<p>I will start my first draft of the nomination essay for my congressman/senators this week, and was wondering a few things:</p>
<p>1.) Do they want us to skip lines? They said they wanted “1 page”.</p>
<p>2.) Do I write a separate essay for each representative or do I send the same one to all?</p>
<p>3.) Do the congressman and senators share information among themselves?</p>
<p>Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>1) I’d assume its double spaced. That’s how most people want papers written after 8th grade. All three of my MOC asked for things double spaced.</p>
<p>2) It depends on the prompt. If they all ask for something similar to “Why do you want to attend a Service Academy” then it’d be fine.</p>
<p>3) They’ll share information on selections, in some states. For example, here in Virginia. The Congressmen yield selection ‘rights’ to the Senators so they can choose first. Then, Senators will send names to Congressmen, who will then make their selections. That’s done to spread nominations to as many kids as possible. Some states don’t do this, that’s why you can find people with 3 or 4 nominations. But if you’re wondering about sharing of information on each applicant, no, I really doubt it (that’s why they all have their own application).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do what the application information says. If it only says “1 page,” give them one page. One page double spaced does not allow for a lot of writing, so you may find it beneficial to have it single spaced if it does not specify. If the limit is a word count, then yeah, go ahead and double space.</p></li>
<li><p>Agree with CranoOrden on this. It’s fine to use the same essay, but only do so if it is the exact same prompt. Even if they are similar, be very careful that you answer the question that is being asked.</p></li>
<li><p>Depends.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I would say that you should not be repetitive in your essay. In certain states the MOCs do talk to each other and make sure that only 1 nom is given out, even if the candiate has requested from all 3. The MOC’s have pt people(POC) from their office that are in charge of the noms. You do not know if these POCs meet with each other and share info, such as I will put John Smith in our nomination pool and you do the same for Jane Doe. If they share the info, including the essays it could be embarrassing and make you look like you are just taking an easy way instead of giving more time to it. Notice I said pool, not nomination, because most MOCS have a committee that actually determines the candidates that they nominate and the MOC just signs off from the list. It is not uncommon to start seeing people on these forums in Oct/Nov being told thanks for trying, but we won’t be extending a nomination, while others will get interview appts. This comes from the committee already doing their 1st cut. SOme MOCs will offer appts to all after the interview(interview is just a formality), some will offer to only some(interview is the make or break). Some will not do any interviews at all and the essay is the make or break!</p>
<p>Take the few additional minutes and re-work the 1st essay even if it is the same prompt. You need to remember that even non competitive states like NC, they can have 70+ applicants for 10 slots. You don’t want to live with a doubt in your mind that you didn’t give it your all.</p>
<p>MOST IMPORTANT:
Follow the guidelines exactly. If it states 1 page double space, than do only 1 page. I know for our congressman, the POC stated if it is 2 pages, we immediately toss page 2! Ouch for the kid that spent the time and got reviewed as not being able to follow directions</p>
<p>It just says no longer than 1 page typed.</p>
<p>I don’t want to double space it to make it seem like I’m lazy, but I also don’t want it to seem too wordy if I don’t double space.</p>
<p>Maybe try 1.5 spacing?</p>
<p>That was me (not following directions). That and my reference didn’t do their reference correctly. Needless to say, I got the interview, but not the nomination (probably because I already got one). But yeah, don’t be that person…
I single spaced. It looked fine to me.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Follow the directions. With an ill-defined problem, do what you think is right while still following the rules. If it doesn’t say anything about line spacing, I’d assume its good to single space it.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, to the extent the essays still match the prompt. You might have to tweak them to fit. </p></li>
<li><p>I think most communicate so that individuals are not nominated by more than one source.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It all depends on your state for noms. I know NJ does give out more than one nom, however, NY’s MOCs state if you have one nom don’t come asking. TX says they only give out 1, but every yr there are several kids with 2! NC does not talk, our DS landed up with 4 noms (incl. Pres). I believe CO only hands out 1 nom.</p>
<p>Typically the more competitive the state the more likely they will only hand out 1 nom. More competitive states are ones that have a lot of military installations or the SA’s.</p>
<p>Oh I don’t mind if they share nominations.</p>
<p>I was just concerned that if they talk about the essays amongst themselves, it might be beneficial to write separate essays so make a larger impact. Make it look like I want it, which I do, but that would prove it.</p>
<p>Not that it would even help, I have no idea.</p>
<p>Forgot to ask; is there a sample somewhere? I’m stuck on how to open the paper.</p>
<p>The first paragraph is the hardest; I don’t know how to start it out and grab their attention.</p>
<p>There is no sample. You really should wait and discuss this with your ALO. He/She has the experience and if they are like our DS’s was, they will want to review it, before you submit it.</p>
<p>I know you are excited, but you need to take a breather. Sending out nom paperwork right now will not help you get a nom, if anything you take the chance that it will get lost! (Might get confused with applicants from last yr and you would never know) They will not start reviewing noms until after their due date. If you send it in May and their deadline is Oct 15th, it is going to sit in a file for 5 months, that is the reality.</p>
<p>Instead, at this time practice your CFA, that is something you can complete on your own. Too many kids don’t realize it is like hw…a chance for extra points if you put everything into it! Don’t just think I am in good shape, so I’ll do fine! Unless you can throw that bball 100, do 18 pull ups, 95 sit-ups, 80 push-ups, 8 sec shuttle and a 6 min mile, you have room to improve, and every point counts, esp for those that play non-traditional sports (TKD is one of them)</p>
<p>There is no right or wrong in this process. </p>
<p>My daughter started writing to her congressional folks a YEAR before she was even allowed to apply for a nom. She wrote to them about every 6 months with a “remember me” type of letter and every time expressed her desire to serve her country, and wrote about what she was doing to make it happen. </p>
<p>She ended up getting two noms, and BOTH our Senator and Congressman were very kind to tell her they appreciated her letters. They both said it definitely showed them she was very determined. </p>
<p>Oddly enough, I ran into our congressman the other day and he could recall my daughter’s name, high school, the sport she played, etc… It was really amazing. Do you know what he mentioned?–her letters. I laugh because he called her a “mid”…but hey, he’s getting up there in age :)</p>
<p>Bottom line, write early and often. You have to remember there is always going to be someone who wants this more and is doing more…</p>
<p>Also, there are sample letters available. I have seen internet sites that give examples of all kinds of letters. Also I believe one of the booklets from USAFA had sample letters. The book, “How to get into USAFA” also has sample letters.</p>
<p>Good luck. You can NEVER be wrong when you are sincere.</p>
<p>Oh, I don’t plan on sending anything in early.
I just thought I would start it early so I could spend 3 or 4 months reviewing it and tweaking it to make it better little by little.</p>
<p>I will DEFINITELY be visiting my ALO in person probably in late August to go over everything.</p>
<p>Call your ALO now and set up an appt. Our DS met with his in June and continue to do so weekly to review all of his essays (even the AFA) throughout the summer. He also was invited to Daedalian dinners with the ALO and so when it was time for the ALO to give his rec, he gave the max to our DS since he knew him very well.</p>
<p>I am not saying that every ALO is like this, but until you meet him you will not know if they are. Our friends sons ALO was totally hands off and only met with him 1x to do the interview. If your ALO is hands off when you complete it you might want to ask people to read it via PMs, this way you can get an unbias review. Flieger might be kind enough to do this for you and it could be especially helpful since he is an ALO.</p>
<p>Another site you might go to is [United</a> States of America Service Academy Forums - Powered by vBulletin](<a href=“http://www.serviceacademyforums.com%5DUnited”>http://www.serviceacademyforums.com) there is an actual area that is for nom threads only. That site is much more SA oriented, including Dodmerb and ROTC areas.</p>
<p>There is also a site called [NewCadet.com</a> - Networking America’s Service Academy Candidates](<a href=“http://www.newcadet.com%5DNewCadet.com”>http://www.newcadet.com) which can be helpful for you. It is mostly only applicants and cadets, kind of like a facebook for SA applicants/candidates/cadets.</p>
<p>Thanks for the links. I’ll hop on over there.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for other places, don’t hesitate to check out [USAFA</a> Community](<a href=“http://www.usafacommunity.com/forum/]USAFA”>http://www.usafacommunity.com/forum/) Unlike the other forums, it is only USAFA folks from candidates to grads and everything in between. Many folks on here, are also over there. Good luck!</p>