Do recruited athletes "use up" MOC slots?

jetg

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My son has a nomination from his MOC for the class of 2016 and is waiting patiently for late March. However, we just read in the paper that one of the MOC's nominees (a highly ranked athlete) has already received an appointment to USAFA.

My question: Are athletes who receive LOA's (I presume a recruited athlete) charged against the MOC's existing nominees? Does their appointment lessen the odds that other nominees from that MOC will receive an appointment?

Thanks,
JG
 
It is my understanding that all candidates must have a nomination, of some sort. There are several kinds of nominations, of course, but every candidate must have at least one nomination.
 
Yes. This is America where we are all equal, so of course they will.

I believe the intent of the question was to establish if a recruited athlete would be classified as one of the MOC's appointees, not whether they are of the same worth.

Essentially, if the MOC has 1 cadet at the academy per year, does the recruited athlete count as the MOC's appointee or the Academy's?
 
Yes, but don't count your DS out of the race yet. If his MOC has indeed filled the slot he has open, your DS will now go into the national pool. So keep waiting and hoping! Best wishes
 
You also have to take into account that the recruited athlete may have received a different nomination from a different source (Senator, Presidential, JROTC, etc). USAFA might have selected the athlete from that other source. Don't give up yet!
 
Since it doesn't appear the original question has been answered yet...
(edit: crossposted with cchung34. his post is a great summary of what I was saying.)

-A MOC can have up to 10 nominations per slot he/she has open at an Academy.
-The only thing the recruited athlete with an LOA needs for an appointment is a nomination. (assuming they are medically qualified)
-If the MOC gives this athlete a nomination, the athlete will recieve an offer of appointment.

Now for your question: Does this athlete with an LOA use the MOCs "slot" or "vacancy" and thus put the other nine candidates in the national pool?

Maybe! What it really comes down to is which nomination the Service Academy decides to use. If the athlete also had a presidential nomination, the Service Academy may choose to use that nomination instead of the MOCs, which would leave the MOCs spot uncharged and allow the other nine a chance to compete for it. However, if the Service Academy decides to use the MOCs nomination for the appointment, then his/her spot will be charged.

Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone. :rolleyes:
 
My son has a nomination from his MOC for the class of 2016 and is waiting patiently for late March. However, we just read in the paper that one of the MOC's nominees (a highly ranked athlete) has already received an appointment to USAFA.

My question: Are athletes who receive LOA's (I presume a recruited athlete) charged against the MOC's existing nominees? Does their appointment lessen the odds that other nominees from that MOC will receive an appointment?

Thanks,
JG

Blue chip athletes do not necessarily get selected from the MOC's slate. I am aware of an athlete that was told not to worry about a nomination since they would find one for them. I am not commenting on "fairness" since this athlete is stellar academically, captain of the team (2 years), and has tons of community service. They would probably get an LOA if they did not play the sport at USAFA. My point is, this athlete is not using a MOC nomination for their appointment.

You have done all you can. You've had the interviews, wrote the essays, and sold yourself as best you could. All that is left is to wait for the BFE. As I read these posts, I recognize what great kids apply to USAFA. No matter what, these young people will be sucessful with either plan A or plan B. Good luck! :thumb:
 
Another thing that many don't know about or consider is that many states like Wyoming or the Dakotas don't always use all of their nominations because frankly not many people from those states apply so the slates are not filled. Often, the MoCs from those states will give their positions on the slate to people from other states so your candidate could possibly be given a nomination from another state. I have several friends here that had this happen. One is from Beuna Vista, Colorado which is the most competitive region in the country, for obvious reasons, and he received his nomination from a senator in Wyoming.
 
Since it doesn't appear the original question has been answered yet...
(edit: crossposted with cchung34. his post is a great summary of what I was saying.)

-A MOC can have up to 10 nominations per slot he/she has open at an Academy.
-The only thing the recruited athlete with an LOA needs for an appointment is a nomination. (assuming they are medically qualified)
-If the MOC gives this athlete a nomination, the athlete will recieve an offer of appointment.

Now for your question: Does this athlete with an LOA use the MOCs "slot" or "vacancy" and thus put the other nine candidates in the national pool?

Maybe! What it really comes down to is which nomination the Service Academy decides to use. If the athlete also had a presidential nomination, the Service Academy may choose to use that nomination instead of the MOCs, which would leave the MOCs spot uncharged and allow the other nine a chance to compete for it. However, if the Service Academy decides to use the MOCs nomination for the appointment, then his/her spot will be charged.

Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone. :rolleyes:

DING... DING.... DING.....
We have a Winner!!!

This is the right answer. Everyone must have a nomination, but which slate your nomination is used against is unknown until the appointments are finished given out. The athlete has a MOC nomination, but it doesn't mean they are using the MOC slot. Just like EVERY APPOINTMENT given from the National Pool is using a MOC or other nomination, but they aren't necessarily using those slated slots.
 
My DD is a recruited athlete with a loa and she has rec'd her bfe. She was told by her lo that her congressional nomination, from our moc, would not count against his slots for the afa. Apparently, with a loa and being physically and educationally qualified, and the fact that afa was her first choice, her moc was able to provide a nomination that did not affect others' ability to receive his nomination....
 
My DD is a recruited athlete with a loa and she has rec'd her bfe. She was told by her lo that her congressional nomination, from our moc, would not count against his slots for the afa. Apparently, with a loa and being physically and educationally qualified, and the fact that afa was her first choice, her moc was able to provide a nomination that did not affect others' ability to receive his nomination....

Some MOC's who "know" the system, will prioritize their slate. Meaning; if they see that one of their nominee applicants has an LOA, they'll purposely list a primary and possibly even rank the other 9; with the LOA recipient at the bottom of the list. This ensures they get their LOA applicant an appointment, plus at least one other. Each MOC is different. Sometimes an LOA recipient does take the MOC's slot. Depends on the academy admissions. Obviously, the academy would prefer to choose all the appointments. In which case, they'd put all the LOA's against the MOC and everyone else in the national pool. Then they can choose whomever. But the MOC's many times are playing the same game. If an applicant has an loa, just one MOC will give him/her a nomination, and put them at the bottom. This way they can maximize their constituents. And if an individual gets an early appointment because they also had a presidential; the MOC's won't give a nomination to them at all. This way the academy doesn't swap nominations and pull back the presidential to give to someone else, somewhere else in the country.

Again; it's up to the MOCs. Some take their responsibility much more seriously and they take care of their constituents. Some think they have more important things to do, and they simply provide 10 names and let the academy do whatever they want to do.
 
My DD is a recruited athlete with a loa and she has rec'd her bfe. She was told by her lo that her congressional nomination, from our moc, would not count against his slots for the afa. Apparently, with a loa and being physically and educationally qualified, and the fact that afa was her first choice, her moc was able to provide a nomination that did not affect others' ability to receive his nomination....

Our MOC told my DD that she would have been his primary nomination but since she already had an LOA (recruited athlete) he ranked her #9 out of his 10. He explained that this would give his primary and other nominees a better chance.
 
I believe that in some states, the staffs of the various congressmen and senators and VP also work together to get the most nominations out for the most kids. So, if Senator Happy gives one a nom, then Rep Smiley doesn't also. Don't know if it works that way in every state though.
 
I believe that in some states, the staffs of the various congressmen and senators and VP also work together to get the most nominations out for the most kids. So, if Senator Happy gives one a nom, then Rep Smiley doesn't also. Don't know if it works that way in every state though.
This can be extremely dangerous and most Representatives do not do it. Since the Reps slate is most likely far less competitive than that of the Senator, a candidate is much more likely to be in the range of receiving an appointment on the Rep's slate. However, the reciprocal is not true. It is most often acceptable for the Senator not to give nominations to those on the Reps' slates. The only exception would be a Senator who nominated a Principal candidate and that candiate alone was omitted from their Rep's slate. Since the VP nominations are administered solely by the academies, this really does not apply.
 
The only exception would be a Senator who nominated a Principal candidate and that candiate alone was omitted from their Rep's slate.

A good example of what Mongo is saying is a guy that goes to a school in a town neighboring mine received a principal nomination from our Senator. He's in the same district as me, and though I have no way to prove it, I believe our congressman left him off of his slate to make room for another candidate on his USAFA slate. (Said principle nomination recipient has 36 ACT and is a swimmer.)

I like living in a smaller state, because word gets around a lot easier. :biggrin:
 
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