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Military Academy Nominations

Please read the instructions below thoroughly before beginning your application.

Thank you for your interest in serving our country through the armed forces. Each year, it is my privilege as a United States Congressman to nominate a select group of 5th District men and women for appointment to the United States military academies. Considered to be among the top academic institutions in our country, the military service academies provide a world-class education and have produced some of our nation’s finest leaders.

The nomination process to receive an appointment is highly competitive and time-consuming, and the academies search for candidates with extraordinary academic, physical, and leadership skills. If you are a young man or woman who wants to serve our country and meets the basic requirements, I encourage you to consider applying.

How to Complete the Application Process

Apply to the academies of your choice. Our nation's service academies offer a rigorous four-year college education and an applicant can apply to as many academies as they choose.

Each academy requires the submission of a preliminary application to initiate the admissions process. Preliminary application materials are available from the academies' websites listed above.

Receive a nomination from an authorized nominating source. As a Member of Congress, I am authorized to nominate candidates. The President, the Vice President, and the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force are also authorized nominating sources. Applicants to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy do not require a nomination.

The deadline to apply for a nomination from my office is November 26, 2024.

Qualifications to receive a nomination:

  • U.S. citizenship and resident of the 5th district of Illinois
  • At least 17 years of age and has not passed their 23rd birthday on July 1st of the year of entry
  • Unmarried, not pregnant
  • Good moral character
  • Be academically competitive
  • Be medically qualified
  • Be physically qualified

If eligible, you may apply with my office by submitting an online application. To do so, please gather digital copies of the below materials. You will submit these as three separate documents.

  • A current photo
  • Official or unofficial transcript, SAT/ACT scores, and a resume of extracurricular activities in a single pdf
  • Three letters of recommendation on a single pdf

Further items that will be required within my application are:

  • A 500 or less word essay stating why you wish to attend a United States military academy (You will be able to copy and paste your essay into the designated field)
  • class rank
  • class size
  • current GPA

Note: If your school does not allow letters of recommendation or transcripts to be sent unofficially, please email these documents to adam.winters@mail.house.gov or physically mail them to Attn: Adam Winters, 1925 N Clybourn Ave, Ste 402, Chicago, IL 60614.

Please have the above information on hand since you are unable to save any partially completed forms.

Once you have submitted your application, you will be contacted in mid-December by my staff office's military academy lead, Adam Winters, who will begin scheduling your interview with a select panel of judges.

Interview with Congressman Quigley's Select Judge Panel: These interviews will be held virtually on a Saturday in January 2025. The select panel will decide which students will receive a nomination and results of their appointment status will be sent to each candidate's email a week after the interviews.

Once nominated, a candidate will be slotted against other nominees from my office in a candidate pool at their preferred academy. Each United States Senator and United States Representative may have no more than five people attending each service academy at any given time. Most members of Congress allocate at least one open vacancy each year. For each vacancy, ten nominations may be submitted to the respective service academy admissions office. The academies will then make the final decision as to which nominated candidates will be sent a fully qualified offer. Fully qualified offers are usually sent during the months of March and April.

To begin the process, please click the below link:

Complete Military Academy Nomination Form to Apply

Do you have questions? I invite applicants who are interested in an academy nomination to contact my district office at (773) 267-5926 with questions or email Adam Winters at Adam.Winters@mail.house.gov.