** Click HERE for the U.S. Service Academy Application for Nomination (Instructions)
** Click HERE for the U.S. Service Academy Application for Nomination
The Nomination Process
To be considered for an appointment to a U.S. service academy, an applicant must meet the eligibility requirements established by law and be nominated by an authorized person – including a Member of Congress. I may nominate applicants who are legally domiciled within the boundaries of Michigan’s Sixth Congressional District.
Who Is Eligible?
An applicant for a nomination must meet the following eligibility requirements as of July 1st of the year of admission to a service academy: 1) he or she must be at least 17 years old and not have passed their 23rd birthday; 2) must be a citizen of the United States; 3) must be unmarried and not pregnant; and 4) have no legal obligation to support children or other dependents.
Applying for a Service Academy Nomination
In order to be considered for a service academy nomination through my office, you must complete an “Application for Nomination,” provide all requested documents and follow all outlined guidelines in the “Application for Nomination Instructions.” Those documents may be obtained by clicking the links above or by contacting my constituent service office in St. Joseph/Benton Harbor at (269) 982-1986.
Requesting a service academy nomination from a Member of Congress is only one step toward being accepted to a service academy. Each interested applicant must initiate an application process directly with the service academy they desire to attend.
The “Application for Nomination” and all requested documents outlined in the “Application for Nomination Instructions” must be submitted to my office by the required deadline. No exceptions will be granted. All documents must be submitted to my constituent service office in St. Joseph/Benton Harbor: The Honorable Congressman Fred Upton, 800 Ship Street, Suite 106, St. Joseph, Michigan 49085. The submission deadline for entrance to the service academies in summer 2015 is November 1, 2014, at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
Military Service Academies
There are five military service academies: the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), the United States Naval Academy (USNA), the United States Military Academy (USMA), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), and the United States 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.
In seeking a nomination to the USAFA, USNA, and USMA, there are various nomination authorities. Each eligible young person may apply to both United States Senators from the applicant’s state, his or her United States Representative, and the Vice President of the United States (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 five persons at each academy charged to his or her quota at any one time. There are three methods of nominating applicants to the service academies 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 difficult, 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.
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