I guess I don't really understand the national waiting list entirely. Could somebody explain to me how one gets put on it, how you get an appointment from the NWL, and when etc?
If you received a nomination but were either 1) NOT the Congressman's primary nominee OR 2) NOT chosen by WP's admissions committee to be the primary nominee if the Congressmen decides to put in a competitive slate.
Basically, if you were received a nomination but were not the top pick out of the slate, then you are put on the NWL.
From there, the admissions committee will choose various target groups to fill in the class. This includes, but may not be limited to, minorities, scholars, athletes, females, soldiers, etc.
An important tool the committee will use is the Whole Candidate Score. Through the use of a secret formula, they use the WCS to rank the candidates.
What we do know, however, is that they weigh academics (class rank, standardized test scores, GPA, class rank, etc.), leadership ability (school/extracurricular activities/positions, sports, etc.), and physical fitness ability (CFA scores) differently. It is respectively weighed 60%, 30%, and 10%.
The whole NWL concept was kind of tricky to me when I first started. A somewhat general guideline of getting onto the NWL looks like this: If you have a nomination (check your candidate portal, it will tell you), are qualified medically, academically, and physically, and have not received a letter of acceptance within a couple weeks, then you can expect to be placed on the NWL.