Each year, Senator Sanders receives dozens of inquiries from young Vermonters who wish to attend a military service academy. One of the application requirements of all of the U.S. service academies (except for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy) is a political nomination, and the most common type of nomination is a congressional one.

The congressional nomination process is very competitive. In addition to Senator Sanders, we urge you to apply for a nomination from Senator Welch and Representative Balint, who can also nominate qualified applicants to the four service academies. If you are interested in attending the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, or U.S. Air Force Academy, you may also qualify for nomination through other sources. These include:

  • President Joseph R. Biden, who nominates children of career military personnel, deceased or disabled veterans, military or civilian personnel in missing status, and Medal of Honor recipients.
  • Vice President Kamala D. Harris, who nominates five individuals from across the United Sates per year.
  • The Secretary of the Army, Navy, or Air Force, who nominates members of regular military, reserve components, and participants in the ROTC.

Senator Sanders considers applications from Vermont residents and children of Vermont residents. Applicants from other states will be encouraged to apply for a political nomination from their respective Congressional representatives. You can find your representative below.

A political nomination is only one of the requirements for matriculation at one of our nation’s service academies. You must apply directly to each service academy that you are interested in attending.  Each service academy has its own application requirements and deadlines. Therefore, you should request admissions information from each academy to which you plan to apply.

To apply for a congressional nomination, please complete an application here:

Please complete the application at your earliest convenience. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit all required application materials and to communicate any problems or questions to Senator Sanders’ Burlington office. The office will not accept inquiries about the status of service academy nomination applications from parents or other family members, except in true emergency circumstances.

To be considered for nomination by Senator Sanders, all of your application materials must be received by our Burlington, VT office by November 15th. 

Mailing Address:

Senator Bernard Sanders
Attn: Academy Nominations
1 Church Street, 3rd Floor
Burlington, VT 05401

Contact the Burlington office at 802-862-0697 if you have any questions or if our office can be of assistance in any way during this process. You may also send an email to Academy_Nominations@Sanders.senate.gov.