Principle Nom Timeline?

My Congressman has a principle nominee for his candidates.
If I am selected for the principle nomination in Mid December, would I receive my appointment relatively soon afterward?

Yes, especially if you already have a 3Q letter. If not, once the academy deems you qualified...the letter should be in the mail. It may not happen overnight, but you should feel pretty confident of getting the appointment if you are a principle nominee. My MoC does the principle method as well. The staff at my MoC's office said in 20 years of him doing this, they've never had a principle denied an appointment.

Principal (adjective or noun) conveys the meaning of "primary" or "chief" - like [as adjective] e.g. the principal aim of a series of tasks,or [as noun] the principal of a school. It is also used as the chief part of a loan (i.e., not the interest), as in apply the extra $50 in this month's mortgage payment toward the principal. synonyms: Chief, main, premier, leading

Principle (noun [only!]) is a rule, law or general truth. The principles of mathematics. synonyms: Axiom, Precept, Doctrine, Golden rule, Moral

Click to expand...

Sorry, just had to do it.

Congressional Nom

How do you know if you are a principal nominee or not?
Daughter received a Congressional Nomination last week.
She is triple qualified. Waiting...
When should she expect more information?

'Usually' they will tell you that information in the 'Congratulations!' letter that they send you.

3Q Letter?

goldfarb1 said:

Yes, especially if you already have a 3Q letter. If not, once the academy deems you qualified...the letter should be in the mail...

Click to expand...

I have seen the term 3Q'd...however not
a "3Q letter" ?? Is this the same as a LOA? Is is specific to a particular SA? Thanks.

It is also important to remember that MOC's have the right to change how they give out noms. Just because last yr they gave out a Principal, should not be assumed that they will do it again this yr.

The letter with the nom will inform you the exact procedure they use. Principal method is not the majority for noms. Traditionally it is the "competitive" method where the MOC hands over the slate and says SA you pick. Remember the SA picks based on highest SA WCS.

A 3Q letter is not an LOA. The SA is just informing the candidate that they met the base line criteria for their 3 parts of the WCS, thus you are eligible for an apptmt.

For AFA candidates they rarely send out those letters. When they change you from applicant to candidate, that means you are in the pool.

So, if a candidate has an LOA, but has an nomination through a competitive method, he can't be sure of an appointment? He is still in competition for the MOC open slots.

NCNuclear said:

So, if a candidate has an LOA, but has an nomination through a competitive method, he can't be sure of an appointment? He is still in competition for the MOC open slots.

Click to expand...

Technically: NO! If you have an LOA, and receive an nomination, you WILL receive an appointment. At least that's a guarantee for the air force. Some academies will juggle nominations around to maximize who the academy wants in. But technically, an LOA is exactly what it implies. A "Letter of ASSURANCE". They are assuring you that if you meet all the requirements, and receive a nomination, that you will get an appointment.

And that's where the air force is a little different than say the army. The air force won't give out an LOA unless your application is 100% completed and you are qualified. The ONLY REMAINING requirements for an air force member who received an LOA is a nomination and POSSIBLY their DODMRB physical. The army on the other hand can give an LOA last August to an individual who hasn't even completed their application yet. But technically, even for the army, if your application is 100% completed, you are considered academically, physically, and medically qualified; and you receive a nomination; then an LOA gets you an appointment. You don't need to be the principal nominee or compete for that open MOC slot. But I can only guarantee that for air force.

NC,

I think you might still be lumping 3Q in with LOA. They are 2 different things.

LOA, and a nom, you go into a different pile... just waiting for the BFE to arrive on your doorstep.

3Q and a nom and you fight it out for the highest WCS on the slate to get that BFE.

For right now, just understand LOA is different than 3Q. LOA is gold and 3 Q is silver.

Caveat, to get that BFE even as an LOA with a nom, you still must be 3 Q.

NCNuclear said:

So, if a candidate has an LOA, but has an nomination through a competitive method, he can't be sure of an appointment? He is still in competition for the MOC open slots.

Click to expand...

I'll answer from the WP side of things:

Once all conditions of a LOA have been met - then the candidate will receive the BFE.

In the scenario you cited, as long as that candidate's name is on the competitive slate, that candidate (who has a LOA) will get the appointment AS LONG AS the nom is the only condition of the LOA that must be met.
.