Monarchs'19
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The dreaded NWL .....
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1. Congrats and has he heard from USAFA. I assume your MOC used the principal nom for USAFA as well.
2. Do you know if your MOC used principal with numbered alternates?
Monarchs'19
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I know this thread is from Feb., but thought it was the best place to ask -
DS received a 3Q letter today (very cool). He is still seeking nominations and has no LOA. Our Congressman doesn't rank or offer principle or alternate nominees - just submits a slate of up to 10 qualified applicants (and let's assume for the sake of this post that my DS is hopefully on that list). Am I correct that if there is another candidate in our district who does have an LOA and is also 3Q, our Congressman's nomination would most likely go to that candidate (and my DS would remain on the NWL)? Just trying to get a handle on this from those who've 'been there, done that,' and appreciate any and all insight!
DS received a 3Q letter today (very cool). He is still seeking nominations and has no LOA. Our Congressman doesn't rank or offer principle or alternate nominees - just submits a slate of up to 10 qualified applicants (and let's assume for the sake of this post that my DS is hopefully on that list). Am I correct that if there is another candidate in our district who does have an LOA and is also 3Q, our Congressman's nomination would most likely go to that candidate (and my DS would remain on the NWL)? Just trying to get a handle on this from those who've 'been there, done that,' and appreciate any and all insight!
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Elected officials can submit slates with up to 10 names for each available slot that is targeted to be filled for a specific class. If your son is named on one of those slates, he has a nom, a mandatory item without which an appointment cannot be offered. So do the other 9 names on that slate.
Since he is 3Q (yay) and would have a nom, he could be offered an appointment chargeable to one of the available slots. If he does not “win his slate,” his nom makes him eligible for the national pool. USMA has the authority to select from this pool per established guidelines, charging the appointments to that specific authority. He now competes nationally.
The advice often repeated here on SAF is do not look left or right, just focus on your own path. Someone may have noms from several different sources, no way of knowing what. If that person has an LOA, all they might need is a nom, once again, from any source, including, if they are one of the ten names on a slate. Block checked.
It might be worth reading the Stickies at the top of the Nominations forum.
Thank you! Will take more time to read those Stickies; was just more confused b/c I don't think anyone 'wins the slate' in our district, but I'm not entirely sure. Thank you, again!
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“Winning the slate” is just an informal term that means, when all the dust has cleared late in the cycle, and all appointments have been charged to the appropriate authority, if John Smith is one of the names on a Congressional Representative’s list, or slate, and is offered an appointment, and that appointment is later charged to that Rep as one of his or her dedicated slots, then that appointee has “won the slate.” Other names on that slate, if fully qualified, could be offered appointments off the national pool authority, the VP nom authority or any others they might have earned. But they did not “win the slate.” That’s not a term you’ll see published or used at the nominator’s end.
Thank you! That clarification and explanation really helps. Appreciate it!
USMA does not issue many LOA's for academic performance compared to other SA's, so there is absolutely no reason to worry about not having an LOA.
Most USMA LOA's go to recruited athletes and other candidates to meet class composition goals, with the likelihood that they will be appointed as Additional Appointees, although as stated above appointments can be charged in many different ways after the dust settles.
Most USMA LOA's go to recruited athletes and other candidates to meet class composition goals, with the likelihood that they will be appointed as Additional Appointees, although as stated above appointments can be charged in many different ways after the dust settles.
GoCubbies
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To give an example of @capt MJ’s post, my DD had an LOA to USMA.
She interviewed and was nominated by our MOC. The MOC doesn’t do the principal nom thing. She just submits a list of 10 applicants.
When my DD was appointed, the MOC called my DD to inform her. We thought she “won the slate” and her appointment would be charged to the MOC because of the call. At that point, we really didn’t care if she won the slate or not. DD got an appointment and that’s all that mattered at the end of the day.
We found out later that another applicant’s appointment was charged to the MOC and USMA used the Presidential nom on my DD.
There’s an example of someone (my DD) with an LOA not being charged to a MOC even though she was on the list of noms from that MOC.
txfwindian
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So a question here:
Was your DD eligible for presidential nom? Like there is some eligibility to apply for presidential nom.
All very helpful info, thank you! @jl123 and @GoCubbies Really appreciate it. The nomination process is definitely the one I'm having difficulty wrapping my brain around. Real life examples are super helpful, thank you!
GoCubbies
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Yes. My DD was eligible for a Presidential nom. She submitted the required documents in June 18 and it was noted in her application portal for USNA and USAFA in late July and USMA in mid-August. The only reason why USMA was so late was because their applicant portal didn’t open until 1 August.
While the number of Presidential noms is unlimited (unlike a MOC which is up to 10 noms per vacancy), there is a limit to the number of appointments that can be charged to the Presidential nom. It’s either 100 or 150 appointments. I don’t recall.
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GoCubbies
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Key is getting as many as you can. That’s really good advice that’s said many times on this forum.
Getting more than 1 gives the SAs flexibility in putting the pieces of the puzzle together so the applicant is, hopefully, one of those appointed pieces.
aidanrockne
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Our son is in the application process. His older brother graduated/commissioned USNA last year. We got a call from our MOC's office yesterday explaining that she was not aware that she didn't have any open slots. Yikes. It's too late for our son (completely his mistake) to apply for other nominations. If I'm reading this thread correctly, he should continue on with the application process and hope to win a slot from the national pool? Like many of your sons and daughters, I'm sure, USNA is the only place he wants to be and not pushing forward would be heart-breaking. Any advice you can give is appreciated! Good luck to all of you!
Hopeful Plebe Mom
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What the.... how is that even statistically possible to not have a open slot? I didn’t think staying over the “47 month program” (from what we heard at our CVW) was possible??!
navyfamilyof4
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you only applied to one nomination source?
Contact your RC (USMA)/Admissions Counselor (USNA). They are the authority on how to proceed.
The MOC or her predecessor really screwed up. There should always be at least one slot - someone didn't understand the nomination process or ignored SA advice. Surprising if SA didn't see this coming and warn MOC about consequences.
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Ouch.
We are in the USMA forum, but I think your DS is focused on USNA, right?
If I read your post correctly, your DS applied only for the Representative’s nomination, and there are apparently no vacancies to be had. He did not apply to the two Senators, and it’s too late.
Has he applied for the VP nom? Slim chance there.
No JROTC or service-connected nom eligibility?
Let me put this very gently, candidates who go on the NWL already have a nom. For example, they are one of ten nominees on a slate for 1 vacancy. USMA/USNA/USAFA will generally charge one of those nominees to that MOC vacancy. All other fully qualified candidates with a nom head to the national pool. Choices to fill out the class will be made per existing guidelines.
Supe’s noms, the small discretionary number held by him, cannot be applied for, and are used for desired candidates who were unable to get a nom.
I think your son is down to slim-to-nearly-invisible chances at a VP nom or a Supe’s nom, and he should work very hard on his alternate plans. If NROTC is an alternate plan, he can get a nom from them for Class of 2025 if he chooses to re-apply.
This is a classic lesson in heeding USNA’s official advice to apply for all noms for which eligible, and the hundreds of posts here on SAF urging the same thing.
So sorry this has happened. It is truly unusual to not have at least 1 seat in any given cycle.
Just to be absolutely sure, I recommend your DS contact Admissions to let them know and ask them to confirm no seats available for Representative X for 2024, in case of some staff muck-up.
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SaltiDawg
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Each Member of Congress is allowed to have a maximum of five Midshipmen attending the Academy at one time. For each Midshipman vacancy that occurs, the member may nominate up to 10 candidates to be considered for appointment.Vacancies occur when cadets graduate or leave prior to graduation.
Actually, not at all rare to have zero or two vacancies in a given year.