Since you dont need a nomination...

[Serve.USA]

Since you dont need a congressional nomination as you do for the other academies, does the CGA pick the best candidates without considering their place of residence?

My point is that nominations limit the number of people qualified for a spot because there might only be a few nominations available, so the number of fully qualified candidates(with nomination) are more spread out. AS in there is very little competition in say the midwest, but in VA there is a huge amount of people that are applying.

So say that the "qualifiedness" of VA wannabes is way higher than the few who apply from colorado, would USCGA admissions pick the top qualified people(who all happen to be from VA), or would they pick a few from both states to encourage diversity from all states?

 

[Usnavy2019]

The Department of Defense Academies (Army, Navy, Air Force) are federally mandated to appoint at least one person from each congressional district (that has a qualified nominee) to ensure geographic diversity in their incoming classes. Since CGA falls under the control of the Department of Homeland Security, they are not subject to this. They appoint around 300 for a class of ~250. In essence, if the top 300 applicants are Virginia, they can appoint those 300 applicants and have an incoming class of just Virginians. This would never happen. The Coast Guard Academy does take geographic diversity into account though. So if a person from Massachusetts (a competitive state for CGA) and South Dakota apply with similar stats, they would more than likely take the SD applicant. This doesn't mean that you can have stats way below the average and get in because of your state, but it can help you when you are neck and neck with other candidates during your admissions board.

 

[LineInTheSand]

The Department of Defense Academies (Army, Navy, Air Force) are federally mandated to appoint at least one person from each congressional district (that has a qualified nominee) to ensure geographic diversity in their incoming classes. Since CGA falls under the control of the Department of Homeland Security, they are not subject to this. They appoint around 300 for a class of ~250. In essence, if the top 300 applicants are Virginia, they can appoint those 300 applicants and have an incoming class of just Virginians. This would never happen. The Coast Guard Academy does take geographic diversity into account though. So if a person from Massachusetts (a competitive state for CGA) and South Dakota apply with similar stats, they would more than likely take the SD applicant. This doesn't mean that you can have stats way below the average and get in because of your state, but it can help you when you are neck and neck with other candidates during your admissions board.

This is not entirely accurate (but is not too far off either). The Coast Guard Academy does not require a nomination because long long ago the Coast Guard commandant fought it. He believed (I think rightfully) that the nomination process would insert too much politics in the process. The Coast Guard Academy did not require nominations when it was part of the Department of Transportation (when I applied) nor Treasury Department. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy were both under the Department of Transportation, but USMMA required a nomination and USCGA did not.

In my opinion nominations add nothing to the process. They aren't a limited factor for any school. They're there because someone in Congress proposed it, and no one in the service fought it.

 

[Serve.USA]

The Department of Defense Academies (Army, Navy, Air Force) are federally mandated to appoint at least one person from each congressional district (that has a qualified nominee) to ensure geographic diversity in their incoming classes. Since CGA falls under the control of the Department of Homeland Security, they are not subject to this. They appoint around 300 for a class of ~250. In essence, if the top 300 applicants are Virginia, they can appoint those 300 applicants and have an incoming class of just Virginians. This would never happen. The Coast Guard Academy does take geographic diversity into account though. So if a person from Massachusetts (a competitive state for CGA) and South Dakota apply with similar stats, they would more than likely take the SD applicant. This doesn't mean that you can have stats way below the average and get in because of your state, but it can help you when you are neck and neck with other candidates during your admissions board.

This is not entirely accurate (but is not too far off either). The Coast Guard Academy does not require a nomination because long long ago the Coast Guard commandant fought it. He believed (I think rightfully) that the nomination process would insert too much politics in the process. The Coast Guard Academy did not require nominations when it was part of the Department of Transportation (when I applied) nor Treasury Department. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy were both under the Department of Transportation, but USMMA required a nomination and USCGA did not.

In my opinion nominations add nothing to the process. They aren't a limited factor for any school. They're there because someone in Congress proposed it, and no one in the service fought it.

The reason I say this is because when I recently attended boys state I noted how many "above par" applicants for the academies there were. I figured that all of these people would get in considering there credentials compared to the class profiles. However I know that they all wont get in based on what you say about geographic diversity. My credentials are a little above the class profile but not quite as spectacular as some of the boys I met while here. So I feel that I would get in but I know they cant take everyone from one particular state...

 

[Usnavy2019]

You are correct in saying that they won't take everyone who applies from every state, unless it's a state with one or two applicants, where that is a possibility. The Academies have the unfortunate task of denying kids who are exceptionally qualified and who would make great MIDN/Cadets. I can guarantee that some of the people you met at Boys' State will get the dreaded TWE, while some will get a BFE. Also, keep in mind, there are a few hurdles in the process. The DoDMERB medical exam cuts a lot of the people out of the process. There are a plethora of medical conditions that can disqualify an applicant. Getting qualified isn't impossible, but some people have to fight tooth and nail to qualify (I remember your story LITS) and others have to get past some remedials.