2026 State Nominations Thread

Banshee Mom said:
How long do most MOC interviews last ? My DD had her interview on December 13 and it only lasted about 15 minutes . She was well prepared and many of the questions asked were those she had anticipated such as “Why do you want to serve ?”, “Give an example of when you showed leadership” and what her back up plan was . We live in NYC , no idea if we are considered a competitive district . Her friend who lives in a somewhat rural area in PA said that her interview lasted an hour . DD was not interviewed by our senators . Good luck to everyone .
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My interviews (both MOC and Senator) lasted maybe 15 minutes? They were pretty short and to the point. I wouldn't worry, every state and congressional district is different. Good luck to your DD!
 
I think what your daughter experienced is pretty typical. My daughter's lasted about 15-20 minutes each for both MOC and Senator interviews. Our Senators team up and have their staff just do one interview. All the staffers then came together to determine how to maximize the nominations for the applicants. My DD just got word before Christmas that she received a nomination from her MOC as well as one of the Senators. Best wishes for your DD!
I did hear of a few not so ordinary questions either that were asked to my DD or some of her classmates who interviewed as well. "How is your relationship with your HS Principal?"; "With serving your country comes the risk of seeing death or dying yourself, are you prepared for that?", "At some point during your service, you will not get along with or agree with your commanding officers orders, how will you combat that?"
 
hopefulUSNAmom'26 said:
I think what your daughter experienced is pretty typical. My daughter's lasted about 15-20 minutes each for both MOC and Senator interviews. Our Senators team up and have their staff just do one interview. All the staffers then came together to determine how to maximize the nominations for the applicants. My DD just got word before Christmas that she received a nomination from her MOC as well as one of the Senators. Best wishes for your DD!
I did hear of a few not so ordinary questions either that were asked to my DD or some of her classmates who interviewed as well. "How is your relationship with your HS Principal?"; "With serving your country comes the risk of seeing death or dying yourself, are you prepared for that?", "At some point during your service, you will not get along with or agree with your commanding officers orders, how will you combat that?"
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Good luck to your daughter ! My DD was prepared to answer any unusual questions that may have been asked but everything she was asked was what she had expected. Honestly she prepared for the interview for weeks and then it was over so quickly and no curve balls . Happy New Year !
 
jaglvr said:
I think in PA, the Senators do the top picks, and then the MOCs ensure the rest are offered the nominations. Not often multiple noms in PA unless a district doesn't have enough qualified candidates, then the MOCs also select those candidates for a nom.
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Was opposite for DS. received PA-6 nom on 12/23 and Toomey today 12/31
 
Great Week for DS. Beyond proud. Received LOA from USNA on morning of 12/23 and then that afternoon notified via email that he received USNA PA-6 nomination from Chrissy Houlahan. Today DS received USMA Senate nomination from PA Toomey in a letter. Thought it was a rejection until he opened as there was no email or call. USMA portal was updated.
 
JudgeGuy said:
Great Week for DS. Beyond proud. Received LOA from USNA on morning of 12/23 and then that afternoon notified via email that he received USNA PA-6 nomination from Chrissy Houlahan. Today DS received USMA Senate nomination from PA Toomey in a letter. Thought it was a rejection until he opened as there was no email or call. USMA portal was updated.
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Congrats! Are all the other boxes marked?
 
Did anyone hear from either of the MN senators on nominations (Klobuchar ir Smoith)?
 
Presidential Nomination Question.

My DS has been applying to USAFA and USNA. I have tried VERY hard to not be a leader during the application process, but a supportive passenger instead. Just asking how its going, has he heard from **** or did his DODMERB go through, etc. I do not have any access to his portals or even know what is going on much. YA’LL IT IS KILLING ME. LOL. I have let him almost miss deadlines and struggle through other things himself. I figure I won’t be at the Academy to remind him of stuff so if he can’t get in on his own he probably shouldn’t be there. That being said I have done things like overnight packages to Senators when he brought them to me the day before they were due and asked for my help. (So, to sooth my burning curiosity, I read this forum and live vicariously through all of you and your updates! Thank you for giving me an outlet for all of my worry LOL)

So, on to my question. I know he mailed in a Presidental Nomination request to both USAFA and USNA back in November (because he asked me for his Dads retirement documents and the stamps to put on the envelopes and I watched him walk them to the mailbox). I recently asked him if his Pres Nomination was showing on his portal/application. He says no. Should I encourage him to resend the requests or just let it bide?

Thanks! I look forward to hearing more about your nominations!
 
lorettakay said:
Presidential Nomination Question.

My DS has been applying to USAFA and USNA. I have tried VERY hard to not be a leader during the application process, but a supportive passenger instead. Just asking how its going, has he heard from **** or did his DODMERB go through, etc. I do not have any access to his portals or even know what is going on much. YA’LL IT IS KILLING ME. LOL. I have let him almost miss deadlines and struggle through other things himself. I figure I won’t be at the Academy to remind him of stuff so if he can’t get in on his own he probably shouldn’t be there. That being said I have done things like overnight packages to Senators when he brought them to me the day before they were due and asked for my help. (So, to sooth my burning curiosity, I read this forum and live vicariously through all of you and your updates! Thank you for giving me an outlet for all of my worry LOL)

So, on to my question. I know he mailed in a Presidental Nomination request to both USAFA and USNA back in November (because he asked me for his Dads retirement documents and the stamps to put on the envelopes and I watched him walk them to the mailbox). I recently asked him if his Pres Nomination was showing on his portal/application. He says no. Should I encourage him to resend the requests or just let it bide?

Thanks! I look forward to hearing more about your nominations!
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He can go to the live chat balloon on the USNA Admissions web page, click on it, and find the next live session with an Admissions officer. He can pop up with his candidate number in hand and ask if they have it, and get an instant answer. They may and they may see it, but the applicant-facing portal doesn’t reflect it yet. Enormous amounts of application data are flowing into the intake funnel this time of year. Those docs are checked very carefully to validate eligibility.
 
HopefulDad2026 said:
IMO, they should all just select the best candidates period for their respective areas and states. And if people get multiple noms, then they must be really good candidates and probably deserve it.

The rules are the rules, and they are being followed here, so it's not like they're doing anything wrong. When I step back and look at it though, it just seems like someone doesn't understand the true impact. Interested to hear feedback, as of course, I could be analyzing this wrong.
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While the opinion is reasonable, it may not take into account that the state at issue may have numerous candidates who, if competition was national, would be competitive for an appointment, but because it is local they will not be able to compete - just a numbers game. This would arguably be unfair to the candidates from that area and so if this is the reason why there is coordination, the MOCs' approach may be a very good idea.

If the approach is used simply to spread the wealth for politics, as opposed to giving very high quality candidates an opportunity to compete, then your opinion is spot on!
 
Capt MJ said:
He can go to the live chat balloon on the USNA Admissions web page, click on it, and find the next live session with an Admissions officer. He can pop up with his candidate number in hand and ask if they have it, and get an instant answer. They may and they may see it, but the applicant-facing portal doesn’t reflect it yet. Enormous amounts of application data are flowing into the intake funnel this time of year. Those docs are checked very carefully to validate eligibility.
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Thank you I will make that suggestion!
 
dddad said:
While the opinion is reasonable, it may not take into account that the state at issue may have numerous candidates who, if competition was national, would be competitive for an appointment, but because it is local they will not be able to compete - just a numbers game. This would arguably be unfair to the candidates from that area and so if this is the reason why there is coordination, the MOCs' approach may be a very good idea.

If the approach is used simply to spread the wealth for politics, as opposed to giving very high quality candidates an opportunity to compete, then your opinion is spot on!
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I'm not sure I mentioned anything about "spreading the wealth for politics" I'm just saying let the best people have the best chance. If someone is strong enough to win their district and also one of the top 10 in the state, then I think they deserve the ability to earn multiple noms. I think the other way is more about spreading the wealth for politics, that is, senatorial noms only go to people that weren't top 10 in their district. This for certain is how you maximize the total noms for your state and I get that.
 
HopefulDad2026 said:
I'm not sure I mentioned anything about "spreading the wealth for politics" I'm just saying let the best people have the best chance. If someone is strong enough to win their district and also one of the top 10 in the state, then I think they deserve the ability to earn multiple noms. I think the other way is more about spreading the wealth for politics, that is, senatorial noms only go to people that weren't top 10 in their district. This for certain is how you maximize the total noms for your state and I get that.
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I don’t agree with this because it doesn’t let the Academy build the class it wants to by giving it as many options for candidates as possible. But doesn’t matter really since neither of us have control
 
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