<p>I just had my interview for one of my Congressional nominations and the interview went well. At the end, one of the interviewers candidly asked if I had yet to apply for a presidential nomination. I answered that I had and that I received the nomination. The interviewer then told me that because of this it was most likely that they would no longer recommed me to receive a nomination. Even though two of the interviewers gave me their bussiness cards to call them with any questions or if I needed them to talk to anyone/ recommend me for anything, this turned out to basically be a big waste of time. Is this common among peole receiving presidential nominations and then seeking other nominations? Because my regional director and the USMA admissions website both say to try and get as many nominations as possible.</p>
<p>I know it feels terrible to know that the panel will not recommend you for a nomination because you have a Presidential nomination, but it's still not a total waste of time. You obviously made a good impression on them, for two of them to offer to "talk to anyone. recommend me for anything." That's something positive to take away from it.</p>
<p>I believe that I have read in other posts that some MOC (or their committees) will not give a nomination to someone who already has one or more, but others in this forum are more knowledgeable about that.</p>
<p>Good luck on your medicals, and all remaining steps towards an appointment.</p>
<p>You shouldn't feel bad about it whatsoever, not sure why you would. Since you already have a presidential nomination you don't need another one. I believe the academy website says you should "apply" to as many as you have available to you, not "get" as many as you can. Big difference. Having more than one doesn't make you any more of a better candidate in the Academy's eyes. I can very much appreciate the MOC's point of view. Good luck on your journey.</p>
<p>impreza - do you have an LOA? If you do then you only need "a" nomination. A congressional is not necessary.</p>
<p>If you don't have an LOA - then your congressman is sorely misguided. He should consider you for a nomination.
This is the reason--- having a MOC nomination gives the Academy more flexibility in your appointment - they can use either nomination. Remember even though there are about 400 kids with presidentials they are limited in the number of apppointments they can give with a presidential nom. I think it is 100. So if you rank 101 - you will be out of luck and they won't be able to appoint you with that nomination.<br>
Many applicants with presidential's also get congressional noms. Often they win their appointments with their congressional nom and not their presidential.</p>
<p>You should talk with your MALO. MALO's often work with congressional committees to help them understand the process. Good Luck.</p>
<p>Some MOC's definitely give nominations to a candidate who already has one from another source. Always apply for nominations from all possible sources.</p>
<p>The goal of the Senators and Congressmen in most states is to get as many students from their state into as many Service Academy spots as possible. This is why the different offices talk to each other and why many states will not double and triple nominate candidates unless they feel that the candidate is not academically strong enough. If you already got a Presidential nomination, it sounds like you are an academically strong candidate. I wouldn't worry about it.</p>
<p>Congrats on your Presidential Nom, your ahead of most, including me.</p>
<p>Good Luck and Congrats!</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you already got a Presidential nomination, it sounds like you are an academically strong candidate. I wouldn't worry about it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>WRONG!!! Getting a presidential nomination says nothing about the strength of the candidate - it is soley based on one's parents military service. Everyone eligible receives one.</p>
<p>If you are a candidate who is middle of the road - but really strong in your congressional district (weak district) you could lose out on an appointment by not getting a congressional nomination - I stand by my original statement - without an LOA every candidate with a presidential nomination needs to seek and congressional nomination.<br>
Impreza's congressman is not playing fair with him and could be potentially denying him an appointment by not considering him for a nomination.</p>
<p>The nomination process is complicated and confusing - kids with multiple nominations often don't know until well after their appointment which nomination was used to get them to the academy.</p>
<p>"This is why the different offices talk to each other and why many states will not double and triple nominate candidates unless they feel that the candidate is not academically strong enough."</p>
<p>Not accurate.</p>
<p>There have been candidates with LOA's who have received double and triple nominations from multiple MOC's. A "weaker" candidate is certainly not more likely to receive multiple noms.</p>
<p>"Since you already have a presidential nomination you don't need another one."
This is only true if a candidate has a LOA. If a candidate does not have a LOA it is in his/her best interest to receive as many nominations as he/she can. This allows a candidate to compete in more pools and increases the chances of him/her receiving an appointment.</p>
<p>"Need" and "Want" are what we are talking about here folks. It is incorrect about only being "true if a candidate has a LOA". It might be in his own selfish best interest to grab all of the nominations he can, but it can be said that it is also in the best interest of the MOC to distribute the nominations. But he doesn't "need" another nomination, even if he wants it and has an LOA.</p>
<p>Okay, let me defend my original post.</p>
<p>First off, I am not eligible to receive a Presidential nomination, so I didn't look into the process. I assumed it was competitive like nominations from Congressmen and Senators, i.e. you only got the nomination if you were a qualified candidate. I didn't know that they hand them out like candy. Sorry. My bad. I take it back.</p>
<p>Second, my comment about double and triple nominations that shogun jumped all over my for is TRUE IN MY STATE. That's what I was explictly told my the Nomination Coordinater for one of the Senators. It may not hold true in other states. Some states are dead set against multiple nominations for anyone, some are not. All states seem to have different rules that the offices follow. Not going to appoligize for this one.</p>
<p>Third, I assumed you were a qualified candidate because I assumed the interviewer thought that you were strong enough to get in without his office's nomination. I will appoligize for this one. Sorry, I don't know if you're a weak or strong candidate. My fault. </p>
<p>BTW, I'm only applying at USNA. I just came over here to see what was up. I guess I'll be going back to the Navy forum now. At least now that you know I'm apply at USNA, it gives you a justification to flame me.</p>
<p>GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!</p>
<p>Steve - no one is flaming you - as I said the process is confusing and easily misunderstood.</p>
<p>Each congressional district/state differs on competitiveness. In some districts the MOC can't even fill the slate and in others very qualified candidates do not get a nomination. You are competing against others in your geographic area for a MOC nomination.</p>
<p>majmattmason: The academies instruct applicants to apply for each nomination that is available to them. No where do they tell candidates to NOT apply for MOC noms if they have a presidential.</p>
<p>Candidates are not being greedy by seeking all the nominations they are qualified to seek. This makes it easier for the academy to appoint the best possible class and for the academy to have more options when they decide to appoint the candidate.</p>
<p>Look at it this way - you have 400 kids with presidential noms. If NONE receive any other nomination then only 100 will be able to get an appointment - unless a few are lucky enough to get a supe nomination.
It is possible that candidate #101 is highly qualified and could have won his district. He could theoretically be left out of the appointment process.</p>
<p>Regardless of the theory - if the academy instructs applicants to apply for all nominations they are eligible for and they do not follow the instructions then the academy may take this as a sign of disinterest.</p>
<p>I stand by my original statement that in most cases a MOC should not be excluding those with presidential nominations from their slate. They could be hurting their own constituents. The candidate should indeed inform admissions so they are aware of the situation.</p>
<p>JustAMomOf4</p>
<p>"majmattmason: The academies instruct applicants to apply for each nomination that is available to them. No where do they tell candidates to NOT apply for MOC noms if they have a presidential."</p>
<p>Didn't I say that earlier? Sure thought I did.</p>
<p>"I believe the academy website says you should "apply" to as many as you have available to you, not "get" as many as you can."</p>
<p>"It might be in his own selfish best interest to grab all of the nominations he can, but it can be said that it is also in the best interest of the MOC to distribute the nominations"</p>
<p>If a candidate has an LOA then "a nomination" (any nomination) will result in an appointment as long as all of the other criteria are met. A candidate in this position does not need another nomination. However, without a LOA the candidate will have to compete for one of the top slots on the presidential slate or for "the” top dog position on a congressional slate i.e. each nomination pool is competitive. A candidate may not win an appointment from a presidential nomination. However, that same candidate may be strong enough to win an appointment from a congressional nomination. This has nothing to do with the candidate being greedy, it is about competing in a candidate pool that he/she is eligible to compete in. The academies encourage candidates to apply to all of their nomination sources for this reason. This is not only about wants, it is often about candidate needs (the goal is an appointment not a nomination). That being said, I agree that MOCs have the legal right to distribute their nominations in whatever way they see fit.</p>
<p>Everyone "needs" only one nomination. In addition to multiple nominations sometimes helping the candidate, they often help the Academy to move appointments around in order to achieve the maximum quality for the incoming class. Therefore, I do not think the LOA comment precludes the academy's desire for these candidates to attempt to obtain all possible nominations available.</p>
<p>Just because the rumor is that a certain MOC does things a certain way should not preclude the candidate from attempting the nomination.</p>
<p>Yes, a candidate only “needs one nomination” to be considered for an appointment. But, that doesn’t mean he will get an appointment from that one nomination - it depends on the strength of the pool he/she is competing in. As I have said the more pools they compete in the better their chances of receiving an appointment. Yes, the academy likes candidates with LOAs to apply to all of their sources; this does give them more flexibility in assigning nominations. This has been discussed before.</p>
<p>This is thre thread I was thinking of:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=4493556#post4493556%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=4493556#post4493556</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>However, in light of the discussion above, it obviously bears repeating. Information presented on this forum obviously has a very short half life.</p>
<p>Our LOA dosent say anything about following thru with congressional/senatorial nominations.Do LOA's usually say to continue with that process? It states just to complete other forms for the package. Does this mean that our Presidential is being used for our Appointment? We come from a very very competitive district in VA. We have a call in to WP, and our MALO to find out for sure before we cancel any interviews.</p>
<p>If no other nomination is received your presidential nomination will be used for the appointment. However, admissions encourages LOA recipients to apply to all sources. If you are from a very competitive district your MOCs may not give you (your son/daughter?) another nomination since you already have what you need for an appointment. On the other hand, LOA recipients do not count against the MOCs list, so they often have nothing to lose by giving LOA recipients a nomination (LOA recipients do not need to be primary nominees, they can be listed at the bottom of the slate of 10 names that the MOC nominates)</p>