By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer

Like most seniors, Nicholas Cabral, 17, is anxiously waiting for his college acceptance letters.
Unlike most seniors, Cabral had to wait to get a nomination from a senator, congressman or the Vice President of the United States as part of his college application.
Cabral, who attends Kennebunk High School, is hoping to head off to the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., next fall. He just received his nomination from Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree.
“I was really glad I got the nomination, I was relieved,” Cabral said.
Cabral has been working for nearly a year on the nomination, a key part in the application process. In the spring he began by sending out nomination requests and last week finally received news that Collins had nominated him.
Instead of writing a couple essays describing himself and sending off his SAT scores, Cabral had to undergo a long process of doctors’ appointments, a physical fitness test and writing essays.
To score 100 on the fitness test, men must do 18 pull-ups, 95 sit-ups, 75 push-ups, run a mile in no more than five minutes and 20 seconds, among other physically demanding challenges.
Each year close to 13,000 students begin the application process for West Point. Around 5,000 of those applications receive nominations for the roughly 1,300 openings in the fall, said Lt. Col. Dean Batchelder, associate director of admissions.
With 536 nominators available, each congressman, senator and the vice president choose an average of approximately 10 nominees each.
Sens. Snowe and Collins nominated Cabral and Nicholas Shepherd of Kittery for West Point. Congresswoman Pingree nominated six other students from across the state for West Point.
“The main reason I wanted to go to West Point was education,” said Cabral, “It’s rated number 1, it beat out Princeton.”
The free tuition at West Point is repaid through service – if the cadet graduates. Cabral and his family realize that after four years of free education and a student stipend, Cabral will have to serve five years in the Army.
If he gets accepted, Cabral will have his first two years to weigh that cost of his education. He must pay back West Point if he does not graduate from the academy, or is expelled from the school.
“If you make it past first year, you want to be there,” said Cabral.
All students who graduate from West Point go in to the Army as a first lieutenants and earn four years toward retirement in the armed services.
Cabral worked hard his whole life to get what he wants, and credits that persistence to his parents.
When he was younger, he wanted a four-wheeler, but his parents made him work for the money. He started his own landscaping company for the summer and handed out 60 to 70 fliers to neighbors.  At the end of the summer he had enough money for his four-wheeler, but a lot of blisters.
The next step was buying a car, but this time he took an easier route with a job at a local grocery store.
“It was a good learning experience,” Cabral said, “I didn’t like it then, but I appreciate it now.”
His father was in the military and his uncle currently is serving as a sergeant in the Army.
Cabral said he wanted to join the Army when he was younger after his father told many stories about his experience and the friends he made. In high school, Cabral said the politics of joining the Army almost made him rethink his decision.
“It’s not really about the politics,” said Cabral. “It’s about working as one team toward one goal.”
Along with work, Cabral divides his time between the classroom and the diving board. He is a national Honors Student, and is taking all advanced placement and International Baccalaureate courses – more rigorous classes designed as honors classes – during his senior year. He has taken twice the number of math and science courses required for graduation because he simply enjoys the classes.
“Me and my dad have a lot of conversations about the economy,” said Cabral, who wants to major in engineering at West Point.
One of the requirements at West Point is that every cadet, or student, must be involved in a sports team.
“It’s a higher standard, you have to participate in sports, no cigarettes on campus and no alcohol,” said his father, Paul Cabral. There is also no staying out all night, and each cadet must get a pass to even leave campus.
Cabral, currently ranked fourth in the state in men’s diving, wants to be on West Point’s Division 1 diving team.
Last month Cabral took a trip to West Point and met the diving team to see if he would be a good fit. He says he is still in touch with the candidates he stayed with during his weekend visit.
“There’s a lot of camaraderie on the teams,” said Cabral.
During the trip, Cabral spent the night in the barracks along with first-year cadets, or plebes, and learned a little about day-to-day life at West Point.
“One candidate was doing econ [economics] homework and I jumped right in,” said Cabral, “They didn’t treat me any differently.”
Cadets get up early, around 6 a.m., for sports practice or boot camp, then head to the mess hall, which Cabral’s parents describe as the dining room from Harry Potter. Class takes up most of the day for the students before more physical activities, more eating, homework and bed.
“There is a university life, the only difference was that everyone wanted to be there,” said Cabral.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.