How do you get LoA?

jmk0601

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
73
Most of my application steps are finished. I only have transcript and CFA left. The BGO interview went really well, and he stated that I was a strong candidate. I would like to know how do you go about getting the LoA. How do I know if I'm accepted to USNA or not, and when will I know? I will be completely done with the USNA application this week.

I'm Korean. Not born in the U.S.
Rank: 48/696
GPA: 3.97 on 4.0 Scale it's weighted. My unweighted is in 3.85~3.9 range.
SAT: Math: 790 Reading: 580 (My first language isn't English)
Classes: 1 honors, rest are gifted/AP
APs: AP World History, AP U.S. History, AP Human Geography, AP Macroecon., AP Gov., AP Calc BC, AP Lang., AP Biology, AP Chemistry,
No Sports - (BGO said he would include in the interview the fact that I didn't have rides because my parents always worked)
Community Service Hours: 500+ Hours - 2 Gold Presidential Service Award
Leadership: Key Club Secretary
Church: Treasurer, President, Head of Organization Team, Praise Leader
Work: Private Tutoring (2hrs a week), Kumon - Math Teacher (10~12hrs a week)
Awards: 2 Gold Presidential Service Awards
AP Scholar Award
Best Latin Student Award 2011-2012
Other Activities: New Orleans Mission Trip (2011)
Korean School Teacher (2010-2012)
Violin Assistant at Middle School (2009-2012)
National Honor Society
National Science Honor Society
National History Club
Mu Alpha Theta (Honors Math tutoring club)
 
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There are many factors that go into when a candidate is accpted, but I will leave that to some other user as I cannot fully answer hat. But LOA's are mainly for recruited athletes and people who USNA would really go out of their way to get. Last year there were few LOA's sent out and keep in mind a LOA is not an appointment and one can still be rejected by admissions after receiving a LOA. This is rare but still happens. This year there seem to be a lot of LOA's being sent out. It varies from year to year depending on the class. If they send you one, great, if not I wouldn't hang my head on it. More than 50% of the class will not receive a loa.
 
Thanks for the reply. I really appreciated it. Then how and when will I know of my acceptance?
 
I'm Korean too, I'll try to help out.
If you get an LOA, you still need a nomination to receive an appointment. W/o an LOA you still need a nomination, but the appointment letter/package arrives sometime in winter-spring.There's several old threads based around "mailbox stalking" so my advice is this. Do your best with your app, your nominations/nomination interviews, and your CFA (might've missed something there). When all is said and done, just hope for the best. Hope this helps!
 
You were pretty active for a guy who couldn't do sports because you couldn't get a ride.
 
My CFA was "poor" I'd say because my mile time was 8:49 because I was sick.. and had a cramp. My normal time is 7:20 My push ups and sit ups were maxed. 9 pull ups, 9.4 Shuttle run, 48 BB throw. dlee96 Did you apply already?

2steaktacos, yes I'm very active in my community. I explained to my BGO that my family emigrated from Korea, so my parents work till late. I believe he included that in my interview form that he submitted. However, I'm quite fit physically (comparable to wrestler and football players).
 
jmk0601, did you get your citizenship issues resolved?
 
wow i'm really impressed and thankful that you remember and asked! Well I still don't have it. However, I will be called in a month or two to take the citizenship test. Then, I can receive my citizenship. The admissions officer stated that I needed to be a citizen by the induction day which is some time in July. I will have my citizenship by latest february or march. Once again, thank you for checking.
 
There's nothing you can do to get an LOA that is different from trying to obtain an appointment. As stated above, LOAs are offered to highly qualified candidates. Some of my LOA recipients have been recruited athletes; most are not.

I suggest the OP retake his CFA. An 8:49 mile is slow for a woman and very, very slow for a male. That, in conjunction with your lack of sports, could be a "red flag" to Admissions that you might not be able to handle the physical aspect of Plebe Summer. If you think you can score in the 7:20 range for the mile, that would help a great deal. Do realize that, for PS, you want to be able to run consecutive 6:30 miles, so start working out now.:smile:
 
jmk,

Some honesty; other than your SAT math score, your resume is pretty average for USNA. So don't worry if you don't get a LOA, make sure you do everything you can to get in. Focus on your citizenship and CFA; those two things could keep you from getting an appointment altogether.
 
jmk,

Some honesty; other than your SAT math score, your resume is pretty average for USNA. So don't worry if you don't get a LOA, make sure you do everything you can to get in. Focus on your citizenship and CFA; those two things could keep you from getting an appointment altogether.

Or perhaps even a nomination, which you would need even with an LOA.
 
My advice: assume you aren't getting an LOA since most do not receive one; if you do, well it's icing on the cake.
 
Well I heard from several sources that my race will benefit me. Admissions officer told me that I just need to have citizenship by summer of 2013. I definitely will be citizen by then, so I'm not too worried about that. My CFA I pulled it up to 7:20-ish for mile and everything else was pretty stable. Thanks everyone for answering to the post! :) I guess I was just really confused with LoA and appointments. Are appointments sent out early as well?
 
I would imagine that the fact you are Korean and speak fluent Korean may be your golden ticket, especially in today's world climate. However, your CFA scores, lack of sports, below average English act score, non citizenship status, and your previous posting of lack of 3D vision may cause you some challenges with securing a nomination (especially if you are in a competitive area) and then an appointment. Please keep us updated on how this works out for you, I admit to being curious.
 
Well I heard from several sources that my race will benefit me. Admissions officer told me that I just need to have citizenship by summer of 2013. I definitely will be citizen by then, so I'm not too worried about that. My CFA I pulled it up to 7:20-ish for mile and everything else was pretty stable. Thanks everyone for answering to the post! :) I guess I was just really confused with LoA and appointments. Are appointments sent out early as well?

Don't want you operating under any illusions... and who am I to question someone from admissions.... but people of east Asian lineage are not an underrepresented minority in the service academies, so I don't think your race will be any big advantage. Just my $0.02. But given your stats I don't think you need to worry provided you nail the CFA.
 
Prep: Thank you for your reply and concern. I greatly appreciate all the feedback. (sorry for keep mentioning the admissions officer) But I've been told that the USNA will take into consideration that my first language is not English. Therefore, 580 in Reading SAT is good. Also, at a conference, they showed a powerpoint slide which revealed 580 as an average reading score and 680 for math. My citizenship paper work is processing as of this moment. My sister submitted hers 3 months earlier received the citizenship in August. My brother, who submitted his 2 months earlier than me, has received his citizenship a month ago. I'm assuming I will get mine very soon from this trend.

Kinnem: I do realize that East Asians are not underrepresented in the Asian population at USNA. However, the stats I've came across stated that USNA has 6% Asians, which means that Asians as a whole are underrepresented. I'm hoping that this stat will work to my benefit of receiving an admission.
 
I do realize that East Asians are not underrepresented in the Asian population at USNA. However, the stats I've came across stated that USNA has 6% Asians, which means that Asians as a whole are underrepresented. I'm hoping that this stat will work to my benefit of receiving an admission.


There is a difference between an underrepresented minority and an underrepresented minority with regards to the naval academy.
 
Well I heard from several sources that my race will benefit me.
Perhaps it will. I wish you the best.

There is a difference between an underrepresented minority and an underrepresented minority with regards to the naval academy.
Exactly.

I just want to comment on some posts above re: URM ... URM (Under Represented Minority) for the Academy, ROTC and OCS isn't about comparing % of Officers of X Category vs. the US Population. It is about comparing % of Officers of X Category vs. the ENLISTED % of X Category. Big difference.

OP, in your case, If Koreans are 2% at the Academy, but 1% in the enlisted ranks, then Korean is not URM as far as the Academy is concerned. It doesn't matter if the US population has 3% Korean (just an example... don't know what the % actually is).

Another example is female Officers. Females compose 51% of the US population. Therefore, should the Academy have 51% female? The key is the % of Enlisted females, which I think is about 14%. Therefore the Diversity mandate that came down from the Secretary of Defense in 2009 would require the Academy to compare the Academy % Female vs. the 14% Female enlisted, and not vs. the 51% US Population. If for example the Academy had 12% females, bu the enlisted had 18%, the Diversity mandate would require the Academy to figure out how to reach a balance.
 
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honestly, I had no clue it was counted in that terms. I greatly appreciate the explanation you have provided. Hopefully, it will somehow work out well for me in the end! I'm really passionate about joining, and I have my first nominations interview this Saturday.
 
honestly, I had no clue it was counted in that terms. I greatly appreciate the explanation you have provided. Hopefully, it will somehow work out well for me in the end! I'm really passionate about joining, and I have my first nominations interview this Saturday.

Good luck on your interviews!
 
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