<p>I know this has been brought up before, but I'd really like to know something concrete. My BGO seems to dance around my questions regarding receiving a nomination by saying the Academy really wants me and everything will happen in time. Since I have received an LOA, am I guaranteed a nomination? I passed DodMERB and the PAE and I don't need a waiver (not sure if that makes a difference), but I'm still wondering if there's a chance I won't receive a nomination. I'll have to wait till some time in December to find out. Ugh! I'm just getting a little nervous about it all now. If I don't get into Harvard, I'd like to know that I could go to the Academy.</p>
<p>You are not "guaranteed" a nomination. From what I have been told it very seldom happens that one gets an LOA but fails to garner at least ONE of the 10 spots a Rep or senator has for each vacancy he has to fill. The LOA just ensures that you don't have to be the PRIMARY or FIRST choice of a senator or congressman. As long as you are on their list of nominees, ranked or non-ranked you are good to go. No one will come out and say it's an "automatic" but I get the impression that the academy gets the people it wants, from one nominating source or another. (JMHO!)</p>
<p>Navgirl: After reading some of your posts, something tells me you may be a chronic worrier. Given you received one of the earliest LOA from Annapolis, I would expect your credentials would also qualify you to place in the top ten of at least one, if not all, of your members' of congress nomination lists. Finally, Navy controls the vice-presidential nominations to use as they see fit.</p>
<p>What really concerns me is your final comment that infers Harvard is now your first choice. What happened ?? Hope you aren't being unduly influenced by Harvard football team's undefeated season.</p>
<p>Navgirl , I can honestly tell you that most people if they received an LOA wouldn't be sitting home worrying about whether or not they were going to get a nomination. Do you really think there are people who get an LOA and then dont receive a nomination, how much assurance do you need??</p>
<p>OK, I'm a little confused about the whole nomination thing. Here's what I DO know: The Congressmen/Senators can nominate 10 people for every open slot they have at an Academy. Once they have nominated these 10 candidates, do these candidates compete among each other to get an Appointment? Or once they receive a nomination, are they thrown into the pool with all the other applicants? </p>
<p>I'm asking this because I have a dilemma. A girl that goes to my school already has an LOA, so she's pretty much guaranteed to get a nomination. USNA has been my first choice at both Senators and the Representative. Since I know this girl is going to get a nomination from one of them, I want to change my first choice at either the Senator's/Representative's to USMA. I would only go to USMA if I wasn't accepted at USNA. Which one would be best for me to change? One of the Senators, or the Representative? My BGO sits on the Representative's interview board, so I think that this girl will get the nomination from them. HOWEVER, I would imagine that competition isn't as strict at the Representative's. What do you guys think? Thanks SO MUCH for your help!</p>
<p>This is a topic that can be confusing and is made even more confusing by the fact that at the time each member of congress(MOC) submits their nominations they must designate which of three ranking systems they want the academy to use.</p>
<p>Here's my understanding of the process. I think it is correct but it may not be. So don't bet your life on it.</p>
<p>Each MOC is allowed five competitively selected cadets at USNA at any one time. This means that every fourth year a MOC has two slots open. If there is attrition, that opens that slot for nominations. Candidates from the district/state who get in from the National Waiting List (see below), or other means, do not count against the five competitive "slots"</p>
<p>For each competitive "slot" available to the MOC, the MOC can nominate up to ten candidates. If a MOC had three slots in one unusual year, they could nominate ten candidates for each slot, a total of thirty nominees.</p>
<p>When the nomination lists are submitted, the MOC must designate one of the three methods of ranking to be used .</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Ranked nominations: the MOC designates the principal candidate and lists the order in which the remaining candidates are to be considered if the principal either is disqualified or does not accept an appointment.</p></li>
<li><p>Principal with unranked alternates: the MOC designates the principal, but lets the academy rank the remaining nominees.</p></li>
<li><p>Unranked: the MOC leaves it to the academy to decide who should be principal and the rank order of the alternates.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Once each competitive "slot" is filled by the highest ranked fully qualified nominee who accepts their appointment, the remaining fully qualified nominees are placed on the National Waiting List where they compete against all other candidates from across the US. On this list all candidates are ranked by their Whole Candidate Score. By law, when the academy determines it has available spaces in the entering class, offers of admission must be made to the highest ranked candidate on the National Waiting List.</p>
<p>Obviously, being the Principal nominee is a great advantage, especially in a very competitive district.</p>
<p>Now that everything is clear, let me muddy the picture with LOA's and their special treatment.</p>
<p>If a fully qualified candidate has an LOA and is listed anywhere on a MOC nomination list they get an appointment. Even if the MOC has selected a different principal nominee. Also, such an LOA-related appointment does not count as a used slot for that MOC. Theorectically, a MOC could have 9 LOA candidates on their nomination list and select a 10th qualified, but non-LOA candidate as the principal. All 10 would receive appointments and only one slot would be considered used by the MOC. For this reason, many MOC's want to know if you have a LOA so that they can put you in the last ranked spot (assuming they are ranking candidates).</p>
<p>Hope this helps. If I have misrepresented the process, please correct me.</p>
<p>Wow, that's really useful to know (about the LOA not counting against the slots). So, basically, I guess I shouldn't worry that the girl with the LOA will knock me out. Phew, that's a relief. Thanks for the great info, Aspen! I've heard similar stuff from other people, but not about the LOA bit.</p>
<p>Aspen did a great job outlining the process. I'd add a couple of things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You share 2 senators and 1 rep with the girl that got the LOA. At most, she'll only take one of those 3 nominations. You've got a clear shot at the other 2.</p></li>
<li><p>If your MOC's use the unranked process, AND the LOA girl has a higher WCS than you, she'll get the primary nomination from that district. You'd go on the waiting list for that district. If they use the ranked or principal approach, what I've heard is similar to Aspen - they wouldn't give the primary nomination to the girl with the LOA, but give it to someone else. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>All in all, you should be fine. The good news? Maybe two kids from your school will go.</p>
<p>See, the thing is, my ECs, test scores, GPA, class ranking, EVERYTHING is higher than hers. So, basically, if they didn't know she had an LOA, I'd hope I got the nomination...</p>
<p>Marines4me~I wonder why she has an LOA and that you don't...it seems like you should!</p>
<p>That's a question I've asked myself many a time. And trust me, it's hard to keep being happy for her. But she's one of my best friends, so I can't be jealous of her. I just really hope I get in! There are only two things that separate us: her parents were both highly ranked Army officers (LTC), and I think she may have gotten a better score at SS than I did (but there's no way to verify that).</p>
<p>OK now I'm somewhat confused. If a candidate has an LOA, and the MOC uses an unranked system, why would the candidate with the LOA get the primary nomination, putting the other qualified candidate on a waiting list? I thought that a candidate with the LOA does not count against the MOC's "slots", and that multiple candidates from the MOC's district could be appointed if several had LOA. Wouldn't that mean that the candidate without the LOA would still have a shot at the appointment from their District without going to the NAtional Waiting List?
Second, how do candidates coming from the fleet, NAPS, and Foundation fit into this mix? Do they also need nominations? If so, do their nominations and/or candidate appointments count against the MOC's available "slots"?
Thanks, Aspen, for the clear explanation.</p>
<p>I think that, by law, the candidate with the highest WCS gets the appointment when the nominations are unranked. You would expect that an LOA candidate would have a pretty high WCS, and be likely to get that appointment. I think that, in this case, the LOA counts against the MOC's total. If the LOA is NOT the highest in the unranked pool, both the highest candidate and the LOA get appointments, and only one counts against the MOC.</p>
<p>(Let me also add - I am not an expert witness here. This is just my understanding.)</p>
<p>Multiple candidates can be appointed if several have LOA's from one district, as they only require "a" nomination, not "the" nomination.</p>
<p>I don't know about the fleet/NAPS folks - I know they need nominations, but don't know how they count in the MOC's total.</p>
<p>Marines4me - I'm impressed by your maturity given the situation. Your stats are great - I'm sure you'll do fine.</p>
<p>Here is a link that is pretty informative regarding LOA's and nominations. It specifically refers to West Point, but I would assume the process is the same for the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy as well.</p>
<p>Aspen, I'm not sure why you think I appear to be a chronic worrier. I make inquiries just like everyone else on this board, and most of the responses have been very kind and helpful. As for as making the choice between Harvard and USNA, let's just say I still have time.</p>
<p>Candidate2009, I'm not sitting around at home worrying about whether or not I'm going to get a nomination. I'm involved in plenty of activities, both in school and away. and don't consider myself a worry-wort at all. And I have no idea whether or not there have been people that receive an LOA and don't receive a nomination. That's why I posted this thread, in hopes to find out.</p>
<p>Thank you shogun!</p>
<p>Shogun, that's great info.</p>
<p>KateLewis--thank you for your compliment. It means a lot to me. I'm optimistic, but only time will tell.</p>
<p>Navgirl: Don't worry about my comment. I am sure its unfounded.</p>
<p>I think it's a tough time for all candidates and parents too! So many due dates, things to analize, decisions to be made and these kids are only 17! I sure didn't have this kind of anixety at this age. My advice...get everything in and tied up at all schools, make sure you have a couple of civilian back-ups in case you don't get the admission decision you want or you have an injury (we've heard it happens) and relax until spring. Sometimes even when you think your mind is made up it's good to analize your options. Rarely in life do you have so many and these are all talented young adults! But most of all...enjoy your senior year!!!!!!!!JM (now seniormom)</p>
<p>Well, I have a good back-up. The University of Alabama gave me a full ride, plus room and board and a laptop. So, if disaster strikes and I don't get into Georgetown, Notre Dame, or the Academies, I do have somewhere to go. :)</p>