To formally request a nomination, please complete the Preliminary Nomination Application. You will then be emailed a link to the Senator’s full application. If you are not able to fill out an online application or if there are parts of your application that cannot be submitted online, please send those materials to the Senator’s Baton Rouge office postmarked no later than November 1, 2024, or email them to his Service Academy Coordinator. The Senator’s address is as follows:
Office of Senator Bill Cassidy
c/o Shawn Hanscom
450 Laurel Street, Suite 1400
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
E-mail: shawn_hanscom@cassidy.senate.gov
Acceptance to a Service Academy involves at least a nine-year obligation to the U.S. Military: four years at the Academy, and five years in the service you graduate into.
It is in your best interest to request a nomination through all sources available to you: Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senatorial, and through your U.S. Representative. If your father or mother serves or served in the military, or was killed in action, you may be eligible for a Presidential nomination. Please contact the Service Academy to which you’re applying for more information. To receive a nomination from your U.S. Representative, visit here to learn who yours is, and then contact their office. For Vice Presidential and other Senatorial Nominations, you should contact the following:
Senator John Kennedy
1651 Louisville Ave., Ste. 148
Monroe, LA 71201
(318) 361-1489
Vice President Kamala Harris
Nominations Website
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
As of July 1 of the year of admission, applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Age: At least 17 years by July 1 of their year of admission, but not older than 23
- Citizenship: U.S. citizen, or obtained citizenship by the time of high school graduation
- Residency: A legal resident of the United States (and of Louisiana to receive one of Senator Cassidy’s nominations)
- Marital Status or Dependency: Unmarried, not pregnant and have no legal obligation to support a child or dependent
- Academic: Complete SAT or ACT examinations (Contact individual Service Academies for their specific requirements)
- Health: Must pass academy physical requirements and medical examination
- Character: Of strong moral character
NOMINATION APPLICATION PROCEDURES
To be considered for a nomination by Senator Bill Cassidy, each applicant must fill out the full online application by November 1 during the year before they wish to be admitted into a Service Academy. You will be emailed the link, which will ask you to type in some basic information and then submit copies of the Senator’s application form and everything else listed below. Late applications or materials received separately (such as letters of recommendation, transcripts or other documents), unless you received prior approval from the Senator’s Service Academy coordinator, will not be considered.
Each application must include the following
- Application form
- A resume explaining your extra-curricular activities (must be typed)
- A recent picture of yourself
- High School and/or College Transcript
- An essay of less than 500 words on why you want to attend a Service Academy
- SAT/ACT scores: You must include copies of your SAT/ACT scores with the nomination application, as the testing services do not always successfully send your scores to our office. All test scores received by November 1 must be printed and uploaded with your Service Academy nomination application to our website. Any additional scores that arrive between November 1 and the date of your interview with the Senator’s Service Academy Review Board can be emailed separately to the Senator’s Service Academy Coordinator, so long as he is notified in advance. You are encouraged to repeatedly take the SAT or ACT in order to improve your academic competitiveness. Academies will accept the highest score in each academic area covered by the tests. For example, if a math score is higher on one test date, and a verbal score on another, the Academies will select the highest scores.
- Letters of Recommendation: There is a limit of five letters of recommendation, with a minimum of three. One letter must be written by your High School Principal or Guidance Counselor, unless given approval to do otherwise by the Senator’s Service Academy Coordinator. The other letters may be written by teachers, coaches, scoutmasters, clergy or community leaders who can attest to your character, abilities and potential for success at a Service Academy. Recommendations by family members are discouraged, but will be accepted in extraordinary, pre-approved circumstances. If someone writing a letter of recommendation insist that they be allowed to mail or email it separately instead of giving it to you to upload to our website, you must let the Senator’s Service Academy Coordinator know. It is not necessary to send additional certificates, letters, photos, etc., as only the required documents will be used for consideration.
- Delivery Instructions: Make sure that all materials requested in this application and the application itself are uploaded to the Senator’s website no later than November 1. Any materials that must be mailed or emailed to the Senator’s office, either by yourself, your school or an individual writing a letter of recommendation on your behalf, may only be sent after you notify the Senator’s Service Academy Coordinator.
INTERVIEW WITH SERVICE ACADEMY REVIEW BOARD
Once your application file is complete, you will be notified of your interview appointment, which will be scheduled in November or December in Baton Rouge, or via Zoom if you will be out-of-state (if you reside in Louisiana, you must appear physically for your interview.) To select the best nominees from Louisiana each year, Senator Cassidy uses a Service Academy Review Board to interview young men and women applying to the Service Academies. This board is comprised of constituents who have graduated from the Academies or otherwise are veterans or important community leaders. The board members are volunteers who recommend the top candidates for nomination based on objective and competitive criteria. Senator Cassidy relies on this board to screen applicants and to recommend who would best represent Louisiana at our nation’s prestigious Service Academies.
SELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT
Nominations will be announced no later than the following February. Furthermore, as Senator Cassidy receives information on who will receive appointments from the Service Academies, that information will be provided to you. Appointment announcements can come as early as January and as late as early June.
QUESTIONS
Please contact Shawn Hanscom at (225) 929-7711 or (225) 317-0595, or at shawn_hanscom@cassidy.senate.gov.