Letters of Rec?

[dlee96]

In lieu of the upcoming application cycle, I am preparing for it (I'm a junior in HS).

But I have heard from a family friend who recently finished with their app that you need 7+ letters of recommendation for the SAs.

Is this true?

I thought that you can only have up to 3 letters of rec + the SOEs.

 

[armydaughter]

In lieu of the upcoming application cycle, I am preparing for it (I'm a junior in HS).

But I have heard from a family friend who recently finished with their app that you need 7+ letters of recommendation for the SAs.

Is this true?

I thought that you can only have up to 3 letters of rec + the SOEs.

They are probably including the letters needed for the various sources of nomination (Congresspersons, Senators, etc.).

 

[BillSL]

Well, as far as I remember (C/O 2016 app), you only need 3 SOEs for the SA appplication. The other letters of recommendation are optional for the SAs. I agree with what armydaughter said - they were probably referring to the MOC nomination apps.

Best of luck!

 

[hmza]

"I thought that you can only have up to 3 letters of rec + the SOEs."

dlee96- for the USMA application they required 3 LORs (letters of rec.) these are the SOEs. You submit teacher email addresses to the USMA and they send form which your teachers complete and return online. Our congressman required 2LORs from school officials and one LOR from non school official. One senator wanted 3 LORs with at least 1 being from a school official and the other senator did not require any LORs! Every state and district is different. I suggest you contact your MOCs this summer to ask what needs to be done for nominations. Our MOCs had a specific staff person that handled the candidates and DS was referred to that particular staffer.

 

[another13mom]

Cross-posted with ^^^ -- but my response is the same: The process is fairly straight forward. You'll need three teachers (English, Math and Science), plus the guidance counselor or school principal to validate all extracurricular activities and sports participation (letters, captain?, etc) = 4, plus employer if you have one = 5. Congressional Apps may want each of these and maybe a personal recommendation from someone who knows you well.

Perhaps 6 all together? But since four are school based, that's fairly easy - just ask each teacher you hope to use soon if you go to a big school so they "reserve" time to draft a letter on your behalf. But, for USMA, they won't need a long letter. Instead, the teacher recommendations and guidance counselor forms are very short responses to an on-line questionnaire with a small box for extra info (a very small number of characters), so no long letters required; same with employer (if you have one).

For Congressional Applications, ask the same teachers/counselor etc. to write a letter. You'll need actual letters from them, and you can use them for your regular college applications.

Don't stress - there's a checklist of items to get taken care of, and the application timeline is very LONG now; the portals didn't open until this past July so your goal should be to have everything in by late September. Without LOA's, no need to worry so early in the process. Best of luck to you!!