Resources
for Military Families | Help
with a Federal Agency |
Capitol Tours | U.S.
Flags | Scheduling
Request | Jobs
| Internships
| Academy
Nominations | Listening
Sessions
Services Academy Nominations
Application
Instructions
Application Form
Get more information from the Academy
Nominations Guidelines.
Each September Senator Kohl, Congressman
Petri, Congressman Kagen, and I hold an Academy Information
Day. Next year's event is Saturday, September 26, 2009, from
10:00am-12:30pm at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)
Aviation Center in Oshkosh. The Aviation Center is located
at 3000 Poberezny Road. Academy representatives are on hand
to answer questions, and congressional representatives will
explain the nomination process. In the fall, watch for announcements
in your local media outlets, contact your guidance counselor,
or call any of my offices. If you are interested in applying
to a military academy, I think you may find Academy Day helpful.
General Information
U.S. Senators and Representatives can
make nominations toward one vacancy per year at each of the
three Service Academies: U.S. Military Academy (West Point),
U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis), and U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado
Springs). The Vice President of the United States can also nominate
candidates to the academies from across the country.
The Merchant Marine Academy's nomination
process is a little different. The Academy picks four applicants
from each state based on the nominations of the state's congressional
delegation. All of Wisconsin's applicants compete for these
four vacancies.
If you are interested in the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, you
need to apply directly to the Academy by writing to: U.S.
Coast Guard Academy, Admissions Office, New London, Connecticut,
06320-4195. You can also apply on the website.
There is no congressional nomination required.
In order to qualify for entrance into a United States Service
Academy, you must be a United States Citizen and at least
17 years old and not past your 23rd birthday on 1 July of
the year you would enter the academy. You must also be a resident
of the State of Wisconsin to be considered by my office. Full
scholarships are available to students interested in attending
one of our nation's premier military academies. These schools
offer a quality college education in exchange for a commitment
to serve our country as an officer in the United States military.
You are encouraged to seek a nomination from your two U.S.
Senators, your Congressional Representative and the Vice President
of the United States beginning in the spring of your junior
year in high school. You can obtain more information about
the Vice President’s process at http://www.whitehouse.gov/vicepresident/2009_Academies_Application.pdf.
Nomination Process
Application materials are available
from my office beginning the spring of your junior year in high
school. You should contact my Middleton office at (608) 828-1200
to receive the application form or access them through the links
on this page.
In addition to completing the nomination application, it is
also necessary for you to open a pre-candidate file with each
of the academies you are interested in. You can open a file
by filling out the form on the academy websites, and a list
of those web addresses is at the bottom of this page.
In order to be eligible for a nomination, your completed application,
which includes the application form, short essay, high school
transcripts, ACT or SAT scores, and letters of recommendation,
must be received by Friday, October 17th. Please only
send applications to my Middleton office as listed on the application
form. Incomplete applications, or those submitted after
the deadline, will not be considered. Candidates should be aware
that each Congressional office has their own deadline and interview
dates. It is extremely important that you know these deadlines
and track them closely.
Nomination File
Your application file must be
completed and received by my office on or before Friday,
October 17, 2008. A complete application includes all
of the following items:
Application Form
Be thorough and complete. Be sure to indicate your first choice
of an academy. Be sure to numerically rank your academy preferences.
All information on the application is required for you to be
considered for a nomination.
Essay
In 200 words or less, state why you want to attend a service
academy. Please attach this statement to the application.
List of Activities
Please provide a brief listing of the following:
a). All school activities in which you have participated. Include
clubs, athletics, school organizations, etc. Indicate any leadership
roles within those activities.
b). All scholastic honors, awards, and scholarships received.
c). All extracurricular honors, achievements and awards received.
d). All non-school related activities in which you have participated
(community groups, church groups, scouting, etc).
e). If you are currently employed or have worked previously
(i.e. summer, part-time, after school) please list your employer’s
name, your responsibilities, dates of employment and number
of hours worked.
f). Any other activities you would like to include (hobbies,
special interests, recreational activities).
High School Transcripts
Include an official transcript of your high school records.
It must show your final grades through your junior year, your
current grade point average, and your numerical class rank.
If your high school does not rank students, please indicate
"Does Not Rank" in this field. If you have graduated
from high school and are currently attending a college or preparatory
school, please provide my office with transcripts from these
institutions as well as a complete high school transcript.
College Board Test Scores
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Test
(ACT) are essentially the entrance exams for the service academies.
A set of scores must be received by the application
deadline of October 17th. No one is considered
for admission unless they have taken one of these tests. It
is recommended that you take one of the exams prior to September
in order to provide the results to this office for your nomination
file. It takes approximately six weeks to receive test results.
If you wish to retake one of the tests, please forward a copy
of those results to my office.
My office will accept the scores directly from the test providers
or on a certified copy of the high school transcript. You can
have the results sent directly to my office by listing my code
for the SAT (1383) or ACT (7197) tests in the space on the exam
where it asks you to list colleges you want to receive your
results. Please check with your school guidance counselor for
more information about scheduling yourself for these college
boards.
Letters of Recommendation
You are required to submit three letters of recommendation.
They should come from people in the community who know you personally.
No letters from relatives will be accepted.
PREPARATION FOR THE ACADEMIES
All of the military academies are
very competitive. It is difficult to receive a nomination
and be awarded an offer of appointment. Each of the academies
recommend a strong preparatory education during high school
to prepare you for the rigorous curriculum provided by the
academy. For the U.S. Air Force Academy, students must rank
in the top 25% of their high school class, but most successful
candidates rank in the upper 10% of their class. For the U.S.
Military Academy, students should rank in the top 20% of their
high school class. For the U.S. Naval Academy, students should
rank in the top two fifths of their high school class.
All of the academies strongly recommend
these classes for a candidate to be competitive:
Math: four years with a strong
foundation in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus
and calculus (if possible)
Science: two to four years
of chemistry and/or physics class(es) with a lab
English: four years of course
work with emphasis on composition, grammar and speech as well
as classes in English and American literature
Foreign language: two to four
years of a foreign language focusing both on the spoken language
and grammar
History: one to three years
of U.S. History and, if possible, a class on World or European
History
Computer: knowledge on the
use of a personal computer, operating systems and spreadsheets
will be very helpful
Classes in geography, government
and economics will also be helpful as well as athletic and
non-athletic extracurricular activities
In addition to the academics, you
need to be highly motivated to go through the application
and nomination process and then the difficult schedule at
the academy. You should make sure this is something you are
really motivated to do, rather than being influenced by a
relative, teacher, coach or anyone else. To be the most competitive
candidate, you should be well balanced in academics, community
service, outside activities and athletics.
One option the U.S. Air Force, U.S.
Naval and U.S. Military Academies offer are summer seminar
programs to high school seniors. It provides them with the
opportunity to visit the Academy for one week during the summer
and these programs are very competitive. There are no Congressional
nominations required for any of these programs. Here are the
links to the Academies' web pages on their summer seminar
programs:
U.S.
Air Force Academy Center
U.S.
Naval Academy
U.S.
Military Academy
USEFUL WEBPAGE ADDRESSES
|