History Main / LoweredRecruitingStandards

** In the sixth tome, Harry is accepted in the advanced Potions class because the new teacher has lower standards than Snape's. Unlike most examples on this page, however, it's implied Snape's admittance requirements were too high (demanding the Wizarding equivalent of an A on the exam, while the replacement also allowed those with the B grade equivalent). Snape was also unable to apply this requirement to his new class, as this would have left him teaching a one-student class (a student by the name of Harry Potter...).

** In the series, Harry is accepted in the advanced Potions class because the new teacher has lower standards than Snape's. Unlike most examples on this page, however, it's implied Snape's admittance requirements were too high (demanding the Wizarding equivalent of an A on the exam, while the replacement also allowed those with the B grade equivalent). Snape was also unable to apply this requirement to his new class, as this would have left him teaching a one-student class (a student by the name of Harry Potter...).

** For the most part averted where manpower is the Imperium's greatest weapon (one general regularly wins battles by sending wave after wave of infantry without armored support against fortresses or through minefields) and they'll let anyone join/get shanghaied. Though on some planets like Cadia and [[DeathWorld Catachan]] everyone is a BadassNormal just for surviving to adulthood, and anyone who doesn't shape up fast enough can generally look forward to meeting the Commissar and being sent to a Penal Legion.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/Deadpool2''. Deadpool recruits every single person who signs up for the X-Force, including a random non-superpowered guy named Peter who joined 'caused he thought it'd be fun.

->''"Didn't know the requirements were just living and breathing! .''

* This trope is the premise behind the original ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' movie. The mayor instituted the policy, and a resentful chief of police cooks up a plan to make the new cadets so miserable they quit.

* ''Film/TheBridge'': Seven teenaged German boys are thrown into combat in the Western Front in the last days of World War II, after exactly one day of training. Tragedy ensues.

** The Germans had to depend on this more and more as the war turned against them. One of the first examples were the ''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions, which essentially took auxiliary and non-essential air force personnel and pressed them into frontline service. Their battle prowess was about as good as you can expect. By 1944, anyone who was previously declared "medically unfit" was allowed to join the ''Wehrmacht''. At the end of the war, the ''Volkssturm'' was the ultimate result of this. With the ''Wehrmacht'' essentially tapped for any reserves, the Nazis began to conscript anyone who wasn't already in uniform to fight against the Red Army. The majority of ''Volkssturm'' members were old men (many of whom were veterans of the First World War) and children from the Hitler Youth, who were far more fanatical than their older comrades.

** For the most part averted where manpower is the Imperium's greatest weapon (one general regularly wins battles by sending wave after wave of infantry without armored support against fortresses or through minefields) and they'll let anyone join/get shanghaied. Just about everyone in 40K is a BadassNormal just for surviving to adulthood, and anyone who doesn't shape up fast enough can generally look forward to meeting the Commissar and being sent to a Penal Legion.

* SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn invoked this during the Soviet-German War. Entire categories of people who had been barred from combat-roles (socialist- and liberal-sympathisers, central Asians, petty criminals), or from military service (women) were suddenly conscripted, trained, and pressed into logistics and frontline roles. Upon the war's outbreak the UsefulNotes/RedArmy had been entirely male, mostly Russian, and quite strictly Communist. Upon its end the Army was only 9/10 male, less than half-Russian, and embraced all flavours of the left-wing rainbow. This couldn't last, however, with the women and less orthodox members being quietly removed in post-war years.

* Happens in some of the ''Franchise/StarCraft'' novels. A lot of terran recruits are convincts, so the methods used involve arresting people for flimsy reasons, as well. In at least one case, people were outright kidnapped from colonies, using the brainwashing meant to keep the more violent convicts under control to instead tell them a fake story.

* {{Biggles}} was a beneficiary (and/or victim) of this trope in the chronologically second-earliest book in the series. Not only does he get into flight school by lying about his age, albeit only by eight months, but a chapter or so later he's getting his pilot's wings and a hasty posting to 266 Squadron in France despite having less than half the required hours in the air. He survives through raw talent and sheer dumb luck for long enough to learn on the job; many other pilots don't.

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, Harry is accepted in the advanced Potions class because the new teacher has lower standards than Snape's. Unlike most examples on this page, however, it's implied Snape's admittance requirements were too high (demanding the Wizarding equivalent of an A on the exam, while the replacement also allowed those with the B grade equivalent).

The most frequent reason for this change of policy is a need for more members. If the organization is combating some rival group or other force, then extra numbers, even as cannon fodder, become extremely valuable.

This change in policy is also most frequently how our main character becomes a member of said group when before that the best they could have hoped for was to fanboy from afar. This decision is also often a cause of friction between the those who support the new arrangement and the Old Guard who resent the "riffraff" coming into their midst.

* The "against" camp in the debate on whether or not to allow women into the combat branches of the US Military uses this trope as one of their primary arguments.
** This happened when the US military was eager to swell its ranks during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Waivers became more common for people with non-violent criminal histories, overweight and out of shape recruits became more common, and accordingly reports of injuries to soldiers unaccustomed to the harsh lifestyle and crimes (petty and otherwise) skyrocketed.
* Conscription has this effect on armies. The army is forced to accept many barely fit recruits who don't want to be in it either, and is cited as a contributing factor [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar the infamous "Rape of Nanjing" during World War II]], as a number of conscripts were of the "[[TradingBarsForStripes imprisoned or enlisted]]" variety.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffen-SS Waffen SS]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Initially membership was open to "[[MasterRace Aryans]]" only in accordance with the racial policies of the [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi state]], but the rules were partially relaxed in 1940, and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler authorized the formation of units composed largely or solely of foreign volunteers and conscripts as the war went on. By the end of the war, non-Germans made up more than 50 percent of the Waffen SS.
** The Germans had to depend on this more and more as the war turned against them. One of the first examples were the ''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions, which essentially took auxiliary and non-essential air force personnel and pressed them into frontline service. Their battle prowess was about as good as you can expect. By 1944, anyone who was previously declared "medically unfit" was allowed to join the ''Wehrmacht''. At the end of the war, the ''Volkssturm'' was the ultimate result of this. With the ''Wehrmacht'' essentially tapped for any reserves, the Nazis began to conscript anyone who wasn't already in uniform to fight against the Red Army. The majority of ''Volkssturm'' members were old men (many of whom were veterans of the First World War) and children from the Hitler Youth, who were far more fanatical than their older comrades.
* SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn invoked this during the Soviet-German War. Entire categories of people who had been barred from combat-roles (socialist- and liberal-sympathisers, central Asians, petty criminals), or from military service (women) were suddenly conscripted, trained, and pressed into logistics and frontline roles. Upon the war's outbreak the UsefulNotes/RedArmy had been entirely male, mostly Russian, and quite strictly Communist. Upon its end the Army was only 9/10 male, less than half-Russian, and embraced all flavours of the left-wing rainbow. This couldn't last, however, with the women and less orthodox members being quietly removed in post-war years.
* [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic The Austro-Hungarian Army]] (officer corps 76.1% German) was particularly badly affected by this in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, though the situation was still manageable while they were able to use the pre-war Army Reserve to plug the gaps (officer corps 56.8% German). Things only became truly critical when they ran out of these after repeated Italian and Russian offensives in 1916 and had to begin recruiting ''en masse'' from the country's civilian professionals (c.24% German).
* In Australia the university fees are capped by the government, but to help the universities make money they uncapped the number of admissions. As a result the ATAR (Australia's version of an SAT) scores needed for admission have steadily been getting lower to allow more students.
* Jokingly mentioned by Creator/DaveBarry in regards to universities being so desperate for students they now accept people they wouldn't have allowed to work in the boiler room.

* During the Russian Civil War the Red Army was being routinely hammered by the Whites and all the revolutionary proletarian fervor in the world couldn't help them. Trotsky made the decision to recruit former Imperial Russian Army officers, despite the Communists' lumping them as members of the corrupt system they were trying to overthrow, and they managed to instill some professionalism and experience. Well, until a younger Stalin locked many of them in barges and sank them in the Volga River.

As anyone in, well any Armed Forces can tell you, this is certainly [[TruthInTelevision]]

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* In the Sith Warrior storyline of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', your initial mentor comments that this policy was recently put into practice within the Sith Academy, due to the heavy losses of the war. In an inversion, your character is one of the elite who is there legitimately (sort of--in a sort-of ironic inversion, your mentor gives you special treatment while trying to prove his point about the lowered standards), while TheRival is one whose presence owes itself to the Lowered Standards.
** The Sith Inquisitor PlayerCharacter is also one of the Lowered Standards (as your Overseer and rival constantly point out), but doesn't stay that way for long.

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* In the [[WarOnTerror]], the US Military's problems have been well documented. Whats not often appreciated is that this also happened with the other major militaries which have been in action, i.e the UK and the Pakistani armed forces have also had to lower standards. As of 2016 as the major troop commitments have wound down, all three have suddenly and ruthlessly reimposed exacting standards.
** Incidentally, the reasons given for the shortage of troops has been since all three militaries expected to fight short and bloody wars against conventional opponets, menaing you would not have time to raise new troops during war and lots of time to replacd losses aftewards. This did not translate well to the conditions of the War on Terror; a low level war lasting approximatley forever/
** The major UK, NATO allies most notably did not lower standards during the war and their armies dis not grow. Whether this was to keep the quality of their armed force high (as they claimed) or whether that was an excuse not to increase size of their armies and avoid major responsibilities and therefore unpopular casualties, (as some US Military leaders insist) is not to be discussed here.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffen-SS Waffen SS]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Initially membership was open to "[[MasterRace Aryans]]" only in accordance with the racial policies of the [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi state]], but the rules were partially relaxed in 1940, and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler authorized the formation of units composed largely or solely of foreign volunteers and conscripts as the war went on. By the end of the war, non-Germans made up more than 50 percent of the Waffen SS.
** The Germans had to depend on this more and more as the war turned against them. One of the first examples were the ''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions, which essentially took auxiliary and non-essential air force personnel and pressed them into frontline service. Their battle prowess was about as good as you can expect. By 1944, anyone who was previously declared "medically unfit" was allowed to join the ''Wehrmacht''. At the end of the war, the ''Volkssturm'' was the ultimate result of this. With the ''Wehrmacht'' essentially tapped for any reserves, the Nazis began to conscript anyone who wasn't already in uniform to fight against the Red Army. The majority of ''Volkssturm'' members were old men (many of whom were veterans of the First World War) and children from the Hitler Youth, who were far more fanatical than their older comrades.
* SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn invoked this during the Soviet-German War. Entire categories of people who had been barred from combat-roles (socialist- and liberal-sympathisers, central Asians, petty criminals), or from military service (women) were suddenly conscripted, trained, and pressed into logistics and frontline roles. Upon the war's outbreak the UsefulNotes/RedArmy had been entirely male, mostly Russian, and quite strictly Communist. Upon its end the Army was only 9/10 male, less than half-Russian, and embraced all flavours of the left-wing rainbow. This couldn't last, however, with the women and less orthodox members being quietly removed in post-war years.
* [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic The Austro-Hungarian Army]] (officer corps 76.1% German) was particularly badly affected by this in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, though the situation was still manageable while they were able to use the pre-war Army Reserve to plug the gaps (officer corps 56.8% German). Things only became truly critical when they ran out of these after repeated Italian and Russian offensives in 1916 and had to begin recruiting ''en masse'' from the country's civilian professionals (c.24% German).

** This also happens in volunteer armies in times of war, standards are gradually lowered and the army swells in size, when the war is over, standards rise back up and many of these new recruits are discharged for various reasons that the command suddenly noticed.

* This trope is the premise behind the original ''PoliceAcademy'' movie. The mayor instituted the policy, and a resentful chief of police cooks up a plan to make the new cadets so miserable they quit.

* The StarWarsExpandedUniverse: TheEmpire began supplementing its clone army with recruits, a development which drew criticism from the clones. As this policy eventually gave us the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy, the clones probably had a point.