Other Possible Nomination Sources

Memphis9489 said:
I'm not sure I'm following you in the context of an LOA recipient not receiving a nomination.

Your daughter received a nomination for two out of the three academies to which she was applying. And ... ?
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@Memphis9489, I was addressing OP’s initial question plus someone else’s follow-up: Can someone still get a nomination at this point? And can someone with an LOA be without a nomination this late in the game. My DD’s experience with USAFA suggests that yes, both are possible. In her case, it all happened in a very short interval — bang bang — but an example of both scenarios. All depends on what the LOA contingency is.

kinnem said:
There are also folks like MidCakePa's DD each year for whom they do find a nomination.
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Thank you, @kinnem, for serving as my interpreter. I think you made more sense than I did.
 
A1Janitor said:
I’m assuming if a candidate’s achievement record is outstanding enough to warrant an offer of appointment (conditional), than that candidate would be one of the ten best candidates for a nomination. The percentage of LOAs with a nomination, I assume, is high.
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A reasonable expectation, one would think. But the fallacy here is in the fact that MOCs and SAs don’t have perfectly aligned criteria. Sure, on paper, they’re looking for the same things: great academics, high test scores, accomplished athlete, proven leader. But fact is, both are trying to “build a class/slate” and that entails a lot of judgment, qualitative measures and other considerations. It ain’t as simple as racking and stacking based on fixed metrics...and lo and behold, the MOC’s list is exactly the same as the SA’s list for that district.

Again, my DD as an example (at the risk of being repetitive and obnoxious): She was primary nominee for USMA, plus nominee for USNA, both from our local MOC. Afterward, she received LOA and then appointment for both. Separately, she eventually got an LOA from USAFA, pending a nomination. So due to whatever circumstances, she was deemed appointment-worthy (hence the LOA) by USAFA, but not nomination-worthy by MOCs. It happens.
 
@MidCakePa

I wrote what I did after knowing your DD’s situation in mind. I am not speaking in absolutes. You are the exception, not the rule.

But then again - you are also taking about your third choice. She got noms and LOAs to two SAs. So she is actually more the rule than not. ;)

I am pretty sure that statistics would be on my side. Most (but not all) LOAs get noms. Certainly a higher percentage than ones without an LOA get noms.

LOAs are rare - only like 150 in the whole country. Nominations can be as high as 10 per congress ... up to 5350.
 
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brewmeist said:
a.lo1021 said:
I then received my LOA in November, and my Congressman had made nominations in October because he was leaving office.
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I will never fully understand this process. I can't imagine why a MOC would give out nominations as early as October. They have the right to do so, but is it the right thing to do? It is only 2 months into the school year. Many things can happen during the fall semester of your senior year. Like, for example, getting an LOA to the USNA... You said your MOC was leaving office. Did he/she finish out the term? That goes to January.

My son received an LOA the first week of September. At first we thought it was a blessing, but then quickly learned it meant nothing without that nomination, so I feel for you. He was in 'LOA status' for 5 months before the nomination made it official.

I hope someone, somewhere, is looking at your whole picture and will get you that nomination. I'm rooting for you.
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Yes, my MOC retired after their term was up in January. His application deadline was the first couple days of September, my interview was end of September, and I got noms for USMA, USMMA, USAFA in October. I got my LOA to USNA (top choice) November 26th.

I suppose he wanted to get a head start on nominations so it wouldn’t be a concern later on. I understand what your son went through, I’ve been in LOA status for about 5 months as well, and while I’m still hopeful for a nomination and appointment, I know my chances are slim.

Maybe I should’ve contacted his office once I received my LOA in case someone had dropped out of the application process. Would it be worth a shot to contact my current congressman’s office, to see if maybe they’re handling it from here, and if there’s an open spot?

I really appreciate your response and encouragement. I also hope someone somewhere will give me the opportunity to receive a nomination and an appointment. I’ll let you know what happens. If anything, Plan B becomes my Plan A and I’ll reapply next year with a stronger, even more matured application. Staying Positive! Staying Hopeful!
 
Love4monsters said:
I can say there are many outstanding candidates left without LOA’s. Our senator interviewed 340 students for 10 nominations. My son received a nom from him and didn’t receive a LOA. Just because he didn’t have the LOA didn’t mean he wasn’t outstanding. Means he didn’t have the LOA.
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1. There is no doubt there are many outstanding candidates left without LOAs. There are like 10% LOAs and 90% non-LOAs that get appointed.

2. Senators interview like 300 for 10 noms - sure. But the House of Representatives don’t interview that many. One of our senators interviews like 300, one did 25. But the House had 13 applications. So ... most LOAs get at least one of those noms.

3. I never said someone without an LOA isn’t outstanding! I said someone with an LOA likely has a nom.

For instance ... how many LOAs are in your district, and how many of them received noms? How many didn’t receive a nom?
 
First of all, what USAFA does or doesn't do has no bearing on what USNA does. Each SA approaches things differently and trying to analogize from one SA to another is really not useful.

I've had LOA recipients not receive noms. Every time, I could understand why. LOAs are based on paper; in most cases, USNA has never met the candidates before giving the LOA. Our MOCs do interviews and these LOA candidates likely did not come across at all well (based on my interviews with them). Great on paper, not so great in person.

Another reason, BTW, is that MOCs may weight things differently. Some may not put much emphasis on standardized test scores. Or may think sports are overrated. Or may weight ECAs differently. It's their call and it need not align with USNA's view of the world.

Finally, MOCs want to spread the wealth. Thus, assume that the 10 best candidates all attend the same school but there are qualified candidates from other schools. I guarantee you the the MOC will give some noms to folks from a variety of schools. And Senators want to ensure kids from all over the state get noms (assuming there are applications from all over the state). It's understandable but could lead to some "better" candidates not getting noms.

You'd hope the LOA candidates would rise to the top and usually they do, but not always.
 
usna1985 said:
First of all, what USAFA does or doesn't do has no bearing on what USNA does. Each SA approaches things differently and trying to analogize from one SA to another is really not useful.

I've had LOA recipients not receive noms. Every time, I could understand why. LOAs are based on paper; in most cases, USNA has never met the candidates before giving the LOA. Our MOCs do interviews and these LOA candidates likely did not come across at all well (based on my interviews with them). Great on paper, not so great in person.

Another reason, BTW, is that MOCs may weight things differently. Some may not put much emphasis on standardized test scores. Or may think sports are overrated. Or may weight ECAs differently. It's their call and it need not align with USNA's view of the world.

Finally, MOCs want to spread the wealth. Thus, assume that the 10 best candidates all attend the same school but there are qualified candidates from other schools. I guarantee you the the MOC will give some noms to folks from a variety of schools. And Senators want to ensure kids from all over the state get noms (assuming there are applications from all over the state). It's understandable but could lead to some "better" candidates not getting noms.

You'd hope the LOA candidates would rise to the top and usually they do, but not always.
Click to expand...

I agree with all of this.

I also think most LOAs (not all) get noms. Of course there are cases where they don’t. And probably shouldn’t.

A bad interview is probably the culprit. Possibly the student was being pushed in by parents? Or even they didn’t follow directions of the MOC nomination process?

My experience was most Reps don’t have too many top applicants more than ten. Senators of course.

I suspect all else being equal (they weren’t bad interviews for instance), smaller states with few MOCs might face good LOAs that don’t get appointments.
 
A1Janitor said:
usna1985 said:
First of all, what USAFA does or doesn't do has no bearing on what USNA does. Each SA approaches things differently and trying to analogize from one SA to another is really not useful.

I've had LOA recipients not receive noms. Every time, I could understand why. LOAs are based on paper; in most cases, USNA has never met the candidates before giving the LOA. Our MOCs do interviews and these LOA candidates likely did not come across at all well (based on my interviews with them). Great on paper, not so great in person.

Another reason, BTW, is that MOCs may weight things differently. Some may not put much emphasis on standardized test scores. Or may think sports are overrated. Or may weight ECAs differently. It's their call and it need not align with USNA's view of the world.

Finally, MOCs want to spread the wealth. Thus, assume that the 10 best candidates all attend the same school but there are qualified candidates from other schools. I guarantee you the the MOC will give some noms to folks from a variety of schools. And Senators want to ensure kids from all over the state get noms (assuming there are applications from all over the state). It's understandable but could lead to some "better" candidates not getting noms.

You'd hope the LOA candidates would rise to the top and usually they do, but not always.
Click to expand...

I agree with all of this.

I also think most LOAs (not all) get noms. Of course there are cases where they don’t. And probably shouldn’t.

A bad interview is probably the culprit. Possibly the student was being pushed in by parents? Or even they didn’t follow directions of the MOC nomination process?

My experience was most Reps don’t have too many top applicants more than ten. Senators of course.

I suspect all else being equal (they weren’t bad interviews for instance), smaller states with few MOCs might face good LOAs that don’t get appointments.
Click to expand...

Last word should be nominations. Edit won’t work.
 
A1Janitor said:
I agree with all of this.
My experience was most Reps don’t have too many top applicants more than ten. Senators of course.
Click to expand...

This is the big wild card. In some districts (such as yours where you say there were only 13 applications) it's practically a guarantee that a candidate strong enough to get an LOA will also get a nomination. There are some districts that don't even get 10 applications.

In other districts, however, it is much more competitive. In some districts, there are hundreds of applications for 10 MOC nominations. In those cases, there might be very little separation between the top 15 candidates but they can only nominate 10. It's very possible that the #11 or 12 applicant who didn't get a nomination could be strong enough to be the slate winner in another less competitive district, and also strong enough to get an LOA
 
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The VA-10 District (Northern VA - Comstock, now Wexton) had 109 Interviews for USNA -- those that met the requirements, and completed the application. Btw, this District (SA Committee supporting this District) does NOT allow an Alternate SA choice (2nd choice), unless it is to the USMMA …. So the candidate cannot have a 1st choice of USNA, followed by USMA/USAFA. There are too many qualified applicants.
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I think what @MidCakePa shared is truly extraordinary. It shows resilience from his DD and USAFA. Nevertheless, she went to her top choice at USNA and she’s happy and the family is grateful.

There are many reasons why a Nom is saved for someone else. During our Nom process, we were grateful and disappointed how the Senatorial Office made decisions based on their goal for greater bandwidth. My DS received LOAs to USNA, USMA, USAFA, USCGA. He ended up with 1 Nom. During Senatorial interviews a committee member asked if he has a Nom from his Rep. He answered yes and they said thank you. His Rep gave him a Principal to USNA which sealed the deal with USNA and took out other top candidates in his district for competition. I thought this may happen because the Chairman of the committee is a Marine and he was all Navy. He was also the Chairman of his county Boys State who interviewed and sponsored DS. After getting the Rep Nom to USNA I felt that DS only chance for Second and Third Noms are from Senators because our Rep only gives one Nom per person to one SA.

DS received a letter from his Senators indicating that they gave Noms to other top candidates with no Noms. My heart dropped and got disappointed in their process. As a parent I felt in a way my DS was betrayed and short changed by the committee in Senators’ offices. More so because DS received special distinctions with national merit and honor from the Senator’s office. Nevertheless, this didn’t matter when they were making their Nom selections. And it is likely they have different priorities in the selection decision making.

As I watched DS disappointment with no Nom for USMA and USAFA while the Academy went scrambling looking for ways to find Noms by escalating his case to the Director of Admissions and the Supe’s Offices, Admissions asked DS to hang tight because they are looking for ways to find him a Nom. But DS made up his mind on April 15 and told USMA and USAFA that he will Report to USNA. Sometime thereafter Yale asked if he would like to enroll, he turned it down. Based on @MidCakepa’s story perhaps if he waited maybe USMA and USAFA may have found him a Nom or maybe not. Reading other family posts on the Forum demonstrates that there are many reasons why some get Nom and some don’t and some quit during the journey. No matter what happens, there’s happy ending. Our children find their ways to pursue their dreams and aspirations at SAs or ROTCs. My DS is currently a very happy Plebe at USNA, 19 days to be Plebe No More. He’s very excited to becoming a Youngster, teaching in Summer STEM, his first Summer Cruise, and joining the Upper Class in a few weeks.
 
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a.lo1021 said:
Yes, my MOC retired after their term was up in January. His application deadline was the first couple days of September, my interview was end of September, and I got noms for USMA, USMMA, USAFA in October. I got my LOA to USNA (top choice) November 26th.

I suppose he wanted to get a head start on nominations so it wouldn’t be a concern later on. I understand what your son went through, I’ve been in LOA status for about 5 months as well, and while I’m still hopeful for a nomination and appointment, I know my chances are slim.

Maybe I should’ve contacted his office once I received my LOA in case someone had dropped out of the application process. Would it be worth a shot to contact my current congressman’s office, to see if maybe they’re handling it from here, and if there’s an open spot?

I really appreciate your response and encouragement. I also hope someone somewhere will give me the opportunity to receive a nomination and an appointment. I’ll let you know what happens. If anything, Plan B becomes my Plan A and I’ll reapply next year with a stronger, even more matured application. Staying Positive! Staying Hopeful!
Click to expand...

I’m routing for you!

For readers: this is an important lesson in KNOWING you MOC’s application process!! A September deadline is crazy early! I suspect that MOC missed potential applicants. In our situation, DS didn’t have an English teacher junior year. So he had to wait until senior year for that piece. It’s conceivable that some candidates would wait until senior year to even begin applying. Yikes!!

I read of another MOC current cycle with a very early deadline. Not finding it, but curious if that was a mistake (advice was for them to follow up to confirm that early deadline), or a legit deadline. I’m wondering about that now.
 
CrewDad said:
I think what @MidCakePa shared is truly extraordinary. It shows resilience from his DD and USAFA. Nevertheless, she went to her top choice at USNA and she’s happy and the family is grateful.

There are many reasons why a Nom is saved for someone else. During our Nom process, we were grateful and disappointed how the Senatorial Office made decisions based on their goal for greater bandwidth. My DS received LOAs to USNA, USMA, USAFA, USCGA. He ended up with 1 Nom. During Senatorial interviews a committee member asked if he has a Nom from his Rep. He answered yes and they said thank you. His Rep gave him a Principal to USNA which sealed the deal with USNA and took out other top candidates in his district for competition. I thought this may happen because the Chairman of the committee is a Marine and he was all Navy. He was also the Chairman of his county Boys State who interviewed and sponsored DS. After getting the Rep Nom to USNA I felt that DS only chance for Second and Third Noms are from Senators because our Rep only gives one Nom per person to one SA.

DS received a letter from his Senators indicating that they gave Noms to other top candidates with no Noms. My heart dropped and got disappointed in their process. As a parent I felt in a way my DS was betrayed and short changed by the committee in Senators’ offices. More so because DS received special distinctions with national merit and honor from the Senator’s office. Nevertheless, this didn’t matter when they were making their Nom selections. And it is likely they have different priorities in the selection decision making.

As I watched DS disappointment with no Nom for USMA and USAFA while the Academy went scrambling looking for ways to find Noms by escalating his case to the Director of Admissions and the Supe’s Offices, Admissions asked DS to hang tight because they are looking for ways to find him a Nom. But DS made up his mind on April 15 and told USMA and USAFA that he will Report to USNA. Sometime thereafter Yale asked if he would like to enroll, he turned it down. Based on @MidCakepa’s story perhaps if he waited maybe USMA and USAFA may have found him a Nom or maybe not. Reading other family posts on the Forum demonstrates that there are many reasons why some get Nom and some don’t and some quit during the journey. No matter what happens, there’s happy ending. Our children find their ways to pursue their dreams and aspirations at SAs or ROTCs. My DS is currently a very happy Plebe at USNA, 19 days to be Plebe No More. He’s very excited to becoming a Youngster, teaching in Summer STEM, his first Summer Cruise, and joining the Upper Class in a few weeks.
Click to expand...
.
I sense that everything worked out in the end for your DS …. He is at the USNA and happy with his choice?
.
 
justdoit19 said:
a.lo1021 said:
Yes, my MOC retired after their term was up in January. His application deadline was the first couple days of September, my interview was end of September, and I got noms for USMA, USMMA, USAFA in October. I got my LOA to USNA (top choice) November 26th.

I suppose he wanted to get a head start on nominations so it wouldn’t be a concern later on. I understand what your son went through, I’ve been in LOA status for about 5 months as well, and while I’m still hopeful for a nomination and appointment, I know my chances are slim.

Maybe I should’ve contacted his office once I received my LOA in case someone had dropped out of the application process. Would it be worth a shot to contact my current congressman’s office, to see if maybe they’re handling it from here, and if there’s an open spot?

I really appreciate your response and encouragement. I also hope someone somewhere will give me the opportunity to receive a nomination and an appointment. I’ll let you know what happens. If anything, Plan B becomes my Plan A and I’ll reapply next year with a stronger, even more matured application. Staying Positive! Staying Hopeful!
Click to expand...

I’m routing for you!

For readers: this is an important lesson in KNOWING you MOC’s application process!! A September deadline is crazy early! I suspect that MOC missed potential applicants. In our situation, DS didn’t have an English teacher junior year. So he had to wait until senior year for that piece. It’s conceivable that some candidates would wait until senior year to even begin applying. Yikes!!

I read of another MOC current cycle with a very early deadline. Not finding it, but curious if that was a mistake (advice was for them to follow up to confirm that early deadline), or a legit deadline. I’m wondering about that now.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’ll keep you all updated.
 
A6E Dad said:
A1Janitor said:
I agree with all of this.
My experience was most Reps don’t have too many top applicants more than ten. Senators of course.
Click to expand...

This is the big wild card. In some districts (such as yours where you say there were only 13 applications) it's practically a guarantee that a candidate strong enough to get an LOA will also get a nomination. There are some districts that don't even get 10 applications.

In other districts, however, it is much more competitive. In some districts, there are hundreds of applications for 10 MOC nominations. In those cases, there might be very little separation between the top 15 candidates but they can only nominate 10. It's very possible that the #11 or 12 applicant who didn't get a nomination could be strong enough to be the slate winner in another less competitive district, and also strong enough to get an LOA
Click to expand...
Very much this.
For a peek behind the nomination curtain, I will offer this:
Both of my Senators staffs join together to hold joint interviews so in almost every case, candidates will interview for both. We get hundred of applicants for the service academies and generally do two weekends of interviews during which, we interview ALL OF THEM. Thus, we usually have 3o-40 interviewers and we generally work in teams of two or three. We evaluate candidates on 8 specific areas plus an overall with each of area (plus overall) graded from 1 to 5 so the highest possible is 45. We don't see how other teams are grading candidates but I'm pretty friendly with several and I have never sen nor heard of a 45 being given out which make sense if you've seen the rubrics. Basically, imagine a World Class academic (all A's in HS plus 1600 SATs) who is also All-State in their sport AND a demonstrated leader. I think that the highest that I've seen is a 43 and I've given some really great candidates 37 or 38 and considered them to be pretty probable for admission.

That said, I'm on one interview team of 15 or 20 and another tam might grade differently. Its easy to see that the same kid might get a 35 from one team and a 39 from another and that might be the difference between a nom and not getting one. I can see how someone with an LOA might not get the nom in this system. Remember, we have hundreds of candidates and at least 200 of them are trying for USNA.
 
OldRetSWO said:
A6E Dad said:
A1Janitor said:
I agree with all of this.
My experience was most Reps don’t have too many top applicants more than ten. Senators of course.
Click to expand...

This is the big wild card. In some districts (such as yours where you say there were only 13 applications) it's practically a guarantee that a candidate strong enough to get an LOA will also get a nomination. There are some districts that don't even get 10 applications.

In other districts, however, it is much more competitive. In some districts, there are hundreds of applications for 10 MOC nominations. In those cases, there might be very little separation between the top 15 candidates but they can only nominate 10. It's very possible that the #11 or 12 applicant who didn't get a nomination could be strong enough to be the slate winner in another less competitive district, and also strong enough to get an LOA
Click to expand...
Very much this.
For a peek behind the nomination curtain, I will offer this:
Both of my Senators staffs join together to hold joint interviews so in almost every case, candidates will interview for both. We get hundred of applicants for the service academies and generally do two weekends of interviews during which, we interview ALL OF THEM. Thus, we usually have 3o-40 interviewers and we generally work in teams of two or three. We evaluate candidates on 8 specific areas plus an overall with each of area (plus overall) graded from 1 to 5 so the highest possible is 45. We don't see how other teams are grading candidates but I'm pretty friendly with several and I have never sen nor heard of a 45 being given out which make sense if you've seen the rubrics. Basically, imagine a World Class academic (all A's in HS plus 1600 SATs) who is also All-State in their sport AND a demonstrated leader. I think that the highest that I've seen is a 43 and I've given some really great candidates 37 or 38 and considered them to be pretty probable for admission.

That said, I'm on one interview team of 15 or 20 and another tam might grade differently. Its easy to see that the same kid might get a 35 from one team and a 39 from another and that might be the difference between a nom and not getting one. I can see how someone with an LOA might not get the nom in this system. Remember, we have hundreds of candidates and at least 200 of them are trying for USNA.
Click to expand...

Awesome post ... excellent information - I appreciate this.

Is this for Senators? What do the house districts look like?
 
justdoit19 said:
a.lo1021 said:
Yes, my MOC retired after their term was up in January. His application deadline was the first couple days of September, my interview was end of September, and I got noms for USMA, USMMA, USAFA in October. I got my LOA to USNA (top choice) November 26th.

I suppose he wanted to get a head start on nominations so it wouldn’t be a concern later on. I understand what your son went through, I’ve been in LOA status for about 5 months as well, and while I’m still hopeful for a nomination and appointment, I know my chances are slim.

Maybe I should’ve contacted his office once I received my LOA in case someone had dropped out of the application process. Would it be worth a shot to contact my current congressman’s office, to see if maybe they’re handling it from here, and if there’s an open spot?

I really appreciate your response and encouragement. I also hope someone somewhere will give me the opportunity to receive a nomination and an appointment. I’ll let you know what happens. If anything, Plan B becomes my Plan A and I’ll reapply next year with a stronger, even more matured application. Staying Positive! Staying Hopeful!
Click to expand...

I’m routing for you!

For readers: this is an important lesson in KNOWING you MOC’s application process!! A September deadline is crazy early! I suspect that MOC missed potential applicants. In our situation, DS didn’t have an English teacher junior year. So he had to wait until senior year for that piece. It’s conceivable that some candidates would wait until senior year to even begin applying. Yikes!!

I read of another MOC current cycle with a very early deadline. Not finding it, but curious if that was a mistake (advice was for them to follow up to confirm that early deadline), or a legit deadline. I’m wondering about that now.
Click to expand...
KS Also had a Sept deadline and interview first of Oct. It definitely helps those who have been organized and it was exactly what was stressed to her at NASS.
 
CrewDad said:
I think what @MidCakePa shared is truly extraordinary. It shows resilience from his DD and USAFA. Nevertheless, she went to her top choice at USNA and she’s happy and the family is grateful.

There are many reasons why a Nom is saved for someone else. During our Nom process, we were grateful and disappointed how the Senatorial Office made decisions based on their goal for greater bandwidth. My DS received LOAs to USNA, USMA, USAFA, USCGA. He ended up with 1 Nom. During Senatorial interviews a committee member asked if he has a Nom from his Rep. He answered yes and they said thank you. His Rep gave him a Principal to USNA which sealed the deal with USNA and took out other top candidates in his district for competition. I thought this may happen because the Chairman of the committee is a Marine and he was all Navy. He was also the Chairman of his county Boys State who interviewed and sponsored DS. After getting the Rep Nom to USNA I felt that DS only chance for Second and Third Noms are from Senators because our Rep only gives one Nom per person to one SA.

DS received a letter from his Senators indicating that they gave Noms to other top candidates with no Noms. My heart dropped and got disappointed in their process. As a parent I felt in a way my DS was betrayed and short changed by the committee in Senators’ offices. More so because DS received special distinctions with national merit and honor from the Senator’s office. Nevertheless, this didn’t matter when they were making their Nom selections. And it is likely they have different priorities in the selection decision making.

As I watched DS disappointment with no Nom for USMA and USAFA while the Academy went scrambling looking for ways to find Noms by escalating his case to the Director of Admissions and the Supe’s Offices, Admissions asked DS to hang tight because they are looking for ways to find him a Nom. But DS made up his mind on April 15 and told USMA and USAFA that he will Report to USNA. Sometime thereafter Yale asked if he would like to enroll, he turned it down. Based on @MidCakepa’s story perhaps if he waited maybe USMA and USAFA may have found him a Nom or maybe not. Reading other family posts on the Forum demonstrates that there are many reasons why some get Nom and some don’t and some quit during the journey. No matter what happens, there’s happy ending. Our children find their ways to pursue their dreams and aspirations at SAs or ROTCs. My DS is currently a very happy Plebe at USNA, 19 days to be Plebe No More. He’s very excited to becoming a Youngster, teaching in Summer STEM, his first Summer Cruise, and joining the Upper Class in a few weeks.
Click to expand...

Wow, with all of those LOAs I would have thought your DS would have found a nom in the NWL pretty easily, but who knows what goes on there. I’ve given up on trying to figure it out which makes life easier, but I occasionally find myself going back down the rabbit hole. I’m glad you DS is doing well and thanks for sharing your story.
 
A1Janitor said:
OldRetSWO said:
A6E Dad said:
A1Janitor said:
I agree with all of this.
My experience was most Reps don’t have too many top applicants more than ten. Senators of course.
Click to expand...

This is the big wild card. In some districts (such as yours where you say there were only 13 applications) it's practically a guarantee that a candidate strong enough to get an LOA will also get a nomination. There are some districts that don't even get 10 applications.

In other districts, however, it is much more competitive. In some districts, there are hundreds of applications for 10 MOC nominations. In those cases, there might be very little separation between the top 15 candidates but they can only nominate 10. It's very possible that the #11 or 12 applicant who didn't get a nomination could be strong enough to be the slate winner in another less competitive district, and also strong enough to get an LOA
Click to expand...
Very much this.
For a peek behind the nomination curtain, I will offer this:
Both of my Senators staffs join together to hold joint interviews so in almost every case, candidates will interview for both. We get hundred of applicants for the service academies and generally do two weekends of interviews during which, we interview ALL OF THEM. Thus, we usually have 3o-40 interviewers and we generally work in teams of two or three. We evaluate candidates on 8 specific areas plus an overall with each of area (plus overall) graded from 1 to 5 so the highest possible is 45. We don't see how other teams are grading candidates but I'm pretty friendly with several and I have never sen nor heard of a 45 being given out which make sense if you've seen the rubrics. Basically, imagine a World Class academic (all A's in HS plus 1600 SATs) who is also All-State in their sport AND a demonstrated leader. I think that the highest that I've seen is a 43 and I've given some really great candidates 37 or 38 and considered them to be pretty probable for admission.

That said, I'm on one interview team of 15 or 20 and another tam might grade differently. Its easy to see that the same kid might get a 35 from one team and a 39 from another and that might be the difference between a nom and not getting one. I can see how someone with an LOA might not get the nom in this system. Remember, we have hundreds of candidates and at least 200 of them are trying for USNA.
Click to expand...

Awesome post ... excellent information - I appreciate this.

Is this for Senators? What do the house districts look like?
Click to expand...
I'm sure that depends on the house district. We just got a new Rep this term and I am considering joining her interview team and if I do, I'll probably drop out of the Senators. The former rep was actually an acquaintance but his team was long-standing and had all the people that they needed.
 
I think the team/committee approach has its benefits and pitfalls. Regardless, it seems pretty common.

This year DS got interviewed by basically two WP moms for his senatorial interview. His first question? “What uniform is that?” (He’s a 4th class mdn NROTC reapp). His interviewers had seen a lot of J-ROTC ribbon-bedecked interviewees, but his no-pizza-box-yet plain Jane uni was apparently a little spartan in contrast...
(They all had a good laugh apparently after he named his uni and explained why he was wearing it. Maybe they thought he was Jr Space Force?)
 
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