I think you are confusing the boards that posters are talking about. It is not too late for admissions since that board will not close until Feb next yr.
It is the MOC's board that you need to be concerned about. I.E., your Congressman, and two senators, unless like usna1985 stated your DS can get a presidential or ROTC nom. I know for when our DS applied his MOCs closed out their submission date 9/30. IOTW, if the application for the nom was not postmarked by 9/30 AND COMPLETE by that date, they would not even consider them for a nomination.
~~~~ Typically, MOCs will ask for recs, essays and transcripts, including official SAT/ACT scores. SAT/ACTs are the tricky things because there is a lag time for them to send to specific organizations. DS's MOC's even asked for a passport picture to be included in the application.
No nomination = no appointment. Thus, if your child is not a qualified military dependent, or in JROTC, and can't be boarded by your MOCs because they have closed their applications, than for a typical candidate there is only one nom left. Vice Presidential. Hence, why we are saying you need to get on the ball as in yesterday to get those MOCs noms.