USNA Principal Nomination Candidates - Timing & Success Rate?

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Parent_of_P

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My son has just received the Principal Nomination from his MOC for USNA and is flagged as a recruited athlete. He is medically qualified and didn't hear anything negative on his CFA so he understands he is physically qualified as well. He does not have an LOA however.

He has an offer from another D1 Coach which is expiring soon and is worried about waiting for an Appointment at USNA. Understanding everything is so behind at USNA this year does anyone have feedback on timing for the Principal Nomination candidates to be reviewed? Any feedback on how often the Principal Nomination candidate is declined? Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!
 
From a previous post by @usna1985:

As a general rule, USNA will offer an appointment to the principal nominee if the candidate is fully qualified. Although USNA is not required to do so by law, as are USMA and USAFA, they almost always do and it is a VERY rare occurrence for principal nominees not to be appointed.

Another post I saw said the appointment offer was 1 month after the principal nomination. I warn you that it’s not always a good idea to use other data points, assuming that will work for you the same way.

Good luck.
 
Parent_of_P said:
My son has just received the Principal Nomination from his MOC for USNA and is flagged as a recruited athlete. He is medically qualified and didn't hear anything negative on his CFA so he understands he is physically qualified as well. He does not have an LOA however.

He has an offer from another D1 Coach which is expiring soon and is worried about waiting for an Appointment at USNA. Understanding everything is so behind at USNA this year does anyone have feedback on timing for the Principal Nomination candidates to be reviewed? Any feedback on how often the Principal Nomination candidate is declined? Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!
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He certainly could reach out to his coach about this. Perhaps his coach would have good insight.

One potential outcome could be a NAPS offer. Would that be something he would go for? Additionally, recruiting can be a fickle thing. But a convo with his coach would also make it clear if he is still a high level recruit.
 
Yes he is talking to the USNA Coach regularly but the timing for official acceptance seems to be delayed ... the MOC nomination process took a very long time as the MOC kept deferring interviews, etc. ... and now the timing for final review at USNA is the key question. He is trying to decide how much of a risk there is in letting the other offer go while he waits for the official word from USNA. Thanks!
 
A1Janitor said:
From a previous post by @usna1985:

As a general rule, USNA will offer an appointment to the principal nominee if the candidate is fully qualified. Although USNA is not required to do so by law, as are USMA and USAFA, they almost always do and it is a VERY rare occurrence for principal nominees not to be appointed.

Another post I saw said the appointment offer was 1 month after the principal nomination. I warn you that it’s not always a good idea to use other data points, assuming that will work for you the same way.

Good luck.
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Thanks for the response ... timing is a key question for him!
 
D1 Coaches have a fixed number of slots each year. They are pushy because they want to lock their slots-to-recruits. If they sense you are hedging, they usually pull the offer and extend it to someone else (who might be a step down in priority for a recruiting need) rather than risk losing a piece in their team building puzzle. USNA Admissions doesn't care about third-party schedules or priorities. This year, they are running behind based on their IT-systems related impairments. You might therefore be forced to make the decision on your side. Best wishes for resolution that suits him best.
 
None of this is new. It comes up every year. You can search the forums via the search tool, googling or looking through each SA forum for discussion about how people handle this piece, if you are interested.

Good luck!
 
For reference, I received a principal nom from MOC in November, showed up in the portal in late December, and have not heard about an appointment (no LOA).
 
One thing that’s not clear here is whether the civilian school (the one with the D1 coaching awaiting commitment) is also a path toward a commission. That is, does OP’s son plan to participate in ROTC alongside the sports team?

Because if not, then we’re talking apples and oranges here. Is his primary goal to become a commissioned officer or to play D1 sports? That should point pretty clearly to the best path to take.

If the civilian school route does in fact include an ROTC component, then it’s more an apples-to-apples comparison. In which case, the question is how much does he value the always-on military environment of an SA? Again that should point pretty clearly to the best path.
 
It is also unknown whether this candidate is academically qualified. USNA typically does not inform candidates if they are fully qualified. Add that to the missing analytical pieces noted above.

A challenging comparative analysis, and the candidate must decide where his heart, head and gut tell him he belongs. If he couldn’t play his sport, would he go to Navy because he is called to serve in the Navy or Marine Corps? To me, that is the long pole in the tent.
 
MidCakePa said:
One thing that’s not clear here is whether the civilian school (the one with the D1 coaching awaiting commitment) is also a path toward a commission. That is, does OP’s son plan to participate in ROTC alongside the sports team?

Because if not, then we’re talking apples and oranges here. Is his primary goal to become a commissioned officer or to play D1 sports? That should point pretty clearly to the best path to take.

If the civilian school route does in fact include an ROTC component, then it’s more an apples-to-apples comparison. In which case, the question is how much does he value the always-on military environment of an SA? Again that should point pretty clearly to the best path.
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Thanks for all the input - to clarify the other offer is from an Academy. Otherwise, he does have 4 civilian schools, with official acceptances, as his Plan B with ROTC because he is 100% certain his goal is to become a commissioned officer. I think he is apples to apples on the decision he will have to make.
 
Capt MJ said:
It is also unknown whether this candidate is academically qualified. USNA typically does not inform candidates if they are fully qualified. Add that to the missing analytical pieces noted above.

A challenging comparative analysis, and the candidate must decide where his heart, head and gut tell him he belongs. If he couldn’t play his sport, would he go to Navy because he is called to serve in the Navy or Marine Corps? To me, that is the long pole in the tent.
Click to expand...
Yes - the academically qualified seems to be the only 'official' question outstanding for him to be 3Q.
He has a 3.8 GPA with 28 ACT (the Navy way Math & English only).
Navy is definitely his #1 choice but he doesn't want to end up with a 'No' and he would go to Navy without playing but the Team wants him.
Thanks for your feedback!
 
Now I’m confused. It happens easily so no worries to OP 😬

Are you saying that he is concerned an ‘offer’ from another SA is in jeopardy of being ‘pulled’ if he doesn’t accept? Is the other SA the other recruiting school?

If so, this is a whole can of worms. A rabbit hole. Bc of the nuances of a SA recruiting. Which is different than ‘regular college’ recruiting.

Make sure y’all understand all the uniqueness of SA recruiting/playing/‘scholarshipping’. BC if I am understanding correctly, there isn’t a problem here bc rules are different for SA’s. IOW, he can accept an appointment at one SA, and then change to another should he receive an offer of appointment to that SA.

Maybe I’m not understanding correctly. Or perhaps the issue/concern is that the first accepted SA would ‘announce’ (which is mostly football) the ‘commitment’ (or the student would) on Twitter. And the preferred SA would see that, and then ‘pull the offer’?
 
Parent_of_P said:
Yes - the academically qualified seems to be the only 'official' question outstanding for him to be 3Q.
He has a 3.8 GPA with 28 ACT (the Navy way Math & English only).
Navy is definitely his #1 choice but he doesn't want to end up with a 'No' and he would go to Navy without playing but the Team wants him.
Thanks for your feedback!
Click to expand...
The academic piece is something that could garner him a Prep offer )in general. Not saying for him specifically). Would he do this? Go to Naps?
 
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justdoit19 said:
Now I’m confused. It happens easily so no worries to OP 😬

Are you saying that he is concerned an ‘offer’ from another SA is in jeopardy of being ‘pulled’ if he doesn’t accept? Is the other SA the other recruiting school?

If so, this is a whole can of worms. A rabbit hole. Bc of the nuances of a SA recruiting. Which is different than ‘regular college’ recruiting.

Make sure y’all understand all the uniqueness of SA recruiting/playing/‘scholarshipping’. BC if I am understanding correctly, there isn’t a problem here bc rules are different for SA’s. IOW, he can accept an appointment at one SA, and then change to another should he receive an offer of appointment to that SA.

Maybe I’m not understanding correctly. Or perhaps the issue/concern is that the first accepted SA would ‘announce’ (which is mostly football) the ‘commitment’ (or the student would) on Twitter. And the preferred SA would see that, and then ‘pull the offer’?
Click to expand...
Yes the 'offer' will be pulled if he doesn't commit in the near future (he is negotiating for as much time as possible).
He is not comfortable accepting and then changing to another SA (USNA) if appointment comes in later. Seems dishonest.
Appreciate your responding to OP.
 
justdoit19 said:
The academic piece is something that could garner him a Prep offer )in general. Not saying for him specifically). Would he do this? Go to Naps?
Click to expand...
Not sure yet how that would fall in his decision hierarchy ... in general yes I think so but he would prefer direct to one of the Academies.
 
Unfortunately there is nothing requiring or guaranteeing that USNA will offer an appointment even with a principal nomination.
 
To clarify, the “other offer” from a SA is going to be “pulled in the near future” if your DS doesn’t commit? Is that Coach offering your DS a Blue Chip spot and likely appointment?
 
If I understand this thread, I must confess that I find it very disturbing that any SA would condition an offer of appointment (and limit its timing for acceptance) on a candidate's willingness to commit to a sport and make an immediate decision. I fully understand why this happens at civilian schools (limited scholarships, etc). However, this is a SA. EVERYONE is on "scholarship," and -- once you show up -- there is no way the SA can condition your staying or your "free" education on playing your sport. Quite a few highly recruited athletes at SAs end up quitting their sports for various reasons. Thus, every SA had better be taking candidates that it wants regardless of whether they play their sport.

It was my understanding that all candidates have until May 1 to make their decisions on a SA (at least that is the case for USNA). To condition a candidate's appointment on an immediate decision or "threaten" a candidate who doesn't decide immediately on something SO important is, IMHO, a disgrace.

I don't know which other SA is involved, but I can guess. And is sickens me. I can't say whether USNA does the above, but if it does, my view / reaction is exactly the same.

Finally, don't attend any SA that you don't 100% want to attend. I've written before of numerous time this has happened with my candidates. Not once has the candidate ended up loving a SA that he / she wasn't super excited about attending. Rather, they end up miserable and bitter.

So, for the OP, if you really want to attend the SA offering the limited time appointment, go there. But if you don't, hold out for USNA. If you have a principal appointment, you are extremely likely (not certain, but as close as you can get) to an appointment. Also, if you're that great of an athlete, you should be able to play your sport at USNA (unless it's not a D1 sport there).
 
Yep, this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And if reading between the lines, is how it’s going down? Same feelings as @usna1985 post.

But we all know the world of recruiting is, at times, questionable. Personally, if that coach is willing to put that much pressure on them, and unethically (imo) bc he is representing this whole thing incorrectly it seems (at least through omission of important info about the whole process), it would be bothersome to me.
 
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