Additional Nominations

Oxford22

5-Year Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
59
Having recently received an offer of appointment that was generated via congressional nomination, I have considered withdrawing my name from other nominating source decisions in order to give more candidates the opportunity for moc nomination. Is there a downside to refusing any further nominations?

Note, the congressional nomination obtained qualifies me for all service academies, whereas the nominations still undetermined are solely for USMA. Thanks.
 
If you already have an appointment to USMA, then more nominations to USMA are unnecessary.

I just returned from a state-wide MOC interview day. There were 120+ candidates. They were told that there would be 40 nominations given from the pool. Many qualified candidates will not realize their dream.

Let your other nominating sources know that you have an appointment and open the door for another deserving candidate.
 
If you already have an appointment to USMA, then more nominations to USMA are unnecessary.

I just returned from a state-wide MOC interview day. There were 120+ candidates. They were told that there would be 40 nominations given from the pool. Many qualified candidates will not realize their dream.

Let your other nominating sources know that you have an appointment and open the door for another deserving candidate.

I will be doing that, although I'm not really inhibiting anyone else from being selected. The class will be filled no matter what, and it will be the superintendent's nominations that make the difference for those who did not receive a nomination locally.
 
I will be doing that, although I'm not really inhibiting anyone else from being selected. The class will be filled no matter what, and it will be the superintendent's nominations that make the difference for those who did not receive a nomination locally.

The superintendent (of West Point) has nominations?
 
The superintendent (of West Point) has nominations?

Yes, but it is a rarity to get one. It would be for that amazing candidate who somehow did not manage to get a nomination. I wouldn't count on one.
 
I will be doing that, although I'm not really inhibiting anyone else from being selected. The class will be filled no matter what, and it will be the superintendent's nominations that make the difference for those who did not receive a nomination locally.

You would be preventing someone from your state/district from having an opportunity to compete for an appointment. With that nomination that person would be able to compete for a nomination on the slate of 10 and if they did not win that slate they would then compete in the national pool. An additional nomination to USMA does you no good at this point.
 
Note, the congressional nomination obtained qualifies me for all service academies, whereas the nominations still undetermined are solely for USMA. Thanks.

:confused:

How does the Congressional nomination you obtained "qualify you for all service academies"?
 
I agree with all of you. I'm just trying to figure out why another candidate's family (I know the candidate) is urging him to acquire additional nominations despite already being given a principle nomination and receiving appointment. There seems to be some motive behind that and I thought I was lacking key information.

What I did forget to mention was that my nomination was generated via LOA. My MALO and I specifically informed each of my members of congress to withhold my name from the principle nomination, and place all other nomination candidates above my name on the list (since any nomination, no matter how far down the slate, meant appointment). Therefore, whether my letters of withdrawal from the nomination races reach their destinations or not, there would be only a slim chance that my name would impact anyone's ability to acquire appointment (considering nominee selection is not biased and nominees deserving of appointment are in fact placed/ranked by qualification). There would be 7-8 other names before me, other than the principle nominee, which would be placed on the waiting list if approved. Being that there nearly 500 appointments generated just from the principle nomination, roughly half the class would be selected from perhaps the remaining top 5 candidates per slate. The unfortunate fact of the matter is, in past years, only a third of all nominees was appointed. Some of those 6-10 slots (depending on whether or not USMA respects the rank order), will only obtain appointment when the circumstances are such that none of the top 5 slots make the academy's cut.

Of course, congressional and academy standards are not always equivalent, and I feel that a slot taken, no matter how far down the slate, will impede a qualified candidate (perhaps not as qualified) in their pursuit of appointment. However, as indicated above, the last slot in the nominee bracket, whether by congressional or academy rank, will only see appointment should the preceding applicants become inadmissible.
 
:confused:

How does the Congressional nomination you obtained "qualify you for all service academies"?

Qualify is the wrong word. The nomination simply meets the requirement for nomination in application for any service academy (other than coast guard of course). Whereas my senators can only nominate an applicant to a single academy, my representative can nominate an applicant to several academies, considering the lower application count in district vs. state.
 
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Whereas senators can only appoint an applicant to a single academy, representatives can appoint an applicant to several academies, considering the lower application count in a district vs. a state.

You are incorrect, I'm not really sure where you are get such bad information.

First, "senators" and "representative" don't appoint anyone, they nominate. The academy awards the appointment.

Second, I'm not really sure what you are talking about when you say "senators can only appoint an applicant to a single academy..." A senator can nominate a candidate to as many academies as he/she wants, as can the representative.

You really shouldn't be posting information unless you are sure of your answer.
 
Qualify is the wrong word. The nomination simply meets the requirement for nomination in application for any service academy (other than coast guard of course). Whereas senators can only appoint an applicant to a single academy, representatives can appoint an applicant to several academies, considering the lower application count in a district vs. a state.

Yeah, you don't seem to understand this at all...
 
Forgive me, I am going through rough times.

Senators and representatives NOMINATE candidates. My representative nominated me to the four service academies that require nomination.

The senators I visited for some reason segregated all applicants by academy, and we could only interview for one academy. Whether this allowed the applicants to be nominated to the other academies, I do not know.
 
Forgive me, I am going through rough times.

Senators and representatives NOMINATE candidates. My representative nominated me to the four service academies that require nomination.

The senators I visited for some reason segregated all applicants by academy, and we could only interview for one academy. Whether this allowed the applicants to be nominated to the other academies, I do not know.

The only reason some congressman allow for multiple nominations while most senators force candidates to choose one is application volume. It's very simple: senators have to sift through more applications and they're not going to deal with academy 'preferences' or multiple nominations since they know they will be able to fill their lists of 10 to each academy with competitive candidates.
 
The only reason some congressman allow for multiple nominations while most senators force candidates to choose one is application volume. It's very simple: senators have to sift through more applications and they're not going to deal with academy 'preferences' or multiple nominations since they know they will be able to fill their lists of 10 to each academy with competitive candidates.

Exactly. Districts are much less competitive as compared to states. ^^
 
Oxford, are you from a state w/ a low population, or low applications to SA's? Most candidates do not get a nom to more than 1 SA--let alone 4. For your rep to have room on all 4 slates, your state either has very low interest, or it's one of those years when your rep has multiple openings for the SA's. I don't think anyone means to sound like they don't believe you, but your wording has us all a bit confused. The purpose of the forum is to educate applicants, so we want this to be clear so no one misuderstands. Sometimes people believe what they read here instead of checking it out for themselves. :eek:

Mom3Boys

Mom of USMA '12 aviator hopeful (c'mon Dec. 1!!)
 
What I did forget to mention was that my nomination was generated via LOA. My MALO and I specifically informed each of my members of congress to withhold my name from the principle nomination, and place all other nomination candidates above my name on the list (since any nomination, no matter how far down the slate, meant appointment). Therefore, whether my letters of withdrawal from the nomination races reach their destinations or not, there would be only a slim chance that my name would impact anyone's ability to acquire appointment (considering nominee selection is not biased and nominees deserving of appointment are in fact placed/ranked by qualification). There would be 7-8 other names before me, other than the principle nominee, which would be placed on the waiting list if approved. Being that there nearly 500 appointments generated just from the principle nomination, roughly half the class would be selected from perhaps the remaining top 5 candidates per slate. The unfortunate fact of the matter is, in past years, only a third of all nominees was appointed. Some of those 6-10 slots (depending on whether or not USMA respects the rank order), will only obtain appointment when the circumstances are such that none of the top 5 slots make the academy's cut.

Of course, congressional and academy standards are not always equivalent, and I feel that a slot taken, no matter how far down the slate, will impede a qualified candidate (perhaps not as qualified) in their pursuit of appointment. However, as indicated above, the last slot in the nominee bracket, whether by congressional or academy rank, will only see appointment should the preceding applicants become inadmissible.

I believe you are in error. Once an appointment is made off of your MOC's slate and charged to the MOC, the remainder of qualified applicants on that slate will go to the national pool. In the national pool it does not matter where your MOC ranked a candidate they will compete solely on their WCS.
 
I believe you are in error. Once an appointment is made off of your MOC's slate and charged to the MOC, the remainder of qualified applicants on that slate will go to the national pool. In the national pool it does not matter where your MOC ranked a candidate they will compete solely on their WCS.

Right, that's why I indicated that the rank will be in regards to the MOC's list or the academy's ranking (WCS). I overgeneralized the ranking in terms of mutual qualifications that both the congressmen and academy see, since I am not exactly sure as to how the system works in detail. But in essence, the WCS is what matters in the remainder of the slate.
 
Oxford, are you from a state w/ a low population, or low applications to SA's? Most candidates do not get a nom to more than 1 SA--let alone 4. For your rep to have room on all 4 slates, your state either has very low interest, or it's one of those years when your rep has multiple openings for the SA's. I don't think anyone means to sound like they don't believe you, but your wording has us all a bit confused. The purpose of the forum is to educate applicants, so we want this to be clear so no one misuderstands. Sometimes people believe what they read here instead of checking it out for themselves. :eek:

Mom3Boys

Mom of USMA '12 aviator hopeful (c'mon Dec. 1!!)

I'm in Florida; I don't think it that rare for a district representative to offer some people nominations to other academies. With the amount of decent in-state schools Florida offers, a greater majority of high school students are taking advantage of in-state tuition at some of the big names like UF and UM. Service academies are not as sought after here I have found.

The congressional nomination briefings I've attended only yielded some 50 individuals interested in the service academies. I would assume that's close to the amount of people who are actually cleared for a moc interview in the first place.
 
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