After looking at a bunch of threads I quickly learned that each MOC has 5 slots per academy at any given time. However, my congressman has announced in the past few years that many of his nominees received appointment. The past two years have both had over 6+ nominees admitted to West Point. How is this possible if he only has 5 slots at any given time?
Nomination Question
- Thread starter tcas26
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- Sep 27, 2008
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Read the Nominations stickies. Browse the numerous threads on how noms are charged. Re-read all the Nom info on SA Admissions pages.
An MOC might have 5 appointments charged against his or her noms. He or she may have additional nominated candidates whose appointments are NOT charged against his quota. They are charged against a different category; this can happen when they are drawn from NWL. They were still nominated by the MOC. The MOC is always happy to announce those in his/her district who received appointments, regardless of what the final nom-appointment lash-up is. An appointee with both a Presidential nom and an MOC nom might have had the appt charged against the Presidential, but is included on the MOC's list by his/her public relations staff. Yes, they had noms from the MOC. Yes, they got appointments. Yes, they are in the MOC's district. Makes a nice announcement.
On the face of it, the MOC could indeed have "many" of his/her nominees receive appointments. Behind the green curtain, there will be lists of match-ups between appointees and other nom sources.
Hope this helps - it's a complicated process behind the scenes.
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Only the slate winner counts against the MOC's vacancy. All candidates on the NWL from all MOC's compete against each other for the remaining appointments. The first 150 appointments must be merit based - WCS score. The remaining appointments may or may not be based on merit - that is where the academy meets its recruiting goals for recruited athletes, minorities, etc.
If a MOC manages the process to the best interest of the constituency, a recruited athlete will not be given a principal nomination or ranked above other nominees on a ranked list. The recruited athlete is going to be appointed and just needs a nomination. Ranking a recruited athlete at the bottom guarantees at least two appointments from the district as long as at least one other nominee is qualified. This is also the process normally used by USMA with an unranked list of nominees, although there may be exceptions based on the number and qualifications of candidates in a district. To do otherwise becomes a political hot potato for both the MOC and the academy.