Nomination ~ Switch order of preference after receiving "1" Nom?

proudparent34

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My DS has applied to both USNA and West Point. USNA is his (its not even close) preferred school of choice. My question is...after receiving Nomination for USNA should he reorder his service academy preference order for upcoming Senator interview? Would it be better to have "2" Noms for USNA or to receive "1" Nom for each school?

Thanks in advance.
 
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There's no right answer. It really depends on whether he wants to go to WP and whether MOCs in your area will "double nominate" (i.e., more than one will give a nom to the same SA. If he really, really wants USNA, it's better to have 2 noms b/c that provides 2 slates for him to win. However, if he wants a shot at WP, he needs at least one nom.
 
If he has no real desire to attend WP, I would never put that as #1 choice. Gaming the NOM process has back-fired in the past for some.
 
If he has no real desire to attend WP, I would never put that as #1 choice. Gaming the NOM process has back-fired in the past for some.
My DS would be more than thrilled to attend USMA but without a doubt USNA is his 1st choice.
 
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Gaming the system usually does not end well. For most high school candidates, they are competing on each nomination slate. If DS has a congressional nomination, he will compete against the other individuals that where nominated. If he has a second nomination, he gets to compete on a second slate. There are other considerations for the chance of appointment, but most high school candidates will not come of the NWL unless something weird happens.
 
Gaming the system usually does not end well. For most high school candidates, they are competing on each nomination slate. If DS has a congressional nomination, he will compete against the other individuals that where nominated. If he has a second nomination, he gets to compete on a second slate. There are other considerations for the chance of appointment, but most high school candidates will not come of the NWL unless something weird happens.
Was never trying to "game the system" was asking an honest question. I gather what I am learning it would be best to stick with USNA as #1 and USMA as #2.
 
Let me rephrase my response to maybe provide some add'l insight. Which is more important to your DS -- having a chance to attend WP or a better chance to attend USNA? If he'd truly be thrilled with WP, then he may want to change his preference order.

Another alternative is this: Have your DS tell the second MOC exactly what you've told us. Namely, that his first choice is USNA but he'd be thrilled with a nom to USMA. My guess if he does that is that he's more likely to get a nom to USMA b/c, as a general rule in most (not all) parts of the country, it's slightly harder to get a USNA nom than one to USMA. But one never knows.
 
Interested in your statement about noms to USNA being somewhat harder to obtain. Can you explain why that is? Or could you compare USAFA, USMA, USMMA, to USNA in order of hardest to obtain?
Truly interested in your thoughts or experiences
 
Gaming the system usually does not end well. For most high school candidates, they are competing on each nomination slate. If DS has a congressional nomination, he will compete against the other individuals that where nominated. If he has a second nomination, he gets to compete on a second slate. There are other considerations for the chance of appointment, but most high school candidates will not come of the NWL unless something weird happens.
I'm sorry what is NWL?
 
If he has no real desire to attend WP, I would never put that as #1 choice. Gaming the NOM process has back-fired in the past for some.
My DS would be more than thrilled to attend USMA but without a doubt USNA is his 1st choice.
My son had the same situation, but had a nomination in hand for USMA, USNA and USAFA from congressman, and another for USMA with one senator, and although USMA was his first choice, he asked and was allowed to switch his first choice with the second senator to USNA, figuring he would increase his odds there since he already had two at USMA (actually he has three at USMA, because the first senator had two slots open and he got two from her). There is nothing wrong with putting yourself in the best position to get a spot somewhere.

In your son's case for sure I would rather open the doors for an appointment at two accademies, rather that adding one slot at USNA, and I am not saying that because I'm a West Point dad. If your son gets a nom for both academies, but does not win that slot, he will still be able to compete for an appointment off the NWL. If he gets noms to both schools he competes for the slot at each, as well as the NWL at each, so effectively four pools. And while some may challenge this, regardless of where, if your son gets an appointment to any academy and attends, he will not likely ever regret not going to the other academy. Indeed, he will almost certainly count his blessings that he landed where he landed. Kids at that age, moreover, have a lot to experience, and their views on a lot of things will change. My son thought for sure he wanted to branch aviation when he started at WP, for example, but there are four things now which are higher on his list. Just the advantage of perspective.
 
I'm sorry what is NWL?

Stands for "National Waiting List", however, it shouldn't be confused with the 'waiting list' that USNA has in some years. NWL is sometimes referred to as the "National Pool", which is probably a better term.
 
Quick overview of the process. Federal law dictates the process of appointments and shows the available sources for appointment. Primary slates are congressional (approximately 650, service connected (100) and presidential (100). After these slates are resolved, the next 150 candidates by WCS score are offered an appointment; National Waiting List or National Pool; then the class is filled with Additional Appointees that are selected from the NWL without regard for order of merit. These are typically prep school candidates, athletes and diversity candidates.

The biggest challenge for high school candidates coming off the NWL is that college re-applicants are scored differently. An additional successful semester of college adds a pretty good boost to your WCS and that is just not available to high school candidates.
 
Interested in your statement about noms to USNA being somewhat harder to obtain. Can you explain why that is? Or could you compare USAFA, USMA, USMMA, to USNA in order of hardest to obtain?

I suspect this is largely regional ...Here in the Midwest, I suspect there are more applicants for noms to USAFA and West Point than USNA . Navy is certainly more visible in the Mid Atlantic and other areas with strong Navy presence.
 
I suspect this is largely regional ...Here in the Midwest, I suspect there are more applicants for noms to USAFA and West Point than USNA . Navy is certainly more visible in the Mid Atlantic and other areas with strong Navy presence.

I agree. Most SA applicants that I know seem to have little interest in USNA. I’m from the Midwest as well.
 
Interested in your statement about noms to USNA being somewhat harder to obtain. Can you explain why that is? Or could you compare USAFA, USMA, USMMA, to USNA in order of hardest to obtain?

My bad.:oops: I should have caveated my statement. In certain parts of the country, obtaining a nom to one SA is much harder than obtaining a nom to a different SA. You should be able to figure that out -- or ask your BGO/USMA equivalent. In such a case, the MOC is looking for ways to nominate candidates to the "less desirable" (in that area) SA and still make those candidates happy. Thus, if it's a very competitive USNA area and a candidate says he/she would be happy with a nom to USMA -- whereas another candidate says USNA only -- guess who's more likely to get the USNA nom. As noted, if USMA is still a very desirable choice or if USMA is hyper-competitive in your area, then not as much of an issue.

Another factor is whether it's a very competitive area such that the MOC will only nominate one candidate to one SA. In many parts of the country, candidates will be nominated to multiple SAs. In this case, ranking isn't as big an issue.

A final factor is if your MOC has two slots this year for either SA. The MOC may or may not tell candidates this. If the MOC has two slots open for either SA (thus can nominate 20 people), getting a nom to that SA will likely be easier than to the other.

Bottom line is that the question is dependent both on the candidate's desires and the area where the candidate lives.
 
If he truly is still considering USMA, then obviously he will need a NOM to be in the running for an appointment. Where a NOM gets issued may be different from where the SA eventually charges it, so it isn't something the OP needs to consider when deciding what to do.
 
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