Nomination goof up???

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2009

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A few days ago, my son received a call from our congressman, and a subsequent letter nominating him. Today (Sunday) one of the NJ US Senators called the house to give him a sentate nomination. My husband told him that he already recieved a nomination and to give it to another deserving young man or woman. Does this hurt my son's chances??? Could turning down a nomination insult the Senator or hurt his chances for an appointment? Thanks for any info.
 
I would advise you to take all the noms you can get. You only need one, and the Academy recognizes that some states do not do duplicates.

But, having more nom sources allows the Academy more flexibility in getting your candidate an appointment. For eg., if the Congressman's slate (assuming it is unranked) has several very qualified candidates, the Academy may appoint one to that MOC and another one that has multiple noms can be charged to someone else.

If your son received a principle nomination from that MOC, he will be appointed from that slate, while the others on the slate will go to the national pool. One of these with an additional nomination may have an easier time getting appointed...............
 
Then, what should he do now? Call the congressman or senator back??? The senator called from home. It was my husband that told him thanks but no thanks. We come from one of the most competative states and districts in the country. I am afraid he really screwed up.
 
If your son has a Letter of Assurance, then he is fine, the Representative nomination will fulfill the LOA's nomination requirement.

If he doesn't have a LOA, then the more nominations the better. Turning a nomination down was not in his best interest.

I am afraid he really screwed up.
Click to expand...

Possibly true. You can wait until April 15th and find out, or take some pro-active steps to contact the Senator to get the nomination back.
 
Thanks for the reply. My son is a civil prep scholar sponsored by the Academy. The senator was under the impression that this was the same as having a letter of assurance. Is it???
 
Generally the saying is with civil prep "the appointment is yours to lose." He will likely be ok, but you really should call the senator in the morning and explain the situation.
 
Thanks. I planned on calling the office. I posted this on another thread (NJ) and a responder said it was probably too late for the slate to have been changed anyway. I am just hoping that is true, or that I am worrying for no reason. Is the civil prep scholar the same as a LOA?
 
I'm not so sure your dear hubby has messed up yet. When you say a "civil prep scholar" I assume you mean your son was a candidate last year and has been (or is still) in the civil prep school and is hoping for an appointment to the Class of 2013 (as opposed to going to prep next year for Class of 2014). But, which academy?

For example, with USNA Foundation prep, they say the civil prep scholars have to "seek" a nomination from all sources available to them, but it isn't absolutely imperative they actually receive one. At least that is what they said to us. That said, as you hear time and again, the appointment is "yours to lose" and there are a few each year who, for one reason or another, do not get appointed -- but not because they didn't get a nomination (again, for USNA). So, it (civil prep) is not an LOA, which is a letter of assurance but still needs a nomination. However, it is pretty solid, maybe even better, and even more so if you have a nomination. Having two or more isn't going to change things, I don't think.

Now, I'm giving you only our experience, and it may be different for AOG (West Point) or Falcon Foundation (USAFA) civil prep scholars. But, one other phone call might be to the civil prep folks to see just what your son needs. If they say your son has one, and that's all he needs, then you can quit giving your hubby that ol' "you might be in trouble, Buster!" look! :biggrin:
 
Well, I called the senator's office, and they said that they would let me know what he decided. They got back to me yesterday, after speaking to my son, who believes that he only needed one nom, and they gave it to someone with no nominations. The senator believes my son and husband did a "noble" thing, and told us that if he had any problems or concerns to let him know. I believe that this is something that the academy would find admirable, and I was informed that sponsored "prepsters" are highly desired candidates for the academys, and although not guaranteed, they seem to "find" an nom for all of those that have everything else in place, which he does. He was on the national waiting list last year with one nomination, and offered a sponsorship to go to a civil prep program because of the competition in our district. Winning a nomination did not guarantee an appointment. This year, with a higher SAT score, rank at the Jr. Military College, church service there, two more years of two sports, and A's and B's in college courses modeled after the academy's, I believe he will receive an appointment with one nomination. I hope that the person received the nomination ends up with the same opportunity that my son has had, and of course, keeping our fingers crossed that an appointment is on its way.
 
While there are no guarantees, in my experience I have seen those with prep and with a nom receive an appointment. The only exception being those that did poorly in their respective prep program. Typically it is better to have more than one nom (because it gives the SA more options) but a prep is in a little different spot than the first time applicant. The prep candidate does need to put forth all effort to obtain a nom, which your son did. And, your son has a nom so in my experience he's probably okay. Recognize that the prep appointments frequently go out later than others. Don't read anything into it taking time ... you will see others getting appointments from now through the mass March mailing but I understand prep typically is after that ... so be patient ... Again, you only need one nom. The only real benefit to more than one nom is the options that it gives the SA. The saying goes that as a prep the appointment is yours to lose. If he has completed his obligation, passed the prep program, you say his SATs are higher etc... and he has his nom, I don't see a problem for him.
 
A friend of my daughters is at USAFA prep, she did receive a nomination, but she told me that she won't hear about acceptance to USAFA until the end of the prep school year.
 
Thanks for the information. I will now know not to worry too much if he does not get an appointment right away.
 
My son recieved a nomination from the other senator!!! He was thrilled, and not at all upset about giving up the first nomination. Thanks everyone.

J Collins and 2011's mom: my son knows of prepsters that have received appointments already, not sure which academy, though.
 
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