Hawaii versus California for Nominations

mswmommy

mswmommy

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Hi Everyone,
If a candidate has one parent in California and one in Hawaii, does anyone know which state a person might be more likely to get a service academy nomination in? I think the candidate can choose the state of either parent to apply for nominations, but not both states - correct? If so, it makes sense to choose the one where there might be a better chance.... does anyone have an opinion about which state to go with? Thank you for your input.
 
mswmommy said:
Hi Everyone,
If a candidate has one parent in California and one in Hawaii, does anyone know which state a person might be more likely to get a service academy nomination in? I think the candidate can choose the state of either parent to apply for nominations, but not both states - correct? If so, it makes sense to choose the one where there might be a better chance.... does anyone have an opinion about which state to go with? Thank you for your input.
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It's depends how competitive your district is. Call the office of your congress person in both district and ask how many applicants they have had over the past few years. That should give you a better idea
 
I really have no idea, but wouldn't it be based on where you attend high school?
 
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kkg2000 said:
mswmommy said:
Hi Everyone,
If a candidate has one parent in California and one in Hawaii, does anyone know which state a person might be more likely to get a service academy nomination in? I think the candidate can choose the state of either parent to apply for nominations, but not both states - correct? If so, it makes sense to choose the one where there might be a better chance.... does anyone have an opinion about which state to go with? Thank you for your input.
Click to expand...

It's depends how competitive your district is. Call the office of your congress person in both district and ask how many applicants they have had over the past few years. That should give you a better idea
Click to expand...
Thank you - good idea to go straight to the closest source for accurate specific information!
 
According to the FAQs sticky on the nomination forum, you get to choose which state to apply to. It's impossible to tell which state would be most competitive. They both have a lot of military bases which is generally one basis for being competitive.... kids wanting to follow in the parent's footsteps and all that.
Under the law, MOCs may only nominate individuals who are legal residents of their state/district. For most candidates, your state/district of residence is where your parents own/rent property, vote, pay taxes, register their car, etc. Because you are a dependent, your residency is based on that of your parents.
If your parents are divorced or otherwise live and vote in separate districts or states AND they share legal custody of you, you are eligible to apply to the MOCs from either state/district. It doesn’t matter where you live provided you meet the above criteria. So, if you live in MD with your mother but your father, living in TX shares legal custody of you, you can apply to the MOCs in MD or TX. You can choose. However, you may NOT apply to BOTH.
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Asking the MOCs how many applicants may give you a picture of the past candidates in your district but they cannot predict the future. You can make an educating decision based on the numbers of candidates but it just takes one other person to turn a district competitive this year.
 
If at all possible find out how may seats each MOC has for each academy this year. This is a big deal; 10 noms per open seat.
 
So my DS did ask how many applicants each office received and this is one answer (below) - similar to the other answers received - so it's hard to know. He'll go with the state he spends the most time in and hope for the best! Thank you everyone for weighing in and helping out.

"That number honestly changes year to year. There are a lot of factors that go into the vacant slots available, from candidates still in an academy from our office, to candidates invited by an academy to attend a Prep School, as well as many other scenarios. I am sorry I cannot provide a more concrete answer. To clarify, it is extremely competitive. I would advise to request a nomination from both Senator’s and the Congressional Rep."
 
One factor to consider is the Senatorial nominations. California has a population of over 35 million compared to 1.5 million for Hawaii. If the congressional districts are comparable, Hawaii could be a better choice. I'm not familiar with Hawaii and am only considering population, but really depends on number of applications. I can say that California is extremely competitive for Senatorial nominations.

California runs the entire range of competitiveness. Some districts are among the most competitive in the nation and some are among the least competitive (a few have more nominations available than applicants).

Another consideration is which academy? Districts with a large military presence tend to be more competitive for the academy representing the particular service in that area. For example, USNA is usually more competitive in San Diego than other SA's due to the large naval and marine corps presence.

Attached is a file showing nominations by district for USMA/USNA/USAFA over a four year period. It is old, so it does not reflect current competitiveness. However, it will give you a general idea of how competitiveness can vary by district, year, and academy.
 

Attachments

With respect to residency requirements, there is no law that stipulates that a nominee must be a legal resident of the district. Each district establishes its own requirements. For obvious reasons most districts require candidates to reside in the district, but Title 10 USCC does not address or require it. That is why exceptions are made every year.

From Congressional Research Service report April 13, 2017

Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management

The nomination authorities, number of appointments, and criteria establishing the qualifications
of potential service academy appointees are set by statute, federal regulations, and policies
established by each academy. No laws or regulations govern congressional nomination processes,
as long as nominations are submitted by deadlines established by the academies and comply with
chamber ethics rules.
 
Our congressman's academy rep has mentioned she has worked with other congressman to get a nomination for a Candidate if they have too many at an academy and another member has room in his slate.
 
As it relates to California, one of the MOC's website clearly specifies that you must be a resident to apply .....

https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/service-academy-nominations

To qualify for a Service Academy, applicants must:
  • Be a United States citizen and legal resident of California;
If you think you have an unusual situation, you should contact the MOC office directly for their recommendation on how to proceed.
 
jl123 said:
With respect to residency requirements, there is no law that stipulates that a nominee must be a legal resident of the district. Each district establishes its own requirements. For obvious reasons most districts require candidates to reside in the district, but Title 10 USCC does not address or require it. That is why exceptions are made every year.

From Congressional Research Service report April 13, 2017

Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management

The nomination authorities, number of appointments, and criteria establishing the qualifications
of potential service academy appointees are set by statute, federal regulations, and policies
established by each academy. No laws or regulations govern congressional nomination processes,
as long as nominations are submitted by deadlines established by the academies and comply with
chamber ethics rules.
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If it happens, it's extremely rare. Certainly a Congressman or Senator is going to want someone from their district get the appointment. Even if they have slot open on their slate they run the risk of no one in their district receiving the appointment.
 
kinnem said:
If it happens, it's extremely rare. Certainly a Congressman or Senator is going to want someone from their district get the appointment. Even if they have slot open on their slate they run the risk of no one in their district receiving the appointment.
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Correct that MOC's prioritize the interests of candidates in their own districts, but it is not rare for a congressional MOC to nominate someone with a legal residence outside of their district.

A MOC will only approve a request with some justification - candidate's non-custodial parent lives in district, school attended is in district, request from other MOC, request from academy admissions, etc. The MOC has the freedom to approve or disapprove any such request and candidates will not get far trying to game the system without good reason. MOC's are too self-interested to allow that.

A Senatorial nomination outside of their state is much less likely. But it is permissible should that Senator choose to do so (perhaps possible in a small state with few candidates or boarding school/college/non-custodial parent case).

USMA records two districts in the candidate database - the physical district and the nominating district. They are usually the same since most candidates live and attend school in the same district. USMAPS candidates almost always have different physical and nominating districts and account for the largest number of differences, but it is not uncommon for other candidates to have different districts due to other reasons.

The bottom line is that each MOC sets their own rules. They are not required to make any nominations (some do not) and can also nominate anyone they choose, although the academy has the final say on who is appointed. They could fill their slate with a litter of puppies if they wanted (hyperbole intended :)).
 
jl123 said:
One factor to consider is the Senatorial nominations. California has a population of over 35 million compared to 1.5 million for Hawaii. If the congressional districts are comparable, Hawaii could be a better choice. I'm not familiar with Hawaii and am only considering population, but really depends on number of applications. I can say that California is extremely competitive for Senatorial nominations.

California runs the entire range of competitiveness. Some districts are among the most competitive in the nation and some are among the least competitive (a few have more nominations available than applicants).

Another consideration is which academy? Districts with a large military presence tend to be more competitive for the academy representing the particular service in that area. For example, USNA is usually more competitive in San Diego than other SA's due to the large naval and marine corps presence.

Attached is a file showing nominations by district for USMA/USNA/USAFA over a four year period. It is old, so it does not reflect current competitiveness. However, it will give you a general idea of how competitiveness can vary by district, year, and academy.
Click to expand...

Can you by chance try to repost this list, it is coming up blank
 
I really appreciate everyone giving such thought to my question - I'm grateful for these forums! Thank you everyone! :rockon:
 
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