Confused about nomination processA

We are confused about congressional districts, competitive ranking and nominations. If a candidate was the top ranked applicant for his congressional district (communicated by FFR) but then gets a nomination first from their Senator and the Senator coordinates with the Congressman to make sure there are not duplicate nominations, would the candidate still be evaluated within their congressional district if he did not get a nomination from the congressman but instead only got the nomination from their Senator? Or would only candidates within the district that have a nomination from their congressman within that district be considered for the district? And therefore, would the candidate with the senator's nomination only be considered within the Senator's slate statewide?

Does this question even make sense?

The important factor is getting the nomination, regardless of who it came from. I am not sure if what you are saying is that the senatorial nomination was a ranked one and your child is an alternate or if the nomination from the senator was a competitive nomination. If your child is an alternate and the senator ranked the alternates in order then the SA will appoint the principal nominee first (assuming fully qualified) and go down the line in order of rank. If it is a competitive nomination whether from the local congressman or a senator then the SA will look at the slate and select one, but they can always select more than one of the candidates from the slate and charge them to another source. So bottom line is you just need the nomination! Best of luck.

Both Senators and Confressman are competitive and not ranked or principal noms. The concern is that the candidate is at the top of the competitiveness for his district but might only get the nomination from his Senator and would he still be evaluated among his district slate or only the Senate slate?

SAparent2023 said:

We are confused about congressional districts, competitive ranking and nominations. If a candidate was the top ranked applicant for his congressional district (communicated by FFR) but then gets a nomination first from their Senator and the Senator coordinates with the Congressman to make sure there are not duplicate nominations, would the candidate still be evaluated within their congressional district if he did not get a nomination from the congressman but instead only got the nomination from their Senator? Or would only candidates within the district that have a nomination from their congressman within that district be considered for the district? And therefore, would the candidate with the senator's nomination only be considered within the Senator's slate statewide?

Does this question even make sense?

Click to expand...

The MOC has complete control over the nomination process and may evaluate candidates in any manner they wish, irrespective of how the service academy evaluates candidates. However, most try to evaluate in a manner consistent with SA standards.

The MOC may submit nominations in one of three methods:

1. Competitive Nomination (used by most MOC's) - Unranked slate. SA then ranks in order of merit.
2. Principal Nomination with Competing Alternates - Principal with the remainder unranked by MOC. SA ranks remainder in order of merit.
3. Principal with Numbered Alternates - Principal with the remainder ranked by the MOC.

The top ranking communicated by the FFR would be in reference to how the academy currently ranks the candidates in that district. The MOC could rank them differently.

If a district MOC gave a Principal Nomination to a candidate they would not withdraw that nomination to avoid duplication with Senatorial nominations (assuming they understand the system).

SAparent2023 said:

Both Senators and Confressman are competitive and not ranked or principal noms. The concern is that the candidate is at the top of the competitiveness for his district but might only get the nomination from his Senator and would he still be evaluated among his district slate or only the Senate slate?

Click to expand...

I understand your concern but I think that once you are in the pot of considered candidates (have a nomination and are fully qualified) the SA will look at your file as a whole and not just against the particular candidates that were slated by that senator.

SAparent2023 said:

Both Senators and Confressman are competitive and not ranked or principal noms. The concern is that the candidate is at the top of the competitiveness for his district but might only get the nomination from his Senator and would he still be evaluated among his district slate or only the Senate slate?

Click to expand...

In that case admissions will rank by WCS score. #1 qualified candidate on each slate will receive offer of appointment.

All other qualified candidates will go on National Wait List. Top 150 will be offered appointment in order of merit by WCS score. Remainder of class (200 - 400) will be offered appointments but may be out of order of merit (recruited athletes, minorities make up majority of this category).

jl123 said:

In that case admissions will rank by WCS score. #1 qualified candidate on each slate will receive offer of appointment.

All other qualified candidates will go on National Wait List. Top 150 will be offered appointment in order of merit by WCS score. Remainder of class (200 - 400) will be offered appointments but may be out of order of merit (recruited athletes, minorities make up majority of this category).

Click to expand...

I am sorry but I am still not fully understanding this and I might just be thick.

If the candidate that is #1 in his district (based on the WCS Score as determined by Admissions) has a nomination from his Senator first and therefore not from his Congressman (because they coordinate), would that candidate still be #1 on the slate of his district and get the appointment. OR would that candidate only be considered on the Senator's slate where the candidate may not be #1. This is my question.

@SAparent2023, thank you for clarifying your question, which was quite confusing in your original post. Here’s how to think about it:

If the nomination comes from a Congressman, then nominee competes within the district slate (because the Congressman represents only the district, obviously).

If the nomination comes from a Senator, then nominee competes within the state slate (because the Senator represents the entire state).

If your DS has a nomination from a Senator but not a Congressman, then he is not #1 on the district slate because he is not on the district slate to begin with.

The candidate has a nom from a Senator and will be considered as part of that slate, depending on the Senator’s method. The candidate will compete against others on that slate, depending on the slate method used, for available appointments.

He is no longer on a District slate and will not have a nom from that source, if the elected officials coordinate. That source is now moot. Others will have noms from that slate. Where the candidate stood during initial rankings is now OBE (overcome by events).

I believe the SAs have a good idea of which state elected officials coordinate.

Down the road, the candidate may be offered an appointment and the nom charged to the Senator. Much depends on the Srnator’s method.

Or, the candidate could be offered an appointment, and though the nom came from the Senator, that appointment could be charged against the NWL.

Or, assuming the VP nom or any other eligible nom was applied for, the candidate could be offered an appointment against that nom.

Or, the Superintendent has a handful of discretionary noms which cannot be applied for, and an appointment is charged against that.

Or, the candidate may be qualified in every way, with a nom in hand, and may not be offered an appointment, which happens each and every year to many.

The candidate has a nom - that is great and glorious news. The goal all along is The Appointment. If the best possible application is submitted, the only course of action now is to focus on finishing the school year, polishing any Plans B and C, getting in lots of PT to help manage stress...and wait.

P.S. The SAs build out the class methodically, and work hard to figure out how to work the noms to get the candidates they want. Knowing where the appointment gets charged may not be known for some time.