Question

[Braves fan]

I have been in contact with the Academy coordinator for my district. I’m debating on asking her how many spots are available at the academy this year. I’m just wondering if this would come off as rude. Are they allowed to provide that information?

 

[AN21]

Some might provide, some might not. (Someone with more knowledge, feel free to correct if inaccurate.) All that matters is that you put your best effort into your package and ace your interviews. All you need is one nomination to get your name on the slate.

 

[txfwindian]

Not sure if this can be answered in black/white. There are cases where more than 1 candidate is appointed to an SA from a district even if only 1 slot is available for that year. Think of VP noms, Senator noms, President noms, ROTC noms that could come into play. DD and I attended USNA alumni/parent meeting last weekend and was told that our metro area has the largest number of USNA appointees this year.

 

[Capt MJ]

Some might provide, some might not. (Someone with more knowledge, feel free to correct if inaccurate.) All that matters is that you put your best effort into your package and ace your interviews. All you need is one nomination to get your name on the slate.

Go re-read the Nominations sticky at the top of the Nominations forum.

The elected official can have 5 cadets or mids per SA charged (this is a key word) to them at any one time. This generally means 1-2 spaces open up a year, depending on how many just graduated. The elected official can submit a slate (list) of up to 10 names for each chargeable slot. Here is a critical concept to grasp: the SA may choose to take other fully qualified applicants off that slate and charge their appointment to a different authority they hold. This is in addition to the 1-2 appointments they will actually charge to the elected official. Others on the slate may be eligible for the other noms and have an appointment charged to those.

For a deep dive into noms:
https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20191218_RL33213_f3a4006314d3a115f3b527e698866af2075056c5.pdf

My two cents: Don’t ask. There is nothing you can do about it. What you can do is keep plugging along on the process and putting forth your best effort.

 

[MamaDragon2024]

My two cents: Don’t ask. There is nothing you can do about it. What you can do is keep plugging along on the process and putting forth your best effort.

I agree with @Capt MJ .

My DS when applying for noms for USAFA applied to every source available to him. He was asked to come in to interview for both Senators and District Representative. When he went to the first (District Rep) they had prepared the interview panel comprised of veterans and others who were active duty....it was all a whole new experience in and of itself. He was told, at some point during his interview, that our District Rep had no slots available due to something about having allocated all the slots the prior year or something....It was suprising to all of us(after the fact) that they would still put together the panel and conduct interviews even without the slots. He interviewed well enough that he was given a letter of recommendation in lieu of the nomination. We dont know if that letter had any weight but he was able to present the letter at the Senator interviews.

Moral:
1. It was an amazing experience for him, and he felt more confident in front of a panel for the next 2 rounds.

2. The District Reps and the senators do talk to one another...at least in our state.

3. Focus on your journey and your goal...try not to worry too much about things out of your control.

 

[shiner]

I agree with the above comments but would add that the answer to the question you seek is less relevant than you think. The nomination is a requirement, but there is flexibility in where this nomination is charged to behind the scenes. The key takeaway for EVERY applicant is that IF THE SCHOOL WANTS THE CANDIDATE...... they will FIND a path to nominating the student. As a USAFA ALO, I have literally seen 5 students from the same high school accept USAFA appointments in the same admissions cycle. The math only works if USAFA can assign the nomination to alternative nominating authorities (behind the scenes and out of visibility to the candidate).

I sit on a MOC board for a very competitive area. In the most recent admissions cycle, the MOC had 1 official USNA nomination slot but netted more than 6 students to USNA this cycle. Again, with only 1 official slot, you can see that there are other forces in play here that make the official number less important in the big scheme of things. Everyone here at SAF is immersed in all things SA related and it is easy to assume that the same level of enthusiasm is present all across the US. Sadly, this is not the case. Some districts have zero applicants, some MOC refuse to nominate to SA due to moral objections, some districts have zero qualified applicants, and a host of other factors that result in slots that would go unused if not allocated to other deserving candidates in more competitive districts.

The nomination requirement is a hurdle in the admissions process, but it is less of a hurdle than you think. The key is to make the list of 10 names for the MOC or the Senator. Once the candidate has secured a nomination, the actual administrative slot this is tagged to is irrelevant because the technical requirement has been met. The offer of appointment to the MOC slate winner is only one round of competition in the bigger talent show. It is not the final round of competition. The admissions process is not a single elimination tournament but rather one with multiple consolation rounds and you are never truly out of the game until the start of INDOC/BCT.

 

[time2]

NOM's can come from a variety of sources, your MOC isn't the only place issuing NOM's. Where USNA eventually charges a NOM may be something you will never know. Not sure how knowing the number of openings has any bearing on what you do during the admissions process. There are any number of 'what if' questions you might want to ask, but the reality is even if you know the answer, you aren't going to be able to do anything to impact that and won't change anything on your application.