Vice Presidential Nomination

T

tjennings

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Mar 27, 2020
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Hi all,
I am currently applying to the USAFA, but live abroad and do not have a home of record in the United States. As you might know, this means my only possible source of nomination is through the vice-president.
I was wondering, since anyone is eligible to receive this nomination, and it receives so many applications, who is in charge of choosing who is nominated? I know that the academies already "sort" applications before forwarding them to the vice-president, but who is in charge of the process? The cabinet of the vice-president?
I would appreciate any information you guys might have regarding vice-presidential nominations.
Thanks,
-T
 
Same question asked and answered in USNA forum. No need to dupe questions in cases like this. Posts will usually get answered.

Just put together your best application and hope that you are one of the lucky ones. Very generally speaking, SAs do tend to keep the VP noms in their hip pocket, so when they get a candidate they really want but who has no other nom, that is a case they might use it for. The VP noms seem to pop up in portals late in the cycle, in the homestretch of appointments going out.

Do your best to not worry about things out of your control, and be sure to fully develop your alternate plans.
 
The VP Nomination form is fairly simple, but it includes a statement on the bottom of the form to " PLEASE SEND ALL LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION DIRECTLY TO THE MILITARY ACADEMIES:" along with the appropriate address. However, there is no instruction on how many, who from, etc. I have searched the forum for assistance on how to address, but haven't found anything. Asking for input on if anyone knows how to address OR who to send a question to (SA Admissions, White House, BGO/FFR/ALO, other?).
 
ArmySon-NavyFan said:
The VP Nomination form is fairly simple, but it includes a statement on the bottom of the form to " PLEASE SEND ALL LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION DIRECTLY TO THE MILITARY ACADEMIES:" along with the appropriate address. However, there is no instruction on how many, who from, etc. I have searched the forum for assistance on how to address, but haven't found anything. Asking for input on if anyone knows how to address OR who to send a question to (SA Admissions, White House, BGO/FFR/ALO, other?).
Click to expand...
The Office of the Vice President is not going to accept any letters of recommendation.

Much like the presidential nomination, the vice-presidential nomination is essentially controlled by the service academies. So, when the application says to send letters of recommendation directly to the academies, it's because the office of the VP probably isn't going to look at your application anyway. They trust the admissions boards to forward good candidates.

Long story short, no need to send a letter of recommendation anywhere. Just have the writer upload it to your USAFA Portal in the appropriate location.
 
DS received nom from District Rep for USNA and USMA (So Psyched for him!). He's not on the forum, but he asked me whether he should still apply to VP. He has already interviewed with one senator and the other has received everything. He asked my opinion and I told him that he should still interview with other senator for the experience. If asked about noms from other MOCs, just tell the truth. He's going to do what he wants, but I wanted to ask for advice in case he asks me again.

** - I'm just trying to find out what the protocol is for noms - is it once you have one, stop trying to get others? Tell other MOCs so they don't "waste it" on DS?

I think he's almost officially in the "black box" of admissions for USNA (and soon to be there for USMA), so the long slow wait starts! Just this week, he's gotten excited about his backup plan, so my concerns about disappointment for him have waned. He's got it good both ways (enviable position)!!
 
Normally you would pursue noms from other MOCs. More nominations give you more opportunities to "win" an appointment.
 
ArmySon-NavyFan said:
DS received nom from District Rep for USNA and USMA (So Psyched for him!). He's not on the forum, but he asked me whether he should still apply to VP. He has already interviewed with one senator and the other has received everything. He asked my opinion and I told him that he should still interview with other senator for the experience. If asked about noms from other MOCs, just tell the truth. He's going to do what he wants, but I wanted to ask for advice in case he asks me again.

** - I'm just trying to find out what the protocol is for noms - is it once you have one, stop trying to get others? Tell other MOCs so they don't "waste it" on DS?

I think he's almost officially in the "black box" of admissions for USNA (and soon to be there for USMA), so the long slow wait starts! Just this week, he's gotten excited about his backup plan, so my concerns about disappointment for him have waned. He's got it good both ways (enviable position)!!
Click to expand...
Applicants should apply for all noms for which they are eligible, including VP.

There are dozens of threads on this topic. If a candidate has a fully qualified package, yes, he or she only needs 1 nom. Having more than 1 nom, meaning more than 1 chance to compete on a slate or competitive grouping, allows the SA more flexibility in where to charge the appointment.

Why ignore the SA advice and not do what your competition is doing? Quoted from the USMA website page on noms:
“Apply for every nomination that you are eligible for. At a minimum, send a request to both U.S. Senators from your state, your Congressional representative in the House of Representatives, and the Vice President.”

There is no asterisk with a statement saying “If you already have one, stop applying elsewhere.” Multiple noms are not uncommon. Either the elected officials collaborate and do not dupe noms amongst themselves or across all slates, or they work independently. Your son should try for all and see how it plays out.
 
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