DD was told she did not receive a MOC nom. Then suddenly mid March with zero notification from our MOC a nomination appeared on her portal. If I understand the process correctly, our MOC slate was probably long done before March and an appointment offered. So I am assuming she is now in a national pool against hundreds instead of just against 10. Do I have correct information on this?
Does a late nomination (mid March) mean an appointment will be much harder to win?
- Thread starter Charmel
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There is no definite answer without knowing all of the details but I would think your thoughts are correct. I would also assume that her stats are not significantly above the averages if she did not initially get an appointment. While there is always a chance, I would coach her to move forward with Plan B now as Plan A as her chances are pretty low.
As USMA 1994 stated, there is no way to know without more information. It might depend on who initiated the nomination. If a MOC suddenly had a nomination available and gave it to a previously declined applicant, it probably means little.
Are you sure it was a MOC nomination? A MOC nomination is designated by state abbreviation and district number. If the nomination is from another source (VP, Superintendent, etc), it could be much more significant.
Are you sure it was a MOC nomination? A MOC nomination is designated by state abbreviation and district number. If the nomination is from another source (VP, Superintendent, etc), it could be much more significant.
As the others have said, without more information this change in the portal reflecting a nomination may be insignificant, but it could also be significant. Often in competitive districts, MOCs have candidates rank their SA choices on the applications and often only give one nomination to the candidate's top choice SA. Things change through the application cycle and a candidate could wind up with a second (or more) nomination(s) from the MOC based on various factors - i.e. initially nominated candidates decline appointments, initially nominated candidates get DQed from DODMERB, etc. Having a MOC nomination all of the sudden show up in the portal mid March realistically isn't a game changer, BUT, it could be. Without getting political, a couple of MOCs in our area don't necessarily participate in the SA nomination process. Other MOCs have been able to use the non-participant MOCs nominations to get candidates appointed. Bottom line: your candidate is still in the fight till an appointment or TWE arrives. Continue to work plans B, C, and D till then. Good luck!
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If DD is 3-Q with a nomination (that is a big "if", because typically nobody knows if they are 3Q or not), she is among a select few (about 3,500 candidates). From those, they will make offers to around 1,350. Those are pretty good odds, and it's not over until she gets a TWE.
Good luck to her.
Good luck to her.
The topic title and your description seem to be asking two different questions. WHEN someone gets a NOM has no bearing on the chance for an appointment. To be in the RUNNING for an appointment, you need to be 3Q AND have a NOM (from any of the available sources). USNA typically does NOT tell applicants if they are 3Q, so some of the threads in the past on this subject seem to be making assumptions regarding one's status.
Sorry, I did not mean to be confusing. I still see the topic and question to be the same. But maybe I simply do not understand the appointment process. It was my understanding that applications and nominations were due by Jan. 31. At that time each MOC would have a slate (up to 10 apps) go before the committee. Most of those slates would have a winner who was offered an appointment. IF that person declined another offer COULD be made to the next candidate but may not be. So I am assuming by mid March that the slate that would have held DD's name (if she had a NOM at that time) has been presented and an offer made and she was not on that slate bc she did not have a NOM. Thus, when she was given a late nomination she will not be added to a slate, she will join the pool of qualified candidates who did not win their slate. So she was never given the opportunity to compete on a slate of 1-10 candidates. That is why I say her chances are smaller. Of course, I am new to all this and maybe I have no clue??
Thank you everyone who responded. I know many of us are playing this waiting game and have so many questions. To answer other questions, her nomination is from her MOC. I know they only gave a handful of nominations in January for whatever reason they chose. She does have plan B in place with an ROTC and scholarship, and that makes this mom happy bc she will be a 3 hour drive away instead of a plane trip.
shock-n-awe
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All MOC’s are supposed to turn in their slate(s) of Nominees (up to 10 each slate) NLT 31 JAN. If for example all of those candidates receiving NOMs either close their apps, are not 3Q, or are otherwise deemed DQ (DODMERB), then that slate is dead. I can’t see how an MOC could suddenly add a new Nomination in MARCH. Apparently this
turns out to be a rare occurrence where an MOC is allowed to make an offer this late In the process. So if you’re deemed 3Q, you may be deemed the “slate winner” as the rest of the slate is possibly out of the running and you could be offered an Appointment. Or did MOC make a new “slate” of 10 nominations? That still means you’re in the running.
It could be significant....definitely more so than not having a Nomination!
turns out to be a rare occurrence where an MOC is allowed to make an offer this late In the process. So if you’re deemed 3Q, you may be deemed the “slate winner” as the rest of the slate is possibly out of the running and you could be offered an Appointment. Or did MOC make a new “slate” of 10 nominations? That still means you’re in the running.
It could be significant....definitely more so than not having a Nomination!
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Think of it as two separate processes, heavily interconnected, proceeding at the same time but not necessarily at the same speed - the evaluation of the candidate’s application and the elected official nomination process (external) and eventual charging of an appointment to a nom authority (internal).
Each application is looked at and evaluated on its own merits, to determine if the candidate is fully qualified. That could happen not long after the application is submitted, or anywhere along the path. It could happen well before the slate of noms is submitted by the elected official. At some point, and the combinations are endless here, if USNA decides they want your daughter, and she is fully qualified, they will look at her nom situation, and see where they could charge her. It could be easy, or it could be dependent on her fully qualified competition on her nom slate, of her status versus other fully qualified applicants in the national pool. They could be waiting to find out if a candidate ranked higher than she is on the slate will be medically cleared or not. There are many, many factors in putting this complex jigsaw puzzle together, systematically, as they build out the class.
In your daughter’s case, a late nom, no matter what, is manna from heaven. She’s in the game. There could be many scenarios in play here. Maybe no one else on her slate fully qualified, so USNA went back to MOC and asked for a nom to be assigned to your daughter. She is clearly in play, appointments are still coming out, you don’t know when her app was first evaluated, you won’t ever get a glimpse behind the curtain - so patience, hope and a positive outlook on alternate plans are the keys to surviving this.
Thank you for taking the time for this detailed response. I have searched for answers but was not able to find them. I will try to patiently wait now.