Service Academy Nominations

As a Member of Congress, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard has the distinct honor of nominating students from the 40th Congressional District to U.S. service academies. Admission to a U.S. service academy is a highly competitive process. Every year well-rounded students from across the country and around the world apply for the opportunity to attend the esteemed and rigorous military institutions.

In exchange for a fully-funded high-caliber college education, academy graduates agree to serve in the military as commissioned officers for a minimum of five years.

The annual application deadline for academy nominations is October 30.

To be eligible for a nomination from Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, students must be U.S. citizens and live in California’s 40th Congressional District. Applicants must also first open an application directly with their chosen academy.

Applying for a Nomination

To be considered for a nomination complete the following steps:

1. Nomination Request Form: Complete and submit the Nomination Request Form. It is important that the form be filled out neatly and be typed or handwritten in black ink. Be sure to save a copy of your completed application for your records.

*Please note, to view the Nomination Request Form, you must have the free Adobe Acrobat software installed on your computer. We recommend you install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader for best results. Select Adobe Acrobat Reader if you want to download or would like to upgrade.

2. Personal Statement: Write a 1-page personal statement to Congresswoman Roybal-Allard describing your reasons for seeking a nomination to an academy.

3. Letters of Recommendation: Request three recommendations from your teacher(s), your principal, your counselor, an employer, and/or religious leader. Have your recommenders complete the Recommendation Form and return it to you in a signed and sealed envelope. Do not break the envelope seal. Be sure to complete the top portion of the Recommendation Forms before you give them to your recommenders. Submit all three completed Recommendation Forms together with the rest of your application documents.

4. Official Transcripts: Ask your high school to provide you with an official sealed transcript of your classes and grades to date. Do not open the envelope. Send your transcripts in the sealed envelope together with the rest of your application documents.

5. Test Scores: Take the College Entrance Board’s SAT exam or the American College Testing Program (ACT) exam. This is extremely important because the academies use test scores as a primary measure to assess a prospective candidate’s academic performance. 
    a. Include your test results on the Nomination Form and 
    b. Include an official copy of your test scores in a sealed envelope with the rest of your application documents. (You may also have your official scores sent directly to the congresswoman’s office. To send your test scores directly to the congresswoman’s office use code 4641 for the SAT and code 7279 for the ACT.)

Words of Advice

• Give yourself plenty of time to complete the application carefully.

• Be sure to include relevant information about your extracurricular activities, work, family, community and church activities, and school life.

• Proof-read your Personal Statement and consider having a second reader, like your English teacher, review it as well. Expressing yourself in a well-written statement is important.

• Do not change the application form. If you want to include more information, attach a resume or additional pages.

• If you are in college when you apply for the nomination, please provide your temporary address on the Nomination Request Form and list the name of your college instead of you high school.

• If you are re-applying for an appointment and previously submitted a nomination request through Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's, it is not necessary to resubmit an entire application. You only need to complete the first page of the application, update your test scores, and submit an updated Personal Statement. The Letters of Recommendation, Official Transcripts, and test scores do not have to be resubmitted. Please contact the office directly for further instructions.

Qualified prospective candidates will be selected for in-person interviews. The review panel will rate applicants based on their academic achievements, leadership involvement, extracurricular activities, passion, character, duty, and leadership abilities.

Qualifications for the academies

• Be at least 17, but not yet 23 years old on July 1st of the year you wish to enter the academy; you must also be unmarried and have no legal obligation to support a child or children.

• Pass the physical aptitude test and medical exam requirements.

• Receive a nomination from an official source including your member of Congress. Remember obtaining a Congressional nomination does not guarantee automatic acceptance into a service academy. Note: The Coast Guard is the only academy that does not require a congressional nomination.

• There is no specific GPA minimum, however a majority of students accepted to the academies are in the top 20% of their class, with higher than average test scores in the math and English portions of the ACT/SAT tests.

• Be active in school and community organizations and hold leadership roles in sport and other extracurricular clubs.

• Complete the service academy application during or before the winter of your senior year.

Visit each academy’s official websites for specific eligibility requirements and application process.

U.S. Military Academy (West Point):
Director of Admissions 
U.S. Military Academy 
606 Thayer Road 
West Point, NY 10996-9902 
(845) 938-4041 

U.S. Naval Academy:
U.S. Naval Academy 
Candidate Guidance Office 
117 Decatur Road 
Annapolis, MD 21402-5018 
(410) 293-4361 

U.S. Air Force Academy:
Admissions Office, HQ USAFA/RRS 
2304 Cadet Drive, Suite 2300 
USAF Academy, CO 80840-5025 
(800) 443-9266 

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy:
Admissions Office 
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
300 Steamboat Road
Kings Point, NY 11024-9997 
(866) 546-4778 / (516) 726-5642 

U.S. Coast Guard Academy (congressional nomination not required)
Admissions Office 
U.S. Coast Guard Academy 
31 Mohegan Avenue
New London, CT 06320-4195 
(800) 883-8724

Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's Service Academies Workshop

Each year Congresswoman Roybal-Allard hosts a Service Academies Workshop to provide students with useful information about the academies. The workshop includes information about the congresswoman’s nomination process and presentations by current charges and academy graduates, who share their personal experiences with the workshop attendees. Admissions representatives from each of the service academies are also in attendance to help answer questions from prospective candidates and their parents.

The 2019 U.S. Service Academies Workshop was held on Saturday, September 28, 2019.  Watch this page for information on the 2020 workshop.  You can also contact Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's Commerce office at (323) 721-8790.