Do I Still Have a Chance?

i_like_planes

i_like_planes

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Jan 29, 2021
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So from what i've heard, any given congressperson can only have 5 people at each service academy at a time. I found out recently that a kid in my town was recruited to USAFA for sports. Does this mean that I have a very very small chance of getting an appointment now or are there other ways to get an appointment?
 
i_like_planes said:
So from what i've heard, any given congressperson can only have 5 people at each service academy at a time. I found out recently that a kid in my town was recruited to USAFA for sports. Does this mean that I have a very very small chance of getting an appointment now or are there other ways to get an appointment?
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First off are they being recruited this year? If they were recruited last year typically someone graduated and spot or two trees up. Secondly senators can give nominations, thirdly vp is open to anyone. Yes you do have a chance.
 
FlyFalcon said:
First off are they being recruited this year? If they were recruited last year typically someone graduated and spot or two trees up. Secondly senators can give nominations, thirdly vp is open to anyone. Yes you do have a chance.
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Yup and there is the National Wait List, NWL......Focus on you @i_like_planes and try not to be distracted on what you hear about other applicants.
 
You definitely have a chance. First, both of your senators and your congressman have one or two spots open up each year. Secondly, many sports recruits go first to the prep school, offsetting the class year. Finally, there are superintendent noms that can be used for some sports recruits. You can only control what you can control. Just put together your best application package and if USAFA wants you, they will find a way to get you both in.
 
FlyFalcon said:
First off are they being recruited this year? If they were recruited last year typically someone graduated and spot or two trees up. Secondly senators can give nominations, thirdly vp is open to anyone. Yes you do have a chance.
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They were recruited into the class that I am applying to.
 
hopefulmom182 said:
You definitely have a chance. First, both of your senators and your congressman have one or two spots open up each year. Secondly, many sports recruits go first to the prep school, offsetting the class year. Finally, there are superintendent noms that can be used for some sports recruits. You can only control what you can control. Just put together your best application package and if USAFA wants you, they will find a way to get you both in.
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Alright thanks for the advice, can each senator only give 1 nomination?
 
hopefulmom182 said:
Senators are like any MOC. They can have up to 5 cadets charged to them at any time. So each year, one or two spots open up. For each spot, they nominate 10 people.
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Oh my I did not know that. So realistically there should be around 4-7 openings per year. That clears things up.
 
@i_like_planes - the math is fuzzy. Don't get too wrapped up in it and focus on the things you control. I have seen multiple years of 5 students from the same high school go USAFA. If the math was as rigid as you initially thought - how would that work? They all have the same Congressman and 2 Senators.

Behind the scenes, USAFA can actually assign a nomination to another member of Congress. It sounds weird, and again do not focus on the small picture here. You need a nomination and that is your ticket into the next round. When it comes down to offering you an appointment, they may survey the landscape and see that Wyoming did not have enough qualified applicants this year so they assign your nomination to one seat that was originally planned for Wyoming. Did you know there are some congressional districts opposed to Service Academies and literally NEVER appoint any constituents? It happens.... and those seats to to other parts of the country.
 
boymom43 said:
You absolutely have a chance! There are three recruited athletes our district yet my DS still received an appointment in class of 2025. Don't let it discourage you.
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Where did he get his nomination(s) if you don't mind me asking?
 
shiner said:
@i_like_planes - the math is fuzzy. Don't get too wrapped up in it and focus on the things you control. I have seen multiple years of 5 students from the same high school go USAFA. If the math was as rigid as you initially thought - how would that work? They all have the same Congressman and 2 Senators.

Behind the scenes, USAFA can actually assign a nomination to another member of Congress. It sounds weird, and again do not focus on the small picture here. You need a nomination and that is your ticket into the next round. When it comes down to offering you an appointment, they may survey the landscape and see that Wyoming did not have enough qualified applicants this year so they assign your nomination to one seat that was originally planned for Wyoming. Did you know there are some congressional districts opposed to Service Academies and literally NEVER appoint any constituents? It happens.... and those seats to to other parts of the country.
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Thanks a lot. I will definitely try not to think about it too much but I just wanted to get a general sense of how it works. And wow, that must absolutely suck to live in a district where they don't appoint anyone.
 
Districts that do not appoint someone is a district that has no applicants. There are geographic areas where no-one is interested in attending a service academy.
 
Yup! Apply to ALL the nomination sources to which you're eligible. There is a LOT of shuffling around and nominations sometimes seem to appear out of thin air (they don't).
 
i_like_planes said:
They were recruited into the class that I am applying to.
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Just because they are being recruited does NOT mean they will gain an appointment. They may not pass medical or be academically qualified. You will never know if you don't try. They could also tank their interviews and not even receive any nominations. You can only control what is in your power. Do the best you can and leave the rest behind you. Good luck.
 
My DS high school had 3 kids all enter USAF the same year about 5 years ago. Our district is competitive so when there are additional nominations available, they often find there way here. Additionally, each MOC has up to 5 allocated to them which means in a given year, an MOC may have up to 20 nominations to a particular service academy. For example, one of our MOCs had 20 noms to USNA the year my DS was applying. (If they have 5 allocated, once every 4 years, they will have two kids graduate, so they will have an additional slot for that cycle).

As others have said, do your work, do your best and apply. if USAFA wants you bad enough, they can find ways to assign you a nomination.
 
Agree with all posters!

Focus on what is in your control, and be skeptical of any information you hear about others. You have no idea what anyone else is REALLY doing. They could not pass medical, CFA, or academics. Or have a change of status with medical, academics, or suitability (legal activities, etc). They could not really be recruited athletes, hearing what they what the hear, and maybe with one ping to the coaches then consider themselves recruited (when in fact it's "hey nice to hear from you. IF you get in on your OWN, come try out!").

For any time you know you'll spend ruminating about others, pivot that attention and work on your essay. Ask yourself, why ABOVE ALL OTHERS, should SA bring me to the Wing/Brigade? What makes you an undeniable candidate? An essential piece of Class of 2026? You started this post 1 month ago. Between now and then what is the improvement in your CFA? When are you going to test? How are you going to bridge the gap between current score and max scores? You have lots of great qualities, just make sure you are optimizing the time you have.
 
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