Chances for USMA and a question about LOE.

Berchy

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2013
Messages
12
Hello, I recently had my interviews with my Senators and I'm waiting for word from my Congressman about an interview.I have received an LoE and a Service Connected Nomination, but after messing up one of the Senators' interviews, I'm slightly worried. Does anyone have any advice or feedback? Thank you.

Caucasian Male
3.97 (~4.0 GPA)
4th in class out of 204.
2160 Composite SAT, 710 Math, 730 Reading, 720 Writing.
1 Year Varsity Letter in both Soccer and Cross Country
JROTC Battalion Commander for one year. (School is too small for a brigade.)
JROTC Battalion S-3 for two years.
JROTC Superior Cadet for four years.
Member of JROTC Color Guard for 4 years, Commander for 3 years, State Champions for 2 years.
Member of JROTC Raider Team for 4 years, Co-Commander for 3.
Member of JROTC Honor Guard for 1 year.
Member of Academic Bowl Team for three years, Team Captain for two, Champions for two years and possibly this year as well.
Member of Beta Club for four years, running for Vice President.
President of DECA.
Member of SGA for 3 years, Junior Class President last year.
Class Representative for 3 years.
Walgreen's Employee while also maintaining extra curricular activities.
Academic Letter Recipient for all four years.
STAR Student of Class of 2014.
Nominated for DAR Good Citizen Award.

CFA:
75 feet for Basketball Throw
10 Pull-Ups
8.9 Shuttle Run
~63 Sit-Ups
~63 Push-Ups

No Criminal Record.
Medically Qualified.

Community Service: Fundraisers through Beta Club, Community Events through JROTC including parking cars, performing Color Guard duties during events.

High School Classes:
Taken all Honors Classes that are possible at my school, while maintaining an A in every class every semester.
Taken two AP Classes, passed both exams.
AP US History with a 5.
AP Environmental Science with a 4.
Currently taking AP Statistics and AP US Government.

I want to major in Political Science.

Thanks again for any feedback or advice you can give.
 
Your stats are very good!! Your CFA is probably about average.

As far as LoE, that means you're a strong candidate and is a very good sign.

How did you "mess up" a senator's interview?
 
Berchy,

Just a parent of a current SA candidate, so I am not any type of authority on this stuff, but I will give you my two cents.

First off, I see great class rank, SAT scores and leadership. What I don't see is "real" rigorous schedule. AP classes are fine, but AP Stats and AP Gov are not as challenging and meaningful to a STEM school as AP Calc and AP Physics.

If you are not planning on an Engineering major then it may be less important. Again, I really don't know this stuff and others can probably give you a better idea.

Find your "hook". What makes you stand out? You need to be unique, like everyone else. Ha ha. Seriously though, there must be a reason you received an LOE? Maybe you are the first member of your family to attend college, or you come from an obscure part of the country, or something that allows you to "enrich" West Point with your presence????

Good luck. You have lots of great stuff to build on.
 
LOE + qualified + nomination = Ur In

I don't see why an interview with the Senators people even matters (unless you spouted anti government gibberish or confessed to some deep dark secret). It means you probably won't get that nomination. You have exceeded the criteria and all else being equal should get an appointment. DISCLAIMER - my opinion only
 
I don't see why an interview with the Senators people even matters (unless you spouted anti government gibberish or confessed to some deep dark secret). It means you probably won't get that nomination. You have exceeded the criteria and all else being equal should get an appointment. DISCLAIMER - my opinion only

He has an LOE, not LOA, so nothing is guaranteed.
 
Berchy,

Just a parent of a current SA candidate, so I am not any type of authority on this stuff, but I will give you my two cents.

First off, I see great class rank, SAT scores and leadership. What I don't see is "real" rigorous schedule. AP classes are fine, but AP Stats and AP Gov are not as challenging and meaningful to a STEM school as AP Calc and AP Physics.

If you are not planning on an Engineering major then it may be less important. Again, I really don't know this stuff and others can probably give you a better idea.

Find your "hook". What makes you stand out? You need to be unique, like everyone else. Ha ha. Seriously though, there must be a reason you received an LOE? Maybe you are the first member of your family to attend college, or you come from an obscure part of the country, or something that allows you to "enrich" West Point with your presence????

Good luck. You have lots of great stuff to build on.

I would've taken AP Physics and Calculus (I even signed up for them) but I come from a very rural area and there weren't enough people for the classes. I am also going to be the first from my family to attend college. I wish I would've been able to take the classes but you can't choose where you come from, you can only use it as motivation to succeed. Haha. Thank you for your feedback!
 
I don't see why an interview with the Senators people even matters (unless you spouted anti government gibberish or confessed to some deep dark secret). It means you probably won't get that nomination. You have exceeded the criteria and all else being equal should get an appointment. DISCLAIMER - my opinion only

When I wrote about the Senator's interview I was mainly throwing out the idea of receiving that nomination. Haha. No anti-government or dark secret here!
 
Your stats are very good!! Your CFA is probably about average.

As far as LoE, that means you're a strong candidate and is a very good sign.

How did you "mess up" a senator's interview?

I fumbled on one question which led to me messing up the next and so on. Looking back, I know what I should've said, but I just didn't say it. I do however have a decent chance with the other Senator and I have a Service Connected Nomination.
 
LOE/LOA

With WP normally only giving out 200 or so LOEs and knowing that nothing in life is certain - sounds pretty good. Is WP really giving out LOAs this year? If so, would like to hear from a few people who got them and their situations.
 
I don't believe West Point is giving out LOAs. My DS received a LOE, but my understanding is that it is only an "encourgement" to continue doing what he can to be as competitive as possible. It doesn't "assure" him that he will get an appointment even if 3Q with a nomination. So, I'm still standing by my "nothing guaranteed" until he gets the BFE. (fingers crossed) :smile:
 
Guarantee

Nothing is for certain when your dealing with the SAs or high school kids. My D gets upset every time I ask her if she is serious about this whole process. I've seen kids get hurt the week before R Day and I've seen incredible candidates wonder away from the process. We started Prep School with @320. Took @180 to WP. Probably graduated @60-70% of those.
 
I stand corrected. I was thinking LOAs were being given out for USNA and LOEs for USMA. There are a lot of different requirements & deadlines for the academies' and ROTC applications that my DS filled out, makes my head hurt.
 
LOAs and OFFERS

Not only are LOAs being given out (very few), but some 2018 OFFERS have already been made and ACCEPTED! Those of you that have received LOEs, be encouraged and take advantage of that overnight visit if at all possible. Continue to update your file with any additional accomplishments until the last day. Get 3Qd and get that nomination! Go Army! Beat Navy! :thumb:
 
Don't rush the gate yet....

Whoa!! Before we put the “Sold Out” sign up lets take a closer look. My3sons is correct about her info. There have been a very few LOAs given. These LOA were to candidates who were injured just before R-Day or a week or two into Beast. WP felt the investment into the candidates is worth the wait. And a few LOAs to stand out candidates WP feels they will be valuable assists to the Corps. The few offers that have been given are to current enlisted who have or are serving overseas. And rightfully so. These young people are stunning and mature beyond their years. They are making the Army a life long career. The priors are looked up to during their time at WP and lead others in their class just because they know the Army culture. Many of their peers gravitate towards them due to the fact they have been in combat. The Class of 2017 has 29 combat experienced, two are women.
My3sons is a credible source of info. Its difficult to just get one kid into WP. Please continue to have input here.

On a personal note: The shipping season is slowing. Beginning in June, July and August shipping comes to a peak. This is when retail orders for Christmas arrives (high percentage from China and Taiwan) to be distributed to the US market. Right now market strategists are planning for the 2018 season, investing on what will be the hot buying trends and the not so hot, out dated trends. This is how Santa Claus works, sorry. I have 4 boats the number two will be going into dry dock for a much needed overhaul and upgrades to its power plants, propulsion systems, nav, winch and hull service. Estimated cost 2.8 mil. Cost of doing business. She’s 12 years old and 88 feet. Hopefully it will take just 2 months if all goes well, save unforeseen issues. Some folks have asked.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
I have 4 boats the number two will be going into dry dock for a much needed overhaul and upgrades to its power plants, propulsion systems, nav, winch and hull service. Estimated cost 2.8 mil. Cost of doing business. She’s 12 years old and 88 feet. Hopefully it will take just 2 months if all goes well, save unforeseen issues. Some folks have asked.

I'm confident it will be done in 2 months. I expect you'll be showing up every day saying "Push Hard, Press Forward". :smile:
 
There are still LOAs issued this year. I know neither the quantity nor whether they are still considering candidates for them, but a few members of the forum (myself included) have LOAs. Mine was awarded because my offer for the class of 2017 was revoked for medical reasons.
 
Just a quick update but I have received a nomination from Senator Saxby Chambliss! I am very excited and I can't wait to find out if I will be accepted.
 
LOAs are revocable

to those who got LOAs congrats and good luck.

just a word of warning to those who think they can do anything now...

last year, one of the kids in my child's 2017 class got an LOA, started partying and messed up that the grades dropped - the SA decided to spot check grades and talked to the teacher - goodbye appointment!

this kid is now doing rotc at a civie college (i know nothing wrong with that.) the irony is that kid was the most gung ho kid we knew that wanted to go into a SA since he was in grade school. moral of the story - don't rest on your laurels because you have an LOA. it can be taken away at any time.

my advice to those who dont get LOAs is not to worry about them and send in the best/strongest package you can send out even if it means waiting a little later. if you're not an athlete, number 1 or 2 in your class with perfect SAT/ACTs, injured or medically turned back from last year or have something out of this world to give the SA, don't expect to get them. sorry to be blunt.
 
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