Candidate for LOA email?

A

aglages

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I know better than to get excited or overly speculative about LOAs. Some will get them, some won't..many get into the USMA with them and without.

That said, my son received an interesting email from the USMA today that mentions a LOA. Has anyone else seen one of these emails? The USMA has already received (confirmed) his SAT scores and transcripts, but we are still waiting for the school to send the Candidate Activity Record (CAR) and the Request for Academic Information forms to them. Supposedly this will be done when the Guidance Department returns from Summer break this week.

"From: XXX
Subject: Letter of Assurance (LOA)
To: XXX

Dear Candidate,


If you are receiving this email it is because your reported SAT/ACT scores and Class Rank make you a strong candidate for a Letter of Assurance (LOA) to the West Point Class of 2015. Some of you may have already received your Letter of Assurance’s in the mail. The two things absolutely necessary to receive an LOA is official SAT/ACT scores, a signed 6 semester transcript, and a class rank either on your transcript or completed request for transcript from your high school guidance councilor. Please get these items in as soon as possible in order receive a Letter of Assurance to West Point. Please call my office or email me with any questions. Your school administrators can fax all necessary documents to the fax machine below in my signature block. Thank you for your interest in attending West Point.



Sincerely,
XXX"
 
Get those transcripts sent in!!! Send your son to school to double check and it wouldn't hurt if you placed a call to the guidance counselor yourself.
Congratulations!
 
Just_A_Mom said:
Get those transcripts sent in!!! Send your son to school to double check and it wouldn't hurt if you placed a call to the guidance counselor yourself.
Congratulations!
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Thanks...almost. His USMA online application shows they have received (all) 6 semesters of transcripts. Fortunately we requested the transcripts from our GC department before they closed for the Summer.

I'm thinking this email may be a motivational kick-in-the-butt for kids that are competitive to finish up their applications and get everything submitted. We unfortunately do not have the quickest or most cooperative GC department and I'm unwilling to light a fire under them until AFTER all the GC letters of recommendation and transcripts are sent out to the civilian colleges that he is also applying. That should be the first or second week of September. After that, I will be camped out in the GC office if necessary.
 
Sorry about that, I totally misread that and thought the transcripts had not been sent.

Your son should reply to the email, express his interest and excitement, inform the transcripts have been received and that he is working on the rest of the application.
IMO - a conversation with admissions is a good thing and this is his opening.
 
Yes, my son knew several kids who got that last summer - we called it an "LOA of an LOA!" :wink: Kind of telling you that you would get an LOA if you got everything in and had told the truth about what they knew so far. Seems like most he knew of were people who'd done SLS, which was all self reported info. Although I seem to remember last year's email saying something like "If all information is as reported...".

aglages - so what are they waiting for from your son? Do you have the SAT/ACT scores in? Maybe he could call his MALO and ask what his file shows as missing? I haven't seen that flagged in any of the files I have in my state, but do know about the LOA's before the candidates do generally. Worth a call and if the BGO calls or emails the RC, they could make sure to get the LOA out to him if it should be coming! Congrats to your son!
 
marciemi: I think you're probably correct; USMA is saying if everything on your application checks out you can expect a LOA.
So far he has submitted (and they have acknowledged receipt) his SAT scores, transcripts, CFA and met with his MALO a couple of weeks ago. His MALO really seemed to like his chances for an acceptance and while he did ask my son if he knew what a LOA was, he did not suggest that he might receive one.

Seems as though the USMA is still waiting on our GC to validate his Candidate Activity Record (CAR) and the Request for Academic Information forms. We certainly would have preferred to have our GC department submit the missing documents sooner, but another week or two shouldn't be too bad. Thanks for the congrats!

J.A.M.: I will suggest to my son that he send a thank you email to the Captain that signed his "LOA of an LOA" :wink: and express his excitement and continued interest. Thanks for the suggestion and the congrats!
 
USMA is saying if everything on your application checks out you can expect a LOA.
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:thumb: I think so!

Q. Does his high school rank? Is the ranking reported on the transcripts?
 
Just_A_Mom said:
Q. Does his high school rank? Is the ranking reported on the transcripts?
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Yes, his school does rank and it is listed on the transcript...at least the copy we have. I suppose the USMA just needs the rest of his GC paperwork to confirm his academic record. Thanks again for your help.
 
What is not on the transcript is the school profile, which is key information the GC provides about the school. That is usually used to "scale" the GPA based on level of difficulty, % college graduates, etc.

It also normally includes the number of AP & honors classes offered, etc. Again, used for comparison to how many the applicant actually took.

Our experience was that a polite email to the GC indicating the situation led to a very quick response. They were very excited about the opportunity and had not realized that time was an issue, as it's not in most college applications.
 
hawk said:
Our experience was that a polite email to the GC indicating the situation led to a very quick response. They were very excited about the opportunity and had not realized that time was an issue, as it's not in most college applications.
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We began discussing SAs with our GC dept back in April and were sure they were excited and going to be cooperative. They definitely understood the time frame that we were attempting to work within. They did fine with the USNA paperwork (except one recommendation that needed finished by the GC) and managed to get all the transcripts out to the MOCs, ROTC programs and SAs. Unfortunately any paperwork/emails (USAFA- USMA GC forms) that we requested after June 15th have not been "processed". Our GC department is scheduled to return tomorrow and will hopefully attack the mountain of requests we have in their in-boxes and the emails that both we and the military has sent them.

We understood (thanks to this forum) the need to start early and get as much accomplished before Summer break as possible. Unfortunately some of the SA paperwork was not available to submit until after our GC department was on vacation. I'm sure they'll get caught up in a few weeks.

I'm sure you're correct about the USMA needing the school profile to complete their evaluation. Thanks for the help.
 
Make sure the GC sends both the school profile but also validates the CAR - this is important as well.
 
Quick question.

When does West Point start notifying candidates that they have actually made it in (not just sending them an LOA) ? Does West Point notify candidates on a rolling basis after the candidate has a nomination, has fully completed his file, and is fully qualified?

If so, what is the earliest date this usually starts happening?

Thanks for any info
 
It depends on the type of nomination they get. People with presidential nominations can get appointments as early as September.
 
and the presidential nominations get appointments on a rolling basis, right?
 
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