Admissions timeline

sarah

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Can one of you wonderfully knowledgeable folks lay out the timeline for admissions going forward? We are now coming to the end of the nomination process, so are the admissions folks looking at LOA's first, then principals then "regular" nominees? Or are they all piled in a big stack that is tackled from the top down? If not a principal nominee, is it true that all 10 applications for a particular nominating slate be in before considering any of them?

Does the admissions board therefore wait until after the February deadline to tackle the bulk of applications?

I apologize if there is a thread similar to this out there. I didn't find one myself and thought seeing this information in one place might be helpful to lots of us.
 
Probably not "wonderfully knowledgeable", but I'll try! :wink:

LOA's and principal nominees should be handled as they come in. My son (with an LOA) was notified of his nomination on Dec 14, was called a few days later and told his appointment would go out shortly, and received it on Dec. 26. I think for either of those cases, once they meet the requirements (usually physical or nomination for LOA or 3Q'd for principal nom), the appointment should go out right away. I think of these all as being in a separate "stack" just waiting for the last puzzle piece and then getting them out (and off their desks!) as fast as they can.

For a competitive nomination, yes, they have to wait until all 10 names on the slate are in and their applications are complete in order to determine who has the "best" score and offer them the appointment. From what I understand (and this is more for WP I'm sure about, not certain if AF does it the same), then they have to wait for ALL the slates to be done in order to get everyone remaining into a rank order for the National Wait List. I know WP then takes a minimum of 150 from the NWL and offers them appointments. I don't know how AF does it at that point.

But I don't picture it as a big stack just waiting. More like a bunch of little stacks and as soon as one is ready (all 10 applications are in), they grab that one and jump on it. And I'm sure the NWL is being filled in as they go (same for each little pile), so each time they're just waiting for the last thing, not starting looking at a file for the first time once the last one in that group comes in.

So it seem like the timeline is that if you have a principal nom or LOA, you should know soon (ie, get the appointment). If you're the top on the competitive slate, you'll be next to know, as soon as your slate is done (may be a wide variance in time here). Getting an appointment from the NWL would be next, followed by getting one because someone else declined theirs and you were next on the list (either NWL or an individual slate). However, I don't know when/where actual "Rejection letters" (TWE's) come in during this process - seems like for Navy it's sometime in April - not sure about the other academies.

Good luck!
 
Funny, just typed in timeline on the academy website and found this... lol






"Applying to the Air Force Academy is considerably more involved than applying to your typical college or university. There are lots of steps and very important deadlines you must meet to be considered for an appointment to the Academy, so review the timeline below very carefully.

NOTE: Please contact your Admissions Liaison Officer if you have questions during the application process.

During Your Junior Year
Like most high school students, your junior year is when your application process truly begins.

You will start by filling out the Academy's Application/Pre-candidate Questionnaire - the first step in the application process. Click here to submit the questionnaire online.


Important Dates:
Between March 1 of your junior year and December 31 of your senior year, you must request a nomination from your state's congressional representative(s) or other designated nominator.

Between March 1 of your junior year and January 31 of your senior year, you must submit the pre-candidate questionnaire online.

NOTE: Because of the rigorous application requirements and high level of competition for Academy appointments, we suggest that you request and submit applications to the Air Force ROTC and a participating college as well as the Academy.

During Your Senior Year
If you haven't already done so during your junior year, you must submit the Academy's application/pre-candidate questionnaire. The deadline to apply online is January 31.

Starting in August, Candidate Kit instructions are mailed to qualified candidates from whom the pre-candidate questionnaires have been received, screened and approved.

Once you have received your Candidate Kit, you must take both your service academy medical exam and your candidate fitness assessment before March 1 of your senior year.

NOTE: The preparation for and review of these exams is a lengthy process, so it is very important that you meet this deadline, or better yet - start early!

Important Dates:

August
Candidate kit instructions are mailed to students from whom the pre-candidate Questionnaires have been received, screened and approved.


September
Congressional selections for nominations begin September 1. Check with your nominator for deadlines.


October
The Academy begins offering a portion of the total appointments to students who have completed all phases of the application process. Appointments will continue to be offered through the following June, with the majority of appointments being offered in March.

From October 1 through January 31, letters of assurance are sent to students who will be offered an appointment but do not have nominations yet. The letter assures the students that they will be offered an appointment when the nomination is received.


December
Congressional representatives and other nominating persons submit nominations to the Academy between December 1 and January 31.


January
Deadline for submitting the pre-candidate questionnaire online is January 31.


February
Offers for enrollment in the Academy Preparatory School begin February 1 and end in early July.

Falcon Foundation offers begin February 1 and continue until mid-June or until all 100 scholarships have been accepted.


March
The majority of offers of appointment to the Academy will be made during this month for students who have completed all phases of the application process. The remainder of offers not already made during this month will be made until the class is full.

All application-related documents must be received by the Academy no later than March 1.

April
Former cadets will be reviewed for reentry during the month of April. Appointment offers will be made to international students during the month of April."


... Most questions are answered on the academy website...
 
Thanks, though I am most interested in how admissions handles the various slates, if they have to have the full 10 completed before they review, etc. Also if the LOA's and principals are in a different "stack".
 
Thanks, though I am most interested in how admissions handles the various slates, if they have to have the full 10 completed before they review, etc. Also if the LOA's and principals are in a different "stack".

I'll chime in on the LOA side. Yes and no - LOAs can be in the same stack or a different stack depending on how the slate was submitted. LOAs will get the appointment quick - so they are in an LOA / Principal stack that Marciemi mentioned. Then, without having an impact on the LOA recipient, the LOA may go back into the competitive slate stack to be ranked. IF the LOA is ranked top of a ranked slate, the LOA is charged to the nom and the rest go to the NWL. If the LOA is NOT highest rank on the slate, the top of the slate gets an appointment and is charged to the MOC (LOA has already gotten an appointment, and is now charged to another nominating source) and the remaining names on the slate go to the NWL. Sounds confusing and it really does not impact the LOA recipient. However, it does have a big impact on non-LOA recipients. The process is much more complicated than you might imagine and the number of possible scenarios are considerable. For that reason, one should always preface anything in the nomination process with a qualifier like "typically; usually; generally etc... "
 
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