Admission to a service academy is a two-tiered process. The candidate must first apply through the specific Academy and meet the minimum standards for admission set by the Academy. These standards include academic, physical, and medical qualifications. The second tier to admission is the nominations process. The candidate must meet the Academy’s admissions requirements and receive a nomination to be offered an appointment to the Academy.

Applicants should direct questions admissions questions of a particular Academy to that Academy’s Admissions office. Information can be obtained through each Academy’s website or by contacting the source below:

Nominations for USMA, USNA, and USAFA Nominations
Our office is entitled to fill five slots at each Academy. We can only nominate young men and women to a particular Academy when a vacancy occurs in one or more of these slots, through graduation or withdrawal. When a vacancy occurs, we may nominate up to ten candidates for that vacancy. One nominee will be offered an appointment to fill the vacant slot. The other nominees, assuming they meet that Academy’s minimum requirements, are placed into a nationwide qualified candidate pool. At that point, the respective Academy chooses candidates to fill the remaining slots in its incoming class.

USMMA Nominations
Unlike the Academies described above, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy uses state rather than district allotments to determine admission. The Commonwealth of Virginia is entitled to five slots in each Merchant Marine Academy class. Each Virginia Senator and Congressman may submit up to ten names per year for the Virginia “list.” The Virginia nominees then compete against one another for the five slots. The young men and women who will fill those slots are chosen by USMA. Once Virginia’s five slots are filled, the remaining nominees who meet the Merchant Marine Academy’s minimum admissions standards are placed into a nationwide qualified candidate pool. At that point, the Academy chooses candidates to fill the remaining slots in the incoming class.

U.S. Coast Guard Academy Nominations
Congressional nomination is not part of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s admissions process. Appointments are made on the basis of an annual nationwide competition. For information regarding Academy admission, see their website or contact the USCGA Admissions office at (860) 444-8500. 

General Information
Nomination to the United States Service Academies in the Eighth Congressional District is very competitive. Therefore, you are urged to apply to every nominating source for which you are eligible. This may include your Congressman, two Senators, the Vice President and the President, if applicable. A highly qualified candidate normally needs no more than one nomination to obtain an appointment.If you receive a nomination from another Congressional source, for your first choice, we will not duplicate the nomination.Please let us know immediately if you are nominated by another congressional authority. If you do not meet academy admissions standards, you will not benefit from having multiple nominations.

Each Congressional office uses a selection process that is designed to meet its own needs and standards. The different procedures may be confusing to candidates applying to more than one office. Misunderstandings can be avoided by carefully studying and following each office’s instructions. Certain information is required as outlined below in order for you to be considered as an applicant.

It is your responsibility to submit/update this information. The deadline for receiving your application is October 14, 2016.
Consider your first choice of an Academy carefully. Second choice for nomination will be considered only if there is an insufficient number of a highly qualified candidate to fill my slate of nominees to that academy. This rarely happens.

Requirements
a. Residency– An applicant must be a legal resident of the Eighth Congressional District of Virginia. Candidates who knowingly file in districts or states other than Virginia will be eliminated from consideration in the EightDistrict
b. Age– Applicants must be between the ages of 17 and 22 as of July 1 of the year of admission to a service academy.
c. Citizenship– Academy applicants must be citizens of the United States.
d. Marital/Dependent Status– Applicants must be unmarried, not pregnant, and have no legal obligation to support children or other dependents
e. Academic Performance and ExtracurricularActivities – Applicants must have a record of outstanding participation and performance in high school activities (athletic and non-athletic)
f. Moral Standing– Applicants must have good moral standing
g. Application– The application must be completed and returned no later thanOctober 14, 2016 to be considered. It is not necessary to send all required information at once, but you should not wait to submit your application because transcripts or test scores are not currently available
h. Transcript– You must submit an official high school transcript and class rank, if available. The transcript must show at least your final junior year grades. If applicable, college transcripts should be provided
i. College Boards– The service academies require applicants take the SAT or the ACT examination for entry. Applicants should register for the test(s) and request the scores to be sent to the academy of your choice and my office. SAT scores can be sent to my office by marking SAT CEEB from with5538and Congressman Donald S. Beyer, Jr. as the score recipient. The comparableACT code is 7731. If you are not able to include my office as an original recipient for your test results, to save time, send a copy of the report you receive. If you submit later/updated scores, the higher scores will be counted for nomination consideration
j. Qualifying Medical Exams– Each academy schedules candidates for medical examinations through the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board (DODMERB). There is no cost to you for this examination. Be sure to mail the appropriate yellow, blue or green card as soon as possible to the appropriate academy. You will not need to provide any information to my office regarding your medical exam.
k. Sholarship, Leadership, and Physical Fitness– The academies are looking for scholar-leader-athletes, in that order. The academy and my nomination board will evaluate you for nomination using this same profile. Their evaluation will compare your academic accomplishments/potential, your demonstrated/potential leadership, and your athletic accomplishments with those qualities of other applicants. Consequently, it is important that the information you submit to me and the academy of your choice be accurate and current.

Nomination
There will be at least one vacancy at each of the service academies each year through our office. Wewill nominate and submit a list of the top ten candidates for each academy vacancy. The academy will rank our list of nominees, in order of merit, in accordance with their admission standards and select an appointee from this slate of nominees. There is a possibility that additional nominees will be appointed from a large pool of candidates nominated by Congressional offices across the country.

Consideration for Nomination
Academy selections are made based on a composite of academic,leadership activities/indicators and recommendations,and physical fitness.The following are included.
a. School records, class, and grade point average.
b. Extra-curricular athletic and non-athletic activities.
c. College Board Scores – To qualify for a nomination, a candidate should take either the SAT or ACT test. The higher your standardized test scores and class standing, the greater your chance will be of receiving a nomination. My board and the service academies evaluate the whole-person; therefore, you must also be competitive in the other areas being evaluated.
d. Motivation – One of the most important considerations my board considers when evaluating a candidate for nominations is motivation. It is also the most difficult one to judge. Motivation is one of the most important indicators of success at a service academy. This can be partly judged by the diligence you show in completing your file.

Requirements: Representative Beyer’s Nomination Application
In addition to meeting the basic requirements identified above, you must submit the information/documents listed on the application. Please fill out electronically or print with black ink.

The information you submit to our office begins your file for consideration for a nomination, however, you must request and submit a Pre-Candidate Questionnaire (PCQ) to the academy to which you are applying to move your academy application forward.

Process
Request an application package by sending an email request to John Larson and Phil Davis at the email addresses below. Once your file is complete, our Academy Advisory Board will meet and recommend candidates for nomination.  Our board’s evaluation and recommendations are based on the criteria the service academies use in evaluating candidates.

Correspondence and questions regarding Eighth District nominations should be sent to the following address, email (preferred contact method), or fax number:

Congressman Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
Attn: John Larson or Phil Davis
5285 Shawnee Rd. Ste. 250
Alexandria, VA 22312
phil.davis@mail.house.gov
john.larson@mail.house.gov
Phone: (703) 658-5403
Fax: (703) 658-5408

Please feel free to contact our office should you have any questions regarding the nomination process. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you as you apply to one of the United States Academies.