<p>Hello everyone, first of all I just want to thank all of you that participate in this forum, this information is extremely helpful. I just have a quick question and it is really killing me not knowing the answer because I have read about how big of a deal a Principal Nomination is. I just received a call from the Congressman that I am getting his Principal Nomination, which is great news but I am an enlisted applicant and in the OPNAVINST 1420.1A (Enlisted to USNA Instruction) it says that enlisted applicants must apply for a Secretary of the Navy Nomination. I am of course applying for the Secretary of the Navy nomination but I am wondering if because I already received the Principal Nomination that the USNA admissions will grant me the SECNAV nomination. I am already enlisted so I am most likely medically and physically qualified, I have no medical problems and score above average on my PRT. Should I expect a LOA eventually?</p>
<p>The Academy has a choice as to which source they utilize to grant you an appointment. It really doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Yes, as per the OPNAV, you must apply for the SecNav nomination. This serves two purposes, first off, of course, is the application for nomination, but also, probably more importantly, now that the USNA application is done online with no command endorsement, the nomination request becomes your official command endorsement. In the old days, prior to the online application, the application itself passed up the chain of command for endorsement.</p>
<p>At this point, you probably won’t get an LOA, just a letter of appointment, or possibly orders to NAPS.</p>
<p>Being that my congressman gave me his principal nomination I should be academically qualified at least for NAPS right?</p>
<p>Principal nominations are somewhat rare, therefore, you sound like a stellar candidate for NAPS or USNA! BTW, NAPS is a great opportunity to transition to the pressure-cooker academic environment of USNA. Good Luck and congratulations on the coveted nomination! :)</p>
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Not necessarily. The Academy is the sole determinant of academic qualification and the SECNAV appointment command endorsement is pretty much the sole determinant of whether the Navy feels you are officer material with the requisite qualifications. Congressmen can give nominations to anyone they see fit for whatever reason they wish. All a principal nomination does is inform the Academy that if the Academy finds a particular candidate triple qualified-3Qed (scholastically, physically, and medically), the congressman wants his appointment allocated to that person. He could simply have been giving you the nomination as a patriotic gesture to thank you for your service. With that said, I don’t think they would waste the effort if they did not think you had a good chance of success.</p>
<p>Your comments indicate that you are not complete with your online application. You need to pursue it posthaste. The DoDMERB physical (one of your 3Qs) is different than the enlistment physical. USNA will schedule it, most likely at your local dispensary, once they have determined that you are an active viable candidate having completed half of your application. The CFA (another of the 3Qs and part of your application process) is more in depth than the PFT. </p>
<p>usna09mom is correct. A principal nomination is cause for congratulations and, age permitting, NAPS is priceless. Congratulations. The journey has just begun.</p>