<p>I've heard about Congressional Nominations, and their rigor, but one thing stands out that scares me: the secretary of my congressman stated that only 3 out of 75 interviewees actually attain the Congressional Nomination. Coupled with USMA's already low acceptance rate, the elusive admission is nearly impossible! How can this be?</p>
<p>But more importantly, * how * can I get the nomination? Where does the adventure begin? I'm currently a junior, and have done nothing to prepare myself for the academy -- is it too late?</p>
<p>thanks for the help!</p>
<p>and if you can, can you please rate my chances? ;)</p>
<p>Asian Male</p>
<p>GPA: 3.61, 4.25 w... I have a great trend of improvement paired with 10 AP courses (the most rigorous my school offers) upon graduation.</p>
<p>SAT: 700 M, 690 V, 670 W
That will go up, I promise.</p>
<p>Varsity swimming, lettered this year.</p>
<p>Various leadership positions, including president of Interact/Rotary Club, and Captain of the Academic Decathlon team.</p>
<p>California is very competitive. We have a couple of west coast parents (shogun, westcoastmom) who could give you some insight.</p>
<p>It is likely that the congressional secretary mispoke. There would have been 3 appointments out of 75 interviews, not nom's. Typically every congressman will nominate 10 candidates, so you actually have a 1 in 7 shot. Things that you can do to increase your chances - crank up the SAT's in the early fall and practice your interview skills.</p>
<p>You can learn alot about the nomination process from reviewing some of the previous posts on this and the USNA threads. Another good source is the 35-40 page guidebook put out by the Department of Defense and distributed to the members of congress. To get a copy run a Google on: Department of Defense Congressional Guide Nominations or use the following link:</p>
<p>Getting a nomination is vital and, in some districts, extremely competitive. However, the greater challenge is to get an appointment from the academy. About 5000 nominations are issued each year while only 1200 or so spots at the academy are available ( Even less when you adjust for recruited athletes).</p>
<p>Academically you look strong. Getting all your SAT's above 700 would be a great acheivement. Your athletics may need some strengthening. Another team sport participation would probably help.</p>
<p>also just a few years ago 'asian males' were no longer considered a minority, and statistically Asian males have the toughest time getting into the academy than any other group </p>
<p>SATs all over 700 would be clutch, also (even though it's easier said than done) captain of a varsity sports helps alot </p>
<p>Interview with your Liason officer is pretty important, actualyl I think it's more important than the congressional nomination interview, a majority of the time there's a good chance your liason officer is part of the congressional selection committe. if you havea good impression on him he might help you out both with the nomination and the admissiosn process.</p>
At both academies, women are less likely to graduate in four years than are men. This finding, unusual in that women are normally more likely to graduate from college on time than are men, suggests the possibility that admissions preferences for women are used with regard to non-academic admissions factors.
<p>There are "turn-backs" for both grades and injuries. (repeating a year) Plus, I would think those stats would reflect the number of separations...</p>
<p>even talking to a cadet at the AFA, he mentioned that the favoratism that goes on for minorities/women/recruited athletes is pretty blatent. </p>
<p>usually if you get lower than a 2.0gpa for more than 2 semesters tehy kick you out, but he mentioned that alot of the times the academy will do what ever they can to keep athletes/minorites/women in the academy</p>
<p>I would be wary of any information on activist sites such as the CEOUSA.org (or moveon.org or swift boat vets for truth.org, etc etc etc) when it comes to drawing conclusions on their website. They have a very "official" looking presentation but they are not an unbiased reporter of "the facts". They have a mission.</p>
<p>Since the statistics are based on ten-year old information [1995] its difficult to ascertain application to today's academy and candidates. While some of the analysis may continue to be true, it is just as likely that many things have changed.</p>
<p>On the USNA thread there was reference to graduate study done by a midshipman on drop-out rates for minorities/women/athletes, etc. It was referred to many times as evidence of the decline of academics/abilities of the acadamies. When you looked at it carefully, [as I recall] the study was looking only at plebe summer; hardly indicative of a four-year success/failure rate.</p>
<p>Bottom line tbby, many different groups/individuals/entities receive favored treatment at various times throughout their lives for who they are not for any innate meritorious abilities they may possess. [Let's see, should we start with members of congress.] Its part of life that you, sooner or later, will benefit from. </p>
<p>The admissions process is long and arduous. I can't believe that my son is about to enter USNA after what we have been through. Actually, in retrospect, the nominations process was the easiest part of it and we live in Texas -- generally considered to be competitive. Keeping your grades up, leadership opportunities, great references, physicals, waivers, interviews, etc., etc., etc. are all more challenging.</p>
<p>The stones -- my son did not even mention the Academy until 7/03. I know this because I presented him with the book "Absolutely American" to give him a glimpse of what Academy life was like. We did not have an inkling about how to get a nomination. Except for one thing that has served me well: We applied.</p>
<p>All you can do is apply. There's only one thing you know for sure . . .if you don't apply, you won't get the nomination.</p>