Academy Nominations

If you are interested in attending one of the United States Military Academies and have questions or would like more information, please feel free to contact my Lancaster District Office at (740) 654-5149.

United States Military Academy Nominations

One of my most gratifying duties is to nominate young people from the 7th Congressional District of Ohio 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 7th District of Ohio.

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 the spring of their junior year of high school, should contact my Lancaster District Office in order to receive an information packet to start the process. Please call (740) 654-5149. The information packet includes a letter of interest which must be sent to the Lancaster District Office in order to receive an application packet.  The deadline to return the letter of interest is 5:00 p.m. on October 4, 2010. 

The completed application is due back to my office by 5:00 p.m. on October 25, 2010 and generally, by the end of December, I will submit my list of nominees to the respective academies.

If a completed application is received by the October 25 deadline students will receive an interview with the Academy Review Board on Saturday, November 13, 2010.  Please fill out the below attached letter of interest and return to the Lancaster District Office and we will then send an application to interested students. 

Service Academies

There are five Service Academies including the:

    * United States Military Academy - West Point (USMA)
    * United States Naval Academy - Annapolis (USNA)
    * United States Air Force Academy (USAFA)
    * United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA)
    * U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA)

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.

At any one time, each Representative and each Senator is allowed to have at each of those academies five persons charged to his or her quota. There are three methods of nominating individuals, and I use the competitive method. For each vacancy, 10 nominations may be made on a strictly competitive basis. The competitive method provides that the nominees compete among themselves with the 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. 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 a nomination and appointment is very intense, it is a good idea 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 residency requirement 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 10 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.