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United States Military Academy Nominations
One of my most gratifying duties is to nominate young people from the sixth congressional district of Maryland to service academies. As a member of congress, I can make what is referred to as “congressional 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 from an authorized person including a Member of the United States Senate or the House of Representatives. I may nominate applicants who are legally domiciled within the boundaries of the Sixth District of Maryland.
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 the 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
Interested applicants, usually in their junior year of high school, should contact Marci Cosens in my Frederick office in order to receive the application packet to start the process. She can be reached by calling 301-694-3030. The completed application is due back to my office by the last business day of October and generally, by the end of December, I have submitted my list of nominees to the respective academies.
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.
Please note that you must start an application process with the academy you are applying to as well as the nomination process through my office.
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