3rd Alternate to the Principle???

Ebogita

New Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2019
Messages
7
Very happy! My DS got a nomination today to the USNA, but he listed USAFA as his first choice. His letter said he is also the 3rd Alternate to the Principal for USAFA. How could this turn into a real nomination to USAFA? Time frame? Should he check with the Congressman’s office at some point to see if his position has changed? Do they notify nominees when things change? Do nominees have to accept or decline nominations so the unused ones get redistributed according to the ranking? I would so appreciate being enlightened in this area. Thank you :)
 
Don’t bother checking back with MOC’s office. Once they submit their slate, it’s out of their hands. And SAs have flexibility with which to figure out whom they’ll accept, so don’t think your only chance is if three candidates ahead of you drop for some reason.

DD got a MOC nom to USNA and USMA. MOC invited her to a reception of all his nominees. At the reception, she was mortified, as she met a half-dozen candidates who’d already been offered appointments — and it was only January. So that was it — she was done, time for Plan B. She cried all the way home, went straight to bed, was in no mood to be consoled. A few weeks later, MOC called her to congratulate her for receiving offer of appointment to USNA. Couple weeks after that, called again, this time for USMA. Boom! She’s now a youngster.
 
Thank you so much for your quick reply and sharing your rollercoaster story. I now see that we should just move on with the next steps and continue with plan B and wait patiently to see where the chips fall, whenever that might be. Your story also shows that we should not jump to any conclusions without official notification. I can go to sleep now :)
 
BTW a third alternate nomination IS a real nomination and, besides being fully qualified and competitive, is all one needs to get an appointment to the academy they were nominated for. He's still in the running. If there are still opportunities for other noms he should pursue them as hard as he can, including the VP nom.
 
BTW a third alternate nomination IS a real nomination and, besides being fully qualified and competitive, is all one needs to get an appointment to the academy they were nominated for. He's still in the running. If there are still opportunities for other noms he should pursue them as hard as he can, including the VP nom.
Why pursue more nominations when one already has one to each of the two preferred SAs? Do candidates earn more points or respect for additional nominations? The senator and other congressmen ask each interviewee if they already have a nomination from someone else or if they are scheduled to interview for other nominations. Seems like they don't want to give multiple nominations. Should a candidate say they are interested in all the SAs and try to get a nomination for each one? Too late in our case, but good to know for the next group. Thanks for your insight!
 
You need one nom.

But what if there is another candidate on your slate that has a higher WCS? That is why you try to grab more noms.

In New York, the Senators’ committees asked at the interview if DS had a nom from Congressman - and knew he had an LOA. He still went for the experience of interviewing.
 
Does a "primary" carry more weight or put the application in a better light (or "pile")? Why are there distinctions if a nom is a nom?
  • More nominations = more slates to compete on. Therefore, greater chance of appointment.
  • If candidate does not win a slate, then it just matters to have one nomination.
  • By "primary", I think you mean "Principal". Yes it does carry more weight. If candidate is fully qualified. USMA is required by law to appoint a Principal Nominee; USNA is not required but almost always does; Don't know about USAFA.
 
SA's advise you to apply for ALL applicable NOM's. Having more NOM's provides the SA more flexibility on where to slot the appointments. There is a sticky thread at the top of one of the forum's that provides more detail about the NOM process.
 
It sounds like you are still picturing an admission process like a normal college and it is not. To ensure geographic diversity, there are certain rules that apply to the process. Each MOC has one (or 2 every few years) openings and they get to nominate up to 10 individuals for that opening. In most cases, your DD or DS is competing against the others on that nomination slate. If they do not win that slate, the odds are long that they get an offer from the NWL as a Qualified Alternates. Say you have a a nomination from your local representative, a senator and a service connected source: Now you are competing against different three groups of people for different number's of openings. Your chances are better with more nominations. To the OP, it sounds like your MOC did a principal nomination with ranked alternates. For your DS to have a chance at winning the slate both the principal and the 2nd alternate have to not make it through the process to get qualified or not accept an offer. While that is always a possibility, I would suggest that he start to look hard at Plan B & C and plan accordingly. The path to an appointment to USAFA is doubtful at this time.
 
The Principal Nom for USAFA in our state for one MOC last year did not receive an appointment (he was offered Prep). My DS put down USNA as his 1st choice and received 3 noms to USAFA and 3 to USMA. He got an appointment to USAFA and after a visit loved it and was happy to go. He is a doolie there. There are so many variables that applicants have zero control of. Congrats on your nom.
 
@Ebogita You may find this helpful:
 
Don’t bother checking back with MOC’s office. Once they submit their slate, it’s out of their hands. And SAs have flexibility with which to figure out whom they’ll accept, so don’t think your only chance is if three candidates ahead of you drop for some reason.

DD got a MOC nom to USNA and USMA. MOC invited her to a reception of all his nominees. At the reception, she was mortified, as she met a half-dozen candidates who’d already been offered appointments — and it was only January. So that was it — she was done, time for Plan B. She cried all the way home, went straight to bed, was in no mood to be consoled. A few weeks later, MOC called her to congratulate her for receiving offer of appointment to USNA. Couple weeks after that, called again, this time for USMA. Boom! She’s now a youngster.
Never Give Up!!! Amen and Amen!
 
  • More nominations = more slates to compete on. Therefore, greater chance of appointment.
  • If candidate does not win a slate, then it just matters to have one nomination.
  • By "primary", I think you mean "Principal". Yes it does carry more weight. If candidate is fully qualified. USMA is required by law to appoint a Principal Nominee; USNA is not required but almost always does; Don't know about USAFA.
Can you explain what it means by “winning a slate “
 
MOCs submit slates if 10 or fewer candidates. Whichever candidate is offered appointment from that slate and is charged against that MOCs quota “won the slate”. Three ways MOCs can submit the slate and multiple individuals can and do receive offers of appointment - lots of threads in both topics so won’t recite here. Let me know if you can’t find.
 
Can you explain what it means by “winning a slate “
Here is a good FAQ on learning about nominations and slates:
 
Why pursue more nominations when one already has one to each of the two preferred SAs? Do candidates earn more points or respect for additional nominations? The senator and other congressmen ask each interviewee if they already have a nomination from someone else or if they are scheduled to interview for other nominations. Seems like they don't want to give multiple nominations. Should a candidate say they are interested in all the SAs and try to get a nomination for each one? Too late in our case, but good to know for the next group. Thanks for your insight!

Because the Academies encourage all candidates to apply for all Noms that they qualify for. It gives them more ways to create their class.
 
Can you explain what it means by “winning a slate “
A "slate" is the list of nominated candidates submitted to the academy by each MOC. By law one of those candidates must be appointed, if qualified. That is referred to as "winning the slate".

The winner is determined by the MOC by submitting a Principal Nomination or by the academy using its own criteria to determine the most qualified candidate (USMA uses WCS score). Note: USNA is not required to appoint a Principal Nominee, but almost always does.

The system is very complicated and there are caveats, but this explanation is essentially correct for almost all cases.
 
Back
Top