District Appointments

2

2028usma???!!

Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2023
Messages
103
Just double checking here.

2 Weeks ago, I found out about someone getting their appointment in my district. At the same time, I also received my 3Q NWL letter. From what I’ve read on this forum, apparently the top 150 on the NWL list automatically receives an appointment. But others have said that there can only be 150 people at a time, which doesn’t make sense. Aren’t there hundreds of candidates on the NWL?

Also, if I do not receive an appointment through the NWL, is it possibly the end of the road for this cycle? I don’t expect a superintendent to charge their appointment to me magically either. I’m a above average candidate but not the best. I was also sent a email asking if I had “interest” in the AOG. I guess its not the end of the road either. Obviously I told them yes.

Another question is, if the appointee in my district turns down his/her appointment, would that appointment automatically go to the next most qualified person within that moc? If I was second in line to him/her, would I receive his/her spot?
 
Great questions! I was wondering the same things. Got the AOG interest email yesterday too. Was wondering what it meant.
 
2028usma???!! said:
Just double checking here.

2 Weeks ago, I found out about someone getting their appointment in my district. At the same time, I also received my 3Q NWL letter. From what I’ve read on this forum, apparently the top 150 on the NWL list automatically receives an appointment. But others have said that there can only be 150 people at a time, which doesn’t make sense. Aren’t there hundreds of candidates on the NWL?

Also, if I do not receive an appointment through the NWL, is it possibly the end of the road for this cycle? I don’t expect a superintendent to charge their appointment to me magically either. I’m a above average candidate but not the best. I was also sent a email asking if I had “interest” in the AOG. I guess its not the end of the road either. Obviously I told them yes.

Another question is, if the appointee in my district turns down his/her appointment, would that appointment automatically go to the next most qualified person within that moc? If I was second in line to him/her, would I receive his/her spot?
Click to expand...
1. The fact that someone else in your district received an offer of appointment is not relevant since you have no way of knowing their category of appointment - slate winner, Qualified Alternate, Additional Appointee, Presidential, etc. Only if they have been declared the slate winner does it affect your chances.

2. No one receives an appointment through the NWL. It is not an appointment category, but it is perhaps the most misunderstood item on this forum and in the appointment process. It is simply a "holding pattern" for all qualified candidates while while admissions goes through the process of determining who wins slates, etc.

3. 150 is the number of Qualified Alternates. It is not a limit on the number of appointments at any given time.

4. If the slate winner in a district turns down the appointment offer, the offer usually goes to the next most qualified candidate in the district. That keeps the MOC happy and most others, as well as avoiding the perception of bias. But that is not a legal requirement. The legal requirement is that admissions must offer an appointment to the most qualified candidate in the district, who meets the minimum qualifications. There is no language in the law regarding what happens if the offer is turned down, therefore admissions determines what happens. There was a case about 5 years ago where admissions took the slot in the class from a the district where the slate winner turned down the appointment and used it for a candidate elsewhere - they did not use one of the MOC's 5 charged appointments or nomination, just the slot in the class. The MOC then had an extra slot the following year. But that is quite unusual and the only case I have heard of.
 
jl123 said:
1. The fact that someone else in your district received an offer of appointment is not relevant since you have no way of knowing their category of appointment - slate winner, Qualified Alternate, Additional Appointee, Presidential, etc. Only if they have been declared the slate winner does it affect your chances.

2. No one receives an appointment through the NWL. It is not an appointment category, but it is perhaps the most misunderstood item on this forum and in the appointment process. It is simply a "holding pattern" for all qualified candidates while while admissions goes through the process of determining who wins slates, etc.

3. 150 is the number of Qualified Alternates. It is not a limit on the number of appointments at any given time.

4. If the slate winner in a district turns down the appointment offer, the offer usually goes to the next most qualified candidate in the district. That keeps the MOC happy and most others, as well as avoiding the perception of bias. But that is not a legal requirement. The legal requirement is that admissions must offer an appointment to the most qualified candidate in the district, who meets the minimum qualifications. There is no language in the law regarding what happens if the offer is turned down, therefore admissions determines what happens. There was a case about 5 years ago where admissions took the slot in the class from a the district where the slate winner turned down the appointment and used it for a candidate elsewhere - they did not use one of the MOC's 5 charged appointments or nomination, just the slot in the class. The MOC then had an extra slot the following year. But that is quite unusual and the only case I have heard of.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information.

Additionally, does that mean the 150 Qualified Alternates are the top 150 on the NWL? This would mean there are hundreds on the NWL also?

Also, I’ve talked with the appointtee in my district. We both have only ROTC and 1 moc nom. I guess he could have been charged to an ROTC nom, but the likelihood of that is low. Especially with only 20 slots available and this late into the admissions process.
 
2028usma???!! said:
Thank you for the information.

Additionally, does that mean the 150 Qualified Alternates are the top 150 on the NWL? This would mean there are hundreds on the NWL also?

Also, I’ve talked with the appointtee in my district. We both have only ROTC and 1 moc nom. I guess he could have been charged to an ROTC nom, but the likelihood of that is low. Especially with only 20 slots available and this late into the admissions process.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily the top 150 on the NWL - appointees who win slates are also on the NWL (thousands on NWL). I guess you could say it is the top 150 on the NWL who have not yet been appointed. QA's are the next 150 most qualified by WCS score after appointees from all of the slates mandated in US Code Title 10.

A complicating factor in trying to guess chances is that admissions may offer an appointment and then later figure out where to charge that appointment. That is why it is beneficial to compete in as many categories as possible. In your case, you have no way of knowing whether the other person from your district is an ROTC appointee or MOC slate winner. If the appointment came very recently, I would guess slate winner, but that's just a guess.
 
2028usma???!! said:
Thank you for the information.

Additionally, does that mean the 150 Qualified Alternates are the top 150 on the NWL? This would mean there are hundreds on the NWL also?

Also, I’ve talked with the appointtee in my district. We both have only ROTC and 1 moc nom. I guess he could have been charged to an ROTC nom, but the likelihood of that is low. Especially with only 20 slots available and this late into the admissions process.
Click to expand...
The other appointee should know where they've been charged. Did you ask if the MOC called them to congratulate them?
 
Jump for joy for being asked if interested in the AOG! Have you followed up to find out if you are on the list? Only about 50 candidates get offered this spot, so find out if you are on it. Ask your FFR or RC or whoever emailed you asking if you are interested. Now's the time to reiterate your interest if you haven't heard anything.
 
WoolSocksinSummer said:
The other appointee should know where they've been charged. Did you ask if the MOC called them to congratulate them?
Click to expand...
MOCs get notified of everyone of their constituents who get appointed and very well might call, even if they didn't nominate.
 
WoolSocksinSummer said:
The other appointee should know where they've been charged. Did you ask if the MOC called them to congratulate them?
Click to expand...
This is not necessarily true. My son has no idea where he was charged, as he got two nominations. We have another young man from our district who also was appointed, but my son did not ask him who his nominations were. As far as who called to congratulate him, the senator and the rep who gave him nominations both called to congratulate him, including the SECOND senator in our state, who did not give him a nomination. However, in his phone call the wording was, "I wanted to be the first to let you know you've been appointed." 😂 Everyone wants in on the action lol. It's very possible that the senators work together not to repeat nominations, and therefore all the members of Congress are proud of these students and thankful they will represent the district / state.
 
WoolSocksinSummer said:
Jump for joy for being asked if interested in the AOG! Have you followed up to find out if you are on the list? Only about 50 candidates get offered this spot, so find out if you are on it. Ask your FFR or RC or whoever emailed you asking if you are interested. Now's the time to reiterate your interest if you haven't heard anything.
Click to expand...
Yeah he sent in the email Monday last week. I’ve just sent a follow up. Hoping for the best!
 
WoolSocksinSummer said:
The other appointee should know where they've been charged. Did you ask if the MOC called them to congratulate them?
Click to expand...
He said our moc did not call him. He only has the moc and rotc nom. Maybe he was charged to rotc haha. Still, I think the moc would of taken credit and called him anyways. 🙃
 
It's amazing how much stuff people just make up. Look, I know it's almost impossible not to read the tea leaves, but the truth is that nobody really knows how all of this works. Trust me, I have seen the other side of the admissions curtain at a service academy. The information is siloed, even at the regional level, they don't know everything. The field force representatives don't know everything. Even combined they don't have all the information about admissions. I know I can't keep you from wasting your time guessing based on this or that scrap of information, but I can tell you that you will never figure it out. I know, again from personal experience, that waiting to hear on this is excruciating, but you have to endure it. There are people on here who will tell you it's straightforward and you can count the nominations, etc, etc. Believe me or not, but I'm telling you that I have worked on this and I promise you that there are what they call "floating nominations." We were always told to deny this, some of the regionals didn't even know they existed. But they do. Unused nominations are sometimes paired with exceptional candidates from districts where all noms have been used. Stuff like this happens. I know it because I have seen it happen. In the cases I saw, this was done at the level of committees made up of 05s and 06s. My point is that there is a lot going on behind the scenes to "balance the class" and all that stuff makes figuring things out from the outside impossible.
 
Last edited:
Pattonsghost said:
It's amazing how much stuff people just make up. Look, I know it's almost impossible not to read the tea leaves, but the truth is that nobody really knows how all of this works. Trust me, I have seen the other side of the admissions curtain at a service academy. The information is siloed, even at the regional level, they don't know everything. The field force representatives don't know everything. Even combined they don't have all the information about admissions. I know I can't keep you from wasting your time guessing based on this or that scrap of information, but I can tell you that you will never figure it out. I know, again from personal experience, that waiting to hear on this is excruciating, but you have to endure it.
Click to expand...
My friend was in line at a store at Woodbury Commons behind a woman who told her friend that her husband's coworker was pretty sure that USMA was going to be almost done with sending acceptances by Tax Day.
 
Just adding to the puzzle, I got my appointment on April 1 and later found out that I was charged to one of the 20 ROTC slots nationally. They told me that they wait towards the very end for ROTC slots so they get slate winners who have ROTC noms out of the way. Best of luck to you!
 
USMA2026Cadet said:
Just adding to the puzzle, I got my appointment on April 1 and later found out that I was charged to one of the 20 ROTC slots nationally. They told me that they wait towards the very end for ROTC slots so they get slate winners who have ROTC noms out of the way. Best of luck to you!
Click to expand...
How did you find out what nomination your were charged?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top