LOAs

Firehawk1

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Nov 24, 2015
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As I read through these threads it certainly seems like a large amount of LOA's were granted and now with nominations being giving, Academy appointments appear to be going out in somewhat large numbers. Makes me wonder if there will be any appointments left for those that did not receive a LOA or their nomination slate does not get submitted until January. Is it just me or are the opportunities for appointment quickly diminishing? My son seems to be an extremely competitive candidate and has completed his interviews and all other requirements. MOC's said they would not release their slate until late December. Without an LOA does he still have a chance should he receive a nomination?
 
The best way I've heard this described, by someone else, is that this forum tends to draw the most motivated and competitive candidates that are applying. This is why it appears that so many are being sent out when in reality, most of us won't hear back until February or March. Remember LOA's and Nominations are independent processes. You don't have to have an LOA to get a nomination.
 
There are more than enough appointments left for your son to have a chance.
 
As I read through these threads it certainly seems like a large amount of LOA's were granted and now with nominations being giving, Academy appointments appear to be going out in somewhat large numbers. Makes me wonder if there will be any appointments left for those that did not receive a LOA or their nomination slate does not get submitted until January. Is it just me or are the opportunities for appointment quickly diminishing? My son seems to be an extremely competitive candidate and has completed his interviews and all other requirements. MOC's said they would not release their slate until late December. Without an LOA does he still have a chance should he receive a nomination?

"Large" - "Large" = Small? But without knowing the actual numbers, who knows.

If you just want to talk about numbers, historically about 1400 offers a year and about 200 LOAs per year. That leaves about 1200 offers to go.

The terms are very important as nomination, vacancy, and appointment are somewhat interchangeable. The best way to explain it is that a candidate needs a nomination to compete for a vacancy to earn an appointment. Many cases, the vacancy aspect isn't discussed.

When LOAs are given out, the admissions office has a tentative plan which vacancy will be used. So most likely way that not having a LOA could hurt your DS is that the admissions office gave out too many LOAs in your specific MOC and/or state. A way the admissions office manages LOAs are by shuffling candidates with multiple nominations. Say Candidate X in your Congressional district has a LOA. The admissions office projected to use the district vacancy for Candidate X. Either your DS has higher WCS than Candidate X or the admissions office also want your son, than the admission office will find another vacancy for Candidate X and use the Congressional vacancy for your DS. There are many ways how candidates can be appointed by the admission office deciding which vacancy to use. Which brings us to my next point that last several years, something like 200 +/- appointment offers before February, about 1000 +/- appointment offers between February to April, and remaining afterword (disclaimer, numbers are an educate estimate on my part). Majority of appointments against Congressional vacancies are made after the application deadline as the admissions office cannot officially determine the top candidate in the district with incomplete applications.
 
In November it is still early in this year's appointment process. Until MOC complete their interviews and issue their NOM's I would not be concerned about who will/will not get an appointment. LOA's always get a lot of threads, but the reality is that only a small number of candidates will receive one.
 
There are plenty of appointments left. The majority of appointments will go out in Feb-March. No one knows how many folks from each class are on this board exactly. Every year when they start the appointment thread there ends up being around 100-120 folks who post. That would be about 10% of a class. Those numbers aren't exact, but it's been the pattern for the last few years. So if trends hold true this year, you are totally fine. It seems like tons of appointments and LOAs have been issued when you read some of the threads, but in reality, not many have. Take a deep breathe and relax!
 
I appreciate every response. Extremely helpful and very informative. Mom and I feel better knowing our son still has a great chance of fulfilling his aspiration of attending the Academy. With roughly 1000 +/- appointments remaining he still has a good shot. It will be a long wait for him (and for us for that matter) but sometimes good things take a long time. He is also completing the NROTC scholarship application and has a plan C in place in case things don't turn out the way he hopes. Thanks again for all the reassurance. In the mean time, he needs to continue focusing on HS and finishing strong. The wait begins.
 
No one is accounting for the ~350 appointments that go to NAPS, Foundation, and college students, so the 1,000 isn't really a good figure if you are only considering seniors (even though the poster said it was offers of appointment and not appointments). With a class size of 1,200, only about 850 appointments will go to high school seniors. Thus, technically, the appointment pool is smaller. Either way, as others have said, there are PLENTY of appointments to be handed out.
 
To be honest, every day that passes there are fewer spots left. A lot depends though, on the status of the nominees from your nominating source. BUT... even if your MOC fills his open slot, the academy has some wiggle room, and can make it happen. It depends upon how much they want your kid.

Relax. I know, it's almost impossible. :)
 
Our state has already finished all interviews for nominations and turned in their names. My daughter did have an LOA which she was told in our state by senators she was guaranteed a nomination. LOA s appear to be rare so there should be plenty of spots left. She was one of less than 5 ( not sure that there were that many) I believe in this state with one. Our Blue and Gold officer has been doing this for 15 years and stated this is the first LOA he has ever had. Work hard and it will pay off and don't give up hope.
 
What is "WCS"?
Whole Candidate Score - an overall score that ranks each candidate's academic, physical, ECA attributes. How the WCS is calculated is a closely-guarded secret, but academics are said to comprise about 60%. A high WCS correlates with a higher chance of receiving an appointment. Candidates do not learn their WCS at any point in the process.

Hope this helps.
 
Our state has already finished all interviews for nominations and turned in their names. My daughter did have an LOA which she was told in our state by senators she was guaranteed a nomination. LOA s appear to be rare so there should be plenty of spots left. She was one of less than 5 ( not sure that there were that many) I believe in this state with one. Our Blue and Gold officer has been doing this for 15 years and stated this is the first LOA he has ever had. Work hard and it will pay off and don't give up hope.

Where in the world do parents get so much information?

An LOA does not guarantee a nomination, and if a kid gets the nomination, it does not guarantee an appointment.

Kids can mess up, and believe it or not, the academy can change its mind. Last year there were several upset parents that were sure their kid had an appointment because they had an LOA and a nomination. Wrong.

Common? No. Does it happen? Yes.
 
Actually, as long as a candidate completes the stipulations of the LOA and keeps their nose clean academically/conduct, then the Academy MUST give them an appointment. In fact the LOA states something like this...."You are guaranteed an offer of appointment if the remaining admissions requirements are met." The situation maplerock is talking about, I believe, is if a candidate is designated the principal nominee on a slate. That DOES NOT guarantee an appointment even if all the remaining admission requirements are met.

So an LOA + nomination = appointment. It is also why LOAs are short for "Conditional Offer of Appointment."
 
Where in the world do parents get so much information?

An LOA does not guarantee a nomination, and if a kid gets the nomination, it does not guarantee an appointment.

Kids can mess up, and believe it or not, the academy can change its mind. Last year there were several upset parents that were sure their kid had an appointment because they had an LOA and a nomination. Wrong.

Common? No. Does it happen? Yes.

My daughter did have an LOA which she was told in our state by senators she was guaranteed a nomination.

She must have been told that her senator insures that applicants with LOA will get nominations.
 
Are LOA's used to save a spot for a top level division one athlete even if he/she has mediocre academics? Or are they strictly used for those with high level over all scores?

Is there an end date for sending LOA's? Another words, if you don't get one by X date then your not getting one.
 
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