Applying to 3 Service Academies?

sjbd94

5-Year Member
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Jun 6, 2011
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202
I am just curious if it is a waste of time to apply to AFA, USNA, and USMA? because from what i have learned you are only really considered for one nomination. The AFA is my first choice, but I am not really sure between USNA and USMA. It would really come down to what one i believe i have a better chance of getting into and from the numbers it looks like that is West Point. I am almost done with the applications for all 3 of the schools, just waiting for school to start so i can get some teacher recommendations and my transcript then I can send in my nominations packets and finish up my applications by mid September hopefully!
 
If you are okay with any of the SAs applied to all SAs. Some MOC limits nomination to only one SA, but is that what your MOC does?

An aspect of the nomination process is the number game. Depends on the competitiveness of your MOC, your MOC might not give out all 10 nominations for all three SAs (i.e only 5 kids want nomination to AFA).

For my MOC, I am on his nomination panel, a standard question is why only one SA, why not other.
 
A friend of my DS got an appointment to both USNA and USAFA last year. It was clearly not a waste of time for him to apply to multiple SAs. From my reading on these forums, it appears that the ability to get nominations from your MOC to multiple SAs is somewhat dependent on the level of competitive in your state/congressional district. We are in Kentucky which is relatively low on the competitive scale for nominations. My DS received nominations for both WP and USAFA but was QNV for USAFA and he declined the WP nomination as he decided that he really just wanted to serve in the Air Force so he accepted the Falcon Scholarship that was offered to him.
 
I believe my MOC to be "typical" of most; and he will ask you to list your SA's in order of preference.

IF you list, say: USAFA/USNA/USMA...

Then if selected for interview, you will interview with ALL three boards and you might receive a nomination to all three...or not.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
wp easier

why do you think you are more likely to get into wp then ASAF?
 
A lot depends on where you live. In some states/districts, there are very few candidates to any SA and, thus, a candidate could receive multiple noms. In other states/districts, there are many, many more candidates than noms and it's unusual (but not unheard of) for a candidate to receive multiple noms.

My advice is that you do NOT list any SA in which you're not interested. IOW, if your only desire is to attend USNA (or USMA, etc.), only put that down. If you would truly be happy at more than one SA, you can "split" your nom choices.
 
I live in Eastern NC so idk how competitive it is. Also I am willing to go to any service academy regardless of what branch it is, i just want to serve and feel like I could find a field I like in any branch. with this being said, the Air Force is my first choice. For my congressman it says rank preferences 1-4. I plan to do AFA and am unsure of 2 and 3. Honestly i would prefer USNA over USMA. But USNA is probably the most competitive in my area from what I seen and what I understand it is the hardest to get into based off of the amount of applications it receives vs USMA and USAFA. honestly how i see it is that if i couldnt get into the AFA i probably wouldnt get into USNA. even though USMA is the highest ranking academically vs the other service academies, it has the lowest stats for the people it accepts. im not trying to make west point sound like a last chance as it wold be a miracle and I would be honored to be considered a cadet there. But i am looking at how the majority of people i know feel and they dont want to be in the army. Honestly I feel like for my congressman Im going to go AFA, USMA, USNA, USMMA. But idk i still have awhile till I will send in my packet. Still waiting for school to start to get my recommendation letters. So if anything feel like i am wrong or how i can "split" my nom choices, please let me know!
 
sjbd94, based on my cadet's experience, NC is extremely competitive for SAs, at least for USMA, USNA, USAFA. We live in Piedmont NC and the competition was quite fierce. In Eastern NC, the military installations generate a lot of interest/competition for service academies. Whatever you decide to pursue, make sure you have top credentials and finish everything early.
 
I am applying for all 5 service academies... it was explained to me like this:
" you'd rather have 5 service appointments to pick from then none because you only applied to one and got the twe..."

I do have a presidential nom though,so that is helpful. It's alot of work (especially for your counselor...:smile:) but it really is worth it in the end, i think.:biggrin:
 
NC is not considered to be competitive from a big picture aspect. Competitive for noms means they "share the wealth" and you are lucky to get 1 nom. DS only asked for AFA, and still got all 3 for AFA.

We were considered Eastern NC. Bragg, Pope, SJAFB, Cherry Pt and Lejeune were in a 70 mile radii at worst.

I will agree for the Sen. MOC it was competitive, but when you put it up against states like VA, TX, NY, CA, FL, you would quickly realize it was not fierce. Those states due to population can have hundreds upon hundreds applying for a Sen. nom.

If I recall correctly sjbd, you are from an area that has a nationally recognized Magnet Math and Science school, they will be your true competition. Even when we lived in Eastern NC, for our district, parents would drive daily to that school @ 1 hr each way.

Your congressman covers a large military base for 2 branches, which would as Dixie stated have children of military members, upping the competition for those 2 branches. Of course, those military children will probably also have Presidentials too.

Finally unless Sen. Burr has changed his schedule, his interviews will not occur until after Xmas. DS didn't have 1 nom from an MOC until Dec. Keep updating your resume.

Stephanie,

I take a different approach than how it was explained to you. 4 yrs at an SA is different than at least 5 yrs AD. If you don't want to be on boat, why apply to the USNA/CGA/USMMA? Don't want to live on land why apply to USMA? Want to fly helo's, why apply to the AFA? Want to fly fighters why apply to WP? Want operational missions for military conflicts, CGA is not going to give you that compared to the Navy.

Now, if you have a career field desire that overlaps all of them, go for it...JAG, Nursing, IT, etc, but I would never say to any candidate that they should apply to all as if the AD life were cookie cutters of each branch.

5 yrs at the least, and sitting in a sandbox when you wanted to live on a boat, creates an officer with a poor attitude.

OBTW, Bullet spent 1/4 of his AF military career with the Army (2 tours at 2 different times). So I have seen upfront and personal from a spouses perspective how different branches are regarding AD life.
 
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Also I am willing to go to any service academy regardless of what branch it is, i just want to serve and feel like I could find a field I like in any branch. with this being said, the Air Force is my first choice. For my congressman it says rank preferences 1-4. I plan to do AFA and am unsure of 2 and 3. Honestly i would prefer USNA over USMA. But USNA is probably the most competitive in my area from what I seen and what I understand it is the hardest to get into based off of the amount of applications it receives vs USMA and USAFA. honestly how i see it is that if i couldnt get into the AFA i probably wouldnt get into USNA. even though USMA is the highest ranking academically vs the other service academies, it has the lowest stats for the people it accepts. im not trying to make west point sound like a last chance as it wold be a miracle and I would be honored to be considered a cadet there. But i am looking at how the majority of people i know feel and they dont want to be in the army. Honestly I feel like for my congressman Im going to go AFA, USMA, USNA, USMMA. But idk i still have awhile till I will send in my packet. Still waiting for school to start to get my recommendation letters. So if anything feel like i am wrong or how i can "split" my nom choices, please let me know!
 
I think you need to understand the nom system and the appointment system. Most MOCs are not going to give you a nom for all 3. In my @4 yrs here I have yet to see a candidate that got noms for all 3 from 1 MOC. There are many that get noms to all 3, but it is because they racked and stacked the list differently for each MOC (cong, Sen, Sen). A candidates own way of spreading the wealth/chances.

Our DS only asked for AFA, because he had no desire at all to attend any other SA. He got all 3 noms to the AFA.

That is something you have to decide if you decide to spread the wealth and ask for noms to all 3. As I stated earlier 9 yrs of your life is a long time if you never wanted to be there in the 1st place.

Now, you are torn between USNA and AFA, but in your area you see USNA as highly competitive. The fact is if your stats are strong, regardless of the competition you will get the nom. If you feel they are mediocre, take the time and strengthen your application, because even if you get the nom, you have to win the appointment with your WCS for that slate. The WCS is based on your packet. Again, if you feel it can be strengthen than do it.

Finally, don't let anyone convince you either way which branch is best. I highly doubt Scoutpilot (USMA grad) is going to agree with you that people don't want to be in the Army. I highly doubt Flieger is going to say Army is better than the AF. The point is you are not them, and it would be wrong to place their personal opinions into your decision. If you want to drive tanks, than go Army, it is your life, not anyone elses.

Good luck.
 
Answer to your question definitely depends on what district and what state. We are in Washington State and my DS received nominations to USMA, USMMA, and USNA from one MOC. He chose USMMA because of options upon graduation. I would call the office of your MOC and ask some of your questions there. They are your best source to tell you what to expect and whether multiple nominations are even possible. Good luck!
 
Does applying to all 3 hurt your chances?

I'm a junior in high school right now (graduating 2013) so I'm just starting the process for applying to the service academies. I'm going to apply to all 3 summer seminar's (or in West Point's case, summer leadership seminar) so that I can open up a file for all three schools.

My question is that if you are officially applying to all 3 (after the summer seminars), does that hurt your chances for the one you really want to go to? For example, I really want to go to USNA, but at the end of the day I'd be glad to have to opportunity to attend any SA (out of USNA, USMA, and USAFA). If I applied to all three schools, and tried to seek a nomination from all three, would this hurt my chances of getting into my first choice? I've heard some people say that if you only apply to one, that academy sees more of a commitment to their academy and you therefore have a greater chance of getting in. Is there any truth to this?
 
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