letter of assurance???

soldier15R

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2011
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34
can someone tell me what the letter shows up in. is it just a single letter in an envelope or what??
 
I attended two AIMs this weekend, and the regional commander (Maj. D.) stated that all LOAs were allocated at the beginning of September. There will not be any additional sent out for the Class of 2016.

Applicants for the Class of 2016 are of very high caliber, all with outstanding files. There are certainly many more qualified than will be offered appointments. He stated that if you don't get a nomination from any of the sources, you may still be one of the 300 offered appointments from the NWL. He relayed a story from last June where he tried to contact a candidate the Thursday before R-Day, but the person was not available due to his being on vacation in Korea; he was not reachable. So the appointment was offered to the next person on the list on the Friday before R-Day.

He himself got his appointment in late May (a Class of 2001 WP grad), and mentioned that Col Endres, head of WP Admissions got his appointment a few days before his R-Day.

All potential applicants were encouraged to take SATs and ACTs frequently, to open their files as soon as possible, to apply to attend SLS, and to get their files completed as early as possible. Also advised that before the end of your Junior year, to get your transcripts on the way to West Point; and to have ready access during the summer to your college counselors and teachers you plan to use for references. Those who complete their file before their senior year starts have the best chance to get an LOA.
 
.. and mentioned that Col Endres, head of WP Admissions got his appointment a few days before his R-Day.

COL Endres is the Deputy Director of Admissions.
COL McDonald is the Director of Admissions.

Picky point, I know - but I wanted to make this correction for sake of accurateness.
 
All potential applicants were encouraged to take SATs and ACTs frequently, to open their files as soon as possible, to apply to attend SLS, and to get their files completed as early as possible. Also advised that before the end of your Junior year, to get your transcripts on the way to West Point; and to have ready access during the summer to your college counselors and teachers you plan to use for references. Those who complete their file before their senior year starts have the best chance to get an LOA.


The importance of the bolded statement above cannot be overemphasized. The academy admissions schedules are much more accelerated than typical college application cycles. Applicants need to make sure they can keep the pipeline moving with all of the items that need to get addressed during the summer after junior year, and this many times requires quick and reliable contact channels with teachers, guidance counselors, coaches, and even the high school prinicpal, over the course of the summer.

My DS got contact emails and phone numbers for his folks before leaving for the summer, but he still spent days on the phone and email at one point, trying to track down a key person who was vacationing at the beach (as they are entitled since, of course, they are on holiday!) ... Establish those links (personal email addresses for those folks if they will share them; personal cell phone numbers if they will share them) so you don't get left out. Try and give them a heads up on what you will be asking of them at certain times throughout the summer -- don't assume they are familiar with the cadence and content of the process -- and, of course, say THANK YOU and be sure to recognize that these folks are acting above and beyond typical duty in helping you. But if your character and rapport with the faculty and administration is typical of the kind of student who applies to the SAs, they will likely be very happy to help.

Good luck!
 
No, my son is not a minority or residing overseas. He has a good academic record and a good resume, but there's nothing about him that is unusual. I just thought that the board readers would like to know that these are still going out. FYI, I am totally new to all this so I don't even have a good feel for what this letter means, how rare it is, etc. etc.
 
Don, Congrats to your son. A nomination and then he is in. If all goes well he could know by Christmas. That was the way it went for my oldest son, who is now in his second year at WP. My youngest son is now applying, and has not received an LOA. We are hopeful, as he has about the same resume as my oldest, but time will tell.

It was interesting to hear that your son got one yesterday, as that is not what "the word" has been from some reliable sources at this forum. That is why you might get a few questions regarding your son's circumstances. The rest of us that are waiting are encouraged by your news. I will take the liberty and ask one question.
Is your son being recruited athletically?

I hope all goes well for your son.
 
Nope - he is not an athletic recruit or anything like that. FYI, his application wasn't complete until about a week or so before he got the letter, as one of his teachers was having a hard time getting his letter of recommendation written. Maybe that's why it came in a bit later. I don't really know. Honestly I didn't even think the letter was a big deal until I started reading more about it.
 
Don, Congrats to your son. A nomination and then he is in.

And Medical qualification.
And passing CFA
And a complete file.

LOAs can be issued if candidate has a medical DQ or not passed/taken the CFA or an incomplete file or no nom.

These are all stipulations that are part of a LOA that must be met (if not already met at the time of the LOA) to receive an appointment.

PotentialParent - I'm not trying to nitpick just to nitpick but just making sure that another reader will understand that LOAs sometimes come with these stipulations.

Congrats to Don_S's DS! :thumb:
 
Thank you for the above clarification, which is correct. The Letter itself contains some caveats, such as the completion of the medical review and the nomination. It specifically states that if these things are not completed, the Letter is withdrawn.
 
Buff81,

Understood. Specificity is a good thing! Let's hope there are more LOA's coming out.
 
My RC is very good about relaying admissions information. We have not received any word that another round of LOAs is going out so therefore, I would not count on it. There may be a few here and there that trickle out as evidenced by Don_S's son's LOA.

So - why did Don_S's son receive a LOA after we all heard that no more LOAs were going out?
He probably has a 'walk on water' file and it was complete after the LOAs went out in September - but that is purely speculation on my part so don't take it as gospel.
 
His file is good, but I assume there are many others like it:

Top 5%-10% of his high school class
Top 5%-10% range for standardized tests
Eagle Scout
Attended West Point's Summer Leadership Series
Two-sport varsity athlete
 
Admissions always reserved the right to send out one by one LOAs at any time. Like buff81's, my RC has been very forthcoming with the fact that the LOAs were a one-round affair this year.
 
Regarding LOA's and the need for a nomination, I'm curious does anyone know if WP notifies the MOC's that a candidate has received an LOA? I seem to recall reading on here (but cannot find it now) that MOC's are able to give nominations to LOA holders without directly affecting the MOC's nomination allocations, but maybe I am wrong. Regardless, does a candidate's LOA status get shared with his/her MOC's, or is it up to the candidate to notify his/her MOC's prior to the interview? Thank you for any guidance.
 
Notifications of LOA

Our Congressman's office (PA-18) was put on CC for the LOA my son received last year. But, this is the GOVERNMENT. When we called our Congressman's office, they appeared unaware. We faxed it directly to the staffer who was responsible for the nomination process in the office. I'd recommend you contact your Congressman's/Senator's office and do the same.
 
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