What is a nomination?

In today’s post, I want to make sure you know the difference between a “nomination” and an “appointment” to a service academy. These terms can sometimes be confusing and are often used interchangeably.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

When you apply to a service academy (with the exception of the Coast Guard Academy), you must receive what’s called a nomination. 

Nominations are pre-screening tools used by the service academies to help them make admissions decisions. 

In other words, the service academies make their final appointment decisions (or acceptances) from a pool of applicants who have already been pre-screened by receiving “nominations”. 

2-step process. 

Step 1: get a nomination

Step 2: get an appointment

No nomination = no appointment

You need to have a nomination in order to secure an appointment. 

NOMINATION SOURCES

There are senatorial nominations (from one or both of the senators from your state), a Vice Presidential nomination (coming from the VP’s office), a Presidential nomination (for those students who have parents in the military that meet certain criteria), and congressional nominations (from the congressional representative within your district). 

The more common path to a nomination is a congressional nomination. 

Here’s how they work:

Each member of Congress is granted 5 slots for each of three academies:

1. West Point
2. Naval Academy
3. Air Force Academy 

These 5 slots are filled by a:

(1) freshman

(1) soph

(1) junior

(1) senior

(and one swing student) at each of the academies. 

Every year, when one student graduates from the academy, a new slot opens up. 

To fill each slot (which is normally 1 or 2 per year), a congressperson can nominate up to 10 candidates to fill that one slot. 

You want to be one of these 10 nominees.

The list of 10 nominees is then sent to the respective academy where they then choose one (or two) nominees from each district, whom they will grant an official appointment. 

An appointment is the military term for an “acceptance”. 

When you get an appointment, you have been officially accepted into the academy. 

Let’s review the steps to winning a Congressional nomination and appointment: 

Step 1: Apply for a congressional nomination from your district’s congressperson (find their applications online). 

Step 2: Be a strong enough candidate to be one of the top 10 students in your district to be nominated by your congressperson for your selected branch(es) (e.g. Army, Navy, Air Force, Merchant Marines). 

Step 3: Be the #1 person from that slate of 10 nominees from your district to receive an official appointment from the academy. 

As you can see, things can get very competitive very quickly depending on what congressional district you live in. 

In some districts, it can be extremely competitive just to get a “nomination”. That is, just to be one of the Top 10 nominees. And then, of course, even more competitive to rise to #1 among those 10 nominees to receive an actual appointment. 

On the other hand, there are some districts where it is not as competitive to get a nomination or an appointment because there are fewer candidates applying. 

There are stories of students who will actually move to a part of the country that is less competitive in order to increase their chances of getting a nomination and appointment. 

The service academies are legally mandated to accept a certain number of students from each district, no matter what. There are geographical quotas that have to be met (by law). 

I happen to live in San Diego, one of the most competitive districts in the country, especially for the Naval Academy. We have Navy bases, a Navy SEAL base, Air Stations, and a lot of Marines and defense contractors. 

A lot of families know about the Navy, value its mission, and thus encourage their children to consider the Naval Academy. This drives a lot of the best and brightest students to apply for nominations. 

Unfortunately, even if a particular district has 5 or 6 highly-qualified candidates, only one will receive a congressional appointment in any particular district (recruited athletes notwithstanding). 

Of course, there are always exceptions, but I just wanted to make sure you knew how the process worked so that you can manage your expectations. 

The competitiveness of the congressional nomination process is why it’s a good idea to apply to several nomination sources, including your two senators, the VP, and a Presidential nomination (if eligible). The more options you have the better. 

Bottom line: Don’t take the nomination process lightly. 

Remember, you need a nomination from one or more sources even to be considered for an appointment. 

Don’t worry, we’ll cover a lot more information in the coming weeks to help you nail this process.