Question about Congressional District Competitiveness?

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hopeful2023

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I have seen a few questions on here about MOC nominations. I go to boarding school out of state and my older sister just left home for college. My parents are thinking about relocating now that we are all out of the nest and they are considering two different locations.
First, if they move, would it be a disadvantage for me getting an MOC nomination being in a new district that is a different district from where we have lived for 20 years?
And second, if they do move to a new district, does the competitiveness of the district apply to getting a nomination and to getting an appointment? I know you have to have a nomination for an appointment but assuming you could get the nomination in a more competitive district and a less competitive district, does it help to win the appointment if you're in the less competitive district?
Thanks for any insight.
 
In terms of moving, there is no way to know how that may impact you as it is completely dependent on the individual MOC. Some may use it as a factor and others may not.

IF there was a way to know how competitive your district is and IF you know that you are fully qualified then getting a nomination from a less competitive district is an easier path to appointment. Those are two big IFs and it is almost impossible to find that information. It only takes one other person applying this year to make any district competitive.

Each MOC has on average one slot each year so there can be only one appointment charged to that MOC. If you do not win the slate from your nomination, you go to the National Pool and have a second chance to compete. Your home district has no impact on how you compete against everyone else Nationally. Your WCS will be the same regardless of where your nomination came from.
 
All other things being equal, there is no question, if you have a choice of districts to seek a nomination, go with the less competitive. But you need to follow the rules. And further, you never know, there might be only three other candidates in the less competitive district, but one of them might just happen to be the Superstar candidate you were hoping to avoid.
 
Work on the things you can control, your WCS.
 
^^ I agree, families often relocate for valid reasons relating to their employment, so it makes no difference how long you lived somewhere.

However, moving for the sole purpose of 'gaming' the NOM system with hopes you now live in a less competitive district could back-fire since you have no idea who/how many might apply this year and is certainly not recommended.
 
hopeful2023 said:
I have seen a few questions on here about MOC nominations. I go to boarding school out of state and my older sister just left home for college. My parents are thinking about relocating now that we are all out of the nest and they are considering two different locations.
First, if they move, would it be a disadvantage for me getting an MOC nomination being in a new district that is a different district from where we have lived for 20 years?
And second, if they do move to a new district, does the competitiveness of the district apply to getting a nomination and to getting an appointment? I know you have to have a nomination for an appointment but assuming you could get the nomination in a more competitive district and a less competitive district, does it help to win the appointment if you're in the less competitive district?
Thanks for any insight.
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You are in a unique position. It is likely that you can apply for a nomination in either your home of record or the district of your boarding school if that MOC will accept your application - the boarding school, staff, and faculty are all constituents and MOCs are sensitive to this. Some will not allow it and this is usually a sign that the district expects more qualified candidates than nominations.

Logistics is usually the determining factor of where you want to apply. Every district has its own policies and procedures. Here are a few considerations:
  • Some MOC's schedule interviews during school breaks and some schedule them on weekends in the middle of the semester.
  • Some will be flexible with alternative dates and some will require one specific day for all candidates to interview.
  • Some will let you do a phone interview if you are at boarding school and some will require you to be there in person, even if it means flying across the country and back for a 20 minute interview.
Competitiveness of the district can come into play in your decision, but I would strongly advise against this consideration unless you are certain of the differences. Competitiveness changes each year.

If applying in the boarding school district is an option you want to consider, you should read the MOCs' websites for home and school districts and then contact them to learn if you can apply, interview schedules, etc. I suggest doing this by email so you have something in writing. You don't want your home district agreeing to special interview arrangements on the phone and then forgetting about it. And you definitely don't want the boarding school district agreeing to take your application and then reneging. If you then want to apply in the boarding school district, contact that RC to let them know your plans to make sure there are no issues with USMA and you are assigned to the correct RC and FFR.
 
jl123 said:
You are in a unique position. It is likely that you can apply for a nomination in either your home of record or the district of your boarding school if that MOC will accept your application
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Unless there is some extenuating circumstance this is almost certainly not true. See the FAQs sticky on the Nomination forum. This is taken from that sticky...
Under the law, MOCs may only nominate individuals who are legal residents of their state/district. For most candidates, your state/district of residence is where your parents own/rent property, vote, pay taxes, register their car, etc. Because you are a dependent, your residency is based on that of your parents.
If your parents are divorced or otherwise live and vote in separate districts or states AND they share legal custody of you, you are eligible to apply to the MOCs from either state/district. It doesn’t matter where you live provided you meet the above criteria. So, if you live in MD with your mother but your father, living in TX shares legal custody of you, you can apply to the MOCs in MD or TX. You can choose. However, you may NOT apply to BOTH.
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You would have to establish residency and demonstrate that you are a constitute in your new district. This can be done by buying/renting property, registering to vote, registering a vehicle. If you are just away at college, you really cannot use that address.
 
The move and location will be my parents decision. I don't think it can be where I go to school because I am not a resident here and I think it has to be where I'm a legal resident with my parents. The reason I ask about it though is that one location my parents are considering is where we have a lake cabin and it is in (what I believe to be) a less competitive district but the other location is in Florida and I have no idea about the competitiveness. I was really trying to understand if it makes a difference for just the nomination or if it also impacts the potential of the getting the appointment.
 
As mentioned above, the WCS has nothing to do with where you live.

The FAQ also mentioned above discusses residency and for the vast majority of h.s. students, it is based on what your parents put on their federal tax return as their permanent residence.
 
kinnem said:
Unless there is some extenuating circumstance this is almost certainly not true. See the FAQs sticky on the Nomination forum. This is taken from that sticky...
Under the law, MOCs may only nominate individuals who are legal residents of their state/district. For most candidates, your state/district of residence is where your parents own/rent property, vote, pay taxes, register their car, etc. Because you are a dependent, your residency is based on that of your parents.
If your parents are divorced or otherwise live and vote in separate districts or states AND they share legal custody of you, you are eligible to apply to the MOCs from either state/district. It doesn’t matter where you live provided you meet the above criteria. So, if you live in MD with your mother but your father, living in TX shares legal custody of you, you can apply to the MOCs in MD or TX. You can choose. However, you may NOT apply to BOTH.
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I think that being at boarding school qualifies as an extenuating circumstance.
  • I know one boarding school candidate that applied to USMA/USNA. USMA assigned RC for home district, but USNA assigned Regional Admissions Counselor for the boarding school district. When told he planned to submit the nomination packet through home district, USNA assigned a different admissions counselor but said he could have applied at boarding school location if MOC allowed.
  • Candidate called MOC in boarding school district and was told he could apply since he lived at the boarding school and home district was across the country. Decided to apply in home district anyway.
  • Candidate flew back to home district on a Friday, interviewed on Saturday, and then flew back to school on Sunday. No telephone interview or alternate dates were allowed since the selection committee was meeting only on that Saturday.
 
With respect to residency requirements, there is no law that stipulates that a nominee must be a legal resident of the district. Each district establishes its own requirements. For obvious reasons most districts require candidates to reside in the district, but Title 10 USCC does not address or require it. That is why exceptions are made every year.

From Congressional Research Service report April 13, 2017

Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management

The nomination authorities, number of appointments, and criteria establishing the qualifications
of potential service academy appointees are set by statute, federal regulations, and policies
established by each academy. No laws or regulations govern congressional nomination processes,
as long as nominations are submitted by deadlines established by the academies and comply with
chamber ethics rules.
 
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