Interesting Observation

batorthopa

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Joined
Dec 10, 2014
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My DS applied for both NA and AFA. Within one week of turning in his application for Naval Academy he got notification of his appointment. He did not get a nomination for AFA. One would think both academies are looking for similar attributes in their candidates. He had decided even before then that NA was the way he wanted to go, but I find it interesting that one service academy was so eager to extend an appointment and another was not.
 
Same issue here....DD appointed to USAFA back in October. Didn't hear from USNA till February. Both packages completed at the same time. Presidential nom was in place back in the summer for both academies. Didn't receievd additional MOC noms till November.
 
We had similar experiences with my older two. Both had appointments to Navy in October, no word from USAFA until end of March/early April and that was for Prep school/AFROTC offers due to USAFA QNV. The next year, DS's girlfriend had LOA in hand for USAFA in October, and heard nothing from USNA (her first choice) until April, when the TWE arrived. I still have not been able to crack the code as to why one candidate can be so appealing to one service academy that they extend an early offer, but denied by another SA. This year DD heard from both in Feb/Mar. SO, although she didn't have that early appointment in hand, she was the only one to be offered direct appointment to both. Go figure.
 
I think it has to do with all the other candidates who applied. How many applied, their scores, demographics, etc.
If you're in an area with a lot of interest in a particular SA, you may not get an appointment., but you could still get an appointment from another SA.
 
Service academies are competiting for the same general set of applicants, but that doesn't mean that the same set gets offers. Let's say you're from Maine and you applied to USNA and USAFA. Then lets say there are 20 applicants to USNA from Maine, but only two for USAFA. Maybe USNA is slower to act.

The service academies are separate entities, so it's not like they're working on the same clock together. They each have their own targets and desires.
 
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