All nominations were pursued - vigorously - up to the point where one was obtained. It was the nominating sources - not my Plebe - who made the determination to cancel her interviews. When asked directly, they said that given a LOA there was no need for more than one nom. Plus, if I recall correctly, the LOA letter said it was contingent on obtaining "a" nomination.
This is about following directions and probably the first time in the admissions process that the overall ‘big picture’ becomes paramount. Had you called Admissions, they would probably have told you to continue with other nominations unless forced to do otherwise.
Sure, as a general rule, USNA only gives LOAs to those who are national pool competitive. So simply being on any MOC list, anywhere in the 10, is sufficient. Another way to look at it is that most or all on a Senator’s list are normally “cream of the crop” and LOA eligible.
The best way to explain possible repercussions is by example. Of course, it will not apply to all or even most but it does happen. By pursuing (and obtaining) all possible nominations, Admissions has more flexibility in filling the class with quality candidates. For example, Congressional slates, in general, are much less competitive. In very few instances will all ten individuals on a slate be 3Qed, competitive, AND have USNA as their first choice. Depending on the district, there might not even be a single competitive candidate. Had your daughter pursued the Congressional nomination, first off, your district would definitely have a viable candidate on their slate. Secondly, it would open up the Senatorial slate for another highly qualified candidate, abeit, possibly from another district. Should your district have a qualified candidate, then the Academy would be able to look at that individual and also the replaced individual on the Senatorial slate and pick the best candidate for USNA.
osdad, not picking on you but simply attempting to clear up a misconception with probably way too much information. If everyone would just blindly “pursue all nominations” to their conclusion, it would not be an issue.