Presidential Nomination Notification?

[unkown1961]

How is an applicant notified if he/she received a Presidential nomination? Thanks.

 

[usna1985]

It will show up on his/her portal. Note that Pres noms are NOT competitive. If the candidate is qualified by virtue of his/her parent's service, the candidate will receive a Pres nom. Each year, 700-800 candidates receive Pres noms. Only 100 appointees can be charged to that nom source. That's why it's important for those with Pres noms also to apply to other noms (e.g., MOC) available to them.

 

[unkown1961]

It will show up on his/her portal. Note that Pres noms are NOT competitive. If the candidate is qualified by virtue of his/her parent's service, the candidate will receive a Pres nom. Each year, 700-800 candidates receive Pres noms. Only 100 appointees can be charged to that nom source. That's why it's important for those with Pres noms also to apply to other noms (e.g., MOC) available to them.

Thanks, that makes sense, he is seeing it on his portal. How does a candidate find out if ultimately he/she ends up being one of the 100 charged to the Pres nomination?

 

[usna1985]

You don't, really. If you're appointed and attend USNA, I believe there is some way you can check. But at that point, who cares?

 

[Dr. Strange Love]

Use the process of “Backward Elimination” if it interests you that much ... by mid to late January, at the earliest.

 

[OldRetSWO]

Use the process of “Backward Elimination” if it interests you that much ... by mid to late January, at the earliest.

Umm no.
You often really can't tell because Congressmen and Senators who don't select a Principal Nominee will usually just tell you that you are on their slate. USNA will notify the MOCs that they have made an offer of appointment to a particular candidate but that does not mean that the appointment was charged to that specific MOC.

As a BGO, I am pretty aware of how this all works and I do know that my son had three nominations but finding out which one was actually used for his appointment is not visible to him/us. Later, HE (specifically him) can request to review his admissions folder from the special collections section at Nimitz Library and it will be visible at that point. I don't know how long they hold back the files from viewing but (As I recall) I was told a while ago (during BGO training when I reviewed MY admissions folder) that there was a 10 or 15 yr delay before the files were viewable.

 

[usna1985]

I vaguely recall that when I was at USNA we received some paper document that told us our nom source. That wasn't the purpose of the document and I no longer have any more details about the document -- its purpose, why we received it, etc.. But I knew my nom source from that (since I had multiple noms). Have no idea whether mids get any such info today. If they do, they may not even notice this point b/c, as noted, they don't care. Agree that you can probably find it in Nimitz at some point if you really care . . .

 

[jollyrogerUSNA]

Because my son had a presidential nom, he received his appointment on October 26th, 2019. No LOA or anything prior to that. He eventually received the other MOC noms etc in January but from what I can tell, receiving an October appointment meant he was one of those 100 kids to get slotted for pres nomination. Good luck to your son!

 

[usna1985]

As an aside, if you have an appointment in hand in October (or any time before MOC noms come out in your area) and intend to accept it (or have accepted it), it is common courtesy to let your MOCs know so they can offer their nom slots to someone else. I realize that, in some cases, the MOC may still give you a nom, but at least you've done what you could do.

Note this would not apply if your first choice is another SA. For example, you are appointed to USNA but really want to attend USAFA. Then you obviously need to continue to pursue MOC noms for USAFA, but obviously no need to pursue them for USNA.

That said (and I realize what I say next is controversial to some), IMHO, it's not "cool" to "collect" noms just to do so -- and I have seen this happen. IOW, in my example above, assume the candidate really wants USNA (not USAFA or any other SA). The candidate now has an appointment to the SA he/she wants to attend but wants to be able to tell everyone that he/she had noms/appointments to the other SAs that require noms. For that candidate to pursue noms to USNA (where no longer needed) or to the other SAs that he/she has no interest in attending is potentially taking an opportunity away from someone who needs those noms. In my book, that's not fair.

 

[unkown1961]

As an aside, if you have an appointment in hand in October (or any time before MOC noms come out in your area) and intend to accept it (or have accepted it), it is common courtesy to let your MOCs know so they can offer their nom slots to someone else. I realize that, in some cases, the MOC may still give you a nom, but at least you've done what you could do.

Note this would not apply if your first choice is another SA. For example, you are appointed to USNA but really want to attend USAFA. Then you obviously need to continue to pursue MOC noms for USAFA, but obviously no need to pursue them for USNA.

That said (and I realize what I say next is controversial to some), IMHO, it's not "cool" to "collect" noms just to do so -- and I have seen this happen. IOW, in my example above, assume the candidate really wants USNA (not USAFA or any other SA). The candidate now has an appointment to the SA he/she wants to attend but wants to be able to tell everyone that he/she had noms/appointments to the other SAs that require noms. For that candidate to pursue noms to USNA (where no longer needed) or to the other SAs that he/she has no interest in attending is potentially taking an opportunity away from someone who needs those noms. In my book, that's not fair.

Good point, and I hope my kid is in a position to do just what you suggest.

 

[jollyrogerUSNA]

My kid was not one to "collect" noms to be cool. Despite my son's best efforts, his exciting news fell on deaf ears with many powers that be. It's a busy time of year for MOC's. He declined USAFA's appointment immediately following the USNA appt, changed his nomination preferences to West Point with those that he could. USAFA was still sending him info up until May lol. He was 50/50 on West Point and USNA. He needed to hear from USMA before making his difficult decision between the two academies. USMA appointments didn't start to come out until late January...same time as nominations were released for our region. My son took the time he needed to make the right choice for him and in the end it worked out perfect. As much as we wanted him to hurry up and choose, we respected his right to do what he needed to do for his future. The wait is agony but well worth it in the end. I hope your son (and you) hear good news sooner than later and he can accept his appointment and start to get focused on PLEBE SUMMER! Best of luck!

 

[unkown1961]

My kid was not one to "collect" noms to be cool. Despite my son's best efforts, his exciting news fell on deaf ears with many powers that be. It's a busy time of year for MOC's. He declined USAFA's appointment immediately following the USNA appt, changed his nomination preferences to West Point with those that he could. USAFA was still sending him info up until May lol. He was 50/50 on West Point and USNA. He needed to hear from USMA before making his difficult decision between the two academies. USMA appointments didn't start to come out until late January...same time as nominations were released for our region. My son took the time he needed to make the right choice for him and in the end it worked out perfect. As much as we wanted him to hurry up and choose, we respected his right to do what he needed to do for his future. The wait is agony but well worth it in the end. I hope your son (and you) hear good news sooner than later and he can accept his appointment and start to get focused on PLEBE SUMMER! Best of luck!

Thanks!

 

[usna1985]

My kid was not one to "collect" noms to be cool

Did not mean to suggest he was. Each individual and circumstance are unique. As I noted, some are trying to decide between or among SAs and those folks have every right to pursue additional noms. Also, some MOCs don't pay attention -- and some want to "jump on the bandwagon" so to speak so they can claim credit for the appointment in which they had no involvement. It's a crazy process.

 

[Aina Haina]

Because my son had a presidential nom, he received his appointment on October 26th, 2019. No LOA or anything prior to that. He eventually received the other MOC noms etc in January but from what I can tell, receiving an October appointment meant he was one of those 100 kids to get slotted for pres nomination. Good luck to your son!

It is not yet October 26th, 2019, so I am assuming you mean 2018...That is wonderful though. Really takes the pressure off the rest of senior year.

 

[jollyrogerUSNA]

Because my son had a presidential nom, he received his appointment on October 26th, 2019. No LOA or anything prior to that. He eventually received the other MOC noms etc in January but from what I can tell, receiving an October appointment meant he was one of those 100 kids to get slotted for pres nomination. Good luck to your son!

It is not yet October 26th, 2019, so I am assuming you mean 2018...That is wonderful though. Really takes the pressure off the rest of senior year.

Omg...I am such a flake! Yes! I am talking about last year. It was a really nice surprise, it would have been awesome if he had accepted the appointment the very same day. He tortured us for months, making us wait out the USMA appointment. Even tho my husband is retired Army, we were rooting for him to go Navy. Fast forward to today...he is having the toughest year of his life but loves every second of it. GO NAVY!

 

[jollyrogerUSNA]

Because my son had a presidential nom, he received his appointment on October 26th, 2019. No LOA or anything prior to that. He eventually received the other MOC noms etc in January but from what I can tell, receiving an October appointment meant he was one of those 100 kids to get slotted for pres nomination. Good luck to your son!

Sorry! I meant October 2018 and I have no idea how to edit my original post!

 

[jollyrogerUSNA]

My kid was not one to "collect" noms to be cool

Did not mean to suggest he was. Each individual and circumstance are unique. As I noted, some are trying to decide between or among SAs and those folks have every right to pursue additional noms. Also, some MOCs don't pay attention -- and some want to "jump on the bandwagon" so to speak so they can claim credit for the appointment in which they had no involvement. It's a crazy process.

Completely agree...the process is nuts! The presidential nomination is a wonderful thing for kids of service members, however I do think my son was relieved when nominations were earned by his own merit. He was incredibly grateful for the Pres nom and bc of that specific nomination he was able to receive an early appointment. Yet, learning he was accepted outside of his dad's service was a huge boost for him. Not sure if that all makes sense...but hopefully you get what I'm saying.

 

[shock-n-awe]

My kid was not one to "collect" noms to be cool

Did not mean to suggest he was. Each individual and circumstance are unique. As I noted, some are trying to decide between or among SAs and those folks have every right to pursue additional noms. Also, some MOCs don't pay attention -- and some want to "jump on the bandwagon" so to speak so they can claim credit for the appointment in which they had no involvement. It's a crazy process.

Completely agree...the process is nuts! The presidential nomination is a wonderful thing for kids of service members, however I do think my son was relieved when nominations were earned by his own merit. He was incredibly grateful for the Pres nom and bc of that specific nomination he was able to receive an early appointment. Yet, learning he was accepted outside of his dad's service was a huge boost for him. Not sure if that all makes sense...but hopefully you get what I'm saying.

It’s has always been said on SAF to apply for any and all nominations you are eligible for. Your DS was eligible for the Presidential NOM, and applied for it as he should have. Once he was entered into that pool, he earned one of the 100 actual NOMs under his own merit. For that he should be proud.

It only takes one NOM to gain an appointment. Having said that, candidates should apply and attempt to earn as many as they are eligible for. If that means they have a “collection” at the end of the cycle, so be it, they earned them. The same holds true for appointments. Some kids have appointments to every SA they applied to each cycle. There really is no gaming the system, it’s simply a competition, and all candidates need to work hard to earn all of the NOMs and appointments that they applied for. They should also keep all options available as long as they can for many reasons. That’s why it is a competitive process. The process is fair.
While many MOCs work together to “spread the wealth” (including our state) about awarding NOMs and not duplicating, some don’t. It’s not up to the candidates to try and figure that out. Regarding the early (Octoberish) appointments with a Presidential NOM, they could tell their MOC they withdraw their NOM request before the interviews , but that number of kids is so small it is insignificant to have any real impact on the other candidates imo.

 

[usnabgo08]

I concur with what USNA1985 said below. If the MOC still allows the candidate to compete for their nomination AND it is done with well intent (i.e. to possibly allow USNA to charge the appointment to another presidential nomination candidate), that doesn't seem to be a problem in my book. However, if it is done simply for "bragging rights," well I don't think that is right. Similar situation with an LOA and nomination (if the only condition is the nomination) - there is no requirement to obtain another nomination.

As an aside, if you have an appointment in hand in October (or any time before MOC noms come out in your area) and intend to accept it (or have accepted it), it is common courtesy to let your MOCs know so they can offer their nom slots to someone else. I realize that, in some cases, the MOC may still give you a nom, but at least you've done what you could do.

Note this would not apply if your first choice is another SA. For example, you are appointed to USNA but really want to attend USAFA. Then you obviously need to continue to pursue MOC noms for USAFA, but obviously no need to pursue them for USNA.

That said (and I realize what I say next is controversial to some), IMHO, it's not "cool" to "collect" noms just to do so -- and I have seen this happen. IOW, in my example above, assume the candidate really wants USNA (not USAFA or any other SA). The candidate now has an appointment to the SA he/she wants to attend but wants to be able to tell everyone that he/she had noms/appointments to the other SAs that require noms. For that candidate to pursue noms to USNA (where no longer needed) or to the other SAs that he/she has no interest in attending is potentially taking an opportunity away from someone who needs those noms. In my book, that's not fair.