Military Academy Nominations
THE NOMINATION PROCESS
To be considered for an appointment to a service academy, an applicant must meet the eligibility requirements established by law and be nominated by an authorized person including a Member of the United States House of Representatives or the Senate. I may nominate applicants who are legally domiciled within the boundaries of the first district of Utah.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
An applicant for a nomination must meet the following eligibility requirements as of July 1 of the year of admission to a service academy. He or she must be at least 17 years old, but not have passed their 23rd birthday, must be a United States citizen, and must be unmarried, not pregnant, and have no legal obligation to support children or other dependents.
APPLYING TO MY OFFICE FOR A NOMINATION
Students interested in a nomination should fill out the form below in the spring/summer of their junior year of high school. In September, they will be contacted by a member of my staff who will ask them to send the following materials required for being considered to be nominated:
- An official school transcript
- ACT/SAT scores
- A brief biography that explains why they should be nominated to a service academy
- Three letters of recommendation
- A picture of themself
All items must be submitted to my office by September 30th. Interviews will be scheduled for shortly after that deadline. Please call my District Office at 801-625-0107 for any questions.
Please note that it is extremely important that the student begins the application process with the academies themselves, not just with my office.
SERVICE ACADEMIES
There are five Service Academies: the United States Air Force (USAFA), Naval (USNA), Military (USMA), Merchant Marine (USMMA), and Coast Guard (USCGA) Academies. Nominations are required for all but the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, to which appointments are made on the basis of an annual nationwide competition. As far as the USAFA, USNA, and USMA are concerned, there are various nomination authorities, with each eligible young person being able to apply to both United States Senators from the applicant's state, his or her United States Representative, and the Vice President (if very highly qualified). The other nomination categories are military-affiliated. With respect to the Congressional category, each Representative and each Senator is allowed to have at each of those academies at any one time five persons charged to his or her quota.
There are three methods of nominating, and I use the competitive method. For each vacancy, ten nominations may be made on a strictly competitive basis. The competitive method provides that the nominees compete among themselves for final appointment determined by the admissions authorities. They take into consideration a nominee's academic record, extracurricular and athletic activities, physical aptitude, ACT and/or SAT scores, leadership ability, and medical qualifications. Such facets of an applicant's record are also considered during the nomination selection process. No person will be offered admission if he or she does not meet the physical standards of the Academy unless awarded a medical waiver. As competition for nomination and appointment is very keen, it is wise for all interested persons to apply through all sources for which they are eligible and for all Academies in which they have a real interest.
An individual may be nominated by more than one nominating authority and/or to more than one Academy. With regard to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the locality boundary for nomination by a Representative is the State in which the District lies rather than just the District itself. Each Representative and each Senator may nominate ten candidates each year to compete for admission.
For any other questions regarding an academy's admissions process, or about any other programs the academies offer, please contact the admissions department of the respective academy.