Service Academy Information Sheet

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

Because of the extremely keen competition for nominations, you are urged to apply to every nominating authority which your eligibility allows, (Senators, Congressmen, President, Vice President, as a Child of a Deceased or Disabled Veteran). However, if you receive a nomination from another source, I will not be able to duplicate that nomination. Since the academies are able to award more appointments than are provided by Congressional vacancies and other categories, no candidate who is highly qualified needs more than one nomination to obtain an appointment. By the same token, no candidate who fails to meet academy standards will benefit by having multiple nominations. In order that more ninth Congressional District applicants will have an opportunity to be reviewed by the academies, please let me know immediately if you are nominated by another authority.

Each Congressional Office uses a selection process which is designed to meet its own needs and standards. The different procedures are often confusing to applicants who apply to more than one office. Last minute misunderstandings can be avoided by carefully studying and following the instructions of each office. Please call my Chicago office with any questions, 773-506-7100.

Certain information is required as outlined below in order for you to be considered as an applicant. It is your responsibility to submit this information and to keep it updated. THE DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATION MATERIALS IS NOVEMBER 6, 2020. There must be adequate time to assess each candidate's qualifications so unfortunately, late applications will not be accepted. In addition, all applicants must have open candidate files at any Academy you wish to attend.

Careful thought should be given to your first choice of an academy. Second and third choices can be considered only in the event that there are not sufficient numbers of qualified candidates in an academy category to fill a slate of nominees. (First choice designations may be changed at any time before nominations are made.)

II. REQUIREMENTS

Residency: Applicant must be a legal resident of the Ninth Congressional District of Illinois.

Application Form: The enclosed application must be completed and returned to my Chicago office by November 3, 2017. All forms should be mailed to my Chicago office, 5533 N. Broadway, Chicago IL 60640, or dropped off in my Chicago office or Glenview office, 1852 Johns Drive, Glenview IL 60025. Formal candidacy is established in my office upon receipt of the Application. It is not necessary for you to send all required information at once, and you should not wait to file your application if transcripts or test scores are not immediately available.

Recommendation Form: The enclosed Recommendation Form must be completed by your school Guidance Counselor or Principal and returned to my Chicago office.

Transcript: An official transcript of your high school record and class rank must be submitted to my Chicago office. This transcript must show your final junior year grades and class rank. If you apply before this information is available, it is your responsibility to request you Guidance Counselor to send an up-to-date transcript and to keep your records current.

College Boards: The SAT or ACT are required entrance examinations by the Service Academies for candidate admittance. Applicants are responsible for registration for tests and for requesting scores to be sent to both the academy and to my office. Direct SAT scores to my office by indicating 1980 as the code and Representative Jan Schakowsky as score recipient on the CEEB form. If you are unable to include my office in your original choices for test reports, send a copy of the report you receive to my Chicago office in order to save time and the additional report fee. If you submit more than one set of scores, the higher scores will be counted.

Letters of Recommendation: Letters of recommendation are welcome and may be sent with the application or separately.

Qualifying Medical Examination: The individual academies will recommend the scheduling of medical examinations to the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board after receipt of the pre-candidate questionnaire, which is used to open a preadmission file at the academy. There is no cost to the candidate for this examination. Be sure to mail the appropriate yellow, blue or green cards, included in this packet of information, as soon as possible to the appropriate academy/academies.

Leadership: Leadership potential and physical fitness are judged from the information provided on your Application Form. This information should be kept up to date. Unlike civilian colleges, the service academies place strong emphasis on physical training. In addition, like civilian colleges and universities, the service academies place a high premium on leadership and extra-curricular activities. Therefore, consideration must be given to each candidate's proven ability in these areas.

III. TYPE OF NOMINATION

For each vacancy at each of the academies, I may nominate ten candidates, with the exception of the Merchant Marine Academy. At the Merchant Marine Academy ten candidates will be selected for nomination to compete for the state quota of ten. Under the competitive method, which I generally use, the candidates selected for nomination will be evaluated by the respective academies, which will make the final appointment. NOTE: There are no congressional nominations to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

IV. BASIS FOR SELECTION

Selections are made competitively on the basis of a composite of academic factors and leadership potential, extra-curricular activities, physical fitness and recommendations. The following are included:

  • School records, class rank, and grade point average;
  • Extra-curricular activities;
  • College Board Scores - normally, a competitive candidate will have SAT scores above 500/verbal and 550/math, or ACT scores of above 22/English and 26/math and will stand in the upper fifth of their class. The higher your scores and class standing, the greater your chances for a nomination, assuming qualification in the remaining areas of consideration; and
  • Motivation – one of the most important considerations in the selection of nominees is motivation – the candidate's desire to attend an Academy. It is also the most difficult to measure. To an extent, motivation can be judged by a candidate's diligence in completing his or her file, which is one reason those incomplete files are not considered for nominations. In addition, candidates are invited to write an essay on their reasons for wanting to attend an academy.