<p>Does anyone know anything about the National Waiting List? What are your chances of being taken off the National Waiting List and given an appointment? When do most people hear by if they are chosen off the list?</p>
<p>Rockmonkey,</p>
<p>Keep the faith. First off, congratulations on being fully qualified. Historically, only about 20% of applicants advance through the admissions process and become fully qualified. The good news is that about 70-75% of the fully qualified candidates ultimately receive offers of appointment.</p>
<p>Quite a few appointments will continue to be offered during the next several months. Each year about 200-300 candidates receiving offers decline the offers. Many of these declining candidates go to a different academy.</p>
<p>The acceptance deadline for most offers is May 1st. After this date, additional spots open up. Whether these declinations open a spot for you is determined by the congressional district of the declining candidates and the number of declinations from candidates on the waiting list. </p>
<p>Here're some stats that will give you some idea of the chances of getting an appointment offer if you are on the NWL.</p>
<p>For the 2011 Class, there were 2039 fully qualified candidates (NWL candidates should be fully qualified). 1305 of the qualified candidates accepted the offers. In addition, over 200 candidates declined offers of appointment. Therefore, about 75 percent of the qualified candidates were extended offers.</p>
<p>So quite a few candidates now on the NWL will ultimately get offers. It's important to know that your congressional district as well as your rank on the NWL will affect your chances of getting an appointment. That is, if an offer is declined by a candidate in Cong. District 26, then the highest ranked person on the NWL from District 26 gets the offer regardless of their position on the list. If there are no qualified candidates from District 26 on the NWL list, then the first person on the NWL gets the offer.</p>
<p>So in otherwords, since I am eating up a slot in my district, my friend who has been wait-listed would get my slot were I to get hurt? Or would they still have a shot at an appointment even if I was able to attend USMA for R-Day?</p>
<p>How do you know you are eating up a slot in your district? Did your congressman name you primary?
Having an LOA does not guarantee that you have the highest WCS in your district - another candidate could have beat you out from the time you got your LOA until the slates were submitted and ranked.</p>
<p>Hypothetically - if you are ranked #1 and your friend is ranked #2 (same congressional district) then he would be offered your appointment if you declined (he hurt you ;) ).
For now - he competes in the pool of alternates with candidates from the whole country who have nominations. These candidates are offered appointment by order of merit. Tell him to stay in close contact with admisssions and submit anything significant to update his file.</p>
<p>I understand that WCS has a big factor. And he has a nomination, I believe, to all three academies. He is pursuing NAVY the most, and USMA second. But he has been waitlisted by USMA. I am not taking up the local nomination, but just wondering how the Waiting list worked in this situation.</p>
<p>"Or would they still have a shot at an appointment even if I was able to attend USMA for R-Day?"
Yes, he still has a shot even if you attend R-Day. If he does not win a slot from a nomination source, he will compete for a slot from from the National Waiting List.</p>
<p>This repost may be helpful:</p>
<p>Since this is the time when MOC nominations are announced, it might be helpful to explain what happens after MOC nominations have been submitted to WP admissions. A nomination is the legal authority that USMA needs to consider a candidate for an appointment. Each MOC and the VP are allowed 5 cadetships at USMA at any one time. Each may nominate up to 10 candidates to fill each vacant cadetship (usually 1 vacancy a year, therefore 1 slate of 10 nominees per year).</p>
<p>MOC Nomination Method:</p>
<p>Principal method: principal nominees, if fully qualified, are notified of their appointments immediately after their file evaluation is completed. If the principal is disqualified or declines the offer, admissions goes down the list in accordance with the MOC method used. </p>
<p>Principal with Numbered Alternates method: if the principal is disqualified or declines the offer, the First Alternate is evaluated – if qualified offered admission. If not the Second Alternate is evaluated etc.</p>
<p>Principal with Competing Alternates method: if the principal declines or is disqualified, the Competing Alternate who is fully qualified with the highest Whole Candidate Score (WCS), is offered admission. Should the selected candidate decline the offer of admission, the next fully qualified candidate in order of merit (WCS) is offered the appointment -- and so on down the line of qualified candidates. </p>
<p>Competitive method: after each candidate on the nomination list is evaluated, the candidates are rank-ordered using the Whole Candidate Evaluation, and the appointment is offered to the fully qualified candidate with the highest WCS. Should the selected candidate decline the offer of admission, the next fully qualified candidate in order of merit (WCS) is offered the appointment -- and so on down the line of qualified candidates. </p>
<p>Current classes are composed of approx. 1300 cadets. Congressional and Service Connected Nominations account for about 841 appointments per year.
National Waiting List (NWL) - The waiting list contains the names of all fully qualified candidates who have a nomination but have not yet been offered admission. Candidates are rank ordered by Whole Candidate Score (WCS).
Offers of admission are made from the NWL until the incoming class is brought up to the desired size. Selection from the waiting list can continue until the new class reports on R-Day.
Under Title 10 of the US Code, 150 candidates must be selected from the NWL by WCS as Qualified Alternates. The Academy is also authorized to select cadets without regard to WCS as Additional Appointees. They ratio of 3:1 for Congressional to Service Connected nominations must be maintained.</p>
<p>After reading in the paper of a trio of football players that signed for USMA yesterday, I wonder: do they fall under this clause: </p>
<p>The Academy is also authorized to select cadets without regard to WCS .</p>
<p>They are very BIG boys from a local football powerhouse school...so it's good news for the Black Knights!</p>
<p>I believe that the Academy uses that clause to reach the targeted diversity level for the class. That would include prior service, minorities, women, athletes etc.</p>