I am trying to become a principal nominee, what will my GPA need to be and SAT/ACT scores. I am attending college at the moment (11th District of VA)
THANKS!!
As kinnem said, there's nothing you can do per se to become a "Principal" nominee. It's 100% up to your representative/senator.
In it's simplest form:
1. If your representative/senator DOESN'T do the "Principal" method, then there is absolutely NOTHING you can do. If they don't do that method, then forget it. It doesn't exist. You can't have it. Therefor, there's nothing YOU can do to get one.
2. If your representative/senator DOES do the "Principal + Ranked" or "Principal + Competitive", then what you have to do to get that principal, is be the BEST candidate of the 10 that the representative/senator is going to nominate; THEN, hope they truly put you as the principal.
Here's the problem. There are approximately 3,645 reasons a person, including your MOC, might make the decision they do. And you have no say so over their decision. For instance: Maybe they have a criteria in their application where they rank you in 5 areas. If you are the #1 in ALL 5 areas, they give you the "Principal" nomination. On the other hand, they might see an applicant and say: This kid is the PERFECT candidate and potential cadet/officer. GPA, EC, Sports, etc... are PERFECT....... BUT, they suck at standardized tests..... They have an average of 26 ACT. They took it 6 times..... While above the minimum standard, there's NO WAY the academy will probably give him an appointment...... I'M going to give him a "Principal" nomination, because I know he's the BEST candidate on my list, and I'm NOT GOING TO LET 1 TEST screw his/her future".
Se where I'm going with this? When a MOC decides to give a PRINCIPAL nomination, they have to decide WHY 1 particular applicant/nominee should receive an appointment over the other 9..... And that reason could change EACH YEAR because the new pool of nominees is different.
In the enlisted world, promotions through the NCO world is a combination of tests, performance reports, decorations/medals, etc.... They all add up to points. The HIGHEST POINTS get the promotions that cycle. But they have something called a STEP PROMOTION. This is where a commander, squadron, group, etc... can nominate someone for an automatic promotion. Basically; here you go. You are promoted. The reason an NCO might receive a Step Promotion might be because the commander/squadron, etc... believes s/he is indeed the best, but they really suck at the standardized tests, and the commander doesn't feel they should be held back. Maybe they just came back from the middle east and while they were there, they saved someone's life or some other heroic action. There's a lot of reasons.
That's the same thing with a principal nomination. First; you have to know that the MOC DOES the Principal method. If they don't, then it's a moot point. Second; assuming they DO the principal, there's a lot of reasons the MOC may choose one individual over another for a principal nomination. If I'm the MOC, and the BEST NOMINEE I have, happens to have an LOA (Letter of Assurance) from the academy, then I will definitely rank my list, but that person is going to be #10. S/He is last. With an LOA and a nomination, they are 100% guaranteed an appointment. But some MOC's might base it totally on the #1 applicant's SCORES. Some may say #1 applicant is overall. Some might think #1 is who THEY believe has the most POTENTIAL. The only advice anyone can give you is to do the BEST you can in ALL AREAS. Academics, tests, EC, sports, leadership, volunteering, etc.... Do your BEST and hope for the best.