Terminology meaning: "qualified" and "nomination"

Billberna

Billberna

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Aug 16, 2016
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Just to get the meaning straight:

1. A candidate has a "nomination" if his/her name ends up on an MOC's slate of 10 names?
OR
only if they are the one selected for an appointment from that slate?

2. One is a "qualified candidate" if he/she meets the academic, leadership, fitness, character reqmts
AND they have a nomination?

Thank you for clearing this up.
 
You can be nominated and not get an appointment [eg 10 nominations for every slot]

You can be qualified and not get a nomination [ergo still no appointment]

You can be qualified and get a nomination but still not be appointed [4 : 1 ratio of MOC noms vs accepted appointments

For that matter you can get a nomination and not be qualified but this should not happen often except for medical reasons.
 
The two are not directly related - and you will need both in order to be be offered an appointment. The nomination will typically come from a member of congress, but there are other sources of nomination also (see https://www.academyadmissions.com/admissions/the-application-process/nominations/). The academy will go through each applicant's completed application package to assess if they are qualified (see https://www.academyadmissions.com/admissions/the-application-process/selection-criteria/).

If an applicant has a nomination and is determined to be qualified, then they are eligible for selection. The numbers will change from year to year, but only about half the qualified canditates (with nominations) receive offers of appointment each year.

I hope this helps.
 
For example, in the incoming class of 2021, the candidate pool originally held 8449.

This was whittled down to 2608 "qualified candidates". Now, I assume that in this number, the candidates were not only fully qualified individuals, but also their names appeared on at least one nominating source's list of 10 names - am I understanding this right?

And finally, out of 2608, there were 1508 (or about 58% of them) receiving offers of admission.
So..... if you are fully qualified AND your name appears on the slate of at least one nominating source, then you have a statistical 58% chance of being offered an appointment. Are these sound conclusions on my part?
 
Sounds right but don't forget this a retroactive profile - there may have been plenty candidates deemed 'qualified' prior to the Jan 31 nominations deadline who are not included in the 2608 since lack of nom rendered it moot.
 
Billberna said:
For example, in the incoming class of 2021, the candidate pool originally held 8449.

This was whittled down to 2608 "qualified candidates". Now, I assume that in this number, the candidates were not only fully qualified individuals, but also their names appeared on at least one nominating source's list of 10 names - am I understanding this right?

And finally, out of 2608, there were 1508 (or about 58% of them) receiving offers of admission.
So..... if you are fully qualified AND your name appears on the slate of at least one nominating source, then you have a statistical 58% chance of being offered an appointment. Are these sound conclusions on my part?
Click to expand...
It general, yes but there are many exceptions. For example, hundreds of folks get Presidential nominations but only 100 get selected. If you only have a Presidential nomination then your statistical odds are different. ROTC noms are similar... hundreds of noms are given but only a max of 20 are selected. Then you have the folks with multiple nominations, where each nomination gives you a chance to be selected from a slate... so their odds go up, just like having multiple lottery tickets increases your odds. But as a general matter of grasping what's involved, you are correct.
 
Understood, and assuming that there are at least roughly 5350 who can be nominated just by Congress alone (535 Congress members X 10), it is surprising how many must get nominations who otherwise would not qualify. Strange, even.
 
Billberna uses the term "candidate pool" of 8449 in post #4. Does "candidate pool" means those that completed the Pre-Candidate Questionaire, got a Candidate Kit, but either DNF (did not finish) the application, were not 3Q, and/or did not receive a nomination?

I have such an appreciation for the intricacies of the nomination process. You practically need a Phd to understand it all. But other than knowing to apply to ALL the sources available to you, making sure you complete the entire nomination items in their entirety and on time, the selection process and slate submission is out of your control. And while interesting to know, even if you don't know, it's not a bad thing. To this day, my mother still swears that it was the town Mayor that gave my brother his nomination! Good thing my brother made sure to apply to all his sources!
 
Don't forget that all appointments must fit into one of the available buckets in Admissions. The all must have a nomination but there are limits on appointments. Basically one per MOC, 100 service connected, etc. The buckets are the primary nomination source, direct from the NWL or an Additional Appointee.

You could have a WCS score that puts you as the 10th person on one congressional MOC slate and it could win another.

It is just a huge shell game.
 
Here's the stats from the past 2 years:
............................... 2020 ....... 2021
inquiries: ............. 13,567 ....... not available
Applicants: .............. 9,894 ...... 10,202
Candidate pool: ...... 7,789 ....... 8,449
Qualified candidates: 2,475 ....... 2,608
Offers of admission: . 1,492 ........ 1,508
My understanding is that everyone in the "candidate pool" completed their application, whereas the "qualified candidates" are 3Q (qualified academically, physically, and medically) with a nom.
 
Thank you - it makes sense that the candidate pool would be completed applications.
 
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