Nomination source question

N

NY1234

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I have read that at USMMA you may seek a congressional nomination outside of your district. There are no further details that I have found. Does anyone have experience with this? If one was seeking nominations to 2 academies from their district, would you just not list USMMA on those applications and then on the one out of district only list USNMA? The main reason for considering this is that my kiddo is in a JROTC unit that is two schools combined from two different districts and the congressman from out of district always attends the awards ceremony so is familiar with the unit and program. We don’t know him personally, but it seems a good reason to seek his nomination if possible.
Thanks for any feedback.
 
You can get a nomination to USMMA from any representative in your state. I have known several KP mids who were admitted based on an out-of-district nomination. A word of caution. Some members of Congress do not realize that they can nominate out of their district, so you may have to educate them (gently). Of course, representatives will prefer giving nominations to those in their own district first. Depending on where you live, you may have a very competitive nomination process for USMMA. In other areas, representatives do not fill their slate for USMMA and it is relatively easy to get a nomination if you are qualified. Every district is different regarding their nomination procedures. My 3 kids who applied to multiple academies all received more than one nomination from our representative. Other representatives will give only one nomination and even check with the senator's office to make sure there is no duplication. Most MOC's have a staffer who handles all things service-academy related. I encourage you to have the candidate reach out to him or her with any questions on your representative's procedures. Good luck.
 
To piggyback (I've become part of the problem, I know 😂 ) off @kpmom2013, you can get a nom from a MOC outside of your own district for USMMA since appointments are allocated at the state level vice the district level. When I went through the process, I had to district "shop" a little bit before I found a district willing to entertain the idea. You very likely might have to send their nominations coordinator the applicable statute/regulation that explicitly allows it. I only got an interview and nomination since there really wasn't too many applicants for USMMA, so that district was able to accommodate me after they took care of their constituents first. Part of my interview as well was explaining why I was applying through this district when my home district was 1.5 hours of way. That said, USMMA is always sort of weird from a nominations perspective. Not uncommon to see someone coming to the USMMA forum saying they got a nomination to USMMA without even applying for it and they toy with the idea of putting an application in.
 
If you plan to send them a 22 page document I would include a reference to the specific page you want to draw their attention to. Make it as easy on them as you possibly can.
 
Capt MJ said:
@LastOne

This reference guide may help as an educational tool.
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@LastOne
If you have difficulty finding the section:

Go to the Table of Contents.
Look for United States Merchant Marine Academy.
Go to that section.
Read the first paragraph.

That has the specifics, should you need them, to have a discussion with a nom staffer from another district than your own.

We should see 10 nominees change to 15 nominees in the next edition, as I believe that goes into effect for Class of 2029.
 
KPEngineer said:
If you plan to send them a 22 page document I would include a reference to the specific page you want to draw their attention to. Make it as easy on them as you possibly can.
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Really!! We have to take someone applying to Kings Point and now show them how to use a Table of Contents?
 
My son received an out-of-district nomination, among others. (Although my son's HS was in the district of that MOC)

I would suggest calling whoever in that MOC's district office manages the nomination process and discussing it with them before doing the application and essays.
 
My recommendation is to check first with your MOC's academy coordinator and apply through your US House Rep plus 2 US Senators from your state. You may also contact other Members of Congress from your state; it is up to each Congressperson as to whether they will consider students applying for USMMA from outside their districts. My MOC considers out-of-district students after we consider first consider constituents.
 
Our experience only - we received nominations from both senators and four members of congress (we had more coming, but we shut it down).

Using a spreadsheet to track his progress, he ran his quest like a military campaign. Starting in the fall of his junior year, he reached out to each nominating source with a quarterly letter outlining his progress, activities, grades, and ambition. He plays a sport so the appropriate coaches were also included. Finally, he looped in his area admission coordinator, just for good measure. The letters were addressed by hand and sent via snail mail. He tracked dates, replies, and posted deadlines. Like others have indicated, he got push back from two outside districts but a screenshot from the USMMA website and a link to that page worked well (and even surprised one or two staffers).

By the time he got to the interview, he had name recognition and the interviews just flowed (his words). So yeah, reach out to EVERYONE.

Hope that helps.
 
We live in NY and my son received two out of district noms with 2 other interview offers that he turned down due to driving distance. Definitely be mindful that some will require an in person interview no matter how far away you live. He spent nearly 4 hours in the car to attend one of them (thankfully he got it!). Anyone in NY feel free to pm me if you want our list of those who accepted out of district and those who did not (obviously may change after next election cycle). Also, research which representatives in your state attended service academies or are veterans esp if your DS or DD comes from a military family. Even if they are not normally inclined to consider out of district that may sway them!
 
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I am so annoyed! My son just got an email that his interview tomorrow is canceled because it is the office policy not to nominate outside of their district. Even though they only have a total of 27 kids for ALL academies that they are interviewing!!! And my kid is a member of JROTC that is a combined unit with a school that IS in his district. So disappointing!
 
How frustrating! Has your son provided the office with the regulation that allows for out-of-district nominations? I would have him provide that and politely request an interview in case there are not enough candidates to fill the nomination slots for USMMA. Good luck.
 
kpmom2013 said:
How frustrating! Has your son provided the office with the regulation that allows for out-of-district nominations? I would have him provide that and politely request an interview in case there are not enough candidates to fill the nomination slots for USMMA. Good luck.
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I don't know what he said in his email exchange with them, I'll find out when he gets home, but that is a good idea.
 
LastOne said:
I don't know what he said in his email exchange with them, I'll find out when he gets home, but that is a good idea.
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They very well may know what the regulation is since it's their "policy". Congressional offices can do as they please.
 
NeverSayNever said:
They very well may know what the regulation is since it's their "policy". Congressional offices can do as they please.
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Yes I know they can do as they please. They should post that on their FAQ page or not wait two months after submission and the afternoon before the interview to say something.
 
It’s probably a mistake, but to be honest I doubt it really matters. By senatorial and own representative nominations alone, an applicant competitive for admission should have no problem getting a nomination.

More people (1500, out of a potential 5000+) are nominated than even complete the application, and I understand that most MOCs don’t even use up their own slots. Sometimes they try to convince applicants to other academies to take a USMMA nomination if they don’t get their first choice. Don’t worry, even if this is cancelled.
 
LastOne said:
Yes I know they can do as they please. They should post that on their FAQ page or not wait two months after submission and the afternoon before the interview to say something.
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Definitely poor form on the part of the office with respect to notification.
 
KPilot said:
It’s probably a mistake, but to be honest I doubt it really matters. By senatorial and own representative nominations alone, an applicant competitive for admission should have no problem getting a nomination.

More people (1500, out of a potential 5000+) are nominated than even complete the application, and I understand that most MOCs don’t even use up their own slots. Sometimes they try to convince applicants to other academies to take a USMMA nomination if they don’t get their first choice. Don’t worry, even if this is cancelled.
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My daughter had to explain to a staffer in a neighboring district, accompanied by a link to the USMMA website, that they may, in fact, nominate people outside their district. They changed course, and she has an interview Tuesday with them, but as the prior poster said, I believe our actual congressperson will not have enough applicants for her to need a backup, but more is always better. This is a small part of a staffer's job so have some sympathy.
 
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