District slots - How do they work?

Jarhead1775

5-Year Member
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Dec 31, 2012
Messages
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Hi everyone,

It's your favorite Rat again with some more admissions questions.

So my friend at West Point who was nominated with me last year is sadly being medically separated from USMA. We were both nominated by the same Congressman but she was #1 and I was #2 on the list I believe (is that a principle nom? I don't remember the terminology anymore). I recall that a MOC can only have a certain number of cadets at a certain academy so this should massively help my chances as a re-applicant correct?

Just a little update on my own process, I have interviewed with one of my senators already, will interview with my Representative later this month, and have one with the other senator next month in December. Having much more success than I did last year. Just gotta wait until I can submit my first semester transcripts and my CFA when I get home.

Thanks for all the help. My journey to a commission continues...
 
Your congressman should have at least two slots this year, maybe three.

As I understand it....

The female that medically separated opened up an additional slot to be charged to your congressman this year. It's as if the congressman had no one appointed and charged to him last year.

Since each congressman is authorized 5 cadets at the academy at any one time, every four years they should have two slots available. If this was that year, he could have 3 slots because of the medical separation you mention.
 
Just ask

Just ask your congressman's office. They will tell you what his plan is.
 
If your at VMI why are you applying for OHIO and not Virginia's nominations?
 
... I recall that a MOC can only have a certain number of cadets at a certain academy so this should massively help my chances as a re-applicant correct? ...

An MOC can only have up to five "charged" cadets at a time within the academy. How does her separation affect you? In every way, and in no way.

Every cadet needs a nomination, and every cadet is charged against a nominating source. However not every cadet is charged against an MOC slot. Some may be charged towards Presidential slots; some may be charged towards Superintendent slots; some may be prior enlisted/ROTC; some may have multiple MOC nominations and can be charged towards a different MOC source. In short, how you are charged is an accounting process by the academy.

What the academy cannot do is take someone nominated by a congressman in Virginia District 1 and charge the cadet towards an MOC slot available in Ohio District 13. They can only charge someone towards a nominating source where they received a nomination. In other words, only those who receive a nomination from your MOC can be charged towards that open MOC slot.

What her separation means is that your MOC will now have an extra vacancy at the academy, so if two or even three candidates from your district are really competitive there is a higher probability multiple candidates will all receive appointments within the district during the same class year. Not that this can't happen when only one vacancy is available for that MOC (as some can get appointed off the NWL by order of merit or w/o regards to Order of Merit for diversity) but it does make it easier for admissions to offer an appointment to someone they would like to see appointed when their NWL ranking wouldn't normally be high enough.

And just because your MOC has multiple slots available does not obligate admissions to offer multiple appointments from that district. All it does is give admissions flexibility to make multiple offers within the same district when the ranking within the slate would normally shut someone out.

All slates are ranked: either by the MOC or by admissions (competitive slates) through scoring each candidate. The highest ranked individual that is fully qualified will receive the offer. So even last year, if your MOC had two slots available (when you were #2 on a ranked slate), you would not have been guaranteed admission; it just would have just made it possible for you to be offered admission in addition to the #1 ranked person and to still be charged against your MOC.
 
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