Just wanted to let everyone know our experience, because it may (or may not) offer some encouragement to others applying. We are a non military family. Our DS received an appointment for the USNA Class of 2017 on March 8. He has wanted to be a Marine Officer ever since he attended a camping trip at Parris Island as a 2nd Year Webelo Scout. When it came time to apply for college, he applied to 5 schools all with Navy ROTC and the USNA. He also applied for the Marine option NROTC scholarship. He is your typical service academy applicant: White, middle class, varsity letter (wrestling), team captain, varsity swim team, JV cross country, Eagle Scout, community service, several clubs, Honor Society, etc. 3.97 unweighted GPA (got a b once in English). AP History, Chemisty, and English. Dual Enrolled and taking college calculus. 2100 SAT (640, 680, 780 (writing). 4th in his class. Summer Seminar. He applied for both senatorial and congressional nominations, but only received 1 nomination. I drove him to the MOC interview because it was an hour and 1/2 away and I was worried he would be late or get lost. There were 6 interviewing for the Naval Academy appointment. While my son was in his interview, I met the lone minority USNA candidate: Black, valedictorian of his class, athlete, musician, held a job while he was in school. My point is on the surface he was as good, if not better than my DS. I was sure he would get our MOC appointment. As time passed we were all prepared for plan B. Our MOC does not use a primary nomination. To this day, we do not know why our DS got the appointment. Did he want it more? Did he interview better? Was his personal statement more convincing? We'll just never know why. Lastly, while my son did get the appointment (for which we all feel extremely blessed and grateful), he did not receive an NROTC scholarship. Sometimes things just work out the way they're supposed to. Hard work and perserverance will pay off no matter where you land.