to qualify for jets. Don't take that last bit for fact though.