Submit congressional service academy nominations

Congressional service academy nominations

Deadlines: mid-September to November 1, 2026, and they differ by office.

Why this cannot slip

West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy all require a nomination in addition to admission. No nomination means no appointment — regardless of how strong the application is. The deadlines are set individually by each member of Congress, are earlier than almost every college deadline, and there is no late window.

The Coast Guard Academy is the exception: it requires no nomination.

You apply to three sources at once

Each is a separate application with its own form and deadline:

1. Your U.S. Representative — the member for your congressional district
2. Each of your two U.S. Senators — both, separately
3. The Vice President — one national pool, far more competitive

Applying to all four costs nothing extra and materially raises your odds. Families routinely apply to one and are surprised to be closed out.

What each office asks for

• Their own application form, downloaded from the member's website
• Transcript and test scores
• Two or three letters of recommendation
• Personal essays, usually on why you want to serve
• An interview before a nomination board, typically October through December

Do this today

Search "[your representative's name] service academy nomination" and "[your senator's name] service academy nomination". Write each deadline in the plan the moment you find it — they range from September 15 to November 1 and there is no central list.

In parallel

Open the academy applications themselves. Each academy requires:

• A Candidate Fitness Assessment, administered by a PE teacher or coach
• A DoDMERB medical examination
• Its own online application, opened in the spring of junior year

The academy application and the nomination run on separate tracks and both must complete.