Apllication Process: Nominations

The nomination process is similar to just the online application portion but is still just as important.

In order to be fully accepted into the Naval Academy a candidate must pass/be accepted by all of the requirements, that means you must be accepted into the school as well as have a nomination.  It does happen where people get one or the other, examples are first, a candidate from a rural area is nominated by their congressman but doesn't have the scores to get accepted by the Academy or a candidate from highly competitive region gets accepted into the Academy but does not get a nomination.

Each Congressman and Senator gets to nominate 10 for one slot at the Academy, but have no fear just because there are 10 people per slot doesn't mean that all 10 of these candidates gets accepted by the Academy, or chooses to attend.  There are also Congressmen and Senators that don't have to fill there spots so the extras from more competitive regions can take those spots.

For me I applied to both my Senators, one was just a paper application with test scores, transcript, and essay, no interview.  The other one required all the same but also had an interview which was conducted by 5 middle aged Academy graduates, asking me why I wanted to go to the Academy, what I wanted to do in the Navy, what I thought leadership meant, and a variety of other questions. Sadly I think that these men were from before women attended the Naval Academy and still were not so keen on women serving anything but their dinner because I got berated after each answer, despite have clear, concise, and confident answers.  Needless to say I did not get that Senator's nomination.  I was lucky enough to get the non-interview nomination :)

My third possible nomination could come from my Congressman but I used that application to try and get a nomination to West Point (please don't judge me, I was misguided youngin').  This application also had an interview but instead of a big group interview, it was 3 one-on-one session with 3 USMA graduates, two significant younger than the gentlemen who interview me for my Senator, one male and one female, and the third was actually the West Point version of the Blue and Gold officer, with whom I had already had an interview with

Tips for the interview, always, and I mean ALWAYS, have a question or two prepared in case they ask you if you have any questions.  Good examples would be to ask the interviewer about their service selection (what they did in the Navy) or if they have any advice for plebe summer. Any type of question that can spark a discussion or follow up questions is preferable. You also want to show that you've done some research about the Academy and being in the Navy but not like you think you know it all already. Also, never ask a question that can be answered with a yes or no.

Questions, comments, concerns? Leave them below in the comments section or email me at USNAwiki@gmail.com