Nomination Question

[academy2026]

Let's say multiple candidates (two or more) applying from the same competitive congressional district (such as VA-11) have received LOAs from the (Naval) Academy and are awaiting nominations from their congressional representative (Rep. Connolly), as they were somehow denied nominations from the Senators or all just happened to apply to this single source.

If the representative used the competitive method (where ten nominees are selected in no particular order) for nominating, would the MOC's office be able to nominate all candidates with LOAs in their district? OR would they have to choose, at most, one qualified LOA candidate as one of the ten they are allowed to issue nominations to and leave the others with LOAs up to the National Waiting List?

I have heard different answers from different places. Some say the MOC can nominate multiple LOA candidates but only be charged for one slot and leave the other slots to be charged to some other category or less competitive MOC (Wyoming/North Dakota, for example). Others say the MOC can only nominate a single LOA candidate. What is the true answer?

 

[dddad]

The MOC may nominate as many LOA holding candidates as s/he wants - up to 10 per slate. USNA will then determine where these LOA related appointments will be charged. They will not be charged to some MOC in another "less competitive" state or district.

 

[academy2026]

The MOC may nominate as many LOA holding candidates as s/he wants - up to 10 per slate. USNA will then determine where these LOA related appointments will be charged. They will not be charged to some MOC in another "less competitive" state or district.

Interesting. Thank you for that.

 

[jl123]

Nominations and appointments are completely separate processes. An LOA is issued exclusively by admissions and has no direct bearing on the nomination process which is administered by the MOC's office. The MOC may choose to completely ignore the LOA as a factor in nominations, or may use that information in various ways, such as:

• Make sure to nominate all LOA holders in order to maximize appointments from the district
• Use a ranked slate and put LOA holders at the bottom of the ranking, increasing the chances that a non-LOA holder will be appointed as well as the LOA holders

There is much confusion about charged slots. There are several categories of appointment, each with it's own rules, and the congressional category is only one of these. If admissions issues LOA's to multiple candidates in a district, they already know they will have to charge some of those to another category. Almost certainly it will not be another congressional district or Senator - a politician is unlikely to agree to lose that slot for the next four years to help a candidate from outside the district, at the expense of future candidates within the district. A nomination maybe, but I doubt a charged appointment.

 

[academy2026]

Nominations and appointments are completely separate processes. An LOA is issued exclusively by admissions and has no direct bearing on the nomination process which is administered by the MOC's office. The MOC may choose to completely ignore the LOA as a factor in nominations, or may use that information in various ways, such as:

• Make sure to nominate all LOA holders in order to maximize appointments from the district
• Use a ranked slate and put LOA holders at the bottom of the ranking, increasing the chances that a non-LOA holder will be appointed as well as the LOA holders

There is much confusion about charged slots. There are several categories of appointment, each with it's own rules, and the congressional category is only one of these. If admissions issues LOA's to multiple candidates in a district, they already know they will have to charge some of those to another category. Almost certainly it will not be another congressional district or Senator - a politician is unlikely to agree to lose that slot for the next four years to help a candidate from outside the district, at the expense of future candidates within the district. A nomination maybe, but I doubt a charged appointment.

Thank you for your response. Would you mind sharing what the categories of appointment are? I think I am unfamiliar with them.

 

[kinnem]

Thank you for your response. Would you mind sharing what the categories of appointment are? I think I am unfamiliar with them.

Suggest you read the nominations FAQ earlier in the Nominations forum. Additionally appointments of the top 150 in the applicant OML list will receive appointments by law. The academy can then fill out the rest of the class as it sees fit.

 

[jrw0531]

Let's say multiple candidates (two or more) applying from the same competitive congressional district (such as VA-11) have received LOAs from the (Naval) Academy and are awaiting nominations from their congressional representative (Rep. Connolly), as they were somehow denied nominations from the Senators or all just happened to apply to this single source.

If the representative used the competitive method (where ten nominees are selected in no particular order) for nominating, would the MOC's office be able to nominate all candidates with LOAs in their district? OR would they have to choose, at most, one qualified LOA candidate as one of the ten they are allowed to issue nominations to and leave the others with LOAs up to the National Waiting List?

I have heard different answers from different places. Some say the MOC can nominate multiple LOA candidates but only be charged for one slot and leave the other slots to be charged to some other category or less competitive MOC (Wyoming/North Dakota, for example). Others say the MOC can only nominate a single LOA candidate. What is the true answer?

I am in the exact same situation. Candidate from same MOC district has LOA while others with nom do not. How does this influence the non-LOA candidate's changes?

 

[jl123]

Thank you for your response. Would you mind sharing what the categories of appointment are? I think I am unfamiliar with them.

US Code 10 documents all of the regulations for each service academy. I have read the section pertaining to USMA in its entirety, but have not read the USNA section. They are all similar, but have some differences. The following are the categories for USMA; USNA will be the same or very similar:

• Congressional Appointee - VP, District MOC, Senator. The qualified winner of each slate is offered appointment. Those not appointed may use this nomination to compete in other categories for which they qualify.
• Qualified Alternate - From a pool of qualified nominees from the District MOC and Senators (not VP nominees), 150 are offered appointments in Order of Merit.
• Additional Appointee - Qualified nominees will be offered appointments to fill the remaining slots in the class. Selection may be made out of Order of Merit. For USMA these account for 200 - 400 appointments. Possibly fewer for USNA since I believe USNA class size is slightly smaller.
• Presidential Appointee - For children of career military personnel. The relevance to you is that if someone on your slate also has a Presidential nomination, their appointment is likely to be charged in this category.

For simplicity I have only included categories for which most candidates qualify. There are others such as Superintendent, Medal of Honor, Children of Disabled Vets, etc., but most candidates don't need to worry about these.

 

[jl123]

I am in the exact same situation. Candidate from same MOC district has LOA while others with nom do not. How does this influence the non-LOA candidate's changes?

Someone more familiar with USNA admissions will have to comment specifically to USNA policy.

For USMA, as long as the MOC submits an unranked slate admissions will rank the nominees in order of WCS score and offer appointment to the qualified candidate with the highest WCS score. If the LOA holder is not the winner, the appointment will be charged to another category. I assume USNA would not pass over a more qualified candidate because of lack of LOA.

 

[time2]

I have heard different answers from different places.

One thing you will find when applying to any SA is that all sorts of friends/neighbors/relatives or even your postal carrier will offer well intentioned advice even if they have NO idea what they are talking about. There isn't any value in speculating on hypothetical situations regarding the NOM and/or application process. You generally won't know who else is applying or what their resume looks like. Some applicant may have an amazing resume but then can't pass DoDMERB or the CFA, other candidates would have no knowledge of that. Or someone gets offered an appointment and decides to attend a civilian college. MOC NOM's are only one source of NOM's and where the NOM is issued may not be where the SA eventually charges it.

SA's recommend you apply for ALL NOM's for which your are eligible. MOC can nominate up to 10 individuals for each opening they have. Each MOC sets their own criteria on how they issue NOM's and what they did in a prior year may not be what they do this year. It is largely a waste of time if someone is attempting to determine their 'chances' for getting a MOC NOM by trying to figure out all of the possible scenarios.

 

[A1Janitor]

Answered your own question.