Father retired military (presidential nomination)

Ddecos

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Oct 20, 2015
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Other then obviously increasing your chances instead of just having the normal congressional/senatorial and VP avenues, does the eligibility for presidential due to fathers service really hold weight? Do they try and accommodate military family member all things being equal?
 
Presidential nominations hold no less or more weight than any other nomination. Actually there are about 500 candidates eligible per year and only 100 slots are given to this nomination. So make sure you get nominations from MOCs.
 
They all advise to apply for all avenues available. If you apply and send in the proper paperwork, your presidential nomination will probably show up on your portal long before the interviews for the others are even started, at least my DD's did.
 
Thanks DaveJean! Good to know the ratio. He will of course apply every way he can.
 
SC2020, so did that mean your DD got that nomination and they didn't have to bother with the MOC process? My question was to get a feel for the effort and or ability for the academy, by way of the presidential nomination slots, give to "military kids" with all things being equal resume wise.
 
SC2020, so did that mean your DD got that nomination and they didn't have to bother with the MOC process? My question was to get a feel for the effort and or ability for the academy, by way of the presidential nomination slots, give to "military kids" with all things being equal resume wise.
To answer your question, yes, your son should apply for all nomination sources, even if he has a Presidential. As was said above, all nominations are weighted the same and if you send in your Presidential at first opportunity, it will show up well before any MOC interviews are even completed. The advantage is if your son is highly competitive and happens to stand out, they can offer him an appointment as early as December, (this happened to my DD) because he will have a nomination. But, then if not, the more nominations you have, the more chances of being appointed. It's like having 3 or 4 raffle tickets instead of just one. The odds are increased in your favor. He should apply for the VP nomination as well.

Here is a sticky that has some great information. Also if you do a search in the Nominations forum, you will find even more discussion about this issue. Good luck to your son.

http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/nominations-faq.33450/
 
I had a Presidential nom and was able to get my appointment for USMA in late August and USAFA in early November. This was a huge blessing because one of the state senators refused to interview military dependent kids stationed in the state if their parents weren't residents. Although, the other senator and congressman here welcomed us to interview with open arms. Luckily, I didn't end up having to go through MOC interviews, so the state residency became a non-issue. Needless to say, I found he Presidential nomination especially helpful being an active duty dependent kid. I'm extremely grateful for it!
 
Yes, my DD did get two nominations besides the Presidential. She was offered an appointment to both academies she applied to, USMA and USAFA. She accepted her appointment to the USAFA and is very excited for June. No preferences are given to military family members that I am aware of. It is just another eligible nomination available to those who qualify. It has been a long, exciting process for my DD but well worth the opportunity.
 
All really really good answers and well said! I appreciate the effort and am clear now. I just wish he (we) were already in your shoes! He is working so hard for this opportunity. Thanks so much to all of you and congratulations!
 
Yes, my DD did get two nominations besides the Presidential. She was offered an appointment to both academies she applied to, USMA and USAFA. She accepted her appointment to the USAFA and is very excited for June. No preferences are given to military family members that I am aware of. It is just another eligible nomination available to those who qualify. It has been a long, exciting process for my DD but well worth the opportunity.
I have to say this might be true for USMA, and I heard that it is the case for that Academy, however not sure that's true for USAFA as with the three applicants in our school. One was Valedictorian, GPA over 4.0 had 2020 on SAT tons of leadership, volunteer hours, can't mention everything here. The other student Q3 also 7th in the class, 1910 in SAT's over 4.0 GPA team captain, both of these students were varsity athletics all four years as well as lettering. Lots more I could add. Third person 15th in the class GPA under 4.0 NO sport the senior year, yes had many hours of volunteer work, just like the other two, the only thing he had over them was legacy. He received an appointment they received a TWE... Not bitter, and agree Legacy should play a high consideration. I know all three of these young people and they are all wonderful young adults who will do great things!
 
Legacy meaning parents were graduates of an Academy or were just in the military?
 
Yes. Specifically not patriotically. I'm a retiree and meant no offense. In your example, did that persons parent graduate an academy or "just" served in the military hence meeting the bar for presidential nomination.
 
I have to say this might be true for USMA, and I heard that it is the case for that Academy, however not sure that's true for USAFA as with the three applicants in our school. One was Valedictorian, GPA over 4.0 had 2020 on SAT tons of leadership, volunteer hours, can't mention everything here. The other student Q3 also 7th in the class, 1910 in SAT's over 4.0 GPA team captain, both of these students were varsity athletics all four years as well as lettering. Lots more I could add. Third person 15th in the class GPA under 4.0 NO sport the senior year, yes had many hours of volunteer work, just like the other two, the only thing he had over them was legacy. He received an appointment they received a TWE... Not bitter, and agree Legacy should play a high consideration. I know all three of these young people and they are all wonderful young adults who will do great things!

The 1910 SAT seems a bit low. The 2020 is better, but still not blowing the hinges off. Perhaps the student that received the appointment had a better SAT, or club involvement, robotics, CAP, JROTC, science fair, internships, recommendation letters, etc. Also, remember that the ALO interview is important. Some candidates may look great on paper, but do not interview well. There was an ALO (or BGO) who posted on here last year that they would not recommend some kids, even though they looked terrific on paper, because during the interview they gave him the impression they wouldn't even be able to lead someone out of a wet paper bag. On the other hand, a student that looks mediocre on paper may hit it out of the park during the interview and receive a solid recommendation. I doubt having the legacy status had that strong of an impact on the appointment.
 
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There are sooooooooooo many variables that go into who gets an appointment vs who does not. We have all seen the posts and heard the stories of the 4.0 vs 3.8 that got in and the 29 ACT that made it while the 32 ACT did not, the varsity captain vs the club sport kid who got an appointment. Military parent vs non military family. And it always comes down to this: no one here knows why one does and another does not get an appointment. There are plenty of military parents' kids that get appointments and plenty who get an appointment and their parents are not in the military. One would think that if anything mattered it would be legacy (all things being equal). And Legacy or not, each candidate has to be 3Q'd and go through the same process to make themselves competitive as the next guy/gal. My DS's roommate is a Legacy but his stats will stack up against pretty much anyone. I understand Ddecos premise and I like it; I know he didn't mean everything could be exact. I think he meant pretty much 2 evenly matched candidates. But really, we all know that all things could ever be equal. Truly equal would mean every single number on the CFA would be exactly the same number of push-ups, pull-ups and exactly distance on basketball throw, etc. Each candidate is different. Even if every single stat was exactly the same (hypothetically), then there are the essays, recommendation letters and other intangibles that are not statistical. I would encourage any candidate to not rely on anything other than making themselves the absolute best candidate they can in every single area of consideration, statistically and considering the whole-candidate as well-rounded individual.

Ddecos: I did not serve in the military, regrettably. I now try to give back my service to my community by volunteering as a Police Chaplain. I have tried to share some of the leadership opportunities and other experiences I've had to help make my 3 Sons better young men. My Grandfather served in the Army in WWII. My Father served in the Army in Vietnam. DS #1 is a C3C at USAFA now. DS#2 is swearing in to the Air National Guard tomorrow! That heritage is the great gift we can pass on to the next generation and that becomes their greatest advantage moving forward into what ever they do. Thank you for your service and because you are helping to lead and guide your son in this direction, I have a feeling that your son is going to prevail and make this thing happen! I wish you all the best.
 
Just for the record like I said I know all three his SAT's were under the one who had the 1910. Also no ROTC, none of the things you mentioned. Have no idea how the interview went? As for one of the three, during that interview the ALO said that was his first one, asked two questions and then proceeded to talk about himself the whole time, so maybe the interview was the kicker?
 
Just for the record like I said I know all three his SAT's were under the one who had the 1910. Also no ROTC, none of the things you mentioned. Have no idea how the interview went? As for one of the three, during that interview the ALO said that was his first one, asked two questions and then proceeded to talk about himself the whole time, so maybe the interview was the kicker?
I know someone who used to sit on an MOC's board. He told me that there was a candidate who looked fantastic on paper - almost perfect test scores, AP classes, 4.0+ GPA, captain of 2 teams, community service, etc. This kid should have been a shoe in. During the interview, he stared at the floor while answering questions. Never once looking anyone in the eye. My friend said, "How can he lead if he doesn't look where he's going?" Needless to say, he didn't receive a nom from that board.

You never know the full story, only admissions does. Second guessing will only frustrate you.
 
The 1910 SAT seems a bit low. The 2020 is better, but still not blowing the hinges off. Perhaps the student that received the appointment had a better SAT, or club involvement, robotics, CAP, JROTC, science fair, internships, recommendation letters, etc.
Personally, I had a 2070 superscored and still got TWE. My math was at 580, and the other two were in the mid-700s.
 
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