certificate wording- is this really an appointment?!

hopefulhockeymom

hopefulhockeymom

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Our congressperson hosted a recognition event tonight for all the students receiving nominations from their office. DD is fully checked off on the portal other than the actual appointment, still CPR.

The certificate she received today states "Certificate of Special Recognition to DD on the occasion of your appointment to the Naval Academy", with today's date.

Again, no word from USNA in the portal or in email- but could this actually indicate she will be getting an appointment? We are dying around here but we don't want to celebrate if we are reading too much into it!

FWIW, there were three students whose names were NOT read in alphabetical order at the start of the handing out of certificates- one for each academy, and DD was among them. All the other names were read in alphabetical order after the first three.

We did not see the wording on any of the other students' certificates.

Thank you for any insight you might have from your own family's experience!
 
I assume it is an appointment. If so, you should hear shortly.
 
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I think you are good shape. I'm not sure they would use the word appointment, unless it was a lock. As others have mentioned every MOC operates differently. My DD received an email from USNA with offer of appointment on 12/22, which she accepted immediately.

The MOC called me that same day about 4 hours later with news of his nomination of her. When she showed me her portal, the nomination was listed as occurring on 12/16. I think it takes some necromancy to pull a class together. I will never claim to understand it.
 
My congressman also gave me a certificate via mail saying special congressional recognition on the occasion of your nomination to the USAFA. Hopefully this is an appointment for both of us…?
 
Mystic05 said:
My congressman also gave me a certificate via mail saying special congressional recognition on the occasion of your nomination to the USAFA. Hopefully this is an appointment for both of us…?
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If it says “nomination” on the certificate, it celebrates just that, an important requirement for an offer of appointment but not equivalent to one. Having a nom plus being fully qualified makes a candidate eligible to be offered an appointment. Good luck!
 
Capt MJ said:
If it says “nomination” on the certificate, it celebrates just that, an important requirement for an offer of appointment but not equivalent to one. Having a nom plus being fully qualified makes a candidate eligible to be offered an appointment. Good luck!
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OH- so the use of the word "appointment" on DDs certificate may reflect the fact that she is fully qualified and now has the nom, and that now makes her eligible for appointment? This would totally make sense, as she has passed CFA, DODMERB, all the things months ago and she was just waiting on the nom.

And so by that logic, if someone's certificate says "on the occasion of your nomination", that might reflect that there is an element of their application that is still outstanding (ie, still waiting to complete/pass CFA or DODMERB)?

DD reached out to the congressperson's staffer yesterday, but we were still kind of confused after getting his response.

Thank you for this clarification- although the process is complex and long, we felt like we had a pretty good understanding of how it all worked - that is, until the wording on the certificate threw us for a loop!
 
If they used the word appointment, and you don’t have an offer of appointment, they chose the wrong word and meant nomination.
 
A1Janitor said:
If they used the word appointment, and you don’t have an offer of appointment, they chose the wrong word and meant nomination.
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Ah, bummer- this is what we were afraid of. We were wondering if it was possible that the congressperson's office knew something (in the way that some candidates are notified by their congressperson of appointment before it shows up in their portal).

back to the waiting game! 🥴

thank you!
 
hopefulhockeymom said:
OH- so the use of the word "appointment" on DDs certificate may reflect the fact that she is fully qualified and now has the nom, and that now makes her eligible for appointment? This would totally make sense, as she has passed CFA, DODMERB, all the things months ago and she was just waiting on the nom.

And so by that logic, if someone's certificate says "on the occasion of your nomination", that might reflect that there is an element of their application that is still outstanding (ie, still waiting to complete/pass CFA or DODMERB)?

DD reached out to the congressperson's staffer yesterday, but we were still kind of confused after getting his response.

Thank you for this clarification- although the process is complex and long, we felt like we had a pretty good understanding of how it all worked - that is, until the wording on the certificate threw us for a loop!
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I was thinking what @A1Janitor wrote above. Just some thoughts for the general readership.

First, anything from an elected official is not necessarily per some mutual official standard, in terms of calls, emails, presentation letters or certificates. They are all free to conduct their process and notifications as they wish, on a continuum from making no nominations at all to full-on receptions for appointees and photo ops, sending/not sending correspondence. Do not compare among them. May or may not mean the same thing.

Second, a notification of a nom is letting a candidate know they have now collected another requirement in their journey to seek an appointment. Noms are a parallel process, landing in portals where nothing else may be completed yet or where everything may be completed except the nom.

Third, it is quite possible that some may conflate “nomination” and “appointment,” based on some anecdotal reports here over the years. Most certainly, if it is some kind of congratulatory note about an appointment, yet major things like medical aren’t yet completed or CFA is pending re-take, that raises the possibility of a wording mishap.

Fourth, it’s not the elected official’s role to let candidates know if they are fully qualified. USNA typically doesn’t inform the candidates if they are fully qualified (medical/DoDMERB, physical/CFA, academic/all other elements which are evaluated), though the candidate can figure out if they are good to go on the medical and physical.

Fifth, USNA notifies the elected official of the offer of appointment and allows a small window of time so the official can make the notification, if they desire. Then it shows up in the portal. I think it’s just a few days. If someone got a letter a few weeks ago from an official about an appointment, and nothing has yet showed up in the portal as an actual offer of appointment, I would probably follow up with Admissions. Admissions is in regular contact with academy nomination staffers, and some educational outreach may be required for new staff, if a conflationary event has occurred.

Last, every year, there are hundreds of fully qualified candidates with nom(s) who are not offered an appointment. There is simply not room enough in the class - this year. Re-applicants can and do get in!
 
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Capt MJ said:
"Fifth, USNA notifies the elected official of the offer of appointment and allows a small window of time so the official can make the notification, if they desire. Then it shows up in the portal. I think it’s just a few days. "
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Thanks for the clarification on all of those points. We were hoping that bc DD appears to be fully qualified per the portal checkmarks (CFA, DODMERB etc) that the certificate with the "appointment" language was some good news presented during that small window of time you noted - but I suspect you and A1Janitor are correct and that it might just be an error in word choice on the certificate. Oh well! Back to waiting! 🙃
 
Sealion II said:
I think you are good shape. I'm not sure they would use the word appointment, unless it was a lock. As others have mentioned every MOC operates differently. My DD received an email from USNA with offer of appointment on 12/22, which she accepted immediately.

The MOC called me that same day about 4 hours later with news of his nomination of her. When she showed me her portal, the nomination was listed as occurring on 12/16. I think it takes some necromancy to pull a class together. I will never claim to understand it.
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me looking up 'necromancy'. Well played.
 
hopefulhockeymom said:
Thanks for the clarification on all of those points. We were hoping that bc DD appears to be fully qualified per the portal checkmarks (CFA, DODMERB etc) that the certificate with the "appointment" language was some good news presented during that small window of time you noted - but I suspect you and A1Janitor are correct and that it might just be an error in word choice on the certificate. Oh well! Back to waiting! 🙃
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Keep us posted!! Good luck to her!
 
hopefulhockeymom said:
Thanks for the clarification on all of those points. We were hoping that bc DD appears to be fully qualified per the portal checkmarks (CFA, DODMERB etc) that the certificate with the "appointment" language was some good news presented during that small window of time you noted - but I suspect you and A1Janitor are correct and that it might just be an error in word choice on the certificate. Oh well! Back to waiting! 🙃
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The collection of portal checkmarks does not mean fully qualified. It means that everything is turned in. Everything can be turned in for a candidate that is found NOT Qualified by the Admissions Board.
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Example: Say an applicant/candidate has a GPA of 2.5, SATs of 450 math and 450 English and zero extracurriculars. They might turn in all of the pieces of their application and even get a nomination but the Admissions Board is likely to find them to be NOT Qualified even though they have all green checks on their portal.
 
OldRetSWO said:
The collection of portal checkmarks does not mean fully qualified. It means that everything is turned in. Everything can be turned in for a candidate that is found NOT Qualified by the Admissions Board.
.
Example: Say an applicant/candidate has a GPA of 2.5, SATs of 450 math and 450 English and zero extracurriculars. They might turn in all of the pieces of their application and even get a nomination but the Admissions Board is likely to find them to be NOT Qualified even though they have all green checks on their portal.
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Fair point! We do have confirmation that DD passed the CFA (took during the summer seminar) and she cleared DODMERB. She definitely meets/exceeds all the GPA/ACT benchmarks cited in the stats for past classes so we are holding out hope that she is still in the running!
 
hopefulhockeymom said:
Fair point! We do have confirmation that DD passed the CFA (took during the summer seminar) and she cleared DODMERB. She definitely meets/exceeds all the GPA/ACT benchmarks cited in the stats for past classes so we are holding out hope that she is still in the running!
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The “academic” is all the other elements that are evaluated, not just test scores or GPA, as the third leg of the stool, with CFA and DoDMERB the other 2 legs.

Keep breathing, hope for the best, tend alternate plans.
 
USMA will generally send a letter to candidates after their file is complete (not. Incl. DoDMERB) saying that the admissions committee has found that candidate qualified both physically (CFA) and academically, and sometimes it might say that the candidate has been placed on the NWL (Natl. Waitlist.) If the DoDMERB has been completed and the candidate is qualified medically, then they would add that. That is commonly called a “3Q Letter.” Not all academies inform cadets in this way. If a candidate has a 3Q letter, a nomination and is a slate winner, has an LOA, or is a Principal nom. they should expect a offer of appointment (at least from USMA.) Once the candidate’s file goes through the admissions committee, if the are found to be not qualified, the candidate would usually receive a letter to that effect….”unfortunately…..”
 
hopefulhockeymom said:
Our congressperson hosted a recognition event tonight for all the students receiving nominations from their office. DD is fully checked off on the portal other than the actual appointment, still CPR.

The certificate she received today states "Certificate of Special Recognition to DD on the occasion of your appointment to the Naval Academy", with today's date.

Again, no word from USNA in the portal or in email- but could this actually indicate she will be getting an appointment? We are dying around here but we don't want to celebrate if we are reading too much into it!

FWIW, there were three students whose names were NOT read in alphabetical order at the start of the handing out of certificates- one for each academy, and DD was among them. All the other names were read in alphabetical order after the first three.

We did not see the wording on any of the other students' certificates.

Thank you for any insight you might have from your own family's experience!
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Many of the candidates/applicants in my state keep in touch with each other. Chat groups, etc. especially if they have met through NASS or boys/girls State. Can your DD simply ask a mate, what their certificate says? That would address your curiosity. If everyone’s says ‘congrats on your appointment’, then it’s a typo.

Can your DD (politely and professionally) contact the staffer for clarification?? If it states ‘congrats on your appointment’, and that’s not their intention, they may appreciate the opportunity to make a note to not do that next year 😬

It’s an exciting time. I get wanting to know. But your last option is to sit tight and wait from word from the SA.

Let us know if it turns into the magical appointment!
 
justdoit19 said:
Many of the candidates/applicants in my state keep in touch with each other. Chat groups, etc. especially if they have met through NASS or boys/girls State. Can your DD simply ask a mate, what their certificate says? That would address your curiosity. If everyone’s says ‘congrats on your appointment’, then it’s a typo.

Can your DD (politely and professionally) contact the staffer for clarification?? If it states ‘congrats on your appointment’, and that’s not their intention, they may appreciate the opportunity to make a note to not do that next year 😬

It’s an exciting time. I get wanting to know. But your last option is to sit tight and wait from word from the SA.

Let us know if it turns into the magical appointment!
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Thanks for your reply! The students she knows in our state are actually her classmates (four of them from her school alone) and per the guidance from the school, kids are playing the whole college admissions process pretty close to the vest so she wants to honor that and so hasn't asked them. She is in close touch with a friend she knows through sports, as well as her Summer Seminar squad, but they are all in different states so we don't feel like that is a good guide. We do know a family whose daughter received a nom from the same congressperson a couple of years ago, but her parents were unable to locate the certificate to confirm what it says (she decided to go pursue a non-military path).

She did reach out to the staffer, who was prompt in his reply but still kind of vague. We are moving forward as though it was a wording error until we hear otherwise! Thanks for all the good thoughts!
 
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