How to tell whether I am principal nominee

The_DeLorean

The_DeLorean

New Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2021
Messages
7
Greetings all,

I've visited these forums many times over the past two years to gather intel but never had the need to make an account. I am a high school senior who has completed most of the things necessary for 3/Q, just waiting for an orthodontics DoDMERB waiver and holding off a week or two more to take the CFA in order to get the best score.

Anyway, back to my question. I applied to all potential nominations sources (for me it was just MOCs and Vice-Presidential), but live in a competitive district in Southern California. Have not heard back from either Feinstein or Harris at all (either acceptance or rejection), though it is what I expected...big state only a few slots. However, I was extremely fortunate to receive a letter from my congressional representative informing me that I have received the nomination. The nomination shows up on my portal and everything. But my question is whether it is possible for me to ascertain whether I am the principal nominee or not. I am somewhat familiar with the "nomination math" (1 academy slot=10 noms, roughly 4 academy slots per MOC?) and the difference between ranked and unranked nominations. But nowhere in any of the application literature or my nomination letter was any of this mentioned. I have thought about contacting the office of my representative, but he did not win reelection and thought asking a question like this might reflect poorly so I thought it was best to let it be.

So, will it come into play later and should I be worried about it? If I am not the principal nominee, would an offer of appointment be rescinded if the principal nominee also received an offer of appoitnment? Any clarification about my status would be greatly appreciated, but I am also interested in the hypothetical nomination scenarios and any stories you all have.
 
Don't worry about it. If there IS a Principal Nominee and it isn't you, the Academy will still take you if they want you. They don't have to take a Principal if they don't want to but they generally do so. Answering your question of whether or not you have a Principal nom doesn't give you any more certainty so just hang on and you'll know in the next couple of months. In any case, you really need to just DO the CFA already.
 
Go to the nomination forum, and look around there. Especially the sticky tabbed notes at the top as they are pertinent every cycle.

In a nutshell, some tell you if you are principal, some don’t. This is the period of the wait, after slates are due from MOC’s, where slates are settled. Where admissions figures out how/where/who to charge. Even if you are designated as a principal, you may not ultimately end up charged to that MOC.
 
Your portal will not tell this info. Some MOCs will tell candidates the type of slate and others won’t. The MOC coordinator may or may not answer this question for you.

Even if they use a principal method it’s not game over if it’s not you. You still have a nom which means you qualify for the national pool which you can be appointed off of. This often how very competitive districts get so many candidates from a district in. Also the principal might decline, might not be physically qualified or go to another SA/school. An appointment wouldn’t be rescinded if offered for this reason. If it’s offered it because you have a Nom and a spot on someone’s slate.
 
justdoit19 said:
And I’m with @Devil Doc...take that CFA. Ya never know of something will come up that prohibits your ‘better score’ (pulled Jamie, for example).
Click to expand...
That's good advice. I was planning on the CFA early December but aside from scheduling/facility difficulties, I am holding out to get my pullup score higher (than a 0). I am a 6'3 185 lb runner and swimmer, upper body is use it or lose it and while my pushups are looking good, I can't seem to get the pullup train going. Had a talk with my BGO after my interview and he said the CFA won't make or break me, so long as I get a decent score, but my gut is telling me to keep working and take it as late January as I can, whatever the results be then.
 
You can take it and submit. And the keep training, and if you think you’ve improved, retake. Keeping in mind if you are retaking, the original is wiped.

IOW, make sure a retake is an improvement. But this way, you at least have that decent one recorded. Just in case.
 
Definitely take the CFA now (this year you have until Feb. 28, I believe). A few years ago, I had a candidate who waited until the last week. The weather was terrible. He couldn't find someone to administer. He ended up not being able to take it. And that was pre-COVID. Things are obviously harder / more complex now.
 
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