Struggling To Pick Academy Preference for Nomination

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sonar

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Hello, I am currently having a whole lot of trouble deciding whether to put USNA or USMA as #1 for my congressional nomination application. I value both nearly the same and would love to attend either, but, I would choose USNA over USMA given appointments to both. The reason however I am considering putting USMA first is because I believe it is less competitive in my district than USNA and would love to attend USMA nearly as much as USNA. Unfortunately I live in one of the most competitive districts (northern virginia). I put USNA #1 for both my senatorial nomination applications, and luckily, I have received a presidential nomination to both USNA and USMA. Thanks for any input
 
Don’t over complicate it. I am of the school of ranking them consistently in your true preference order, giving the entire process your best effort, and seeing how it all works out.

Be sure you have reverse-engineered the process and focused on the 5+ years of obligated service after the SA. The SA is a way station, not the goal. You have to know you want to potentially serve in a couple of officer specialties in the Navy or Marine Corps more than you do the officer specialties that attract you in the Army. Then you assess culture and other aspects, especially the part about the Army being land-based and the Navy sea-based. Once you have worked out your thinking on all that, focus your efforts.

Look ahead a year, in case you find yourself at a NROTC unit executing your alternate plan and reapplying to USNA. You’ll be applying to the same nom sources, so consistency will be the key, assuming your goal is the same. You can also apply for the NROTC unit nom.

Your oral interview responses will also come across as more authentic if you are asked about your ranking.
 
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What service would you rather be in? Look at the jobs after graduation, not the academy. I am partial to USMA, obviously, but the services have drastically different missions and you should do a deep dive into both.
 
Sonar. With your presidential nom, you might consider a last minute application to USAFA--from the day you start you have like 3 months to complete it--and you certainly have everything you need assembled. I don't know your stats but if you are in NoVA, there is less competition for USAFA than USMA or USNA--and you cannot go wrong with any of the big three.
 
I understand your situation. I have known two students who were in the same type of district and with the same dilemma as you. They both wanted to go to USNA as their first choice, but they also were interested in a second academy. Their highest priority was to serve their country, and they could have been happy working in either of the two services they were considering. A USNA congressional nomination was a much more difficult nomination to receive in their districts due to the high number of applications submitted versus the other academies.

In the end, one student decided he really wanted to go to USNA more, so he ranked USNA first for all his nom applications. In his case, there were a couple of extra aspects of his package that made him stand out to the nomination committees, and that helped him significantly. He received a USNA nomination and subsequently an appointment, and that is where he is now.

The other student decided to split his requests. He ranked USMA first for his representative and USNA first for his two senators. This kid was a great candidate, but he didn’t have anything extra special that made him stand out to the committee compared to all the other awesome candidates in his district. Because of this, he was worried that if he ranked USNA first for all the applications, he might not receive a nomination at all. After the dust settled, he ended up getting a USMA nom from his representative, and no USNA nom from any other source. He is at USMA currently and is very happy.

So my question to you is: Which one of those are you?

But for you, there is another factor. You already have a presidential nomination to both academies. Granted they don’t award a tremendous number of appointments for this type of nom, but a nomination is a nomination, so you have that advantage.
 
Wahoo Fan said:
You already have a presidential nomination to both academies. Granted they don’t award a tremendous number of appointments for this type of nom, but a nomination is a nomination, so you have that advantage.
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100 appointees from this pool of nominees.
 
Authenticity in an interview can be a game changer. Playing the system (I know you state you can see yourself serving in either branch) doesn’t work out for the most part.

DS chose to rank his #1 throughout all applications. Rolled the dice and in his case it worked out. You never know from one year to the next who your competition is regardless of the perceived competition of your district/region.

Declaring your number one and sticking to it, being able to articulate your “why” matters. DS had questions in interviews regarding specific career paths in his #1,2, and 3 choices. They covered all bases. Just my opinion.
 
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Like others I would say the choice really depends on what you really want to do in the military and career. I can speak to your specific circumstances somewhat as a N.VA resident (Arlington) for many years and having just gone through this process with my son this past year. First, most Virginia nominating sources don’t like duplicating nominations and both senators and most congressmen / women coordinate nominations in Virginia. Both senate offices will only consider nominations to your first choice, as you are probably aware. With Presidential nominations to both academies you are already ahead of the process. Other than being considered for the smaller “congressional district pool” there would be no additional advantage to another nomination since N. VA specifically, and Virginia is a more competitive pool than the national waiting list for either of the academies. If you have not done overnight visits I would highly recommend them. My son had multiple appointments and final decision was not close (for his desires) after his overnight to USMA. He had done all of his STEM and Summer Leadership at USNA and we had assumed that would be it. We had just filled his Christmas presents with USNA clothing when just a few weeks after he informed us he had chosen USMA. Our only wait was because of a previous head injury USMA was much longer to come through with a medical waiver than USNA or USMMA. As a result he did not notify other academies until all was locked in with USMA. Lastly, I would mention reaching out to the VA / MD / DC Parents Clubs for both academies to see if they might be able to put you in touch with cadets / midshipman if you want on-on-one conversations about the differences in academies. Although similar they are very different in many ways. Whatever choice you make will be the right one and thank you for your your desire to serve! Good luck with your academy journey and military career to follow.
 
MarTac said:
Like others I would say the choice really depends on what you really want to do in the military and career. I can speak to your specific circumstances somewhat as a N.VA resident (Arlington) for many years and having just gone through this process with my son this past year. First, most Virginia nominating sources don’t like duplicating nominations and both senators and most congressmen / women coordinate nominations in Virginia. Both senate offices will only consider nominations to your first choice, as you are probably aware. With Presidential nominations to both academies you are already ahead of the process. Other than being considered for the smaller “congressional district pool” there would be no additional advantage to another nomination since N. VA specifically, and Virginia is a more competitive pool than the national waiting list for either of the academies. If you have not done overnight visits I would highly recommend them. My son had multiple appointments and final decision was not close (for his desires) after his overnight to USMA. He had done all of his STEM and Summer Leadership at USNA and we had assumed that would be it. We had just filled his Christmas presents with USNA clothing when just a few weeks after he informed us he had chosen USMA. Our only wait was because of a previous head injury USMA was much longer to come through with a medical waiver than USNA or USMMA. As a result he did not notify other academies until all was locked in with USMA. Lastly, I would mention reaching out to the VA / MD / DC Parents Clubs for both academies to see if they might be able to put you in touch with cadets / midshipman if you want on-on-one conversations about the differences in academies. Although similar they are very different in many ways. Whatever choice you make will be the right one and thank you for your your desire to serve! Good luck with your academy journey and military career to follow.
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Thank you for the great response! Luckily I know a cadet attending Weat Point currently AND a midshipmen attending the Naval Academy currently, so I can get some more info on the differences. Thank you again
 
sonar said:
Thank you for the great response! Luckily I know a cadet attending Weat Point currently AND a midshipmen attending the Naval Academy currently, so I can get some more info on the differences. Thank you again
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While knowing someone at both academies is great, it woukd be even better if you spoke with people in the different branches of service that you are interested in: both officers and enlisted. Because you will ‘only’ spend 4 yrs at the academy, but you will have a career in your selected branch of service. Make sure you are focusing on the branch of service and community culture, VS the academy, for the best long term contentment. Army and Navy are very different!!
 
justdoit19 said:
While knowing someone at both academies is great, it woukd be even better if you spoke with people in the different branches of service that you are interested in: both officers and enlisted. Because you will ‘only’ spend 4 yrs at the academy, but you will have a career in your selected branch of service. Make sure you are focusing on the branch of service and community culture, VS the academy, for the best long term contentment. Army and Navy are very different!!
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This is very important and valid advice. Four years at at SA, 20 (potential) years in the service.
 
If you’re planning a military career, where do you want to spend the next 20 YEARS of your life. If not a career, what do you want to do AFTER the military and which branch will get you the best training to reach that goal?

Answer these questions for YOU. However, I think your forum name answered the question.

Congrats on the nomination!
 
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