Multiple Appointments

The poor kid just asked a simple question? Why such mean comments. Congratulations @Academy4me and great job getting into all 3. Please come back and ask more questions. We are here to help and support you:) ❤️
 
To Academy4me, good on ya kid! Pick the one that fits you best, it's ok to be proud of the accomplishment.
To the posters chastising the kid, to quote Sgt Hulka (Stripes): "Lighten up Francis!"
I think some folks forget what this forum is meant to be for. Helping kids and families navigate this complicated process. If you ain't here for that, your missing it.
 
This thread is a good object lesson in how relatively flat communications in online forums or email, without context, eye contact, body language, personal knowledge, all the signals we use to help understand and interpret a message, can be tinted with the perceptions of readers in many different ways.

The OP’s original question can be taken in its simplest sense, “hey, is this common?” or we can go to the other end of the spectrum, inferring self-centered reasons for posting that seem tone-deaf, especially with many anxious SAF readers seeing the forums light up with appointments this week, yet they are in waiting limbo.

I am sure the OP feels pretty good about getting multiple offers. Let him.
 
To really answer the question for others that may lurk in the forum. Receiving multiple appointments happen each year but they are not necessarily a reflection of a "super" candidate but more how the nomination process works out. Some candidates may get multiple nominations to multiple academies from many sources while other equally as strong candidates are only eligible for an MOC nomination and some MOCs have so many applicants that they will only nominate to your top choice. In the metropolitan areas of Texas, your local MOC will typically only nominate you to your top choice and getting a Senator's nomination is almost impossible; typically 500-600 applicants for 20 nominations. You will see other states where an applicant may get a local MOC nomination and a nomination from both Senators. The bottom line is you cannot really draw many conclusions about the strength of a candidate based on just getting multiple appointments.
 
Congratulations on three appointments! In response to your actual question I would say it’s not that common to get three appointments considering all the work that goes into the applications and getting nominations, CFA’s etc. My DD applied to two and the work was overwhelming at times for her. Even if a candidate is a recruited athlete or from a less competitive district they still have to manage the logistics for so much. So “atta boy!”, you should be proud of yourself! It is a great achievement!
 
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To perhaps inject some other perspective...

I applied out of high school to all the academies; I wanted to serve so badly that I had a plan for a full career in every service and one I'd have been proud to perform!

And I got nothing. No, not true; I was offered an appointment to USMA's prep school and USAFA offered me a chance at NWP. When I chose to go to NWP, I declined my ROTC scholarships...to give it one more try.

After NWP, I had appointments to four of the five; trust me, the "Puddle Pirate School of Knowledge" (said with love) was TOUGH!! I was an alternate there. But the other four? I had them all...talk about an ego trip!!! To sit in the living room with the ability to say "no" to one of the greatest opportunities.

Then I wondered..."who's going to take this if I say no?" I still wonder (in my more weird moments) who did? Is there a general or an admiral out there that got that appointment? And I wondered how many others were lucky like me?

And then I chose, went, and got my "rear" busted for four years and wondered (to this day) HOW I got to that place with those geniuses! Because I certainly wasn't one of them!!

Enjoy the novelty of such an ego trip; choose wisely, and then press on!

Everyone else...allow the OP the moment...I took the question as asked: curiosity.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
flieger83 said:
To perhaps inject some other perspective...

I applied out of high school to all the academies; I wanted to serve so badly that I had a plan for a full career in every service and one I'd have been proud to perform!

And I got nothing. No, not true; I was offered an appointment to USMA's prep school and USAFA offered me a chance at NWP. When I chose to go to NWP, I declined my ROTC scholarships...to give it one more try.

After NWP, I had appointments to four of the five; trust me, the "Puddle Pirate School of Knowledge" (said with love) was TOUGH!! I was an alternate there. But the other four? I had them all...talk about an ego trip!!! To sit in the living room with the ability to say "no" to one of the greatest opportunities.

Then I wondered..."who's going to take this if I say no?" I still wonder (in my more weird moments) who did? Is there a general or an admiral out there that got that appointment? And I wondered how many others were lucky like me?

And then I chose, went, and got my "rear" busted for four years and wondered (to this day) HOW I got to that place with those geniuses! Because I certainly wasn't one of them!!

Enjoy the novelty of such an ego trip; choose wisely, and then press on!

Everyone else...allow the OP the moment...I took the question as asked: curiosity.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
Click to expand...
Do you have to be asked to attend NWP?
 
believe2023 said:
flieger83 said:
To perhaps inject some other perspective...

I applied out of high school to all the academies; I wanted to serve so badly that I had a plan for a full career in every service and one I'd have been proud to perform!

And I got nothing. No, not true; I was offered an appointment to USMA's prep school and USAFA offered me a chance at NWP. When I chose to go to NWP, I declined my ROTC scholarships...to give it one more try.

After NWP, I had appointments to four of the five; trust me, the "Puddle Pirate School of Knowledge" (said with love) was TOUGH!! I was an alternate there. But the other four? I had them all...talk about an ego trip!!! To sit in the living room with the ability to say "no" to one of the greatest opportunities.

Then I wondered..."who's going to take this if I say no?" I still wonder (in my more weird moments) who did? Is there a general or an admiral out there that got that appointment? And I wondered how many others were lucky like me?

And then I chose, went, and got my "rear" busted for four years and wondered (to this day) HOW I got to that place with those geniuses! Because I certainly wasn't one of them!!

Enjoy the novelty of such an ego trip; choose wisely, and then press on!

Everyone else...allow the OP the moment...I took the question as asked: curiosity.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
Click to expand...
Do you have to be asked to attend NWP?
Click to expand...
The various academies (big three) have their own programs; at USAFA there is an organization called "The Falcon Foundation" that will approach certain candidates and "make them an offer they can refuse..." Or one can choose to go "freelance." I originally went "freelance" and was then, after the fact, given a FF scholarship. FYI, for folks that know the rules now; that was after my applications to all the other SA's so I was able to compete for them all. I don't know if that'd fly today; but that was...egad....40 years ago!

NWP, and several other outstanding "prep schools" are all voluntary to accept...but you don't "openly compete" for these offers...they are chosen by the SA.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
flieger83 said:
believe2023 said:
flieger83 said:
To perhaps inject some other perspective...

I applied out of high school to all the academies; I wanted to serve so badly that I had a plan for a full career in every service and one I'd have been proud to perform!

And I got nothing. No, not true; I was offered an appointment to USMA's prep school and USAFA offered me a chance at NWP. When I chose to go to NWP, I declined my ROTC scholarships...to give it one more try.

After NWP, I had appointments to four of the five; trust me, the "Puddle Pirate School of Knowledge" (said with love) was TOUGH!! I was an alternate there. But the other four? I had them all...talk about an ego trip!!! To sit in the living room with the ability to say "no" to one of the greatest opportunities.

Then I wondered..."who's going to take this if I say no?" I still wonder (in my more weird moments) who did? Is there a general or an admiral out there that got that appointment? And I wondered how many others were lucky like me?

And then I chose, went, and got my "rear" busted for four years and wondered (to this day) HOW I got to that place with those geniuses! Because I certainly wasn't one of them!!

Enjoy the novelty of such an ego trip; choose wisely, and then press on!

Everyone else...allow the OP the moment...I took the question as asked: curiosity.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
Click to expand...
Do you have to be asked to attend NWP?
Click to expand...
The various academies (big three) have their own programs; at USAFA there is an organization called "The Falcon Foundation" that will approach certain candidates and "make them an offer they can refuse..." Or one can choose to go "freelance." I originally went "freelance" and was then, after the fact, given a FF scholarship. FYI, for folks that know the rules now; that was after my applications to all the other SA's so I was able to compete for them all. I don't know if that'd fly today; but that was...egad....40 years ago!

NWP, and several other outstanding "prep schools" are all voluntary to accept...but you don't "openly compete" for these offers...they are chosen by the SA.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
Click to expand...
Thank you. That is what I thought, but never hurts to double check. I appreciate it.
 
Academy4me said:
How common is it to receive multiple Appointments? I have received them from USMA, USAFA and USNA. Is that commonplace if you have applied to all three Academies?
Click to expand...
It is pretty common and normally speaks to the competitiveness of your district. Most of the Congressmen and Senators will coordinate with other offices with their districts. They also want to nominate as many candidates as possible as it makes them look good politically. The more nominations they make the happier families in their districts are. With that said, in very competitive districts they will normally nominate candidates to their first choice and only give multiple nominations to fill their slate.
 
USMA 1994 said:
To really answer the question for others that may lurk in the forum. Receiving multiple appointments happen each year but they are not necessarily a reflection of a "super" candidate but more how the nomination process works out. Some candidates may get multiple nominations to multiple academies from many sources while other equally as strong candidates are only eligible for an MOC nomination and some MOCs have so many applicants that they will only nominate to your top choice. In the metropolitan areas of Texas, your local MOC will typically only nominate you to your top choice and getting a Senator's nomination is almost impossible; typically 500-600 applicants for 20 nominations. You will see other states where an applicant may get a local MOC nomination and a nomination from both Senators. The bottom line is you cannot really draw many conclusions about the strength of a candidate based on just getting multiple appointments.
Click to expand...


That is SO TRUE .. we live in D3 of Texas where it is EXTREMELY hard to even get just one NOM much less all 3. And the sad thing is once it gets up to the senators level it’s not even them looking at our kids stuff. It’s some panel who barely takes 5mins to go thru it. Because they are going thru about 500 packets of NOMs & guess what they get to pick 10. So we are basically screwed if we don’t have an “in” with those senators. So yeah it does kinda suck when you see a “brag” on here or online of all the kids who live in “who knows” where saying hey look what I got! When I bet you graduated #4 in in a class of 200 with yada yada. And my kid graduated #89 in a class of 910 with honors & all this other crap. Anyways I cld go on & on because basically we are waiting on his info as well. He received a LOA and just waiting to see if he gets in this year.
 
LWHW4 said:
USMA 1994 said:
To really answer the question for others that may lurk in the forum. Receiving multiple appointments happen each year but they are not necessarily a reflection of a "super" candidate but more how the nomination process works out. Some candidates may get multiple nominations to multiple academies from many sources while other equally as strong candidates are only eligible for an MOC nomination and some MOCs have so many applicants that they will only nominate to your top choice. In the metropolitan areas of Texas, your local MOC will typically only nominate you to your top choice and getting a Senator's nomination is almost impossible; typically 500-600 applicants for 20 nominations. You will see other states where an applicant may get a local MOC nomination and a nomination from both Senators. The bottom line is you cannot really draw many conclusions about the strength of a candidate based on just getting multiple appointments.
Click to expand...


That is SO TRUE .. we live in D3 of Texas where it is EXTREMELY hard to even get just one NOM much less all 3. And the sad thing is once it gets up to the senators level it’s not even them looking at our kids stuff. It’s some panel who barely takes 5mins to go thru it. Because they are going thru about 500 packets of NOMs & guess what they get to pick 10. So we are basically screwed if we don’t have an “in” with those senators. So yeah it does kinda suck when you see a “brag” on here or online of all the kids who live in “who knows” where saying hey look what I got! When I bet you graduated #4 in in a class of 200 with yada yada. And my kid graduated #89 in a class of 910 with honors & all this other crap. Anyways I cld go on & on because basically we are waiting on his info as well. He received a LOA and just waiting to see if he gets in this year.
Click to expand...
It is stressful times and having a LOA is positive. Also, you don’t need any political connections to recieve a nom. Wishing your son the best:)
 
I can state for a fact that you don't need any political connections to receive a nom. My cadet was nominated by someone who my husband and I had never voted for. Ever. We will never know what went into the process where he was selected. We know that this congressman did have a committee that did the interviewing and then they made recommendations to the congressman. He did it this way to avoid any appearance of favoritism.

Good luck to those who are still waiting for news.
 
I can’t speak to this specific district but I have sat on a MOC panel in one of the most competitive districts in the country. We don’t take it lightly, political connections had zero impact and we reviewed 100s of packets and took the work extremely seriously. By the time the panel down selected around 100 candidates or so to interview with pre interview prep, interview and post interview review, I would estimate that the panel spent 30-40 minutes per candidate. To me the panel is a great thing... it eliminates any political parts to it and usually has a well rounded board. Each MOC has their own process, but having been involved with two now in two states... I have never seen someone involved in the process take it less than serious.
 
random_name said:
Congratulations on three appointments! In response to your actual question I would say it’s not that common to get three appointments considering all the work that goes into the applications and getting nominations, CFA’s etc. My DD applied to two and the work was overwhelming at times for her. Even if a candidate is a recruited athlete or from a less competitive district they still have to manage the logistics for so much. So “atta boy!”, you should be proud of yourself! It is a great achievement!
Click to expand...

Great point. DD had planned to apply to both Sen and her Congressman. Applied to Congressman, and one Sen and heard back from the Cong before she got her app finished to Sen #2, and never got it done. Call it lazy, call it putting her eggs in a basket, call it being too busy to get to...............Bottom line is that these apps are time consuming and stressful, and then you interview et al. She figured that she needed a single nom and had one........Point being that OP took the time to apply to all three academies, probably applied to all nom sources and that says something about him/her. Congrats on a lot of hard work being rewarded.
 
LWHW4 said:
USMA 1994 said:
To really answer the question for others that may lurk in the forum. Receiving multiple appointments happen each year but they are not necessarily a reflection of a "super" candidate but more how the nomination process works out. Some candidates may get multiple nominations to multiple academies from many sources while other equally as strong candidates are only eligible for an MOC nomination and some MOCs have so many applicants that they will only nominate to your top choice. In the metropolitan areas of Texas, your local MOC will typically only nominate you to your top choice and getting a Senator's nomination is almost impossible; typically 500-600 applicants for 20 nominations. You will see other states where an applicant may get a local MOC nomination and a nomination from both Senators. The bottom line is you cannot really draw many conclusions about the strength of a candidate based on just getting multiple appointments.
Click to expand...


That is SO TRUE .. we live in D3 of Texas where it is EXTREMELY hard to even get just one NOM much less all 3. And the sad thing is once it gets up to the senators level it’s not even them looking at our kids stuff. It’s some panel who barely takes 5mins to go thru it. Because they are going thru about 500 packets of NOMs & guess what they get to pick 10. So we are basically screwed if we don’t have an “in” with those senators. So yeah it does kinda suck when you see a “brag” on here or online of all the kids who live in “who knows” where saying hey look what I got! When I bet you graduated #4 in in a class of 200 with yada yada. And my kid graduated #89 in a class of 910 with honors & all this other crap. Anyways I cld go on & on because basically we are waiting on his info as well. He received a LOA and just waiting to see if he gets in this year.
Click to expand...
Which Senator is in district 3? Or I might ask which part of Texas is district 3?
 
Academy4me said:
How common is it to receive multiple Appointments? I have received them from USMA, USAFA and USNA. Is that commonplace if you have applied to all three Academies?
Click to expand...
Congratulations to you. I do think you can brag somewhat. If my kid got multiple appointments I'd brag a little.

Having said that, for all that got multiple appointments it seems you should pick the best fit and then decline the others as soon as possible. In my opinion that helps SA admissions build there classes with kids that are interested in that specific SA and helps others that may be eligible for an appointment.
 
LWHW4 said:
USMA 1994 said:
To really answer the question for others that may lurk in the forum. Receiving multiple appointments happen each year but they are not necessarily a reflection of a "super" candidate but more how the nomination process works out. Some candidates may get multiple nominations to multiple academies from many sources while other equally as strong candidates are only eligible for an MOC nomination and some MOCs have so many applicants that they will only nominate to your top choice. In the metropolitan areas of Texas, your local MOC will typically only nominate you to your top choice and getting a Senator's nomination is almost impossible; typically 500-600 applicants for 20 nominations. You will see other states where an applicant may get a local MOC nomination and a nomination from both Senators. The bottom line is you cannot really draw many conclusions about the strength of a candidate based on just getting multiple appointments.
Click to expand...


That is SO TRUE .. we live in D3 of Texas where it is EXTREMELY hard to even get just one NOM much less all 3. And the sad thing is once it gets up to the senators level it’s not even them looking at our kids stuff. It’s some panel who barely takes 5mins to go thru it. Because they are going thru about 500 packets of NOMs & guess what they get to pick 10. So we are basically screwed if we don’t have an “in” with those senators. So yeah it does kinda suck when you see a “brag” on here or online of all the kids who live in “who knows” where saying hey look what I got! When I bet you graduated #4 in in a class of 200 with yada yada. And my kid graduated #89 in a class of 910 with honors & all this other crap. Anyways I cld go on & on because basically we are waiting on his info as well. He received a LOA and just waiting to see if he gets in this year.
Click to expand...
HAHAHAHAH. You are right but you can not worry about the things you can not change. My DS graduated from a high school with 2000 children in it. There are two other children from his high school at the Academy now. The point is that the level of competition in each district across the country is very different. There are children on paper that graduate from schools as the valedictorian and you find out there were 20 people in their high school class and they were 4 sport letterman with 16 varsity letters but they only had 10 boys in the whole school yada yada. The nice thing is that it works out when they get to the Academy. The competition starts the first day and the cream raises. That is also why many do not make it through beast and or are asked to leave after the first semester because it is determined that they can not make it academically.
 
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