Interview advice

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onee

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Any advice for interviewing with the senator and congressional reps MOC boards for nominations? My son was offered 3 interviews and we just found out today that the first one is 10/16/10
 
Tell him to stay relaxed, be professional, say Sir/Ma'am, keep his hands in his lap, don't fidget, look the interviewers in the eye.

Most importantly, be sincere. Don't tell them what he thinks they want to hear. Be honest. Fit in accomplishments into his answers, without sounding like he's bragging. E.g. "Why do you want to go to the air force academy"? ... "While on the high school soccer team and volunteering for meals on wheels, I realized how satisfying and rewarding teamwork was and how working towards something bigger then myself ................." (Just an example of interjecting his accomplishments; not meant to be the answer he gives)

Anyway, the most important thing is to be honest, sincere, and respectful. Best of luck to you. Mike....
 
More than one Nomination?

My son has already recieved a Nomination through his JROTC unit. Will it benefit him to still interview with his MOC's? Can he recieve more than one Nomination? Will that increase his chances of being offered an appointment?
 
He definitely needs to interview with as many possible nominations as possible. While it's great that he has received a nomination through JrRotc, so has possibly a few hundred applicants. However, only 20 can actually get an appointment with the nomination. Similar to how a senator and representative can give out 10 nominations each year, but only 1 or 2 will get an appointment with that nomination. So, you want your son to get as many nominations as possible. This way if they say: "Yup, you're the one we want.... However, there's no slots left in the ROTC Nomination category that your nomination is,,,,, BUT, you also have a nomination from a senator, so you're good to go". That's why you want as many nominations as possible. Best of luck to you. Mike.....
 
Similar to how a senator and representative can give out 10 nominations each year...............
Not really. Unsuccessful nominees from the principals list will be eligible for the national pool. Unsuccessful nominees from ROTC are at the end of the road. This is why it is so very important for ROTC nominees to also pursue all other nominations to which they are eligible.
 
Not really. Unsuccessful nominees from the principals list will be eligible for the national pool. Unsuccessful nominees from ROTC are at the end of the road. This is why it is so very important for ROTC nominees to also pursue all other nominations to which they are eligible.

You are correct, but the analogy was to show that there are more nominees than slots, and just because you have a nomination from a particular slot, that slot may get filled without you.
 
You are correct, but the analogy was to show that there are more nominees than slots, and just because you have a nomination from a particular slot, that slot may get filled without you.
When you added the "or 2" out of a single list of 10 to your analogy, you implied national pool which, to me, made it misleading.
 
Sorry for that. Actually, I was implying the national pool. I was implying the occasion when a MOC has an additional available slot and had 2 get in on their principal nomination and the pool, BUT still attached as one of their available slots. But you are correct that the "Leftovers" go to the pool.

Anyway, hopefully the OP will take our advice and have their son apply for every possible nomination that he is eligible for.
 
There is a discussion about interviewing skills/tips going on in the USMA section.
 
Thanks for the information. My son is definitely applying and interviewing with MOC's. He has one this weekend with one senator, one next weekend with the other senator and waiting to see if he gets extended an invite for our congressional rep. Deadline is tomorrow and then they send out invitations for interviews.
He put in for VP but knows the odds aren't good. He is triple qualified at this point and holding his breath.
If it is meant to be, it will be. Trying not to sweat it. He is more relaxed about it than I am. I think that is a good thing. Thanks to all.
 
The correct answers are:
1. You can receive more than one nomination
2. You only need one nomination to attend a Service Academy.
3. You should apply to all sources with nominating authorities (e.g. = one US Rep; 2 Senators; Vice President)
4. Many states, not all, are synched so well that they ensure you don't receive multiple nominations, becasue you onle need one.
5. There is no differentiation between the importance of the nomination...A nom is a nom....BUT, you must have ONE nom:thumb:
 
Much of the above statement is incorrect:

The correct answers are:
1. You can receive more than one nomination TRUE
2. You only need one nomination to attend a Service Academy. KIND OF TRUE. YOU HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING WHICH NOMINATION
3. You should apply to all sources with nominating authorities (e.g. = one US Rep; 2 Senators; Vice President) TRUE
4. Many states, not all, are synched so well that they ensure you don't receive multiple nominations, becasue you onle need one. THE STATES ARE NOT 'SYNCHED'. THE INDIVIDUAL ELECTED OFFICIALS MAKE THIS DECISION.

5. There is no differentiation between the importance of the nomination...A nom is a nom....BUT, you must have ONE nom:thumb:
ABSOLUTELY FALSE. NOT ALL NOMINATIONS ARE 'EQUAL'. SPECIFICALLY IN THE OP'S CASE; IF YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THE 20 CHOSEN NATIONWIDE FOR A JROTC APPOINTMENT, THEN YOU ARE SOL.
 
There is NO need for me to debate this. I have worked in this position for the past 19 years. I deal with this everyday and have the broadest perspective/experience of anyone that are on these Forums.

2. You only need one nomination to attend a Service Academy. KIND OF TRUE. YOU HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING WHICH NOMINATION. My statement is that you only need one nomination to attend a Service Academy. That is fact.

4. Many states, not all, are synched so well that they ensure you don't receive multiple nominations, becasue you onle need one. THE STATES ARE NOT 'SYNCHED'. THE INDIVIDUAL ELECTED OFFICIALS MAKE THIS DECISION.
I have personal and direct knowledge that this is the case as I work with congressional offices on a daily basis..

5. . There is no differentiation between the importance of the nomination...A nom is a nom....BUT, you must have ONE nom
ABSOLUTELY FALSE. NOT ALL NOMINATIONS ARE 'EQUAL'. SPECIFICALLY IN THE OP'S CASE; IF YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THE 20 CHOSEN NATIONWIDE FOR A JROTC APPOINTMENT, THEN YOU ARE SOL. In accordance with Title X USC, you must have a nomination from a valid nominating authority. A nomination for Rep X, Sen Y, Vice President Biden, JROTC, medal of honor recipient parent, etc are all nominations and have ZERO bearing as to which one carries more weight. Why? Becasue you must have a nomination. If you have a nomination for an authorized nomination source, the block is checked YES.
 
With regard to further clarification:

4. Many states, not all, are synched so well that they ensure you don't receive multiple nominations, becasue you onle need one. THE STATES ARE NOT 'SYNCHED'. THE INDIVIDUAL ELECTED OFFICIALS MAKE THIS DECISION.
I have personal and direct knowledge that this is the case as I work with congressional offices on a daily basis... The elected official DOES make the determination. No doubt about that. But, the congressional offices all speak. In some states where there are an abundance of applicants, one congressional office will NOT render a nomination to Johnnie/Suzy when/if Johnnie/Suzy has already received a nom. (e.g. - Rep X provides a nom to Johnnie/Suzy. Sen Y will NOT issue a nom to Johnnie/Suzy, so he/she can give a nom to someone else. This is NOT the case for all states and there are many applicants that DO receive multiple noms. The point is, to attend a Service Academy you should apply to all nominating sources to which you are qualified to apply AND you only need one nom to attend a SA.
 
I want to clarify. I was told that noms are SA specific. So, my representative could give me a nom to USMMA but say my first choice is USNA, then a senator could give me a nom there. Then it would be a matter of being chosen by one SA or the other? Or can one nom be used by whichever SA? Sorry that I can't get this straight.
 
I was told that noms are SA specific.
This is correct.
Or can one nom be used by whichever SA?
No. The nom can only be used for the SA which you are nominated.
However you can receive more than one nom from the same source (Senator/Congressperson..ect) to different SAs.
For example: Your Congressperson can choose to give you two nominations (or 1 or 3 or four or of course none); one for the USMMA and one for the USNA. You can use each of those nominations ONLY at those SAs and not the USAFA or USMA. If you only receive one nomination you may use it only at the specific SA that it was given.

Good Luck!
 
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mullen; I believe JAM mis-read your "States are synced" comment to mean that states work with other states. That is incorrect. However, I believe what you were saying is that many states's MOC nominators are synced. Meaning, senators talk with representatives and give out nominations knowing what the other senators and the reps are giving out; as to not duplicate nominations to the same academy. This is true in some states. I think it was just being mis-read.

Nominations are in fact service academy specific. That's why many MOC's ask you to prioritize the order of the academy you want to go to. If they give you a nomination to army, then that's the ONLY place it can be used at.

You are also correct that no 1 nomination is more important than another. One nomination doesn't give you higher priority to getting an appointment. However, what JAM was saying is; ALL NOMINATION CATEGORIES have a maximum allotted number of appointments that can be given, using that nomination. E.g. There can be 500 Presidential nominations GIVEN, but only 100 of them can actually receive an appointment using that nomination. The JrROTC/ROTC can give out 300 nominations, but only 20 of those nominees can receive an appointment, using that nomination. Each of your senators and representative can nominate 10 people each. However, usually only 1 person on that slate of 10 with a nomination will actually receive an appointment with that nomination. So, you and JAM are speaking of 2 different things. Yes, all nominations are basically equal in "Importance". But some nominations have a higher number of authorized appointments or are a higher percentage for you receiving an appointment using it. I.e. MOC nominations are you competing ONLY with other in your district and/or state. A presidential, you are competing with people all of the country.
 
There is NO need for me to debate this. I have worked in this position for the past 19 years. I deal with this everyday and have the broadest perspective/experience of anyone that are on these Forums.

You are, accordingly, one of the most effective folks on this forum. Thanks for all you do, and I'm sorry some of the self-styled "experts" with the comparatively minuscule experience of one or two application processes deem it their duty to explain your line of work to you, especially in such a disrespectful tone.

Thanks for all the help you give the kids with whom you work! Please keep it up! :thumb:
 
Definitely the biggest problem with forums is "Communications". There are no non-verbals; there's not the instantaneous "What do you mean by that"; people tend to interpret comments based on their own perception; etc... This is a common occurrence. And there is very little that can be done to correct this, other than to respond with a "Can you explain that a little better; are you saying ..........". But with time lines of hours or possibly days in between posts and responses, it can be very difficult to clarify.

There is a handful of posters, should they say something that at first glance I don't agree with, I will automatically assume that I am misunderstanding what they said. I will give them total benefit of the doubt. I will then ask them to clarify so that I can better understand. Larry is definitely one of those people. If I interpret something from Larry that I think is different than my opinion; chances are, I'm wrong. "Or more likely; I misunderstood what was said".

As much as I love the forums, and helping applicants out, it really isn't and can't be a dialog. And without the ability to have an immediate: "What did you mean by that?"; we will always be cursed with people misunderstanding or reading into posts, things that aren't there.
 
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