As a United States Member of Congress, I am privileged to be involved in the selection of appointments to our nation's service academies. Admission to our service academies is a prestigious honor and highly competitive because of the rigorous academic standards and caliber of students who apply across the United States and around the world.
The academies provide a free high quality college education, in exchange for a student's commitment to serve for five years as a commissioned officer after successful graduation.
Nomination application from my office - priority deadline November 30.
To be eligible for a nomination, applicants must first apply to the academy directly. Secondly, students need to fill out the application form and submit it to my office with all required documents, including transcripts, letters of recommendation and test scores.
Based on a competitive evaluation of the application, test scores and written records, applicants will be selected for personal interviews. The review panel will rate applicants based on their academic achievements, leadership involvement, extracurricular activities, passion, character, duty, and leadership abilities. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and live in the 34th Congressional District of California.
The Coast Guard is the only academy that does not require a congressional nomination.
Visit the official websites for each academy's eligibility requirements and application.
U.S. Military Academy (West Point):
Director of Admissions
U.S. Military Academy
600 Thayer Road
West Point, NY 10996-9902
1-914-938-4041
www.usma.edu
U.S. Naval Academy:
U.S. Naval Academy
Candidate Guidance Office
117 Decatur Road
Annapolis, MD 21402-5018
1-410-293-4361
www.usna.edu
U.S. Air Force Academy:
Admissions Office, HQ USAFA/RRS
2304 Cadet Drive, Suite 200
USAF Academy, CO 80840-5025
1-800-443-9266
www.usafa.edu
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy:
Admissions Office
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Kings Point, NY 11024-9997
1-800-732-6267
www.usmma.edu
U.S. Coast Guard Academy (congressional nomination not required)
Admissions Office
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
New London, CT 06320-4195
1-860-444-8500
www.cga.edu
Students may apply to more than one academy.
For more information, please contact Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's district office and speak to Diana Porras, Projects Manager, at (213) 628-9230.
Qualifications for the academies
• You must be at least 17, but not yet 23 years old on July 1st of the year you want to enter, be unmarried, and have no legal obligation to support a child or children.
• There will be physical aptitude and medical testing requirements to qualify.
• Congressional nomination does not mean acceptance to the service academies; however, it ensures that your application will be considered first by the review boards. Your application to each academy you are considering should be completed during or before the winter of your senior year.
• Academically, the majority of students accepted to the academies are in at least the top 20% of their class, with higher than average test scores in math and English portions of the standardized tests.
• Most students who receive appointment offers are active at school and their community, and hold some leadership roles in sports and other extracurricular activities.
Applying for a Nomination
In order to be considered for a nomination from Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, please take the following steps, in addition to applying directly to your chosen academy:
1. Nomination Request Form: Complete and submit the Nomination Request Form. It is important that the form be filled out neatly and be typed or completed in black ink. Once you have completed the form, submit it together with the rest of application documents directly to the congresswoman’s office. Be sure to save a copy of your completed Nomination Request Form for your records. To complete the form, either:
a. Complete the form first, then print it, or
b. Print the form out first, then hand-complete it.
*Please note, to view the Nomination Request Form, you must have the free Adobe Acrobat software installed on your computer. We recommend you install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader for best results. Select Adobe Acrobat Reader if you want to download or would like to upgrade.
2. Personal Letter: Write a 1-page personal letter to Congresswoman Roybal-Allard explaining your reasons for seeking a nomination to an academy.
3. Letters of Recommendation: Request three Recommendation Forms to be completed by your teacher(s), your principal, your counselor, an employer, or minister, priest, or rabbi. Have your recommenders submit the completed request form to you in a sealed and signed envelope. Do not open the envelopes. Be sure to complete the top portion of the Recommendation Form before you submit it to your recommender. Submit all three Recommendation Forms together with the rest of your application documents.
4. Medical Examine: Complete a service academy medical examination. You will be notified directly by the service academies as to when and where to report for a qualifying medical examination.
5. Official Transcripts: Ask your high school to provide you with an official sealed transcript of your classes and grades to date. Do not open the envelope. Send your transcripts in the sealed envelope together with the rest of your application documents.
6. Test Scores: Take the College Entrance Board’s SAT exam or the American College Testing Program (ACT) exam. This is extremely important because the academies use test scores as a primary measure to assess a prospective candidate’s academic performance. If you take the test in the spring of your junior year, you have a chance to re-take them the following fall to raise your scores:
a. Include your test results on the Nomination Form and
b. Include an official copy of your test scores in a sealed envelop with the rest of your application documents. (You may also have your official scores sent directly to the congresswoman’s office. To send your test scores directly to the congresswoman’s office use code 4641 for the SAT and code 7273 for the ACT.)
Words of Advice
-Give yourself plenty of time to complete the application carefully.
-Be sure to include relevant information about your extracurricular activities, work, family, community and church activities, and school life.
-Proof-read your Personal Letter and consider having a second reader, like your English teacher, review it as well. Expressing yourself in a well-written letter is important.
-Do not change the application form. If you want to include more information, attach a resume or additional pages.
-If you are in college when you apply for the nomination, please provide your temporary address on the Nomination Request Form and list the name of your college instead of you high school.
-If you are re-applying for an appointment and previously submitted a nomination request through Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's, it is not necessary to re-do the entire application. You will only need to complete the first page of the application, update your test scores, and submit an updated Personal Letter. The Letters of Recommendation, Official Transcripts, and test scores do not have to be resubmitted.
Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's Service Academy Workshop
Each year, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard hosts one Service Academy Workshop. The Service Academy Workshop provides students with useful information and guidelines on the academies' application requirements. The workshop includes presentations by representatives from the service academies and cadets and academy graduates, who share their personal experiences with the workshop attendees.
To find out when the Annual U.S. Service Academy Workshop will be held, please contact Diana Porras, Projects Manager for Congresswoman Roybal-Allard at (213) 628-9230.
