<p>What happens if a candidate does not receive a nomination? Does the road stop there? </p>
<p>Hoping this won't happen, except I would still like to know.</p>
<p>Not everyone who receives a nomination will gain an appointment, but to gain an appointment, you must have a nomination. See the USNA web site class profile:
<a href="http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/documents/Classof2011Profile.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/documents/Classof2011Profile.pdf</a></p>
<p>I thought that if the Academy deems you qualified enough they will find an unused nomination source for you (i.e. a Rep. from some rural Wyoming district)</p>
<p>correct me if I'm wrong...</p>
<p>dont nominations for M.O.C have to be from homestate?</p>
<p>You must have legal residence within the district of the MOC nominating you (or state of a senator nom). You cannot get a nom from outside your own district, and the SA cannot slip you onto another MOC's slate that was not full. There are a few (very few) other sources, for instance Vice Pres. noms. If you get a nom but don't get in directly off that nom you are placed in the National Pool from which the SA selects candidates. You cannot get into the National Pool without a nom but if selected from the National Pool you do not count against your MOC. Apply for ALL nomination sources available to you (Vice Pres is frequently ignored and it is one of the easiest to apply to .... ). The VP is like other MOC's, 5 students at a SA at any given time. A slate of 10 for each open spot at each SA like other MOC's but I believe he defers to the SA's to determine who will be on the slate. </p>
<p>Best course of action: Do your absolute best in the MOC nomination process and get the nom. Without it you will find an opportunity to attend a SA nearly impossible (unless you qualify for another nominating source). If you have an LOA and no nom, theoretically you could end up without an appointment. But if you crossed your t's & dotted your i's you just may get one of the VP noms but I wouldn't want to hang my hat on those odds.</p>
<p>Let me preface this with the fact that I could be wrong... this is only the observations that I gained working through every facet of the application process...</p>
<p>Anyway, on the initial question. If a candidate does not receive a nomination, the road does stop there. Without a nomination you will not receive an appointment. For the second question, I know of cases in which candidates were deemed "qualified" without a nom. Specifically I have seen dozens of letters from congressmen from podunk areas of the country who have all said the same thing... that they cannot give noms outside their district. Furthermore, I have never heard of the academy giving out noms from said congressmen</p>
<p>The answer to the question is both simple and complex. As a general rule, if you don't get a nomination from the President (if eligible), VP or an MOC, (or get in via NAPS/Foundation), you don't get an appointment. However, there are exceptions to every rule. It is possible to get a Supe's nomination. A VERY, VERY small number are given out each year. </p>
<p>Let me emphasize and reemphasize that this is extremely rare and is something you absolutely should not count on. You also can't apply for it. Thus, you should put all of your effort into getting a nomination through one of the sources available to you because without a nomination, in all likelihood, you won't receive an appointment.</p>
<p>MOCs cannot swap, steal, borrow, etc. noms from other MOCs. If an MOC doesn't fill his/her slots at a SA for whatever reason, including the absence of qualified candidates in the state/district, the slots remain open. Note that not filling these slots does not reduce the overall number of people who are offered appointments (USNA simply offers more appointments to students who do have nominations -- just doesn't fill the "quota" from the affected states/districts).</p>
<p>In addition to what has been posted above, if you gain your appointment via the foundation program, you will be required to seek a nomination for the following class year. (Naps is the exception, where another nomination is not required).</p>
<p>It's pretty much over if you don't get a nom. Supe's or Sec of the Navy are generally for recruited atheletes who are poor candidates despite their athletic abilities. But you can always try next year. I know a kid who didn't get a nom for 2 years then he did and then got in.</p>
<p>OK, now you guys have given me an upset stomach (again). I was hoping that with an early LOA (at AFA), son would be a kinda/sorta shoe-in for the nomination. He didn't think so, and I'm glad he's working hard on his presentation.</p>
<p>The nomination process varies hugely by state and by local district. In some states they senators go first and name their max of 10 nominees for the academies to pick from, and coordinate with the Reps to ensure no overlaps. In other states things are not as tightly coordinated - or not coordinated at all. In some cases the MOC elects to name just one candidate, allowing the academy to accept or reject. </p>
<p>A good connection to make would be with the person in the offices of the senators and the Rep for your district who is responsible for the nomination process. Find out how each of them runs their process, and if or how the coordinate with the other MOCs. This can be hard - they are busy folks - and some are very senior and deeply experienced at the academy process, while other staffies are very junior newbies on the first time through. One frustration we encountered was that staff folks work days, while our S was tied up at school and sports with no phone access during working hours. But the candidate should be the contact person (I ended up taking messages). </p>
<p>One complexity is that the number of applicants can vary hugely across the state, from district to district, and academy to academy. When my S was in the academy hunt, he was one of about 45 applying for the Navy nomination from our senator, and one of about 20 or so seeking same from our rep. But that same rep had only 15 for AFA, so a less competitive pool at the district level. In contrast, I heard from one of the interviewing team, an Air Force officer, that another rep elsewhere in this little state had only 7 applicants for the AFA. Since that rep made it a practice to nominate the max of 10 names to each academy, the interviewer said their role shifted from "which do we pick" to "is there anyone in this 7 that it would be a mistake to nominate?"</p>
<p>It is a complicated process, and the dynamics are different every year and in almost every district. I wish you and your candidate the best!</p>
<p>fencermom-
Not a shoe in, but definately a leg up!
LOA's generally mean you "are in" providing you complete remaining requirements (maintain grades, DoDMERB clearance AND nomination) Generally speaking, the MOC committees look very favorably on LOA's, and it would be unusual to secure one.....
as for working hard.... it just continues and continues! Believe it or not, this is the easy part!!!!! ;)</p>
<p>As a general rule (there are always exceptions), candidates with an LOA are sufficiently strong that they are likely to pick up at least one MOC nom. I personally have never seen an LOA candidate not get an MOC nom (but am sure it has happened). </p>
<p>It is important that your son put 100% effort into his nom packages (to the extent he's not yet submitted them) and his interviews (assuming he gets one or more). He should not assume/expect that he has a nom in the bag or that the interviewers are necessarily favorably disposed toward him. </p>
<p>That said, the fact he received an LOA speaks very highly of his overall qualifications and success to date and, provided he continues this high level of achievement with his interviews, he should be on his way to an appointment.</p>
<p>my son had an LOA last year and secured 2 of the 3 nominations (1 senator and 1 rep.) we think that the senators coordinated so as not to duplicate on their lists.</p>
<p>^^^ many MOCs "compare and contrast" the lists to avoid duplications to the same academy- not all, but many, especially from very competetive areas.</p>