Nomination and appointment question

profsparrow

profsparrow

5-Year Member
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My DS received a nomination for the AF Academy...which he was pleased and honored to get. Here's the question, he wants to serve in either the AF or Navy. In Texas the MOCs all talk to each other about who gets nominations to avoid "double" nominating. You may be aware that the USAFA is VERY competitive for the class of 2016, not that USNA isn't, but there are a lot more slots available for Annapolis. Is there any chance of an appointment to USNA without a MOC nomination?
 
profsparrow said:
My DS received a nomination for the AF Academy...which he was pleased and honored to get. Here's the question, he wants to serve in either the AF or Navy. In Texas the MOCs all talk to each other about who gets nominations to avoid "double" nominating. You may be aware that the USAFA is VERY competitive for the class of 2016, not that USNA isn't, but there are a lot more slots available for Annapolis. Is there any chance of an appointment to USNA without a MOC nomination?
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Yes, the Vice President has nominations, JROTC can give nominations, and the President nominates candidates who are the children or dependents of active duty, retired, or disabled veterans.

More information: http://www.usna.edu/admissions/steps4.htm

There is no chance of appointment without a nomination of some kind. He'll need to find a nomination one way or another.

He can still, however, be accepted to NAPS or the Foundation program without a nomination. So the application is still worth completing even if he can't find a nomination.
 
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If his MOC has an open slot on his slate of noms for USNA, your DS may be able to convince the MOC to grant him a nom to USNA as well as AFA... it's worth a try, and probably won't cost anything. It is not uncommon, and most MOC's do their best to garner as many appointments as possible for their constituents.
 
In general, it is very competitive to get a nomination to any of the service academies from Texas. Congratulations to your son for receiving one! Last year, my son was able to get a nomination from one of the TX senators AND our congressman. Some MOCs WILL double nominate in Texas. I am assuming that your son either ranked USAFA over USNA on his MOC applications or that he left USNA off the MOC applications all together. In the first case, he may be able to call the MOC's office and inquire as to whether there are any openings on the USNA slate of nominees. In the second case, he may be out of luck for a MOC's nomination but should still pursue the VP nom and any others for which he might qualify. Good luck!
 
There is no chance of appointment without a nomination of some kind. He'll need to find a nomination one way or another.
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In rare cases, you can secure an appointment to USNA without a nom. The Supe has 50 noms that are generally given to candidates whom USNA really wants but who were unable to secure a nom through the other sources. You can't apply for a Supe's nom and the odds of receiving one are very small. But they are available.

I will say that, in my experience, Supe's noms aren't typically given to candidates who have a nom, let alone an appointment, to another SA -- probably b/c USNA figures: (1) the candidate is as interested or more interested in a SA other than USNA and (2) the candidate does have A nom to A SA. I don't say it's never happened but I've not seen it.
 
Has USAFA announced that they are taking a smaller class size for 2016??? My son, USNA 2013, had two noms from Texas.....they don't always manage to coordinate.....
 
jennyp said:
Has USAFA announced that they are taking a smaller class size for 2016??? My son, USNA 2013, had two noms from Texas.....they don't always manage to coordinate.....
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Here is the exact wording from the USAFA candidate portal:
IMPORTANT NOTE – Due to recent Secretary of the Air Force mandates, the number of appointments for the Class of 2016 will be the smallest in recent history. As a result, respective candidate appointment information will not be provided until the later part of March and final notifications will not be completed until the first week of April. Admissions appreciates your understanding and patience.
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Our understanding is that the AFA has cut around 300 slots from prior years. And as someone else quoted, the 2016 class will be a historic low...So you can understand our concern.
 
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