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. Members of Congress may nominate candidates that are legally domiciled within their districts.

Who Is Eligible?

To qualify for an appointment to any service academy, an applicant must meet the following statutory criteria:

American citizenship;

at least 17 years of age and not yet 23 years old on July 1 of the year the applicant would enter an academy (25 years old for USMMA);

unmarried; and

not pregnant, and without legal obligation to support children or other dependents.

In addition to statutory requirements, each academy has established academic, physical, and leadership requirements for admission. Candidates for appointment to each academy must

demonstrate comprehensive academic preparation;

demonstrate leadership in athletics and other extracurricular activities;

take the SAT-I, or the ACT Assessment (ACT);

be in good physical and mental health;

pass a comprehensive medical examination; and

pass a physical aptitude examination.

Specific requirements in each of the academic, physical, and leadership categories vary by academy and are revised regularly. Some of this information is available on the academies' websites.

Websites for Preliminary Application to United States Service Academies

Applying For A Nomination

Students interested in a nomination for Fall of 2008 admission should download the application packet here.  Complete the application and return it to:

1134 7th St NW
Rochester, MN 55901

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.

As far as the USAFA, USNA, and USMA are concerned, 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 most offices 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.

How to Apply

In order to be considered, applicants must be unmarried United States citizens with no legal dependents. They must be residents of the First District who are at least 17 years of age, but not past their 23 rd birthday on July 1, 2008 (25 for USMMA). They must take either the SAT or ACT college-entrance exam and have the scores sent to the office to which they are applying. Nominee selections are based on test scores, class rank, grade point average, school records, extracurricular activities, leadership potential, motivation and recommendations.

Applicants are responsible for submitting and updating all required information in a timely manner. To ensure adequate time to assess each candidate's qualifications, the deadline for receipt of all necessary support information is November 2, 2007. SAT/ACT scores will be accepted as they become available.

Applicants should submit the following items:

1.)    Application for Nomination to Service Academies

        2.)    Personal essay explaining why you would like to attend a service academy 

3.)    Resume

4.)    Official high school transcript

5.)    Official ACT and SAT scores

6.)  Three letters of recommendation

7.) Photo

For more information please contact Chad Larimer at 507-206-0643