LOA, now what

navy2016

5-Year Member
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Dec 30, 2009
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I am thrilled to receive an LOA today. However, I have two senatorial interviews coming up. Should I let them know I have an LOA? Or don't even bother to mention it

Would this increase the chances of me being passed out of the slot (senator A figures i will get in and decides to that maybe Senator B should give me the nom instead)?
 
Check your letter. Your MOCs should have been copied, so they already know. I think an LOA definitely increases your chances of a nomination, but I couldn't say if your senators will confirm with each other and your representative. You just need one.
 
I believe you'd find that most MOC's would be very pleased to give a nomination to a candidate who has an LOA in hand - I know that most MOC's in Northeast Ohio would. They are very competitive in this area and are vying with one another to see who will have the most successful candidates. Having said that, in recent years our senators conducted joint interviews and deliberately co-ordinated their nominations to ensure that the greatest number of candidates would have nominations.
 
Congratulations!

The usual advice is to not mention your LOA during your interviews. As pointed out, they already know and you certainly do not want to sound arrogant. If they bring it up – it’s fine to mention how humbled you were to get one given the thousands of qualified candidates.

Do your Senator’s compare lists? Depends. Ours did. I suppose you could ask their Academy Coordinators but it really doesn’t matter to you; all you’re after is a nomination from any source.
 
First congrats and keep going. You're a leg ... or 3 maybe! ...up on the vast majority of the 19k candidates in your class pool.

Still, as has been well noted on this and other forums over the admission seasons, there are a surprising number of LOAs who do not receive nominations nor, obviously and consequently, appointments.

Further, I'm not aware of any LOA recipient who has ever received a NAPS or foundation slot. So, assume that is no longer a potential option for you.

So those are the "bad" news, and of course, worst case scenarios and not what the vast majority of LOA recipients come to realize.

The "good" news? Your upside is terrific and you have now, a fair advantage on your fellow candidates.

Now, one thought. I'm afraid I'd sorely disagree with osdad's always good counsel in this case. Failing to somehow acknowledge and inform (NEVER assume the interviewers are aware.) is not what I'd advise. True, they probably are fully aware, and the better scenario would be to allow your interviewer(s) to acknowledge their awareness of your status as an LOA recipient. But failing to ensure that is the case would be both disingenuous and risk being perceived as less than an LOA recipient should be. It's a critially important aspect of your candidate profile, important to the mission of your interviewers and needs to be fully known, imo.

So not to beat this point, and most certainly HOW you might make sure that it is understood could reflect upon your candidacy in either a positive way or less than that. So I'd consider this as you prepare.

In sum, if it's not brought up, I'd not want to risk walking out of that interview wondering if they were informed of your special status awarded by the Academy. I'm unaware that keeping this information under wraps is "usual advice." Just my thoughts. This is not the moment for false humility nor being ill prepared to put forth your best possible image in the best possible light. Shine and knock 'em dead!:thumb: And don't allow having that LOA delude you into thinking these personal opportunities call for anything less than doing your best.
 
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As previously mentioned, congratulations. Having the LOA is great, but what you want is the appointment. Do not assume or take the attitude that it is a 100% lock. There are multiple hurdles between now and I-Day. Do your very best to give yourself every opportunity to succeed. DS had multiple LOA's and eventually multiple offers of appointment. The MOC's were definitely Cc'd on the LOA from USNA. The USAFA LOA did not specifically state this. During at least one of the interviews he was asked about the LOA's and this gave the opportunity to modestly acknowledge receipt. Shortly after (a few weeks?) the congessman's panel interview and one senator's panel interview he was notified he had been nominated to choice #1(USNA) by the senator and to choices 1,2,3 by congressman. He received a call from Senator #2's office asking him to confirm receipt of the LOA and inquiring if he had received a nomination. He informed the staffer that he did and they congratulated him and indicated they would choose not to interview him as he already had a nomination that would satisfy the LOA. We took this as a sign that he had been screened to a level that made him a candidate to interview had it been necessary. He subsequently received offers of appointment to USNA, USAFA, and USMA in close succession. After a short (highly encouraged by DAD) period of cosideration of the options, he sent the acceptance to USNA and declines to USAFA and USMA. We were never specifically told to whom his appointment was charged and it did not matter. Obviously it is good to have multiple nominations, especially without an LOA, but the offer of appointment is the end goal. Be honest if you are asked about the LOA and other sources of nomination. I would say play it by ear in the interview process and if it does not come up you may want to ask. You could also possibly ask the staffer if the panel has been notified of LOA's prior to the interview. Regardless, good luck with your interviews and pursue all available sources of nomination as means to acquire the appointment.
:thumb:
 
Still, as has been well noted on this and other forums over the admission seasons, there are a surprising number of LOAs who do not receive nominations nor, obviously and consequently, appointments.

Surprising number? :scratch:

I believe the forum BGOs have confirmed one case.

Only 1.

It's very rare that a candidate with a LOA does not get a nom and a subsequent appointment.

Very rare.
 
Surprising number? :scratch:

I believe the forum BGOs have confirmed one case.

Only 1.

It's very rare that a candidate with a LOA does not get a nom and a subsequent appointment.

Very rare.
Surprised, arent you.:eek:

I'm fully confident you're not that precise. :shake:

But no matter, you've proven the point, i.e. an LOA is not guaranteed to receive either a nomination nor appointment. Thanks for confirming!:wink::thumb:

Good ol' Luigi!:cool:
 
I'm advising my DS to mention his LOA in an appropriate manner at some point in the interviews ("The whole process has been exciting and tense, even more so once I received the Letter of Assurance and was qualified medically by the DOD..."). It shouldn't be hard. That's assuming they don't bring it up first. He shouldn't assume the interviewers know (despite the fact that they should), it is to his advantage that they know, and it is to the MOC's advantage to know in order to make best use of his nominations. My DS also forwarded copies of the LOA to the MOCs even though they were copied on the LOA - things DO get lost in the mail, in the shuffle on people's desks, etc. so we figured it was one more way to make contact with the office and further embed his name in their heads. I'm brand new to this process so I'd put a lot of weight in the opinions of those who have more experience, but just my thoughts!
 
...I'm brand new to this process so I'd put a lot of weight in the opinions of those who have more experience, but just my thoughts!
Obviously, you are new!:eek::wink:

Yes, this can be a good place to learn about this extremely complex process and journey. Still, remember what you're paying for it, knowing some responses maybe worth every penny!:confused:

Good luck and blessings. It's a great trip if you don't weaken.:thumb:
 
dolphins: To me, the term "in an appropriate manner" would be critical when considering how/when/whether your DS should mention the LOA. It's possible that such a thing could come off as being very cocky, which might or might not play well.

Another way to handle it might be to send interview panel members thank you letters (always a good thing unless they're poorly written). In that instance, DS could certainly mention his excitement over the LOA, and his hope for a nom. Just a thought.
 
dolphins: To me, the term "in an appropriate manner" would be critical when considering how/when/whether your DS should mention the LOA. It's possible that such a thing could come off as being very cocky, which might or might not play well.

Another way to handle it might be to send interview panel members thank you letters (always a good thing unless they're poorly written). In that instance, DS could certainly mention his excitement over the LOA, and his hope for a nom. Just a thought.

I'd buy that, except one couldn't be certain that the MOC would be the person to actually read the thank you note.
 
In my case, I was specifically instructed by my Congressman's staff to call as soon as I received an LOA in the mail. I suppose it's different for everyone.
 
In my case, I was specifically instructed by my Congressman's staff to call as soon as I received an LOA in the mail. I suppose it's different for everyone.

Yes, I think it's best to tell your MOC that you have received an LOA instead of relying on them being cc'd on the LOA letter. This insures that this information will be included in your file. There is always a chance that there will be an administrative snafu and they may not know that you received an LOA. Make sure that does not happen.
 
My suggestion--do NOT assume your MOC knows of your LOA. That is simply too risky. Call your MOC's staffmember handling service academy nominations prior to your interview and politely tell that person you've received an LOA and identify the academy from which it came. There is nothing wrong with letting the MOC's staff know of the LOA. This is just too important to leave to chance. Last year there was at least one candidate I know of that had a USAFA LOA who did not receive an MOC nomination. Fortunately, the USAFA gave that person a vice presidential nomination. Don't let this happen to you.
 
My suggestion--do NOT assume your MOC knows of your LOA. That is simply too risky. Call your MOC's staffmember handling service academy nominations prior to your interview and politely tell that person you've received an LOA and identify the academy from which it came. There is nothing wrong with letting the MOC's staff know of the LOA. This is just too important to leave to chance. Last year there was at least one candidate I know of that had a USAFA LOA who did not receive an MOC nomination. Fortunately, the USAFA gave that person a vice presidential nomination. Don't let this happen to you.

Great advice! Both of my kids had LOA's and we contacted the congressional staffer handling candidates and then faxed over a copy of the LOA to the office. They are too hard to get to leave anything to chance.

Congratulations!
 
My kid received an email saying he got an LOA today. But his MOC interview is in just two weeks.

How does the Academy notify the MOC that the candidate received an LOA? Will the MOC know about the LOA within the next two weeks?

Also, do they notify the Senators as well?

Should he take his letter to his MOC interview?
 
My kid received an email saying he got an LOA today. But his MOC interview is in just two weeks.

How does the Academy notify the MOC that the candidate received an LOA? Will the MOC know about the LOA within the next two weeks?

Also, do they notify the Senators as well?

Should he take his letter to his MOC interview?

This sounds very similar to my scenario. I was LOA'ed on 10/26/11 (a day I will remember for the rest of my life) and had my first nom interview 11/5/11.

This is how I handled it:
I asked USNA admissions on whether to inform my senators and congressman. Their answer was yes.
Although if you look on the back of the LOA, it should say copy to all 3 of your Sen/reps.
I emailed the reps of each office and told them USNA admissions advised me to pass on the fact that I received an LOA. I also forwarded a scanned copy to them.

At my first nomination interview, indeed a copy of my LOA was in their file.
 
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