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 third District of Texas.
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
Ideally, students interested in a congressional nomination should contact my District office in the spring of their junior year in high school. They can obtain details on the nomination process and have a nomination application packet mailed to them. In order to be considered for a nomination, the completed nomination application and the other required documentation must be returned in its entirety to my District office by the end of October of their senior year in high school. For the 2012 nomination cycle, this completed information must be submitted to my District office by October 26, 2012. Also, please note that it is extremely important that the student begin a separate application process with the academies directly themselves.
On Saturday, Sept. 15 at 2:00 p.m. I will host my annual Service Academy Forum for student and their families interested in pursuing an academy education. The free informational event will take place in the Conference Center of the Collin College Spring Creek Campus located at 2800 E. Spring Creek Parkway in Plano.
Service Academies
There are five Service Academies: The United States Air Force (USAFA), Naval (USNA), Military (USMA), Merchant Marine (USMMA), and Coast Guard (USCGA) Academies. 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. 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. With respect to the Congressional category, each Representative and each Senator is allowed to have at each of those academies at any one time five persons charged to his or her quota. There are three methods of nominating, 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 keen, 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.
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United States Air Force Academy
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United States Naval Academy
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United States Military Academy
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United States Merchant Marine Academy
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| United States Coast Guard Academy
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