<p>Just wondering when everyone started applying for congressional nominations? I am currently a junior and a little unclear on the whole process. Any information would help :-)<br>
Thanks</p>
<p>Certainly, by April of this year you should be in touch with your congressman and senate offices. Many MOC's hold events over the summer for rising seniors seeking nominations. I'd recommend ordering a copy of the USNA Candidates book from the USNA bookstore - it does a great job of outlining the congressional nomination process.</p>
<p>You can also, with most MOC's, get information from their online sites.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I think April of your junior year is a bit too early to get in touch with your congresspeople. Most of the interviews are going to be done in November or December of your senior year. The congresspeople are probably just going to tell you to wait. April is about the right time to start filling out the application for the Naval Academy, however.</p>
<p>I would say right after school ends in the spring would be a good time; however, check out the web sites for your Senators and rep. and they will give you guidance on their preferences.</p>
<p>APan5:<br>
If you get the applications from your MOC in late spring of your junior year, you can get evaluations from teachers/coaches/hs counselor before the end of the academic year (11th grade), thus avoiding the logjam of letters of recommendations/evaluations in the fall of your senior year when all college bound seniors are asking faculty and counselors for the same thing. We didn't do this, but it seems like a good idea. In fact, we cut short a trip to London to get home and finish paperwork before school resumed in the fall. </p>
<p>Cardinal Rule for all Candidates: Make sure you, not your parents, contact the MOC. Also, think about part-time employment this summer if you don't already have a job. I think MOCs like to see that. (It also reduces what your hard-working parents have to pay for car insurance!)</p>
<p>As others have said, check MOC websites.</p>
<p>The only caution here is that some of the recommendations must come from 12th grade teachers.</p>
<p>Bossf51,
That may be true elsewhere, but US Senators from California requested Counselor/Principal and Teacher/Coach evaluations without stipulating grade level. I assume that the majority of teacher recommendations for high school applicants are written by faculty members teaching 11th grade courses. This doesn't apply to coaches. Our local congressman requested two letters of recommendation that were provided by our pastor and dd's hs counselor. Did your MOC request evaluations from current teachers?</p>
<p>Heard anything from USNA?</p>
<p>In a word, yes. That tends to hold up reccs...some teachers don't want to write you up until Nov. or so...I got some in just under the wire.
No I haven't heard as yet...I am QQQ with a nom. so I'm hoping to hear soon.</p>
<p>Bossf51,
We stood in line at the post office and watched the postal clerk postmark the application packets...</p>
<p>Yeah we sent everything out certified return receipt requested...cost Pop about $20 bucks or so but will be worth it in the long run.</p>
<p>Apan5:</p>
<p>You will likely want to request nominations from your two senators and congressional representative. Some MOC's have the application form available online. They will likely have different application due dates but most are in the range of October 1st to November 15th. Caution, all recommendation letters must be in by these dates as well. Try to get requests for recommendations in early (Aug) since your entire senior class will be asking for recommendation letters shortly after they return to school (some will ask earlier). Make if easy for your recommender. Give them a preaddressed envelope(s). I also recommend you give them a copy of your academic/activity/awards profile and the essay setting forth your reasons for wanting to attend the academy.</p>
<p>Get to know the contact person at each MOC. They can tell you if there are any outstanding items needed for your file.</p>
<p>Most MOC's have an interview with applicants in Nov or Dec. Some have separate interviews for each academy you are applying to.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>My daughter found out that at least in California the nomination applications weren't available till abt April. Applying for nominations between April and June seemed to be the best timeframe (at least for her). She had all paperwork, test scores, recommendations, transcripts, etc submitted by June1. If you try to do it over the summer you end up with the logistical issues of locating teachers while school is not in session. If you go to more than one service academy summer seminar then your month of June is pretty well shot anyway. Once your apps are in you can mail them updates for your nomination file as they occur (updated transcripts, awards, test scores,etc). Most of them were pretty specific-----don't send any more or or any less than they ask for. If you can avoid it don't wait till the fall. You"ll be doing plenty of other stuff by then as it is.</p>
<p>I got my nomination applications in before the end of my junior year, with teacher reccs and all. By the end of the summer, their offices notified me that they had indeed received my applications.</p>
<p>For some reason, Rep. Brady's office had a hard time getting my SAT scores. I spent about 20 bucks just trying to get them to his office. Make sure you send your scores directly from the website, and early.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information everyone! I appreciate it! if anyone has any other tips/tricks for keeping on top of things Id love to know. Otherwise congrats to all those appointed! I'll be happy if I even finish everything...it's a rather overwhelming application process haha. But well worth it in the end :-)</p>