National Waiting List?

professorm804

professorm804

USMA 2025
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
152
Hey all, I just got a letter stating that I was qualified Academically, Physically and Medically and that I was further placed on the national waiting list. According to some of my research, it seems that the NWL is just 200 or so CC's that West Point wants but didn't win their principal nomination. I have a few questions regarding the NWL:

1. What exactly is NWL and how will I know whether I am still competitive?

2. I heard early in the process that me getting an LOE will effect my NWL somehow. Is this true, and if so how will it effect my NWL?

3. Does everyone get placed on the NWL?

Thanks all!
 
Hoppy said:
There is a great post on this if you google national wait list west point, someone goes through it in great detail
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To be fair, that information is from 2008, so I am unsure how accurate it is now considering the amount of time that has passed.
 
professorm804 said:
Hey all, I just got a letter stating that I was qualified Academically, Physically and Medically and that I was further placed on the national waiting list. According to some of my research, it seems that the NWL is just 200 or so CC's that West Point wants but didn't win their principal nomination. I have a few questions regarding the NWL:

1. What exactly is NWL and how will I know whether I am still competitive?

2. I heard early in the process that me getting an LOE will effect my NWL somehow. Is this true, and if so how will it effect my NWL?

3. Does everyone get placed on the NWL?

Thanks all!
Click to expand...
1. The NWL is a list of all qualified candidates - it means the admissions committee has reviewed your file, found you qualified, and put you in the arena to compete for an appointment. It is not a waiting list for rejected candidates hoping a spot will open, as is done in civilian college admissions. The important part of the letter is that you are 3Q - it means you are competitive.

2. An LOE has no effect. An LOA means that if you also have a nomination, you will get an appointment.

3. Every qualified (3Q) candidate is placed on the NWL, as stated in the letter. The appointment process is not linear - many slates are too close to determine winners early in the process, although admissions gets a good idea as applications are completed and updated.

The nomination and appointment process is dictated by federal law and only admissions knows the exact method by which this statute is executed. All information found on the internet, except the West Point website, is from outside of admissions. Some is accurate and useful, some outdated, and some simply wrong.
 
jl123 said:
1. The NWL is a list of all qualified candidates - it means the admissions committee has reviewed your file, found you qualified, and put you in the arena to compete for an appointment. It is not a waiting list for rejected candidates hoping a spot will open, as is done in civilian college admissions. The important part of the letter is that you are 3Q - it means you are competitive.

2. An LOE has no effect. An LOA means that if you also have a nomination, you will get an appointment.

3. Every qualified (3Q) candidate is placed on the NWL, as stated in the letter. The appointment process is not linear - many slates are too close to determine winners early in the process, although admissions gets a good idea as applications are completed and updated.

The nomination and appointment process is dictated by federal law and only admissions knows the exact method by which this statute is executed. All information found on the internet, except the West Point website, is from outside of admissions. Some is accurate and useful, some outdated, and some simply wrong.
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Thank you so much!
 
jl123 said:
1. The NWL is a list of all qualified candidates - it means the admissions committee has reviewed your file, found you qualified, and put you in the arena to compete for an appointment. It is not a waiting list for rejected candidates hoping a spot will open, as is done in civilian college admissions. The important part of the letter is that you are 3Q - it means you are competitive.

2. An LOE has no effect. An LOA means that if you also have a nomination, you will get an appointment.

3. Every qualified (3Q) candidate is placed on the NWL, as stated in the letter. The appointment process is not linear - many slates are too close to determine winners early in the process, although admissions gets a good idea as applications are completed and updated.

The nomination and appointment process is dictated by federal law and only admissions knows the exact method by which this statute is executed. All information found on the internet, except the West Point website, is from outside of admissions. Some is accurate and useful, some outdated, and some simply wrong.
Click to expand...
jl123 said:
1. The NWL is a list of all qualified candidates - it means the admissions committee has reviewed your file, found you qualified, and put you in the arena to compete for an appointment. It is not a waiting list for rejected candidates hoping a spot will open, as is done in civilian college admissions. The important part of the letter is that you are 3Q - it means you are competitive.

2. An LOE has no effect. An LOA means that if you also have a nomination, you will get an appointment.

3. Every qualified (3Q) candidate is placed on the NWL, as stated in the letter. The appointment process is not linear - many slates are too close to determine winners early in the process, although admissions gets a good idea as applications are completed and updated.

The nomination and appointment process is dictated by federal law and only admissions knows the exact method by which this statute is executed. All information found on the internet, except the West Point website, is from outside of admissions. Some is accurate and useful, some outdated, and some simply wrong.
Click to expand...
This is great information - do you mind if I ask how you know this? There seems to be a lot of contradicting info on this on the forums.
 
Precise101 said:
This is great information - do you mind if I ask how you know this? There seems to be a lot of contradicting info on this on the forums.
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Old Grad, parent of grad, former FFR (haven't been active for a few years), have at various times asked RC's many of the questions asked here, and have read most of what is available on admissions/nominations process, including the federal statute pertaining to USMA appointments. I'm not in admissions and get things wrong once in awhile, usually because a policy or process has changed.

One thing I am confident of is that the 3Q/NWL letter should be a source of encouragement, not disappointment, as would be the case in getting waitlisted at a civilian college.
 
jl123 said:
1. The NWL is a list of all qualified candidates - it means the admissions committee has reviewed your file, found you qualified, and put you in the arena to compete for an appointment. It is not a waiting list for rejected candidates hoping a spot will open, as is done in civilian college admissions. The important part of the letter is that you are 3Q - it means you are competitive.

2. An LOE has no effect. An LOA means that if you also have a nomination, you will get an appointment.

3. Every qualified (3Q) candidate is placed on the NWL, as stated in the letter. The appointment process is not linear - many slates are too close to determine winners early in the process, although admissions gets a good idea as applications are completed and updated.

The nomination and appointment process is dictated by federal law and only admissions knows the exact method by which this statute is executed. All information found on the internet, except the West Point website, is from outside of admissions. Some is accurate and useful, some outdated, and some simply wrong.
Click to expand...
 
should every 3Q candidate get this letter? Can they get an appointment without this letter?
 
Francisz36 said:
should every 3Q candidate get this letter? Can they get an appointment without this letter?
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Yes, they can get an appointment without the 3Q letter, but they do have to be 3Q. The letter is not a requirement for appointment.

I think in recent years there have been different forms of the 3Q letter, but traditionally the RC sends the standard letter once the candidate's file has been reviewed and qualified to keep the candidate informed. In practice this does not always happen. Sometimes an appointment is determined quickly and there is no need to send a 3Q letter - they just process the offer of appointment. Also, there have been instances where the 3Q letter just gets overlooked.
 
jl123 said:
Old Grad, parent of grad, former FFR (haven't been active for a few years), have at various times asked RC's many of the questions asked here, and have read most of what is available on admissions/nominations process, including the federal statute pertaining to USMA appointments. I'm not in admissions and get things wrong once in awhile, usually because a policy or process has changed.

One thing I am confident of is that the 3Q/NWL letter should be a source of encouragement, not disappointment, as would be the case in getting waitlisted at a civilian college.
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I received my 3Q letter exactly 1 week before my portal updated with my appointment, so that last sentence is key! Being placed on the NWL is definitely not a bad thing.
 
txfwindian said:
DD qualified 3Q today and placed on NWL and has PNOM. Based on what I have read here is if a candidate is 3Q+PNOM, the chances of appointment rises significantly. Is that understanding correct?
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If she has a PNom, as long as she meets all the criteria which are all met at this point regarding she is 3Q, she will get an appointment. Congratulations.
 
Hold on...
3Q + Presidential Nomination means that she will be in the pool with all of the other Presidential Nomination. Ultimately there are 100 slots and there will be several hundred Presidential Nominations.
It‘s not a guarantee.
 
SF_DAD said:
Hold on...
3Q + Presidential Nomination means that she will be in the pool with all of the other Presidential Nomination. Ultimately there are 100 slots and there will be several hundred Presidential Nominations.
It‘s not a guarantee.
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I think what he/she means by PNom is Principal nomination not Presidential
 
txfwindian said:
Where does NWL comes into picture when it comes to a candidate with a PNOM? I am guessing it's a standard language in the letter for all 3Q.
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3Q + Principal Nom is the slate winner, or will be when the slate is reconciled. I believe still possible for appointment to be charged elsewhere if there is also a nomination from another source.

Good example of why the NWL is not really a waiting list in the traditional sense - it's a list of qualified candidates competing for appointments that currently exist and need to be filled, not a list of candidates hoping a spot will materialize in the future.

Although at some point late in the game, all appointments have been offered and it does become a traditional waiting list
 
In my DD case, that is the only nom she got from our cong rep. No other nom to USMA or any other SA from any other source.
 
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