Lingering Questions Regarding Slots

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sky1123

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Hello all, I’m a high school senior applying to USAFA from Texas. My district is one that USAFA recruits athletes from. FYI, I am not a blue chip/recruit.
Annually, there have always been 2 recruits. This year, I heard of at least 3 athletes who committed to USAFA before I even opened my application. Still, I persisted through the application process and received an LOI back in October. I have also managed to obtain nominations from my congressman and one senator. My file is complete.

I have a few questions about the rest of this process, and would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

1. District. As mentioned on the Nomination FAQ, there are a limited number of slots on the district slate. A good number of recruits in my district have already been given LOAs and nominations. Is it safe to assume I will not be charged toward my district’s slots? Does this mean my LOI had no possibility of becoming an LOA in the first place?

2. Sen Nom. In the case I do not receive a district slot, will I have a chance to compete with my senator nomination? Or am I automatically on the NWL?

3. Reapply. Because USAFA only appoints recruits from my district, do I have a chance of receiving an appointment even if I reapply the following years from this district? A number of recruits have and will always commit before the application process officially begins.

4. NWL. My most important question: I heard that USAFA is congressionally mandated to appoint 150 of the nominated candidates on the NWL, likely based on their WCS. However, I also know that there is a limited number of appointments that can be given within a single district. Are these 150 appointees chosen regardless of their respective districts?

5. On Hold. In my portal, my ALO interview has been marked red for the past 2 months since completion. Each time I contact Team Silver, I am only told that my interview is still in the approval chain. This leads me to think my file has been put on hold for some reason. I haven’t heard of a case like mine anywhere else–there may have been erroneous red marks, but the counseling team fixed them immediately upon notification. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Are there any potential reasons this may be happening?

I know that was a lot, thanks for your time. I have put a lot of thought into my situation and appreciate any input you may like to share with me.
 
sky1123 said:
Hello all, I’m a high school senior applying to USAFA from Texas. My district is one that USAFA recruits athletes from. FYI, I am not a blue chip/recruit.
Annually, there have always been 2 recruits. This year, I heard of at least 3 athletes who committed to USAFA before I even opened my application. Still, I persisted through the application process and received an LOI back in October. I have also managed to obtain nominations from my congressman and one senator. My file is complete.

I have a few questions about the rest of this process, and would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

1. District. As mentioned on the Nomination FAQ, there are a limited number of slots on the district slate. A good number of recruits in my district have already been given LOAs and nominations. Is it safe to assume I will not be charged toward my district’s slots? Does this mean my LOI had no possibility of becoming an LOA in the first place?

2. Sen Nom. In the case I do not receive a district slot, will I have a chance to compete with my senator nomination? Or am I automatically on the NWL?

3. Reapply. Because USAFA only appoints recruits from my district, do I have a chance of receiving an appointment even if I reapply the following years from this district? A number of recruits have and will always commit before the application process officially begins.

4. NWL. My most important question: I heard that USAFA is congressionally mandated to appoint 150 of the nominated candidates on the NWL, likely based on their WCS. However, I also know that there is a limited number of appointments that can be given within a single district. Are these 150 appointees chosen regardless of their respective districts?

5. On Hold. In my portal, my ALO interview has been marked red for the past 2 months since completion. Each time I contact Team Silver, I am only told that my interview is still in the approval chain. This leads me to think my file has been put on hold for some reason. I haven’t heard of a case like mine anywhere else–there may have been erroneous red marks, but the counseling team fixed them immediately upon notification. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Are there any potential reasons this may be happening?

I know that was a lot, thanks for your time. I have put a lot of thought into my situation and appreciate any input you may like to share with me.
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The issue of athletic recruits “committing” comes up every year; there are many threads on this. That is a ritual that reflects they have a spot on the team IF they receive an offer of of appointment or USAFAPS offer. It’s unique to the SAs, different from civilian schools. Those recruits still have to apply and get a nom and be found fully qualified.

Next fact. You have no idea where their appointments, if offered, are actually charged. They may or may not be charged to the Senator or Representative. They may have other sources of noms. They may well be on your slate, but their appointment might be charged elsewhere.

Next tact. If a recruit is headed for USAFAPS next year, they are no longer in competition with you if on your nom slate for this year. They are future Class of 2028 and off your field.

Next fact. Anyone who is found not fully qualified is no longer your competition. Could be medical, CFA, academic.

Next fact. The Senators and Representative can submit slates (lists) of up to 10 names nominated for a USAFA seat. They can each have 5 appointees spread across the 4 years. Typically 1 seat opens up each year, so 1 slate would be submitted. Sometimes there are 2, so 2 slates of up to 10 names each can be submitted.

Next fact. USAFA can will choose a fully qualified candidate on the slate to offer an appointment to, or will offer one to the principal nom if that method is used, and the candidate is fully qualified. That appointment gets charged to the elected official. **USAFA can also choose other fully qualified nominees off that same slate, offer appointments and charge them to other nom authorities they could until.**This is something to keep in mind.

1. See Notes above. LOI is a class-building tool. LOAs are not received by the majority of incoming cadets. The goal is an appointment. Admissions can give out an LOA at any time for any reason.

2. You compete on each slate you are on.

3. Incorrect assumption and statement. See Notes.

4. The appointment limits of 5 at any one time at USAFA per Senators and Representatives is unrelated to other nom authorities. In your District you could have appointees charged to the full array of nom sources.

5. No thoughts on your ALO interview.
Paging @flieger83 for insight.

You have 2 noms to the SA you desire! You are in a strong position. Resist the urge to look left and right at others. You will drive yourself crazy.
 
Capt MJ is always important to read.

My anecdotal evidence:

My son got scared briefly because his MOC’s congressional staff told him there was a recruited offensive lineman applying for the nomination for USNA. The person told him not to worry about it.

We don’t know what happened with the recruited athlete - if he was qualified, if he was offered an appointment, whether he was inducted, etc.

My advice to my son was don’t worry about it. What happens is out of your control. Plan B was graduating law school in 2024.

My son was inducted in 2019.
 
Your application isn’t on hold they just have a lot of interviews to look at.
 
Thank you guys for taking time out of your winter holidays to reply. I appreciate your input!

CaptMJ, I only mentioned athletic recruits to provide context about my situation. But after reading your reply, I can see with more clarity that recruits are given first choice in the admissions process. I understand my turn will come if the recruits in my area are deemed unqualified or if they themselves refuse. Thank you for your reply and words of faith!

A1Janitor, thank you for sharing. Good to hear about the positive results. By the way, I always enjoy your comments on this forum; I have found them to be very sharp (and often not without a hint of sarcastic humor).

Moho, you must be right. There do seem to be a lot of interviews to look at. So the one I completed in mid-October has been pushed behind those done after mine, rather than being on hold, since my file is to be on the NWL. I don't think my red mark will be turning green any time soon.

ChatterMom2, thank you very much for your uplifting words. I do want to say that I'm not as worried as I am trying to prepare myself for the rest of this process. Now I know that I don't have to constantly brood over when my interview will be marked green or whether I will be getting any official correspondence soon.

I think I have a better understanding of what my next steps are. I'll be studying some more about the NWL and continuously strengthening my profile. It doesn't seem I'll have a very high chance if I reapply from this same district.
Again, thank you all for your insight, and Happy Holidays!
 
sky1123 said:
4. NWL. However, I also know that there is a limited number of appointments that can be given within a single district.
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Absolutely not true. I've seen multiple applicants admitted from one high school let alone district. Remember that you might not know all of the noms that a person in your district might have even if they interviewed alongside you for the MOCs nom. Things like Presidential or other service connected noms come to mind in addition to National Wait List (at least 150)

FWIW, I've seen my district (not in Texas) have over 10 admitted to one SA in the past
 
sky1123 said:
Thank you guys for taking time out of your winter holidays to reply. I appreciate your input!

CaptMJ, I only mentioned athletic recruits to provide context about my situation. But after reading your reply, I can see with more clarity that recruits are given first choice in the admissions process. I understand my turn will come if the recruits in my area are deemed unqualified or if they themselves refuse. Thank you for your reply and words of faith!

A1Janitor, thank you for sharing. Good to hear about the positive results. By the way, I always enjoy your comments on this forum; I have found them to be very sharp (and often not without a hint of sarcastic humor).

Moho, you must be right. There do seem to be a lot of interviews to look at. So the one I completed in mid-October has been pushed behind those done after mine, rather than being on hold, since my file is to be on the NWL. I don't think my red mark will be turning green any time soon.

ChatterMom2, thank you very much for your uplifting words. I do want to say that I'm not as worried as I am trying to prepare myself for the rest of this process. Now I know that I don't have to constantly brood over when my interview will be marked green or whether I will be getting any official correspondence soon.

I think I have a better understanding of what my next steps are. I'll be studying some more about the NWL and continuously strengthening my profile. It doesn't seem I'll have a very high chance if I reapply from this same district.
Again, thank you all for your insight, and Happy Holidays!
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Lol I think you give me too much credit! ;)

I also think you don’t fully grasp Capt MJs comments.

If you are competitive and AF wants you, it won’t matter how many athletes they take. They have various options to fill the class.

Happy Holidays to you too. Best of luck.
 
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You have 3 different opportunities to secure an appointment (forget about an LOA). You could...
(1) be charged to your congressman (as a principle nom or at the academy's discretion),
(2) be charged to your senator (as a principle nom or at the academy's discretion), or
(3) be automatically offered an appointment (as one of the top 150 on the NWL), or be given an appointment at the discretion of the academy (if not one of the top 150) and charged to a source they manage.

You are in a better position than most. Take comfort in that. Be patient and upbeat...and don't be surprised if it takes until April to hear the news.
 
The big picture for you, is to realize that even with ‘recruits’ posting that they are ‘blessed to receive…’, that doesn’t mean you won’t. Period. Work your alternate plans. And don’t count yourself out, until the SA says ‘sorry, it’s a no this year’.

Best wishes!! Hang in there!!
 
sky1123 said:
I can see with more clarity that recruits are given first choice in the admissions process. I understand my turn will come if the recruits i
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This part makes me shake my head. Many of the appointees that I have come across or known were selected early (prior to Christmas) and were NOT recruited athletes. Come to think of it, during my son’s application cycle in 2019 there was a young man who posted as the first appointee in the forum. As a supes nomination if I recall. Caused all sorts of pandemonium and made many question the OP and whether or not he was real or a bot or troll.

Turned out, my son had met him at Boys Nation. They became friends and stayed in touch. The appointment and the poster were legit. My son and that MIDN are still friends today. And he was not a recruited athlete.

Manage what you can. Be professional. Don’t get in the weeds.
 
sky1123 said:
I can see with more clarity that recruits are given first choice in the admissions process.
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My daughter is NOT a recruited athlete. Many years back my kids' high school had three students appointed to the Air Force Academy in the same cycle. You never know how things are going to work out. Waiting is extremely challenging and most don't receive a decision until March or April. Work on your alternate plans, stay in shape, and stay positive.
 
sky1123 said:
But after reading your reply, I can see with more clarity that recruits are given first choice in the admissions process.
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I may not be able to weigh in with as much information as the other members on this chat who have much more experience than me but, I can relate at someone who had been trying to gauge my odds in an appointment.

As someone who is not a recruited or blue chip athlete, I was worried about getting an appointment, or a nomination, or even being able to get as far as I did in the process. I’m also in the boat for C/o 2027, so I get the whole nervous nelly aspect where you don’t know what’s going to happen.

But I’ve found it’s not as black and white as I first thought. I have a a friend at Navy who is being recruited and she hasn’t received her appointment yet. Several other recruits I know haven’t heard anything. And I’ve also met people who had very little athletic involvement who also received appointments as well, and not as a last minute decision. I’ve noticed that it’s not as predictable as civilian college admissions, and frankly I’m grateful for that aspect.

Congratulations on your two nominations! Texas is a large state (I should know) full of competitive people and considering you got two different nominations shows something. Someone told me that the MOC choose who they think will get in to a service academy to nominate. So you’ve got two groups that see you as a potential cadet.

Hope I helped a little at least. I felt the pain of “Hurry up and wait” as well. Good luck!!
 
I would like to thank each and every one of you guys for your input!

If I had found out there were 3+ scholar-appointees in my district, I would have made the same post.
So please allow me to clarify: I understand that an athletic recruit does not necessarily have direct influence on another candidate's chances. I mentioned recruits because it is necessary to explain my specific case.

The number of those with "first choice" in my district suggests that there are no remaining slots in my district. Thus, I don't have a chance to compete on my district's slate, which automatically puts me on the NWL.
On that note, I would appreciate it greatly if I could gain a little more insight regarding this situation as a whole and what I can do to prepare for the future process (such as NWL).

FalconDad2026 said:
You have 3 different opportunities to secure an appointment (forget about an LOA). You could...
(1) be charged to your congressman (as a principle nom or at the academy's discretion),
(2) be charged to your senator (as a principle nom or at the academy's discretion), or
(3) be automatically offered an appointment (as one of the top 150 on the NWL), or be given an appointment at the discretion of the academy (if not one of the top 150) and charged to a source they manage.
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FalconDad2026, thank you very much for your reply! This seems like one of the pieces of information I needed.
 
sky1123 said:
The number of those with "first choice" in my district suggests that there are no remaining slots in my district. Thus, I don't have a chance to compete on my district's slate, which automatically puts me on the NWL.
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What does this mean?
 
sky1123 said:
The number of those with "first choice" in my district suggests that there are no remaining slots in my district. Thus, I don't have a chance to compete on my district's slate, which automatically puts me on the NWL.
On that note, I would appreciate it greatly if I could gain a little more insight regarding this situation as a whole and what I can do to prepare for the future process (such as NWL).
Click to expand...

So, I’m a data science guy. I love analyzing large fields of data and finding patterns, figuring out regression, etc. For example, I made this:

1671864582390.jpeg

…and my formula got me within 10 or so appts of the actual number released on the Class of 2026 profile months before it dropped. So from having done all this analysis, I can tell you that there are too many variables to figure that out. There is no way to better way to compete knowing you are a candidate fighting for a spot as a qualified alternate- because you don’t know where the other candidates’ appointments were charged. You could very well be the slate winner or principal nominee, or your MOC can rank his nominees. There is just not enough information at the level you are asking to figure out these variables you seek.

Ergo, trends can be observed on a macro scale because the numbers are predictable, but there is no way to predict the way USAFA/RRS gets there in an individual case. There is significant thought on how they want to build a class, similar to casting the right actors for a play, and that can’t be regressed without more information. And I am talking thousands of matrices of thousands of variables.

I would focus on trying to be the best candidate you can be all around— the whole person— rather than putting effort elsewhere, determining specifically what slate you are competing against, etc. I guarantee you the vast majority of current cadets at the Academy did not know about slates, nor read Title 10 Chapter 953, or any of the detective work I did to put this algorithm together. I did it as a fun data science project but it doesn’t make me a better candidate- and USAFA/RRS agrees! (I’m a 3d time reapplicant).

Enjoy the wait, spent time with family, etc— you are about to spend a lot less time with them than you may realize regardless of going to an Academy or not.

1671865339132.png
 
sky1123 said:
What I mean by those who have first choice are those who have been offered admission before most of the candidates have opened their applications.
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Do you mean they have actually been offered appointments? Or are you referring to that athletic recruit signing/commitment thing? How do you know they are on your District slate of noms? Was there a press release? Your ONLY competition on that slate are the fully qualified candidates, for the USAFA appointment that will be charged to the elected official.

Multiple posters have tried to shine a light on this so it makes sense to you; we are confounded by this “first choice” concept you have come up with. If athletic recruits have signed a commitment, that means the NCAA recruiting rules-governed activity stops for them, and they are guaranteed a spot on the Air Force team. Many, including those recruits, confuse this with an actual offer of appointment. IF they successfully pass the DoDMERB medical, CFA, are found academically qualified, and obtain a nom from any source, and are offered an appointment, they are then on track to attend USAFA. Their appointment could actually be charged to a number of different nom sources.

As many posters have noted, there could be several appointees from the same District or even same school, with their appointments charged to various nom sources, far more than the 1 appointment, possibly 2 in some years, charged to the Representative.

If those athletic recruits indicate they are headed to the Air Force Academy Prep School (NAPS) this coming summer, they are well and truly off the Class of 2027 game board and are not in possession of a ‘27 appointment, but now a promise of appointment to ‘28 if they successfully complete NAPS and all other qualifications. They also have to apply for noms in the next cycle.

As far as preparing for the NWL, your application competes against every other fully qualified candidate from Senator or Representative slates. There is nothing you can do except wait, hope, tend your alternate plans, go PT to bleed off stress and enjoy your last few months as a full-time resident at home.

Here’s some advanced reading on noms and the wide variety appointmrnts can be charged to.

One last note - elected officials like to gather up all appointees in their District or State for press release purposes, as it makes good press. As many appointees included in those press releases or photo ops over the years have wryly commented, who were not even on the nom slate, “Good enough for the photo op, not good enough to be nominated on the slate.”
 
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sky1123 said:
What I mean by those who have first choice are those who have been offered admission before most of the candidates have opened their applications.
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I don’t think you are listening to the people here. You have it in your head that these other candidates have taken a spot. They haven’t taken any specific spot (charged appointment) until the Academy finishes putting together their “jigsaw puzzle” of appointments in May.

I’ve used my son as an example and I will again (hopefully not boring the elder members). My son had a very early appointment (November) due to an LOA with multiple nomination sources. The original appointment letter came without a specified nomination source. We got a letter a bit later from Senator X saying the he had given son the appointment, but they were switching it to Senator Y to make room on his slate. Then in April we got another letter from Representative Z saying that son’s appointment was being charged to him to make room on Senator Y slate. My point is, you have absolutely no way to know where any appointment is charged until it’s done.

You are defeating yourself for no reason.

Stealth_81

Edit *Cross-posted with Capt MJ and her much more eloquent explanation.
 
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Stealth_81 said:
I don’t think you are listening to the people here. You have it in your head that these other candidates have taken a spot. They haven’t taken any specific spot (charged appointment) until the Academy finishes putting together their “jigsaw puzzle” of appointments in May.

I’ve used my son as an example and I will again (hopefully not boring the elder members). My son had a very early appointment (November) due to an LOA with multiple nomination sources. The original appointment letter came without a specified nomination source. We got a letter a bit later from Senator X saying the he had given son the appointment, but they were switching it to Senator Y to make room on his slate. Then in April we got another letter from Representative Z saying that son’s appointment was being charged to him to make room on Senator Y slate. My point is, you have absolutely no way to know what’s any appointment is charged until it’s done.

You are defeating yourself for no reason.

Stealth_81

Edit *Cross-posted with Capt MJ and her much more eloquent explanation.
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But you provided a superb example! The sum of the whole is greater than the parts, the beauty of synergy.
 
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