Due to the extremely keen competition for nominations, you are urged to apply to every nominating authority which your eligibility allows, (i.e., Senator Jon Tester, Representative Dennis Rehberg, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Children of Deceased or Disabled Veterans, etc.). .

Each Congressional Office uses a selection process which is designed to meet its own needs and standards. The different procedures are often confusing to applicants who apply to more than one office. Last minute misunderstandings can be avoided by carefully studying and following the instructions of each office.

**The nomination process is now online**

To begin the Academy Nomination process online, click Here

For Counselors (access the counselor form), please click Here

Certain information is required as outlined below in order for you to be considered as an applicant. It is your responsibility to submit this information and to keep it updated. The deadline for receipt of information is December 1 prior to the year of entry because there must be adequate time to assess each candidate's qualifications. However, information received after the deadline is acceptable until the selection of nominees is complete. Candidates whose files are incomplete when the nominations are made cannot be given consideration. If you will have a problem meeting the deadline with scores, or other pertinent material, please call my Butte Office and make arrangements! The telephone number is 406-782-8700.

Careful thought should be given to your first choice of an academy. Second choices can be considered only in the event that there are not a sufficient number of qualified candidates in an academy category to fill a slate of nominees, which rarely happens. (First choice designations may be changed at any time before nominations are made.)

I. Requirements

a. Residency. Applicants must be residents of Montana.

b. Application Form. The enclosed application must be completed and returned promptly. Formal candidacy is established in this office upon receipt of the application. It is not necessary for you to send all required information at once, and you should not wait to fill out the application. If transcripts or test scores are not received within a reasonable time after your initial inquiry, it will be presumed that you are no longer interested in pursuing a nomination. It is your responsibility to complete your file!

You will not be contacted to check on progress.

c. Recommendation Form. The Recommendation Form must be completed by your school Guidance Counselor or Principal and returned to my office. Please have 3 letters of recommendation sent to my Butte office.

d. Transcript. An official transcript of your high school record and class record must be submitted. This transcript must show your current junior grades and numerical class rank (percentile ranks are not acceptable). If you apply before this information is available, it is your responsibility to request your guidance counselor to send an up-to-date transcript and to keep your records current.

e. College Boards. The SAT or ACT tests are required entrance examinations by the Service Academies. Applicants are responsible for registration for tests and for requesting results be sent to the academies and my office. You must be tested before December 15 for purposes of my office. Therefore, the SAT and ACT tests administered in November would be the last test which you may take if the results are to be received in my office before that deadline. Direct these scores to my office in your original choices for test reports. Send me a copy of the report you receive. If you submit more than one set of scores, the higher scores will be counted.

f. Qualifying Medical Examination. The individual academies will recommend the scheduling of medical examinations to the Department of Defense Medical Examination and Review Board after receipt of the pre-candidate questionnaire card which is used to open a pre-admission file at the academy. There is no cost to the candidate for this examination. Be sure to mail the appropriate cards as soon as possible to the appropriate academies.

g. Leadership. Leadership potential and physical fitness are judged from the information provided on your Application Form. This information should be kept up to date. Unlike civilian colleges, the Service Academies place strong emphasis on physical training. In addition, the academies, like civilian colleges and universities, place a high premium on leadership and extracurricular activities. Therefore, consideration must be given to each candidate's proven ability in these areas.

II. TYPE OF NOMINATION--COMPETITIVE

For each vacancy at the United States Air Force, Military, and Naval Academies, ten (10) candidates will be selected for nomination to compete for appointment. At the Merchant Marine Academy, ten (10) candidates will be selected for nomination to compete for the state quota of ten (10). Under the COMPETITIVE method, which I use, the candidates selected for nomination will be evaluated by the respective academies which will make the final appointment. NOTE: There are no congressional nominations to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

III. BASIS FOR SELECTION

Selections are made competitively on the basis of a composite of academic factors (60%) and leadership potential, extracurricular activities, physical fitness, and recommendations (40%). The following are included:

a. School records, class rank, and grade point average.

b. Extracurricular activities.

c. College Board Scores. Normally, a competitive candidate will have SAT scores above 580 on verbal and 560 on math, or ACT scores above 24 on English and 25 on math and will stand in the upper fifth of their class. The higher your scores and class standing, the greater will be your chances for a nomination, assuming qualification in the remaining areas of consideration.

d. Motivation. One of the most important considerations in the selection of nominees is motivation — the candidate's desire to attend an academy. It is also most difficult to measure. To an extent, motivation can be judged by a candidate's diligence in completing his or her file, which is one reason those incomplete files are not considered for nominations. In addition, candidates are invited to write an essay on their reasons for wanting to attend an academy. This may be done on the reverse side of the Application Form. The essay is optional, but it could be most helpful to your candidacy if you make it to the "finals" in other categories.

 

ALL THE FORMS REGARDING THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR A NOMINATION SHOULD BE SENT TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:

Senator Max Baucus
125 West Granite Street
Suite 100
Butte, Montana 59701

ATTN: Kim Krueger

kim_krueger@baucus.senate.gov

The telephone number is (406)782-8700, or call 1-800-332-6106 and ask to be connected to the Butte office to speak with Kim. She will be happy to assist you in any way possible.