When I was at USAFA, about 10 years ago, this was not the case. The exchange guys we have from USNA and USMA thought USAFA was more difficult academically, overall militarily, but the others were harder on the freshman. Also, I saw that USAFA ranked higher by the princeton review and US news. Having said that, the general concenus was they all sucked for four years then you graduate. Academically the difference between the five academies is proably the differenece between getting a 98.5 and a 99 on a test. The big difference is if you gradutae from USAFA you will most likely be in the Air Force. If you graduate from USNA, welcome to the Navy. If you are sure you want to fly, you will have the chance in the AF.