I'm nervous, because I want it so bad.

1. Correct - but only ONE applicant will get the appointment. The rest go into the "pool"
2. Nope. More nominations doesn't add "weight". What it does do is offers the academy flexibility and more options finding a "slot" for a candidate IF they choose to offer an appointment.
Believe it or not - occasionally there are candidates for whom no nomination is available that the academy wishes to appoint. If that is the situation an appointment cannot be made.
3. Not necessarily - depends on the competitiveness of the district. MOC's may nomination candidates that do not "qualify" according to academy standards. A nomination in and of itself will not make one more competitive.
4. AFA only - AFA appears to do "mass appointments" neither USMA not USNA do this they make appointments ongoing.
Later appointments can happen as well - as candidates turn down appointments (imaging that!) openings occur and they are filled until the class is formed.
 
mom is definitely on target. The important thing to know about nominations is that they are pretty much the last factor in getting an appointment. The academy doesn't look at who has a nomination and chooses from that pool to give appointments. They go through their selection process and ranks the candidates. They then see which ones has a nomination and offers appointments according.

There are some that they want to give an appointment but didn't get a nomination, but that is somewhat rare. Usually from very large states where the 2 senators and rep's nominations are filled. Anyway, there will be quite a lot of people with nominations that don't get an appointment. 10 noms each senator and rep minimum is about 4630 nominations. Plus all the others like presidential, vp, prior enlisted, ROTC, etc...

Nominations aren't usually the show stopper. Although there have been some who didn't get a nomination and therefor couldn't be offered an appointment. And as mom mentioned, there is no added weight to having more than 1 nomination. All that does is give the academy more options. Some states, like mine, the reps/senators talk to each other. (It's easy when there's only 1 rep in the entire state). They try and work it out so they aren't all nominating the same applicants; unless there aren't many applying; and thus can maximize their nomination. Last year was relatively easy for our state. Only 19 applied to the air force academy. In theory, all 19 could have easily been offered a nomination. However, only about a handful or so were. That is all our rep/senators deemed deserving. The academy on the other hand preferred that my son use a senator/rep nomination because it would free up his presidential nomination that the academy could give to someone else. But, my son was offered and accepted his appointment the first week of November, and our senators/reps weren't yet finished doing their interviews. So my son wound up canceling his interviews with the senators/rep and accepting the appointment using the presidential.

The nomination process is definitely a game of numbers. There's usually more nominations than appointments. However, there are usually some candidates that the academy wants to give an appointment to, but can't seem to get an appointment. best of luck to everyone. later... mike...
 
Christcorp,

From what you and others have written, it seems possible that some very desirable candidates, that might have otherwise received LOAs, haven't heard from the Academy because they had a Presidential nomination.

Obviously the top candidates get early appointment offers. But might the Academy wait to see what other nomination sources are available to candidates it knows it wants, in order to retain flexibility with Presidential nominations?
 
Okay, quick lesson in loa and noms.

1.ONLY ABOUT 10-15% of apps get LOA's
2. NO APPTS can be given out without the entire slate being in (caveat: LOA gets a nom, they get an appt) Otherwise, the SA must wait until the entire slate is in.

Everybody gets a WCS, the highest score wins!
 
Ok so i guess my application is in the hands of the rest of the class of 2013's competition...When will the "winners" from the pool usually be notified---march?
 
Unless you know for sure that the number 1 candidate accepted the AFA from your nom sources, you are still in play. Many applicants haven't even finished their whole packet, mostly due to CFA, recs or Dodmerb, your slate might not have even met. Just because somebody on your slate has an LOA doesn't mean the MOC will be charged....remember there are multiple ways of getting in. The LOA could have a Pres, plus all 3 MOCs, the AFA might charge it to the Pres, or another MOC.

It is way too early for saying you are in the national. You can say that sometime in Feb/Mar when every candidates packet must be complete
 
Now I shall sit on my nomination and wait. Thanks for all the help esp. PIMA CHRIST and MOM :)!
 
zackwheat said:
Christcorp,

From what you and others have written, it seems possible that some very desirable candidates, that might have otherwise received LOAs, haven't heard from the Academy because they had a Presidential nomination.

Obviously the top candidates get early appointment offers. But might the Academy wait to see what other nomination sources are available to candidates it knows it wants, in order to retain flexibility with Presidential nominations?
Click to expand...

Yes; what Pima said is totally correct. See; the "Nomination" is basically the last stop in an appointment. A presidential nomination is usually known/given pretty early. If you don't know if you are eligible, then you probably aren't. If you wait till November/December, you'll have a harder time trying to get an appointment with a presidential nomination. Not that you can't, just that only 100 of the presidential nominations can receive an appointment using that nomination. So, assuming an applicant got a presidential back in September; they would have no need for an LOA IF their application/package was complete. If they were part of the "Top Candidates" as you mentioned, they would have received an early appointment. If they weren't part of the Top Candidates, they'll be waiting until march. And, they'll probably need to have a congressional nomination because the 100 presidential nomination slots were probably filled by then.

LOA are for those who are part of that same "TOP CANDIDATES" club and still need a Nomination and/or their Physical to be 100% complete. I guess in "THEORY", someone with a presidential nomination, who is in the TOP CANDIDATE class as you refer to, could get an LOA if they were still waiting on their physical. That probably is rare.

The "Top Candidates" all usually have certain things in common. They are highly motivated applicants and finished their applications back in the Summer/Sept time frame. If they had a presidential nomination, they will PROBABLY get one of the 100 appointments. If they weren't eligible for the presidential, vp, or similar, they will probably get an LOA. If they aren't one of the "Top Candidates", whether they finished the application early or not, they will all probably need a congressional nomination and they will all probably have to wait until March. Best of luck. Later.... Mike....
 
Christcorp said:
The academy on the other hand preferred that my son use a senator/rep nomination because it would free up his presidential nomination that the academy could give to someone else. But, my son was offered and accepted his appointment the first week of November, and our senators/reps weren't yet finished doing their interviews. So my son wound up canceling his interviews with the senators/rep and accepting the appointment using the presidential.
Click to expand...
Your son's situation is what prompted my question. Wouldn't the Academy, in some instances, consider refraining from offering appointments to some of those holding presidential nominations until after MOC slates were announced?

I guess it depends on how many of the 100 Presidential nominations it needs to use for those in the pool.
 
Are the priors looked at differently, or are they all grouped in the same pool?
 
USAF Amn the short answer is yes priors are looked at differently. By you screenname I assume you are a current Amn. First instead of the nomination your Commander must recommend you for an appointment. No waiting for a congress critter to nominate.

Second in many cases (not all) a position at the Prep School will be offered. This is to better prepare you for the Academics at the Academy.

As for the Academy holding back an offer until MOC noms come in only admissions knows for sure. Our daughter had her application complete in October including her Presidential Nom., she was offered an appointment in January. A boy she went to school with was offered his appointment in early December. Both still went forward with the nomination process and ultimately recieved (Congressional, and Senatorial) nominations in addition to their Presidential noms. The one difference was an Athletic letter. Daughter was unable to participate in HS sports until her senior year and did not get an athletic letter until December. The boy had been able to play baseball and letter for several years.
 
zackwheat said:
Your son's situation is what prompted my question. Wouldn't the Academy, in some instances, consider refraining from offering appointments to some of those holding presidential nominations until after MOC slates were announced?

I guess it depends on how many of the 100 Presidential nominations it needs to use for those in the pool.
Click to expand...

Lets play a little math game. It's a multi-part scenario. Realize before I start, that the academy has 50 years of data, statistics, averages, etc... to work with. SORRY FOR BEING LONG WINDED!!! LOL :thumbdown:

1) 15 September; the academy has determined about 6000 of the 10,000 (Prospects) who initially put in any paperwork, to be legitimate applicants. Of those 6000, we'll assume that as of this date, there are approximately 1500 completed applications. (Minus the possibility of a nomination). And we'll even assume for the sake of argument, that the academy considers them all competitive and therefor (Candidates)

2) Of these 1500, the academy realizes; based on historical data; that about 200 of them fall under the category of the "No Brainer Club". In other words, these are students that exceed all requirements. They are 4.0 gpa type students. Class rank in the top 1%. Most difficult classes; AP/IB. Kick Butt ACT/SAT scores. Volunteer, Sports, EC, bla bla bla... In other words, there may be others that will be their equals; but probably no way anyone could be scored HIGHER.

3) The academy, just like early selections from a traditional college, wants to lock in future students. That's why USC, Stanford, and most other colleges have an "Early Application Selection" period. They play off of your emotions to get you excited to attend their school; but mainly, because they know that you WILL BE COURTED by many other schools. That's what happens when you are a 4.0, ranked #1-#5, bla bla bla. All the schools want you. The academy is no different.

4) The academy then decides to "Hook" you. If you are part of the "No Brainer Club"; they will offer you an LOA. Unless you already have a presidential, ROTC, or other non-congressional nomination; then they may very well offer you an appointment. Remember; they WANT YOU. They want to get you pumped up where you will turn down all other schools.

5) Now; just because you had a presidential nomination, and even received the appointment, doesn't mean that you can't still be interviewed and given a nomination by a congressional/senator member. If your congresswo/man doesn't have many other applicants, they will definitely want to give you a nomination. It helps them look good. The academy loves this, because even if you accepted the appointment the 1st of November; and don't receive a nomination from the MOC until December; the academy can still SWITCH the nominations and free back up the presidential and use it for someone else.

But what's important to remember is that the academy is competing with all the other colleges in the country. 10,000 might apply to the academy and they only accept say 1400; but that is similar to most high end schools. The academy wants the best they can get. So, they will go after those 1st 200 (Rough estimate) in the "No Brainer Club" to try and excite them and lock them in. That's a pretty guaranteed 200 compared to the rest. They will obviously have no problem getting 1400 appointees. But just like any other school, they want the best. Giving LOA/Appointments to the "No Brainer Club" is a way of getting these. Remember, they have 50 years of data. These LOA/Early Appointments aren't questionable candidates. These are the ones who have the type of total scores that are in the top percentages of those who will eventually accept the appointments.

Remember however that because of the academies standards, all appointees have great scores and could get into most other colleges in the country. So this "No brainer club" isn't some special group. They just have total scores that probably will remain in the highest percentage of GREAT SCORES from ALL applicants. And, because they had the initiative and motivation to apply early; just like early apps to a traditional college; the academy wants to try and lock in these applicants. Those in the "Wait til march" crowd, can definitely have some with just as high scores as those in the "No Brainer Club". But the academy wasn't aware of them during the early selection period.

And my son's situation is a little unique because of our state. Only 19 individuals IN THE ENTIRE STATE applied to the air force academy. Of those, only about 9 were considered deserving of a MOC nomination. Of those, I believe 5 were eventually offered appointments. So, while the academy would have liked a MOC in our state to give my son a nomination so the academy could free up the presidential; the MOC said, screw that. I have more than enough qualified applicants. (We only have 1 rep for the entire state). But for MOST MOC's, they can come up with a list of 10, but finding an uber qualified that they want as one of their automatics could be difficult. So they may WANT to put a nomination in for the one already with a presidential. It's normally a fight between the academy and the MOCs. Usually, each wants the other to use THEIR nomination to free up their nomination. In my son's case, the MOC didn't care because they didn't have that many people. The academy on the other hand isn't going to take a chance at losing locking in an EARLY ADMISSIONS. Hope this explains some of the logic. Again, sorry for writing a book. later... mike...
 
So the bulk of the Presidential nominations slots will be available for pool candidates?
 
That depends. The academy gives out 100 presidential appointments. If there are a lot of people who finished their applications early and are being considered for an early appointment; and they have presidential nominations, they could get them early. But the law of averages say that the majority will be given after the early admissions period and part of those who will find out in march. later... mike...
 
I think many people thought I would have a good chance at getting in if I could just get a nomination...I feel like this might just be a heartbreaker though. haha
 
Well; once these threads get this long, and with all the threads and posts we look at; I can't quite remember all your stats. I looked at the original post and saw your GPA. While it isn't the best, it definitely isn't the worst. And as you correctly mentioned, you have a lot of advanced classes, leadership, and all the other elements of the Whole person concept. That means a lot.

As for the nomination, the last few posts refer to presidential nominations. If you are eligible for one, that's good. It's an additional nomination in case you need it. But you should always continue on with a nomination from your MOC. Have you interviewed with your rep/senator? What was the results? Do you think you'll get one of their nominations. Sorry if you already mentioned this in a previous post, but the thread has gotten quite long.

Bottom line is; IF the academy selects you and you have a nomination, you'll get an appointment. The nominators also have nominated many people prior to you. They know what a good application looks like. Do the best you can and get a nomination. The rest you don't have much control over at this point. Best of luck to you. Later... Mike....
 
Hahah...yes I did recieve a nomination from my Senator however I am not the primary nominee. I am not eligible for the Presidential Nomination but I still have a Rep interview to go. I think my ALO interview went very well...so I am just trying to get an understanding of how I stand now that I jumped the huge hurdle of getting a nomination...Thanks!
 
how do you know you weren't the first pick? i was told they didn't really tell candidates that information. Also, my ALO told me that he gave me the highest rating he could possibly give me (i think it was like 5 stars, i can't remember) Does the academy look at these seriously?
 
Hello all! I've been reading the forums for a while, but just decided to register. If you don't mind a slight hijack, I would love a reality check about my chances.

My data:
GPA (unweighted, weighted): 3.86, 4.06... AFA lists it as a 4.0
Rank: 13 of 248 (at a Blue Ribbon School if that is worth anything)
SAT: CR 650, Math 670
APs: US History (5), European History (5), Biology (5). Currently taking Physics C, Calculus AB, and US Government.
With the exception of English, all classes were honors when available.

Nomination:
Received from my MOC. Will find out about a Senator in January (not holding my breath due to the competition though).

Athletics:
Cross Country: 4 years, 3 varsity letters, senior captain
Track: 4 years, 2 varsity letters
for both sports, I am the administrator of our team website. Duties include writing meet articles, posting results and photos, keeping the schedule up-to-date, posting news.
During the off-season, I have finished seven half-marathons. Best time: 1:33

ECs:
Political Science club: co-President senior year. Duties include running meetings and making sure announcements are submitted. Also, before the election the other president and I were able to get the Repub and Dem running for our Ohio House seat to come speak with the club.
National Honor Society: member
Orchestra: fresh and sophomore year. Cello section leader sophomore leader. Quit because I did not enjoy the class.
Church YG

Volunteer work:
Ohio Republican Party: worked from Aug-Nov. 4 making phone calls for my congresswoman and Senator McCain. about 40 hours total
Hospital: not that significant. Summer before Junior year. about 30 hours
other smaller couple-hour events

CFA: my worry. lower body was fine, upper body not so much
mile: 5:56
situps: 85
shuttle run: 8.7 seconds
pull-ups: 8
push-ups: let's just say I failed
bb throw: 56'


I will be happy to provide any additional information. Thanks!
 
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