Crickets from USNA

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NavyUMO

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My DS has received an appointment from USMA and USAFA but is still getting crickets from USNA. Does anyone have any typical timeline history for USNA on potential USNA appointment release patterns? Or are there any? I realize that it is long term waiting game but wondering if there is any general history to appointment patterns.
 
In my limited experience, there is a rush of LOAs in the Fall, a few appointments based on other nom sources (Presidential, disabled vets, etc.), then not much until after the new year. Remember, nom sources have until January 31, 2024 to put their choices into the Academy. Unless a kid is gotta-have-stellar (which is subjective in the eyes of each SA), then it is difficult for an Academy to fill out a slate until after all sources are in for consideration.

And ..... the majority of people will find out on/around April 15th. That's been the pattern for years.

If you look at the appointment threads over the last few cycles, you can get a sense of what the pattern has been for the forum for timelines of appointments.
 
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USNA was the last appointment DS received back in spring of 2020, AFA was first by weeks, USMA did not come through due to lack of nomination. Now he is safely in the arms of Mother B with class of '25.

Still very early in process. Patience is a virtue in this game.
 
NavyUMO said:
My DS has received an appointment from USMA and USAFA but is still getting crickets from USNA. Does anyone have any typical timeline history for USNA on potential USNA appointment release patterns? Or are there any? I realize that it is long term waiting game but wondering if there is any general history to appointment patterns.
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If you go and look at the past annual appointment threads for the last several classes, you will see the rough bell curve of appointments mentioned above.

Much also depends on the “nom buckets” in which he is competing. If he has a Presidential nom, only 100 appointments can be charged to that nom source, so his competition is everyone else (likely more than 100) who has that nom. Maybe they haven’t gotten to the slate(s) from his Senators or Representative, if he has those noms. Those “buckets” have to be resolved. If he does not “win” one of those slates and land the appointment charged to the elected official, he now goes into the big national bucket of every other fully qualified candidate with an elected official nom, from which USNA can choose other appointees, charged to nom sources they control.

It’s a big puzzle to assemble every year, and each SA has its own methodology, with appointments flowing from early fall into April, then May for prepsters, late medical waivers, etc., and even into June with the last trickle.

USNA also doesn’t typically tell candidates if they are fully qualified. CFA is obvious for athletic, as is DoDMERB Q or waiver. USNA does not usually let a candidate know if they have been qualified academically/scholastically/other evaluated stuff. A LOA usually implies that, but they are rare. The SAs are roughly similar but not identical in how they score candidates.

It is indeed a waiting game.
 
^^ I agree and since USNA doesn't routinely tell candidates if they are 3Q you tend to get some who are making assumptions about their status that turns out to be incorrect. Being 3Q at one SA does NOT necessarily translate into being 3Q elsewhere.

The assessment criteria are also a bit different for each SA. I know of someone who got the TWE from WP but eventually got an appointment to USNA, so clearly the same resume was evaluated differently. That isn't a good/bad thing but just the way it is and each SA has their method for deciding who gets an appointment and when. You can find many older threads on there where others had the same experience.
 
time2 said:
since USNA doesn't routinely tell candidates if they are 3Q you tend to get some who are making assumptions about their status that turns out to be incorrect. Being 3Q at one SA does NOT necessarily translate into being 3Q elsewhere.
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While it is true that being 3Q at one SA does not necessarily equate to being 3Q at another, it is usually a pretty good assumption that being accepted to one would mean that you are qualified, and perhaps even competitive for the others. USNA does tell you if you are Medically and CFA "Qualified" , so its simply the Board "Qualified" that they don't release publicly.

The truth of the matter is that the Board Q is not the highest obstacle a candidate faces. If a candidate has the academic, athletic, leadership qualification to get an appointment to one of the other Service Academies, they are likely Board Qualified at USNA. (Let's face, we are all looking for the same basic objectives of 1) Does the candidate have the academic background and aptitude to make it through and 2) Will the Candidate be a good officer in the Military ?) The big obstacle is just how competitive the Candidate is within the MOC slate and USNA Candidate pool v. the the other service academies. Differences in the competitive pool is probably the biggest reason that a candidate gets accepted to one Service Academy and not another.

For OP...don't let USNA "crickets" discourage DS if his goal is USNA. USNA has a process that works, and technically they really can't even start comparing the competitive slates until all Nominations and Applications are in (late January). I don't know how USAFA or USMA do their Admissions , but there might be some level of gamesmanship or competiveness where they think they get a leg up on good candidates by making offers early (that's one of the reasons for Navy granting an LOA), but at the end of the day, there are plenty of good candiates to go around, and the timing of an Offer of Appointment is meaningless come I Day.
 
NavyUMO said:
My DS has received an appointment from USMA and USAFA but is still getting crickets from USNA. Does anyone have any typical timeline history for USNA on potential USNA appointment release patterns? Or are there any? I realize that it is long term waiting game but wondering if there is any general history to appointment patterns.
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The silence is the hardest part. I am on my third attempt, with having waited for nearly 12 months on CPR. Waitlisted last year which extended the wait, so I am one of the most experienced in this game. What I will say, you're DS is in a phenomenal position, and remind him how far he has come, and make sure he knows you're proud of him, because waiting is hard and stressful. An appointment from one SA is impressive, but two is even more impressive. Good Luck!
 
NavyUMO said:
My DS has received an appointment from USMA and USAFA but is still getting crickets from USNA. Does anyone have any typical timeline history for USNA on potential USNA appointment release patterns? Or are there any? I realize that it is long term waiting game but wondering if there is any general history to appointment patterns.
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Same exact story for DS. USAFA was jet-fast for appointment; USNA navigates slowly through oceans :(
 
Time for a turtle and the hare analogy?

Sooner doesn’t mean better.

They are all different ‘companies’, despite being the same ‘industries’.
 
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Capt MJ said:
If he has a Presidential nom only 100 appointments can be charged to that nom source, so his competition is everyone else (likely more than 100) who has that nom.
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I have seen numbers ranging from 600 to the 800s for how many Presidential noms that were given in recent years. Of course, as has been said, only 100 "slots" can be awarded using Presidential noms.
 
I have had three of my children apply to all five service academies for classes of '13, '17, and '21. In all three cases, USNA was last to notify them of admissions decisions, several weeks to even months behind the others. If USNA is the dream, standby. Good luck.
 
In regards to nominations, this is from the Class of 2027 profile:
1699905451631.png

And as others have stated, there are limits on how many Presidential can be utilized. I believe the same is true (different number) for Secretary of the Navy and ROTC/JROTC.
 
JROTC/ROTC can only have 20 appointments each year applied to the nom source. A little tougher odds than the 1:10 ratio from an MoC slate.
 
NavyUMO said:
My DS has received an appointment from USMA and USAFA but is still getting crickets from USNA. Does anyone have any typical timeline history for USNA on potential USNA appointment release patterns? Or are there any? I realize that it is long term waiting game but wondering if there is any general history to appointment patterns.
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Depending on where you are and the Nom source your DS received it could be floating dates. I am surprised as many states have not even completed nomination interviews. Here in SE PA the congressional interviews just finished last week. My DS is USNA 26' and his applicant year there seemed to be a Big USNA LOA dump after Thanksgiving/early December. Then there seems to be some waves as @Capt MJ postes 'look at the past annual appointment threads for the last several classes, you will see the rough bell curve of appointments'
DS received LOA on 12/23, Nomination in morning & USNA Appointment in the afternoon on Christmas Eve! BFE on 1/11.
Opposite of some others, he received USNA appt 1st, USMA came a few week later in mid January and USAFA appointment came last, in late Jan/early Feb. Good luck with the hurry and wait!
 
Also to add…just because MOC interviews and decisions are released to candidates, doesn’t mean the results have officially been reported to USNA.
 
Capt MJ said:
If you go and look at the past annual appointment threads for the last several classes, you will see the rough bell curve of appointments mentioned above.

Much also depends on the “nom buckets” in which he is competing. If he has a Presidential nom, only 100 appointments can be charged to that nom source, so his competition is everyone else (likely more than 100) who has that nom. Maybe they haven’t gotten to the slate(s) from his Senators or Representative, if he has those noms. Those “buckets” have to be resolved. If he does not “win” one of those slates and land the appointment charged to the elected official, he now goes into the big national bucket of every other fully qualified candidate with an elected official nom, from which USNA can choose other appointees, charged to nom sources they control.

It’s a big puzzle to assemble every year, and each SA has its own methodology, with appointments flowing from early fall into April, then May for prepsters, late medical waivers, etc., and even into June with the last trickle.

USNA also doesn’t typically tell candidates if they are fully qualified. CFA is obvious for athletic, as is DoDMERB Q or waiver. USNA does not usually let a candidate know if they have been qualified academically/scholastically/other evaluated stuff. A LOA usually implies that, but they are rare. The SAs are roughly similar but not identical in how they score candidates.

It is indeed a waiting game.
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Thanks MJ! My son is a 100% Disabled Service member nominee and USNA has that nomination listed on his dashboard. Additionally he is DODMERB and CFA qualified on the dashboard.
 
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