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NOMINATION
TO THE UNITED STATES SERVICE ACADEMIES
Welcome
There are four service academies to which a Congressman
may make nominations - the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; the Military
Academy at West Point, New York; the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs,
Colorado; and the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.
WHO MAY APPLY
An applicant
for a nomination must be a legal resident of the State of Alaska.
Applicants whose parents are temporarily stationed at one of the military
bases, but who maintain a legal residence in another State should apply
with the Congressman's office from that district.
Click here to find out
who your Representative is.
HOW TO APPLY:
An applicant interested in a nomination to one of the four academies should
write a letter stating his/her interest to his/her Congressman, two Senators,
and to any other source for which he/she qualifies. He/she should
apply to all sources possible; however, he/she should remember that not
more than one nomination is necessary. PLEASE SEE CONTACT INFORMATION
AT THE BOTTOM TO REQUEST AN APPLICATION PACKET.
REQUIREMENTS BY MY OFFICE
Each applicant must complete and return all the documentation listed below to my
Anchorage District Office no later than December 15th in order for the application to be considered.
- Completed application form (click here and print out);
- Proof of Alaskan residency - determined by the applicant's active Alaska voter
registration if the applicant is 18 years of age or older, or by the parent's active
Alaska voter registration if the applicant is under the age of 18. (Confirmation
will be made by my office).
- Certified copy of the applicant's high school transcript;
- Two letters of recommendation (one should be from your high school principal
or counselor);
- SAT or ACT test scores.
The SAT or ACT test should be taken no later than November so that my office will
receive your test scores before the December deadline. When you request your
SAT test scores, please indicate Congressman Don Young's identification number,
4995, so that a copy of your test scores will be forwarded directly to my Anchorage
District office. This office does use SAT scores to determine whether a candidate
is likely to be chosen by the academies.
(I do not use the Civil Service test because the testing sites are often inconvenient
and sometimes impossible for some of the applicants to reach.)
REQUIREMENTS BY THE ACADEMIES
When my office is
notified of an applicant's interest, I provide an application
packet which includes postal cards to be completed and mailed to the academies,
upon which time the academies will send the applicant a catalog and further
information. Applicants must take the medical examination, scheduled
by the academies. The academies require fairly high scores on the
SAT or ACT. Because of the great number of applicants each year, and the
limited number accepted, the academies can afford to select only the most
highly qualified applicants. Therefore, candidates should doing every they can to achieve a high standardized test score, including taking both tests and taking a test more than once.
Academies also stress leadership abilities - for
instance, have you played sports, etc? Participation in school and
community activities is important. Applicants must be between 17
and 22 years of age and have never been married.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Each applicant is given a
physical test because of the strenuous physical activities at the
academies. Most of the academies begin their sessions in July,
and the summer is spent in basic training. It is a physically exhausting
time for most cadets, and they must be able to handle this phase of the
academy life.
COMMENTS
I cannot stress enough that life
at the academies is not easy and a great amount of determination
and endurance are required to survive and do well. The education
provided by the academies is excellent, but there is much more involved
than just a free education. There is also the military aspect of
the training, and some cadets drop out because of their feelings about
the military way of life. Aside from military training there is also
a commitment that must be made to the military. All of these things
must be considered when a person applies for a nomination to one of these
academies.
NOMINATIONS
Having considered all the candidates,
I will make my nominations to the academies, and will try as much as possible
to nominate those to the academy of their choice. It is not always possible to give everyone their first choice,
due to the limited number of vacancies.
CONTACT INFORMATION -
For further information, please contact:
Attn: Ms. Cathy Petty
U.S. Congressman Don Young
Peterson Tower Building
510 L St, Suite 580
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-1954
Phone: (907) 271-5978
Fax: (907) 271-5950
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