What do I do????

carson8644

carson8644

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Sep 24, 2021
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I’m seeking a nomination and I have my interview coming up soon. I want to go to USMMA and USNA. Should I be straight up at my interview and tell them I equally favor both? Or should I pick one to focus on for my interview.
 
I sit on a Nomination Board. A strategy conversation follows, and some will disagree with my approach - your mileage will always vary with free advice.

Almost no one in our region considers USMMA (we are not coastal) and anyone who puts it as a top pick will likely receive a nom. USNA is typically the SA with the most applicants selecting it as their #1 and it is by far the most competitive to receive a nom for my board. I am unsure why.... but that is not important here.

You can receive a NOM to USMMA from any elected Congressional rep in your state. That is actually an advantage if the school needs to go find you a nomination because you failed to receive one during the nom season.

If you found yourself in a competitive arena for nominations, and you had said both were equal, I see a scenario where the board instantly gives you the USMMA nom and then debates whether or not they ALSO give you a USNA nom. In a competitive scenario, the board gives you USMMA but not USNA because there is a belief that you walked away happy with 1 nom to a school you considered just as great, and they give a USNA nom to another student and thus make 2 constituents happy instead of 1.

If you were to lead with USNA, but then say upon further questioning that you would submit an application to USMMA and would consider attending - BUT THAT YOUR FIRST PREFERENCE is USNA.... I could see a situation where you receive two nominations. At least that is how it would play out in our board based on the last few years of history.

This all assumes you are a competitive candidate that would likely receive a nom under any circumstance.

I would add that the two are quite different:
1) USNA mids receive a monthly salary, USMMA does not
2) USNA is a traditional semester based program, USMMA is a trimester based program (means academics are harder and faster)
3) USNA grad will take many years to reach a point where they are certified to lead from the bridge of a ship, USMMA grads have a licensing requirement in the graduation criteria and can be a 3rd mate on a vessel of unlimited tonnage the day after they graduate
4) USNA has 1000 students per class, USMMA has a student body under 1000 - and less than 300 per class
5) USNA has DoD funding, USMMA has DoT funding - no adjective exists in the English language to describe this disparity other than MASSIVE
6) USNA grads rarely cross commission into another branch, USMMA grads can select between civilian service or ANY branch and it is common
7) USNA mids will mostly be on campus for the year, USMMA mids spend 12 months traveling the world on commercial ships as an intern
8) USNA grad starts with around $50,000 annual pay and USMMA grad starts around $100,000 annual pay if they sail on their license rather than commission into a DoD branch - both owe 5 years of service.
8) USNA is a Service Academy in every since of the term (grads understand, applicants cannot), USMMA is much closer to an ROTC unit without greek life - sounds harsh, unfair.... unless you first hand perspective of both, you cannot appreciate the differences.

net-net, there are big differences between the programs and applicants need to know these when considering which path to take.
 
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shiner said:
I sit on a Nomination Board. A strategy conversation follows, and some will disagree with my approach - your mileage will always vary with free advice.

Almost no one in our region considers USMMA (we are not coastal) and anyone who puts it as a top pick will likely receive a nom. USNA is typically the SA with the most applicants selecting it as their #1 and it is by far the most competitive to receive a nom for my board. I am unsure why.... but that is not important here.

You can receive a NOM to USMMA from any elected Congressional rep in your state. That is actually an advantage if the school needs to go find you a nomination because you failed to receive one during the nom season.

If you found yourself in a competitive arena for nominations, and you had said both were equal, I see a scenario where the board instantly gives you the USMMA nom and then debates whether or not they ALSO give you a USNA nom. In a competitive scenario, the board gives you USMMA but not USNA because there is a belief that you walked away happy with 1 nom to a school you considered just as great, and they give a USNA nom to another student and thus make 2 constituents happy instead of 1.

If you were to lead with USNA, but then say upon further questioning that you would submit an application to USMMA and would consider attending - BUT THAT YOUR FIRST PREFERENCE is USNA.... I could see a situation where you receive two nominations. At least that is how it would play out in our board based on the last few years of history.

This all assumes you are a competitive candidate that would likely receive a nom under any circumstanc
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shiner said:
I sit on a Nomination Board. A strategy conversation follows, and some will disagree with my approach - your mileage will always vary with free advice.

Almost no one in our region considers USMMA (we are not coastal) and anyone who puts it as a top pick will likely receive a nom. USNA is typically the SA with the most applicants selecting it as their #1 and it is by far the most competitive to receive a nom for my board. I am unsure why.... but that is not important here.

You can receive a NOM to USMMA from any elected Congressional rep in your state. That is actually an advantage if the school needs to go find you a nomination because you failed to receive one during the nom season.

If you found yourself in a competitive arena for nominations, and you had said both were equal, I see a scenario where the board instantly gives you the USMMA nom and then debates whether or not they ALSO give you a USNA nom. In a competitive scenario, the board gives you USMMA but not USNA because there is a belief that you walked away happy with 1 nom to a school you considered just as great, and they give a USNA nom to another student and thus make 2 constituents happy instead of 1.

If you were to lead with USNA, but then say upon further questioning that you would submit an application to USMMA and would consider attending - BUT THAT YOUR FIRST PREFERENCE is USNA.... I could see a situation where you receive two nominations. At least that is how it would play out in our board based on the last few years of history.

This all assumes you are a competitive candidate that would likely receive a nom under any circumstance.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for your response, as it is all very helpful information and I believe I will go with this strategy. Do you have any tips or how I could better prepare myself for my interview?
 
carson8644 said:
Do you have any tips or how I could better prepare myself for my interview?
Click to expand...
There are many threads on this topic in the Nomination section of this forum. My suggestion is to prepare, and attempt to work in relevant examples from your past performance to illustrate your answers. Understand that the time in front of a live board is limited, so there will not be all that many questions. If I were preparing today, I would actually write out answers to these questions to ensure I have mentally walked through answers to each. You do not have to memorize them, but preporation does show in these types of exercises. A well crafted response is memorable for a board and the candidate comes across as polished.

Describe a time where you failed...
Describe a time when you had too much on your plate and how did you handle it?
Why do you want to attend a Service Academy?
Why is USAFA your #1 school?
What do you know about the school you are seeking a nomination for?
Have you ever been to USAFA?
If successful, you will incur a 5 or 10 year service commitment... what do you want to do upon graduation from the Academy?

What do you know about Service Academy life?
-"Sir/Ma'am, I know it is hard. If I am fortunate enough to be selected, it will literally be the most difficult challenge I have ever accepted at this point in my life. I know that they will throw more at me than I can physically or mentally handle. I know that I will question if I am qualified to even be there, but at the end of the day, I am ready. I am ready to meet the challenge. In high school, I took the hardest course load I could schedule to ensure I was as prepared as possible. I am approaching this like I do everything else in my life -- with 100% focus and commitment. I know I will get knocked down, but I am ready for that. When I blew out my knee junior year as a competitive curler (ice not hair), I knew that I would have to work twice as hard to get back to the international level competitor that I was before the injury. I worked day and night to rehab the knee and I am happy to report that I am now ranked #456 in the world for 18 and under curling. Academically, there will be days where I feel like a failure, but it is a marathon and not a sprint. The mid term report card will show grades I have never seen in my life - like a B or something, but I will be resilient. I know that the Service Academy has support resources I will leverage early and often and that I will seek help from my community because everyone on the team is focused on one thing - success. My classmates will help get me through. My instructors will help get me through, and by golly this will not be easy, but I am ready! I stand before you today as ready as any high school applicant could be. I understand the challenge and I accept it! We will not fail!"

Service Academies are crazy and the people who go there are arguably crazy themselves - what have you done to prepare?
What makes you a leader?
What is the hardest thing you have ever accomplished and what made it hard?
 
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