Disqualified for medical waiver?

liger98

5-Year Member
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May 5, 2015
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"A review of your record indicates you do not meet the medical standards for appointment to West Point at this time. I regret to inform you that your medical disqualification is final and your file has been closed. At a later date, if it appears that you will win a vacancy to West Point or one of our preparatory programs, we will automatically reopen your file and consider you for a waiver."

So does this mean that I am disqualified for this year? Or does it mean that as of right now I need to continue to pursue a vacancy at West Point so that they will consider me for a waiver at a later date?
 
It pretty much means you are DQ for this year. Unless you jump to the top of the district/nomination standing (ie get a principal nomination and/or no one else that is above you in the district gets a West Point nomination), they won't request a waiver. I would call and talk to your RC. Find out if it is something that they would even consider waivering and what specifically you would need to work on to be competitive enough NEXT YEAR, because that is in reality what you are probably looking at if you really want to go to West Point.
 
You might want to appeal to DODMERB for a waiver. Some MOC's won't use a nomination on someone who is not 3Q'd
 
You might want to appeal to DODMERB for a waiver. Some MOC's won't use a nomination on someone who is not 3Q'd

DoDMERB does NOT give waivers. All they do is qualify or disqualify according to the commissioning source, in this case USMA.

Appealing to them will do nothing unless you can prove that they DQd incorrectly.

It is only the commissioning source that can waive. They are the final voice, not DoDMERB.

I am also not sure about the MoCs nominating if they are not 3Q.
~ Many applicants will submit their application to an MoC by 9/30 and have yet to complete/submit their CFA, hence they are not 3 Q.
~ Plus, if they did have their DoDMERB done during the summer, they may get a remedial because they wanted more info before deciding Q or DQ. They would be neither Q or DQd.
~ Additionally I don't know how HIPAA plays into that equation. HIPAA laws as far as I know would not allow the DoDMERB doc to release medical info to an MoC committee. The MoC is not like the SAs. The SA ordered the exam and they are able to see results, the MoC did not, thus unless their application requires the candidate to sign a release they can't see it.
 
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Im sorry for your latest news. Work your Plan B and C as well as correcting the DoDMERB issue. Good luck and keep us informed!

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
I personally had the same experience. Received a nomination, was told that another candidate looked more competitive, file closed. I received the same letter, but decided to apply again. I did receive a waiver request which my RC put in for me and subsequently received the waiver. I think if the condition can be waived, if you are competitive, and are proactive in completing the application by the time RC puts request for you, that you will have a decent chance to receive a waiver IMO. For me honestly, I didn't know if I would receive a waiver or not because of my condition. Good luck.
 
Some MOC's won't use a nomination on someone who is not 3Q'd

I am also not sure about the MoCs nominating if they are not 3Q.
~ Many applicants will submit their application to an MoC by 9/30 and have yet to complete/submit their CFA, hence they are not 3 Q.
~ Plus, if they did have their DoDMERB done during the summer, they may get a remedial because they wanted more info before deciding Q or DQ. They would be neither Q or DQd.
~ Additionally I don't know how HIPAA plays into that equation. HIPAA laws as far as I know would not allow the DoDMERB doc to release medical info to an MoC committee. The MoC is not like the SAs. The SA ordered the exam and they are able to see results, the MoC did not, thus unless their application requires the candidate to sign a release they can't see it.

I agree with Pima. It is certainly possible there might be a MOC that won't nominate a candidate that is DQ, but I am under the impression that MOCs typically don't take that into consideration. My guess is the SAs tell/ask the MOCs not to do that.

My experience with my DS was all 3 MOCs (their review boards) were aware that my DS was DQ and needed a medical waiver from USMA. They were not provided the details of the medical condition. Some did ask what the condition was and my DS freely told them. DS did receive a MOC nomination from Virginia Congressional District #11, a very competitive district.

I would call and talk to your RC. Find out if it is something that they would even consider waivering and what specifically you would need to work on to be competitive enough NEXT YEAR,

linger98 -- sorry for this news -- 845 has offered some really good advice. The answers will help you decide how to prepare, or if to pursue, for next year.
 
Hey guys, so my RC basically said he doesn't want to put in a waiver for me anymore (probably due to the fact that one of my SOEs was extremely late for reasons beyond my control and because of the severity of the condition) so I'll be reapplying next year. My condition is definitely waiverable; I have myopia of -6.5 on one eye and -9.5 on the other. Got a couple questions for you guys about reapplying as a college freshman but I'll slowly post them onto this site later.
 
@liger98 beyond 8.0 diopters may be waiverable in the case that it says it is possible in the regulation, but surgeon general's guidance is not to issue any waivers beyond that. In fact, if they had their preference, anything over 6.0 would not receive a waiver primarily because of the significant increase in retina detachment from trauma to the eye area (such as getting punched in boxing).

Before you spend a considerable amount of time pursuing an appointment and a waiver next year, you really need to ask the hard, direct question if West Point will request the waiver. Some candidates do better with a small glimmer of hope (at least in the mind of the RC in terms of how much time they want to spend dealing with follow up questions and pleas to make a special exception for them). It sounds like your RC used the late SOE to take an easier let down on why they aren't requesting the waiver versus telling you that there is no way that your waiver would ever go through.
 
Wait I'm a bit confused. The regulations say that it's -8.00 diopter a so why would they need to grant waivers to those worse than-6.00?
 
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