Nomination Advice

<p>I am looking at the different requirements from all my nomination sources (Sen. Clinton, Schumer, and Rep. King) and they all have samples of nomination letters. Should i use the sample or personalize it? And how long do you think it should be?</p>

<p>use the sample as a guide of what to include. there should be a list if requirements and limitations for the letter. it's really up to the nominating official what they want. just follow the guidelines that should be attached and you'll be fine.</p>

<p>i heard it is usually easier to get a nomination from your represantative vs. your senator. is this true?</p>

<p>just use the sample they give you, there is no need to personalize it. as per which is easier, it depends on the district. just apply to both</p>

<p>It's just numbers..</p>

<p>Assuming 100 folks compete for nominations.</p>

<p>Generalizing, since some districts and territories are different, there are two senators... 2<em>max slots allowable per year. If your state has, say , 5 representatives, then that would be 5</em>max slots allowable per year... 2/7ths of the nominations would come from Senators, 5/7ths would come from the representatives.</p>

<p>States are different. Some will give a Rep and both Senator nominations to a single candidate. Some states 'match' lists, and will only give out a single nomination to a candidate (thus, maximizing the number of DIFFERENT candidates on the slates they submit to the academies. The Academies then have the broadest possible pool of candidates to form the class that they want).</p>

<p>For our state, the Senator nom is strictly a numbers game. They didn't even talk about interviewing ... and said they wouldn't. The Representative's team was the only one my son ever met .. although he did get a nice personal congratulatory call directly from the Senator.</p>

<p>That's the way it looks from what I've seen directly.
Best of luck to you...</p>

<hr>

<p>Oh yes.. I agree with 2009. Use the sample letter. This will basically be your official request to put your name on the list.... Don't worry about expressing your creativity here.. You're likely just a name & address on a spreadsheet. The packet your turn in (is2day is right, there will be lots of particular requirements) is what will be assessed by the panel seated for your interview. Now, THAT'S where you want to make certain you express yourself well. ;) </p>

<p>One caveat... EACH office has it's particular requirements. It will almost certainly be different than the OTHER offices. For goodness sakes, keep the things straight. You don't want to MISS something that's required... As careful as things had gone in the kitchen Piling System, once we'd sealed everything up, we found we'd put the wrong labels on the outside... Ripped them open and put them in two NEW folders. (oops. Glad we caught it :D :D )</p>

<p>In Virginia the Senators do a full interview, and as Zonker stated, they compare notes with the Representatives and only give out one nomination. For instance, my son used one nomination for USMMA and one for NA because at the time of the nomination awards he was not sure which school to choose so he took both.</p>

<p>
[quote]
i heard it is usually easier to get a nomination from your represantative vs. your senator. is this true?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You are from NY so yes - statistically it will be easier for you to get a nomination from your US Representative as you are only competing against those in your district instead of those across the whole state of NY.</p>

<p>Regardless - apply for a nomination from both senators and your US Representative. The academies don't look at a Senatorial nomination as more "valuable". A nomination is a nomination.</p>

<p>If you apply to more than one academy - you don't get to pick for which academy you want to use your nomination. The Congressman nominates you after the slate is developed. For instance - if you apply to MMA, USMA, USNA the congressman may only give you a nom to MMA and USMA and you would be SOL for USNA. You can't go back and ask them to switch your USMA nomination to a USNA nomination.</p>

<p>I have no idea what the competition is in your district but in many congressional districts the slate for MMA is never completely filled (10 candidates) since the USMMA is less well known than the "Big 3".</p>