Does anyone know how competitive NJ (District 7) is for USNA nomination from MOC ?
I live nearby and have some knowledge of the area. I don't consider it to be the most competitive but it is not that far off so I'd term it to be "Very Competitive". Lots of very good high schools with a lot of highly educated parents. I've met one very highly qualified candidate for this year who is from that district already so your candidate will have some company.
 
just wondering if anyone on this thread knows how competitive california's 2nd district is (rep. jared huffman) for nominations? i've looked at a few other posts on this forum and can't really find anything. it seems like there aren't really many people applying to service academies from my area, but i just wanted to make a post and see what people might know.
 
What do you plan to do differently if we tell it is more/less competitive? Not likely your parents are going to relocate to any area just to improve your chance for a NOM.
 
I understand the concern... We live in Southern California with many military bases close by. However all DS can do is to submit the best application he can and have good interview prep.

It would definitely be more reassuring to know our stats ahead of time, but at the end of the day just put your best foot forward .... regardless of whether there are thousands of candidates or just a couple hundred in your district. Good luck on your journey 😎
 
Does anyone know if the CA senators conduct interviews? I looked online, but didn't find an answer. Thanks in advance!
 
Does anyone know if the CA senators conduct interviews? I looked online, but didn't find an answer. Thanks in advance!
I couldn’t find an answer either. Goodluck! I’m in CA too. What district if you don’t mind me asking? I’m 21st.
 
Does anyone know if the CA senators conduct interviews? I looked online, but didn't find an answer. Thanks in advance!

Last year Senator Feinstein's office held interviews with a select group of candidates. We heard it was approx 30 interviewees out of more than 600 applicants. Senator Harris's office apparently held interviews last year, but we're not sure with how many. One poster reported in this thread that his/her daughter received a nomination from Sen. Harris without an interview or any sort of communication; she just discovered the nomination on her portal one day. It was a busy time for our senators last year with the Kavanaugh hearings. Their process this year could be different.

We've also heard that the CA senators coordinate nominations with congressional offices.
 
Last year Senator Feinstein's office held interviews with a select group of candidates. We heard it was approx 30 interviewees out of more than 600 applicants. Senator Harris's office apparently held interviews last year, but we're not sure with how many. One poster reported in this thread that his/her daughter received a nomination from Sen. Harris without an interview or any sort of communication; she just discovered the nomination on her portal one day. It was a busy time for our senators last year with the Kavanaugh hearings. Their process this year could be different.

We've also heard that the CA senators coordinate nominations with congressional offices.
Thank you @BravoFoxtrotEcho! This is EXACTLY the information I was looking for. Much appreciated! BTW - I just got your login name, BFE...love it. That's what we are all hoping for! Thanks again.
 
It was a busy time for our senators last year with the Kavanaugh hearings.
One of the really important things that a leader (including a Senator) needs to learn is how to DELEGATE. The busy time for a Senator in Washington DC is not an excuse for their in-state staff who are in place to administer things like SA selections. Believe me, if the Senator wanted to have a committee do interviews, there would be interviews. Somehow the vast majority of other MOCs manage to make this happen. In my state we had a Senator fighting indictments and censure within the Senate and another both heavily involved with the Kavanaugh hearings while also running for President and BOTH managed to (have their staffs) organize interviews of hundreds of candidates.
 
We've also heard that the CA senators coordinate nominations with congressional offices.

I'd like to correct this previous assertion. According to old posts, it seems some CA candidates did receive nominations from both their congressional district and one of the senators. I wouldn't count on such a rare occurrence, however.
 
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DD's CA experience last year:
Skype interview with Congressman - two competitive nominations.
Telephone interview with Senator Feinstein - no nomination
No interview/no communication with Senator Harris - four competitive nominations.
As BFE stated, I would not count on this occurrence being repeated very often.
 
DD's CA experience last year:
Skype interview with Congressman - two competitive nominations.
Telephone interview with Senator Feinstein - no nomination
No interview/no communication with Senator Harris - four competitive nominations.
As BFE stated, I would not count on this occurrence being repeated very often.


Could you elaborate on your experience a bit more? We are in the same boat awaiting to hear anything from our CA Senators. I am confused by the "competitive nomination" counts in your post. What do you mean in saying "two competitive nominations" .. is this from one congressman? and then "four competitive nominations" after nothing from Harris?
 
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Could you elaborate on your experience a bit more? We are in the same boat awaiting to hear anything from our CA Senators. I am confused by the "competitive nomination" counts in your post. What do you mean in saying "two competitive nominations" .. is this from one congressman? and then "four competitive nominations" after nothing from Harris?

DD received competitive nominations, rather than principal nominations.

Yes, she received a nom to USNA and a nom to USAFA from our congressman.

She also received a nom to USNA, a nom to USAFA, and two noms to USMA from Senator Harris.

She never interviewed with anyone from Senator Harris' office and did not receive any congratulatory messages post-nomination, or after receiving appointment offers from all three academies. We only found out about the nominations because the regional coordinator for USMA reached out to DD to congratulate her on receiving the nomination and to ask if she intended to complete a DODMERB waiver form that she had neglected due to her belief that she did not, in fact, have a nom to USMA. Then she checked her various portals and saw the extra nominations to USNA, USAFA and the second nom to USMA.

This contrasts with our experience with our local congressman, who offered congratulation on the nominations and on her appointment offers to USNA and USAFA. He also held a recognition meeting for all of the appointees in our district once the acceptance decisions had been made.

So, yeah, it was a bit weird to operate in a total communications blackout with Senator Harris' office. But the noms were most definitely appreciated and DD was extremely aware of the rarity of her situation and the honor she received.
 
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