Senator Schatz has the honor and privilege of nominating exceptional students from the state of Hawai‘i for appointment to the United States Service Academies. An official nomination is required for admission to each of the Service Academies except the United States Coast Guard Academy.

Members of Congress have a limited number of nominations to submit for consideration each year. As a result, the selection process for a congressional nomination is extremely competitive. In accordance with the Service Academy “whole person” approach for selecting the best qualified candidates, Senator Schatz is committed to evaluating students on a broad range of criteria including character, scholarship, leadership, and motivation.

Due to a competitive and thorough selection process, students are encouraged to apply to their congressional sponsors and service academies in the spring of their junior year. Students in their senior year will also be considered.

Applicants must meet the following criteria to apply for a nomination.  

• Be a U.S. Citizen (or will be a U.S. Citizen before entering an academy).
• Be between the ages of 17 and 23 (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, and the U.S. Naval Academy) and/or 17 and 25 years old on July 1 (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy).
• Be unmarried, not pregnant, and have no legal obligation to support children or other dependents.
• Successfully pass the Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA) physical strength test and a medical exam by the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board (DoDMER) or its contractor.
• A legal resident of the State of Hawai‘i. 

Nomination Packets will be evaluated based on the candidate’s potential to secure an appointment to an academy and to successfully complete the academy’s leadership, academic, and physical requirements. The top scoring applicants will be invited to interview in November at my Honolulu office. Candidates not residing on O‘ahu will be interviewed via video teleconference or telephone. Successful candidates will be notified of their nomination before February.  Please note that a nomination does not guarantee admission into a military academy. Each academy’s admissions board ultimately determines who receives an academy appointment.

Nomination Schedule:

October 28: Deadline to submit on-line application is 6:00 p.m. (Hawaii-Standard Time).

November: Selected applicants will be scheduled for interviews.

December: Interviews in the Senator’s Honolulu office or via video conference or  telephone.

January: Notification of selected nominees.

If you have experience any issues accessing the application or have any questions about the process, please do not hesitate to call our Honolulu Office at 808-523-2061.

Thank you for your willingness to serve our nation. Best of luck!