Nomination granted wrong Service Academy

mrj1966

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Nov 18, 2019
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Hi All! My son recieved his nomination today but it was for his 3rd pick of branches. He has had his heart set on the Air Force Academy and even was chosen to attend Summer Camp. My question is I guess ... where do we go from here?
 
Are there any other nomination sources for which he applied but have not been slated?

Your question will make many on this forum wonder why he listed other academies if AF is the only one he wants to attend. Nevertheless, if that’s the case, then hopefully he applied for AFROTC scholarship and will pursue that option if awarded. If not, then he could still join AFROTC in college without scholarship and apply for scholarship following year and/or reapply to USAFA next year.
 
Are there any other nomination sources for which he applied but have not been slated?

Your question will make many on this forum wonder why he listed other academies if AF is the only one he wants to attend. Nevertheless, if that’s the case, then hopefully he applied for AFROTC scholarship and will pursue that option if awarded. If not, then he could still join AFROTC in college without scholarship and apply for scholarship following year and/or reapply to USAFA next year.

One of our Senators gave my son a nom to an academy he didn’t apply for because he had an LOA and MOC nom already.

They are trying to pass out their noms fairly. It is possible they filled up the OP’s son’s first two choices with competitive applicants.
 
Hi All! My son recieved his nomination today but it was for his 3rd pick of branches. He has had his heart set on the Air Force Academy and even was chosen to attend Summer Camp. My question is I guess ... where do we go from here?

This happens every year, and it’s never fun if the candidate has his or her heart set elsewhere.

This is precisely why there are the hundreds of threads on Plan B, C, etc. If AF is what he wants, and he is not offered an appointment (assume no noms from 2 Senators, 1 MOC, long-shot VP and Supe’s nom) by USAFA, then he puts his head down and with a cheery aye-aye (someone will have to translate Navy slang into AFese) heads off to AFROTC. He excels as a cadet, takes the courses USAFA wants to see, earns an AFROTC nom from his unit, re-applies, impresses MOC/Senator panels with tenacity, and USAFA Admissions with his perseverance.

Or he falls in love with his AFROTC unit and his school and finds his path there.

Or he takes another look at the SA where he received a nom, and decides to be open to a course change if offered an appointment there. He applied to that SA for a reason and listed it on his nom requests, presumably.

It’s all good. These are First World problems.
 
There is plenty of time to open and complete the application to the service academy for which he received a nomination (unless it is USMMA..and he absolutely does not want to go to school there). He might start his application--to that service academy--and learn more about it/do more research. My youngest surprised us by applying to USAFA (like, woke up one day--after sleeping with a flyer for USAFA on his nightstand for three months--and said, "I am going to apply to USAFA.") So, your kid might look around. He might see if the other service academy offers his major. If they offer "aviator" or "pilot" as a career option. This is a golden opportunity--and it may be a wonderful surprise--and he still may get a nom to USAFA from someone else in your state.
 
Keep your options open to everything available. Also don't underestimate the options of enlisting in a branch of service.
 
Hi All! My son recieved his nomination today but it was for his 3rd pick of branches. He has had his heart set on the Air Force Academy and even was chosen to attend Summer Camp. My question is I guess ... where do we go from here?

He did submit that SA as one of his choices, so it isn’t a “wrong“ Nomination. Is he 3Q with his 3rd choice SA that he has a NOM for? It’s still one of his choices, and he was granted a NOM for it, that itself is something to be grateful for. If he seriously considers that SA as an option, he must now hope for an appointment.
 
All options are still open. Make sure he applies for Vice President nomination also. I know people who got into airforce academy much later in Jan. Do talk to Air force academy counselor. He should also apply to Academy he was nominated they are all good colleges. This is not bad news like you are assuming. Yes the wait is longer but probability is higher
 
What I meant is I know people who got into airforce after not even getting a MOC or senator nomination and applying to Airforce Academy also much later. They got a VP nomination as Airforce Aacdemy pushed their case. Talk to the counsellor of the academies. This is not some lucky lottery draw those who are good will get through. True a few borderline cases may miss but majority of the good candidates will make it through.
 
What I meant is I know people who got into airforce after not even getting a MOC or senator nomination and applying to Airforce Academy also much later. They got a VP nomination as Airforce Aacdemy pushed their case. Talk to the counsellor of the academies. This is not some lucky lottery draw those who are good will get through. True a few borderline cases may miss but majority of the good candidates will make it through.

Most appointments will come after January since that is after the MOCs slate submittal deadline for their Nominations. Earlier appointments are usually accompanied by Presidential NOMs. Candidates need to know the deadlines and criteria for all applications. SAF has a wealth of information, as does each SA and candidates MOCs websites. Study them all and engage accordingly!
There are plenty of Highly qualified candidates that do not receive appointments to each SA every year. Not having a Nomination makes it much closer to impossible with the exception of a select few “lucky” ones.
 
Hi All! My son recieved his nomination today but it was for his 3rd pick of branches. He has had his heart set on the Air Force Academy and even was chosen to attend Summer Camp. My question is I guess ... where do we go from here?
My DS also got his 3rd choice, it was for USAFA, now he knows it was the best choice for him.
 
With respect, I don’t believe a “Nomination granted to wrong Service Academy” is correct, if he had it listed as a choice.

Exactly. This will also apply when selecting a career, even if it is last in the list only list something as a choice if you are willing to go through with it
 
This is not some lucky lottery draw those who are good will get through. True a few borderline cases may miss but majority of the good candidates will make it through.

While I admire your optimism and willingness to express you opinion, the hard truth is that if a Candidates is not in the top 10 of a MOC pool for a particular Service Academy , appointment will be an uphill battle. Sure, there are exceptions from highly competitive districts, or when a Service Academy has strong desire to recruit a particular candidate, but for the most part - if you don't have a MOC nomination you should be thinking hard about Plan B, C, etc.

The statement that "the majority of the good candidates will make it through" is simply not true; every year, thousands of outstanding young men and women don't get an offer to attend a Service Academy, and the only reason is that there was someone else who was slightly more outstanding (and perhaps lucky).
 
I had a young man...he met me in the 9th grade: "Sir...I'm XXX and I want to attend the USAFA...can you help?" So I worked with him through his high school years. He did not win an appointment but he did receive an AFROTC Type 1 scholarship. So he went to Embry Riddle in Daytona, FL. Now mind you, he's a "Nordic model type" from the hills of AZ...naive. Daytona was...an experience. Then he calls me: "Sir...I still want to go to the academy!" SO we worked the process.

His congressman remembered him and remembered he came from a dirt-poor family: "He doesn't have to fly back for an interview, I'm proud to nominate him!!!" So he did...to West Point.

Long story short...Chad is now a Lieutenant Colonel select, has a nice family, and is an army aviator. He was a four year letterman at West Point in Crew (never saw it until he got there) and has a superb career going!

Moral of the story....take what you have and make the best of it!!

Chad sure did!!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Sorry this has happened to you son, but honestly it happens all the time. It happened to my son. During nomination process he listed USNA as his first choice and USMA third. He really wanted to serve in the military so it didn’t matter which branch, he only pick USNA because he attended their NASS. When the nominations came back, he received USMA first choice and USNA second. He was a bit apprehensive at the time but still very grateful for the nominations. In the end, he received an appointment to USMA. He is now a very grateful plebe enjoying every moment at the academy of his dreams. If possible have your son visit the academy with nomination to get a feel of the environment.
 
With respect, I don’t believe a “Nomination granted to wrong Service Academy” is correct, if he had it listed as a choice.
DS-USAFA class of 2019 received a nomination to Naval Academy, but didn’t apply. It happens.
 
DS-USAFA class of 2019 received a nomination to Naval Academy, but didn’t apply. It happens.

I know it happens....my post refers to the point that the son marked it as a choice. Therefore it's not "wrong" if awarded a nomination to something listed.
 
This is interesting. Our MOC's state that you cannot receive a nomination to an academy from them if you do not have an open application.
 
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