<p>Hey, does anyone know about the status of presidential nominations, i.e., if there are primary and alternate candidates, and where that information could be found? Thanks a bunch.</p>
<p>My understanding is that you either qualify or not, and that an infinite number of Presidential Noms can go out, but only 100 per class get in on a Presidential.</p>
<p>It's all competitive. Typical year...avg # presidential nominations is 400-500, although some years are substantially higher. Actual appointments from those nominations vary but usually are less than the allowed 100.</p>
<p>So, if you are Triple Q'd and you have a presidential, you have a great chance, especially if your academics are at or above average (see class profiles).</p>
<p>There actually have been years where presidential appointments have exceeded 100 substantially (~130+). I don't know how that can happen however, but maybe the law has exceptions that aren't readily advertised.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Hello over there in beautiful Beaufort! It was cold this morning in SC. :)
As to primary (or principle) and alternate candidate status, I believe that is done by the Academies themselves. You receive the nomination then its up to the Academy to put you into those catagories. If you're asking if Presidential nominations put you in some kind of ranking order, then thats a different story and I'm not sure if it is public knowledge. Interesting question though. It would be my guess that you are ranked but am at a loss over finding the information published somewhere if indeed it would be true. Hopefully a MIDN or parent of one can answer. Good luck to you! The more SC kids we get in academies, the better!!
<em>clap-clap-clap-clap</em></p>
<p>As a BGO, my strong advice is not to rely solely on a Presidential nomination to secure an appointment. In some cases, it may not be enough even if you are triple Q'ed.</p>
<p>There are many advantages to securing a Congressional/Senatorial/VP nomination. First, it shows USNA that you successfully competed against other candidates in your area. Second, it gives USNA more flexibility in offering you an appointment. Third, it demonstrates your interest in USNA. USNA strongly recommends that you apply for every nomination for which you're eligible and, based on personal experience, I second that advice. I'm sure there are many folks who've received appointments with only a Pres. nomination but, especially if you live in a competitive geographic area, it is risky.</p>
<p>USNA1985 -- Ahh, how true! I didn't mean to imply you should skip the rest of the process...absolutely NOT! That would be considered "over-confident" and would hurt your chances for sure. You must do your best to complete the entire process and apply for ALL eligible nominations to have your best shot.</p>
<p>That process aside...It has been said by at least a few MOC nominating committee members that a MOC will not waste a nomination on someone who already has a presidential nomination unless the slate cannot be competitively filled, or the candidate is truly exceptional (and the MOC really wants his/her name associated with the candidate's appointment).</p>
<p>Do you agree with that notion?</p>
<p>I've not heard that, but I also can't say that it isn't true. I know that, in my area (which is extremely competitive), I've had candidates obtain Pres and Cong noms. Many years ago, I had one of each (Pres and Cong). It is difficult to obtain more than one Cong nom in this region (such as from a Senator and the Congressperson) and most people around here get only one Cong nom to one academy, so must choose wisely. However, there are exceptions even to this "rule," and things are likely different in other geographic areas. Bottom line is that it doesn't hurt to try for all you can get.</p>
<p>I have heard in my area that if my congressman or senators find out that i have a pres. nom, then they will not even consider me for their nominations because my area is so competitive.</p>
<p>In the case of our son the Presidential did not exclude him from receiving nominations from all of our MsOC. We are a sparsely populated state, but heavily military, so we do have a great deal of competition for nominations from our MsOC, since we have a total of 3. Sandiego, you can't worry about what others say. Just put in your apps, keep your grades up, don't do anything goofy (we had a student lose an appointment for pouring milk over faculty cars at -20 degrees, not a good move!) and be confident that you have put forth the best possible effort. Let the MsOC make the decision. I have to think there are some machinations which take place to get as many qualified candidates as possible in, and that they do look at who has what noms available. Heck, we even had a swimmer that was a friend of my son's get in 7 days after I-day. It's not over until it's over.</p>
<p>Addendum: If you look at the stats for those with presidential noms, I believe that there is a 96-97% graduation rate for those who get in on these, so it is a good bet for the academy. Our son and all of his roommates got in on presidentials. :)</p>