Help, Congressman rumble.

J

JSF-35 Pilot 2016

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2009
Messages
80
Hello,
I am new here. I am wondering about congressional nominations I currently live in NOVA(competive) and I want to put down West Point as my first pick for my house of rep. and for my senator USNA and then for my other senator USMMA. Would that be looked at and thought of as cheating of sorts? I know West Point is pretty much mine thanks to admissions outreach program. If anyone could help that would be amazing.:thumb:
 
No it is not cheating but if you have a first choice it's better to have more nominations for that academy. You can't count on the outreach program, you still need a nomination as well as all other admission requirements.
 
You may need to check in with your MOC's office staffers and see what they say. My son was considering doing something similar. His first choice is AF, second choice Navy, but he has an LOA for Navy (not AF). In our state (not that competitive), he's confident with the LOA, that if he lists it first he'll get the nom. But he doesn't want to lose the possibility of AF. So he talked to both senators offices about wanting to list Navy first for one and AF first for the other (we've been told they compare slates).

They told him that if he did that, that it would be caught when they compared the slates (even for different academies) and then THEY would choose which one he received (assuming he would have been eligible for both) and that it might not be the one he would have chosen. They told him to list his true first choice first and explain why he wanted a second choice and that in that case, one senator might (again, if he's in top 10) give him AF and the other senator Navy. But that by doing it the other way, they view it maybe not as "cheating" but more as trying to "trick" them, which they made clear to him they discouraged.

Different states will have different rules, but if you're in a competitive area, I would expect them even more to be comparing closely. Find out what their "rules" are so that you don't offend them or lose yourself what you really want.
 
Thank you, for your help. I will have to get my applications out of the packages and do it over again.:eek: I live in a really competive area. Imagine this 12 teens in the past 5 years have gone to and graduated from only 300 graduating high school.
 
Your not alone 2016, my school has had 6 people go to the academies for the last 5 years. No one in my school has gone to the United State Military Academy though, but I want to make that change. Competitiveness is lame right, I really annoyed that the state I live in has 15 million people in it.:rolleyes:

USMAalltheway
 
Help, Congressman Rumble

JSF - 35 Pilot 2015

You asked a good question. In response;

All congressional/senatorial districts can have different processes for nomination consideration. In my congressional district, 10th Massachusetts - the staff person in charge of the process asks each student who contacts her - "Would you like to be considered for a nomination from each of the service academies?" - with a subtle hint that their answer should be "Yes." Our district is very competitive - particularly for West Point and Annapolis - with lots of candidates interviewing - and relatively speaking - many being offered appointments.

The reason for the question listed above - is because - partly through to proximity - Air Force Academy is not as popular as the other Academies. Many times - our congressperson would have handed an Air Force Academy nomination to a candidate - simply because there were not 10 candidates who interviewed - who stated that they would be interested in recieving a nomination to the Air Force Academy.

Recoginze that due to the selectivity of the service academies - most candidates who get a nomination - do not get an appointment. A nomination to a federal service academy - is an important document - for the senior military colleges, like The Citadel, VMI and my own alma mater, Norwich University - as well as the state maritime academies - like my own - to see in an application for admission to our colleges. It shows how serious an applicant is in serving our country. If given the opportunity, students who earn a nomination - would accept an appointment to a service academy.

Thankfully for the senior military colleges and state maritime academies - not everyone who would like an appointment - gets one.

I highly recommend, when you speak to the staff people in your congressional district and your 2 senator's, that you ask for their advice on how to strengthen your candidacy for a nomination. Those staff people have been there/done that - they will have advised other students like yourself - and would be grateful that you are asking questions about their particular processes.

Feel free to reply to this comment - or email me directly at Fuji@maritime.edu if you have more questions.

I wish you well through the process!

Fuji

Roy "Fuji" Fulgueras
Director of Admissions
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Fuji@maritime.edu
1-800-544-3411
FAX 508-830-5077
http://www.maritime.edu
http://twitter.com/MMAAdmissions
 
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