Competitiveness by State

OORAHnh

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I'm tempted to post the "will I make a good candidate" thread, but instead I'll ask a question that may aid others. Here goes-

Are certain states more competitive than others for appointments to the Naval Academy? Also- I'm from NH, anyone know what the competition for appointments is like here? Thanks!
 
Yes, certain states and certain Congressional districts are more competitive than others. Candidates from individual states compete against each other for nominations from their US Senators, and candidates from a specific Congressional district compete against each other for nominations from their US representative. If one district has 20 people competing for 10 nominations, it's likely to be less competitive than a different district in which 300 people apply for those 10 nominations. Of course, the strength of the candidates' credentials and the number of candidates in a specific district will vary from year to year.

Sorry I don't know anything about the competitiveness of NH.
 
Yes, certain states and certain Congressional districts are more competitive than others. Candidates from individual states compete against each other for nominations from their US Senators, and candidates from a specific Congressional district compete against each other for nominations from their US representative. If one district has 20 people competing for 10 nominations, it's likely to be less competitive than a different district in which 300 people apply for those 10 nominations. Of course, the strength of the candidates' credentials and the number of candidates in a specific district will vary from year to year.

Sorry I don't know anything about the competitiveness of NH.

Another thing that varies is how many slots your senator/congressman has at the academy. That also varies from year to year.

They can nominate 10 for each slot.

However, the Naval Academy may pick more than the number of allotments. How that works - I'm not exactly sure. Maybe one of the BGO can explain that.

For instance, our local congresswoman (Marsha Blackburn) had only one slot for the Class of 2013. She nominated both of my sons (twins) and both of them got in.

Of course, they each got an LOA so, again, I'm not sure how that works.
 
[They can nominate 10 for each slot]

That's good news as far as nominations go. Did the Congresswoman's office share how many slots she had ahead of time or did she tell you that after the nomination?
 
For instance, our local congresswoman (Marsha Blackburn) had only one slot for the Class of 2013. She nominated both of my sons (twins) and both of them got in.

However, the Naval Academy may pick more than the number of allotments. How that works - I'm not exactly sure. Maybe one of the BGO can explain that.

One or both of your sons was/were "slotted" to another nominating source. When an MOC nominates 10 people for his/her one vacancy, one of those will be slotted to that MOC. The other 9 (assuming all are qualified) go into the national pool and compete with the 9 folks from all of the other MOCs. Those ultimately selected for an appointment will typically be slotted to SecNav. You can't apply to SecNav for a nom, but that's the individual to whom they are "charged."

Alternatively, your son could have received a Presidential appointment (if he was eligible for a Pres nom), a Supe's appointment, a VP appointment, etc.

In the "competitive" states/districts, all candidates who receive a nom are usually highly qualified. Thus, it's not uncommon for more than one of the 10 ultimately to receive an appointment.
 
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[They can nominate 10 for each slot]

That's good news as far as nominations go. Did the Congresswoman's office share how many slots she had ahead of time or did she tell you that after the nomination?

The congresswoman's "Service Academy Coordinator" told me that over the phone when we were having a casual conversation.

Somehow, I knew that more-than-one-per-slot could get in if they were highly qualified, but I didn't know exactly how that worked. So, I wasn't too concerned about it. Plus, they may have already had their LOAs by the time I discovered this - so I was even less concerned. At this point, I was just thinking, "All they need is a nomination. Any nomination. The academy will have to figure out the details."

Above, USNA1985 has explained that very well.
 
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