Competitive District?

JP2019TP

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How does one know if they are in a "competitive district". I've read here that VA has many. (Such as VA-11)

We are in IL Congressional District 10.
 
Competitive just means that there are a lot of people applying from that district. Could be a recurring thing year to year (e.g. near a military base) or could vary from year to year if there’s a district where, for some reason, a lot of people are applying one year.
 
There is no way to know how competitive your district is in the year you are applying. It only takes one other strong candidate who wants to attend the same service academy.
 
It depends on things like how much interest folks have in the military and how good the local schools are. There's an AP report from a few years ago that showed how many people were nominated in every district.
 
There is no "magic" list that I'm aware of. Rather, those who are involved with the process year in and year out learn whether there are far more applicants in the district than there are noms or whether the MOC is struggling to fill the slate of 10.

One way to tell if your district is not particularly competitive is if the same person receives multiple noms to the same SA and/or noms to multiple SAs. For example, if Mary Jones has noms to USNA from all three MOCs and also has a couple of noms to USMA and USAFA, chances are there aren't a lot of candidates/competitive candidates in that district. That does NOT, BTW, mean Mary Jones is not a superlative candidate -- she very well may be. But there aren't a lot of Marys in that district or there is little interest in one or more SAs in that district.

If your MOC says he/she won't "double nominate" -- nominate you to more than one SA or won't nominate you to a SA to which you already have a nom . . . that's a good indication that the district/state is competitive.

As for VA, it has quite a few competitive districts because the northern part of the state (encompassing several districts) is near DC and Annapolis. A lot of military folks/retirees live in the area which attracts candidates to all SAs and the proximity of Annapolis makes USNA particularly competitive. The Norfolk/VA Beach area is obviously home to several huge Naval bases, so a lot of interest in USNA in particular. However, other parts of VA (such as the far western part of the state) aren't nearly as competitive.

The bad news for those in competitive districts is that it's harder to get a nom. The good news is that those who do earn noms tend to be very well qualified candidates and often quite a few off the slate of 10 end up with appointments.
 
In our district I was under the impression that it was pretty competitive. Each of our Senators held interviews in 3 different parts of the state with at least 50 each day. Wowza!
 
+1 to usna1985 remarks

Also consider that the competition may vary from year-to-year, so what might be a competitive district one year, may be less competitive the next. And demand for certain SAs may likewise change year-to-year, especially if you're in an area that isn't close to any one SA.
 
I see. It just seems that since I've been on this board, I have seen posts where people make the claim: "I'm from/my DD/DW is from a competitive district", which led me to believe that this is more of a "fact" then a "trend".

Thanks for the feedback. Makes sense.
 
My dad loves to tell the story about a gentlemen he used to work with whose son wanted very badly to attend USMMA. They lived 15 miles outside of NYC on Long Island. Which is very congested this very competitive. He had the grades but couldn’t, for the life of him get a nomination. In frustration he moved out west to Oregon to live with his aunt and attend college. Following year he went into his local congressman’s office ready to state his case on why he deserved a nomination. Congressman stopped him and said “First things first. What SA are you seeking a nomination to?” USMMA he replied. The congressman’s response was “Where is that? I’ve never heard of it. In my 12 years as a congressman nobody has ever even asked. Sure son you can have a nomination.” That was it. Was a member of the next class. Probably around 1992.
 
My dad loves to tell the story about a gentlemen he used to work with whose son wanted very badly to attend USMMA. They lived 15 miles outside of NYC on Long Island. Which is very congested this very competitive. He had the grades but couldn’t, for the life of him get a nomination. In frustration he moved out west to Oregon to live with his aunt and attend college. Following year he went into his local congressman’s office ready to state his case on why he deserved a nomination. Congressman stopped him and said “First things first. What SA are you seeking a nomination to?” USMMA he replied. The congressman’s response was “Where is that? I’ve never heard of it. In my 12 years as a congressman nobody has ever even asked. Sure son you can have a nomination.” That was it. Was a member of the next class. Probably around 1992.

Some would criticize a story like this as "gaming the system" and I understand that mindset, however he did work legally within a system most would agree is far from perfect, and it worked out. I know I felt super frustrated the time I got a TWE and I wondered if I would have to move somewhere far away just to serve my country. It ended up not being necessary for me, but I do sympathize with the very qualified individuals who inevitably lose out on the opportunity to attend an academy based on simple geography. IMO the nomination system is anachronistic and flawed, however it is what we have to work with for the foreseeable future. It sucks for some but you just need to be the best candidate you can be and hope for the best.
 
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