Consistency in the Nomination Process

PoppapH

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There has got to be a reason for it, but I have yet to see it in print anywhere. DS received a nomination from 1 MOC. He received letters from his other 2 MOCs saying that they knew he had gotten a nomination from the first MOC and they gave theirs to another deserving candidate.

Maybe if DS was a better candidate, he would have gotten one from another MOC? I read on here that some have 2-3 nominations. I can't help but think that those candidates have an advantage. I can't fathom why that would be fair, so I must assume that, somehow, it all washes out in the end. As I have heard it said here before, why would an MOC from a state that collaborates want to disadvantage their nominations?
 
Hi PoppapH, I understand why you would be worried about this. However, in this case, I really don't think it's something to be concerned about.

The congressmen of certain highly competitive states work together to avoid double nominations. This is to ensure that the maximum number of candidates become qualified for acceptance. To answer your question, from what I have heard, multiple nominations really don't increase your chances of acceptance. After all, if a candidate is accepted, he/she will only get charged to the slate of one MOC (or other nomination source). One nom is really all you need. (I got into USNA with one Congressional nomination ;).)

The only advantage to having multiple noms is that there are multiple slates the Academy can choose from. And trust me, they will choose this slate specifically to ensure that single nominees (like your DS) will also be able to receive appointments. Also keep in mind that a single Congressperson can have up to five cadets at the Academy at one time--there's not necessarily one vacancy, per year, per MOC.

I wish your son the best of luck! Since he has the nom, it sounds like he has a great chance of getting into the USNA this year! :thumb:
 
If your MOCs spread the nominations around and don't double nominate, then your son could be the second coming of Admiral Rickover and not get a 2nd nom. The people that you have read about who are getting 2-3 nominations are from states where they do not coordinate nominations, or where they got an MOC nom and a Presidential.

Think of nominations like tickets to a concert or ball game. Having 1 ticket gets you in the door the same as someone with 3 tickets.

The idea behind "spreading the wealth" is to give more kids a chance at admission.
 
PoppaH, I am in the same boat as you. My Senators both said that because I had an MOC nomination to USAFA and USNA, they weren't going to give me one. I wouldn't sweat it. I think if your DS has a nomination he as a great shot!
BTW, I am from a very highly competitive state, which is why I think they choose to nominate this way.
 
PoppaH, I am in the same boat as you. My Senators both said that because I had an MOC nomination to USAFA and USNA, they weren't going to give me one. I wouldn't sweat it. I think if your DS has a nomination he as a great shot!
BTW, I am from a very highly competitive state, which is why I think they choose to nominate this way.
My son was from a very competitive area as well. He received a nomination from his Congressman, but did not get noms from either senators. His friend, however, (who honestly was way less qualified), received a nom from both the Congressman AND the Senator. Everyone knows that this young man comes from a very wealthy family that gives quite a bit to the senators campaign.... Sad to say, but politics DO play a part in this process:( My son went on to get the appointment, but so did his wealthy friend. My son is in the top 20% of the current senior class, while his friend has been struggling and will be happily graduating in the bottom 20%... Money does talk...:mad:
 
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My son was from a very competitive area as well. He received a nomination from his Congressman, but did not get noms from either senators. His friend, however, (who honestly was way less qualified), received a nom from both the Congressman AND the Senator. Everyone knows that this young man comes from a very wealthy family that gives quite a bit to the senators campaign.... Sad to say, but politics DO play a part in this process:( My son went on to get the appointment, but so did his wealthy friend. My son is in the top 20% of the current senior class, while his friend has been struggling and will be happily graduating in the bottom 20%... Money does talk...:mad:

I don't think this is true, I'm from NY which is considerably competitive to most. I received a nomination from both my congressman and senator but not because of money. My yearly house income is rather on the low end. And my grades and ACT are also on the low end, but I received the nominations because I presented myself in a way that they believe a USNA candidate should be. I don't think it's fair to say that those that receive two nominations received them because of politics and money. Some people do deserve and earn them. Just saying


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My son was from a very competitive area as well. He received a nomination from his Congressman, but did not get noms from either senators. His friend, however, (who honestly was way less qualified), received a nom from both the Congressman AND the Senator. Everyone knows that this young man comes from a very wealthy family that gives quite a bit to the senators campaign.... Sad to say, but politics DO play a part in this process:( My son went on to get the appointment, but so did his wealthy friend. My son is in the top 20% of the current senior class, while his friend has been struggling and will be happily graduating in the bottom 20%... Money does talk...:mad:

That is a shame that this was your experience. DS was in what was considered the most competitive district in our state. Not only was it NOT our experience but the two MOCs in our state collaborate so my son got only one nom from a MOC and my son's nom came from a MOC from one party and I am a vocal very active lifelong member of the opposition party.
 
There has got to be a reason for it, but I have yet to see it in print anywhere. DS received a nomination from 1 MOC. He received letters from his other 2 MOCs saying that they knew he had gotten a nomination from the first MOC and they gave theirs to another deserving candidate.

Maybe if DS was a better candidate, he would have gotten one from another MOC? I read on here that some have 2-3 nominations. I can't help but think that those candidates have an advantage. I can't fathom why that would be fair, so I must assume that, somehow, it all washes out in the end. As I have heard it said here before, why would an MOC from a state that collaborates want to disadvantage their nominations?
No advantage just another way to slot a candidate. Our Senators and MOC coordinated and only 1 nom per academy offered. Remember you only need one ticket to win. Good luck!
 
while his friend has been struggling and will be happily graduating in the bottom 20%...

To me that qualifies as a success, so looks like the nomination was reasonable. Now let's see what they both do in the fleet.....that is the real determination once a Midshipman passes the graduation gate. Someone who struggles at an Academy comes to the fleet with a different perspective than someone who breezed through. I'd like to have both types of people in my world.
 
There has got to be a reason for it, but I have yet to see it in print anywhere. DS received a nomination from 1 MOC. He received letters from his other 2 MOCs saying that they knew he had gotten a nomination from the first MOC and they gave theirs to another deserving candidate.

Maybe if DS was a better candidate, he would have gotten one from another MOC? I read on here that some have 2-3 nominations. I can't help but think that those candidates have an advantage. I can't fathom why that would be fair, so I must assume that, somehow, it all washes out in the end. As I have heard it said here before, why would an MOC from a state that collaborates want to disadvantage their nominations?

Understand your concern. Our son also only received 1 MOC nomination. Never even heard from our senators! shortly after learning of his Nom we heard he had earned an appointment. Now we are all eagerly awaiting Herndon! All it takes is 1 Nom! Congrats on your DS Nom! Hoping that BFE will soon appear in the mail for you!
 
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I know that this year in my district and state, some (including myself) recieved double nominations from representatives and senators. I knew from attending an academy day that the different offices coordinate so double nominations don't happen, so when I recieved notification of the two nominations I emailed my senator's nominations coordinator, and they stated that the reson the had double nominations this year was because of a lack of qualified candidates. I don't know how often this happens but this event shows that it can happen.
 
Also, sometimes it is only both Senators who collaborates and not the Congressman/Congresswoman in conjunction with the Senators. This might be especially true in a bigger state.
 
Also, sometimes it is only both Senators who collaborates and not the Congressman/Congresswoman in conjunction with the Senators. This might be especially true in a bigger state.

True. I'm in PA and I got a nom to USMMA from Senator Casey and my MOC. Don't know how, but I did :scratch:
 
I got a nom from MOC, then call from Senator's office asking if I still needed a nomination. Both senators in my state ask that they be notified if you receive a nom from a different source, so they can nom as many as possible from our state.
 
There has got to be a reason for it, but I have yet to see it in print anywhere. DS received a nomination from 1 MOC. He received letters from his other 2 MOCs saying that they knew he had gotten a nomination from the first MOC and they gave theirs to another deserving candidate.

Maybe if DS was a better candidate, he would have gotten one from another MOC? I read on here that some have 2-3 nominations. I can't help but think that those candidates have an advantage. I can't fathom why that would be fair, so I must assume that, somehow, it all washes out in the end. As I have heard it said here before, why would an MOC from a state that collaborates want to disadvantage their nominations?[/QUOTE

It depends on where you live. In our state, Senators have traditionally always coordinated their nominations...get one from either, you won't get one from the other and they let you know that well in advance. MOC's weren't always part of that equation which allowed candidates to possibly obtain a nom from the MOC as well as the Senator. Until this year.

With the large number of quality candidates our Senator's offices have made an all out effort to try and also coordinate those nominations with the MOC's. Get one from any of the three, you aren't getting from the others. In the parlance, it's "spreading the wealth". Your DS could have the highest WCS in the state and walked on water but you were still only going to get one. To quote verbatim from two of the letters my own DS received "My office has been informed that you have a nomination from your MOC. As a result, an additional nomination from my office would not be necessary or helpful to you".

There is no disadvantage to the applicant and nothing unfair about it as we can see. Of course, I'm only addressing this from the perspective of what has occurred here and not anywhere else in the country. In the end, while you need a nom to get in, a nom doesn't get you in. Your complete and extremely competitive package does and this forum is littered with posts from candidates who received two, three and even four nominations and were not appointed.
 
How do you know if you are in a competitve state/ district? I feel like we are in a pretty competitve district, but would be interested in knowing for sure.
 
Everyone has their own definition of what "competitive" is. However, normally largely populated states (i.e. CA, TX, FL, etc.) are more competitive (at the state level) because there are a LOT of candidates who are considered for relatively few slots (this is one reason why the Senators like to collaborate and not "double" nominate someone). Districts are not necessarily as easy to determine, but generally you "know." Districts around sized military installations, well populated districts, if there are a lot of schools in one district that historically have a lot of SA applicants, etc. normally will see a spike in the number of candidates seeking a nomination. Obviously, if you look at simple math, the more number of candidates who are considered for a nomination, the more competitive. So if a district is considering 50 candidates for 10 spots = 20% odds. If another district has 10 candidates, then unless they are not qualified in their MOC's eyes or did something egregiously wrong, they should get a nomination, which means you have 99.9% odds.
Also, just because one lives in a competitive state doesn't necessarily mean that the district is competitive.
 
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