question about LOA

As I have said before that LOA is not the "Golden Ticket". There are many hurdles ahead especially this early in the application process. It is unknown how many are given out, but many more in the Fall is not correct and my understanding is that they are few and far between. Yes they want your child to continue the process. Yes they are someone the Academy desires based upon their current academics and or sport participation. DoDMERB can be a heartbreaker (they will work with you) but they can fight through it. Then there is the nomination process. Then the CFA. It is a long way from LOA to I-Day.
 
Milly said:
Yep that is it. If you log into the CIS portal, it will use the actual words Letter of Assurance. How do I know? My daughter JUST got that same email! Wowee Wow Wow.
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nuc2016 said:
My daughter received an email a week ago. I am assuming this is an LOA. Can someone confirm this. I couldn't find an example online.

The email wording starts with:

We are pleased to advise you that the Admissions Board has recommended you for admission to the United States Naval Academy with the Class of 2021. You are guaranteed an offer of appointment if your remaining admissions requirements are satisfactorily met. You should be proud of your outstanding accomplishments as you have earned an opportunity to join one of the country's premier officer training programs. As the undergraduate college of the Navy and Marine Corps, the Naval Academy will prepare you to become a leader in the Naval Service and provide an experience unmatched by any other college or university.
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Blakee said:
Yup email, just got one!!!!
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Did all of you have all of your application requirements in before you got the email?
 
Milly said:
Although I'm a newbie to all this, it seems to me that getting an LOA this early in the fall is just incredibly random and lucky.
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It's really early to expect to be hearing much of anything, IMO. My advice to anyone applying (and their parents) is to prepare yourself to wait, try not to get frustrated and have good backup plans ready. My DD received her appointment to USNA in late January 2 years ago, but DS received a TWE the afternoon of the very last day this past spring. So, you just never know when you are going to hear or what the answer will be.
 
Hello everyone.

beth4kids said:
Are either of the young ladies that received LOA athletes? When was their application submitted
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My daughter is a recruited athlete. The application was started July 1 and the last recommendation letter was submitted on July 26. The only thing missing now is her BGO interview and Dodmerb medical.

navyafgirl said:
Do either of the girls with LOAs have nominations yet? Like presidential?
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My daughter doesn't have any nominations yet.

She attended NASS last June and loved it. I think she got a recommendation from her squad leader (not sure of my terms)
 
Indeed my daughter knows full well that having an LOA right now does not mean she will definately be at I-Day come June 2017. ANYTHING can happen. She is actively pursuing lots of other options, although Navy is her first choice by far.
 
nuc2016 said:
Hello everyone.


My daughter is a recruited athlete. The application was started July 1 and the last recommendation letter was submitted on July 26. The only thing missing now is her BGO interview and Dodmerb medical.


My daughter doesn't have any nominations yet.

She attended NASS last June and loved it. I think she got a recommendation from her squad leader (not sure of my terms)
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CONGRATS! I am sure all will go her way!!! Good luck!!!
 
AF6872 said:
As I have said before that LOA is not the "Golden Ticket". There are many hurdles ahead especially this early in the application process. It is unknown how many are given out, but many more in the Fall is not correct and my understanding is that they are few and far between. Yes they want your child to continue the process. Yes they are someone the Academy desires based upon their current academics and or sport participation. DoDMERB can be a heartbreaker (they will work with you) but they can fight through it. Then there is the nomination process. Then the CFA. It is a long way from LOA to I-Day.
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This is all true and it's obviously the right advice to give. However, as a parent who was in this position a year ago, an LOA is better to have than not. Still, no one should expect one and should be prepared to wait until April. And, even if one is forthcoming, the applicant should bear down and stay focused on remaining steps and other options. That's what would be expected of an officer, I suspect. DS is a plebe now and he has very little time or luxury to dwell on any particular event in the process, good or bad, he just needs to keep moving forward and doing the best he can at the tasks before him. I would suggest applicants and parents here take the same approach.
 
Great advice HopefulDad3210 and others. Candidates...it really does not help to ask questions about whether someone was recruited or not, did they have the application complete (candidates have received LOAs without all documents submitted), what their "stats" were, etc. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE on this board knows WHY one candidate might receive an LOA and another does not. You have zero ability to control LOA decisions. Furthermore, even if someone answered the questions you ask...how does that help you? Does it change your decision to apply? As others have said...focus on your application...don't worry about others.
 
with all due respect the purpose of this forum is not only to help in the application but it is also for us to be able to ask any reasonable question that we want about the process. I dont see what is wrong with a little curiosity, its not hurting anyone. So to answer the questions that people were curious about, i had everything done except DoDMERB and the nomination since that isnt until december or something, and i am going to be an athlete there however i was not helped by the coach, i had to get in on my own.
 
if I already have everything completed including a nomination, would I still get an LOA or would I get an appointment? (considering they wanted me)
 
USNAhopeful21, you would receive an appointment (not an LOA), presumed you are medically and physically qualified.
 
any reasonable question that we want about the process
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Those questions are not about the process. They are about another candidate's application.

Reasonable questions about the process:
-Do I need to have my DODMERB completed to receive an LOA or be reviewed by the Admissions Board?
-Are there are specific activities that make me [candidate] competitive for admission?
-I do not play sports. How do I show that I am physically fit and a competitor?
-I am worried that my SAT/ACT scores are not competitive. What are good scores for USNA? (although, this wouldn't be a straightforward question)

Questions not about the process (i.e. about other applicants):
-What were your stats?
-Were you a team captain? Valedictorian?
-What were your SAT/ACT scores?

Every year the same thing happens. Every year BGOs, alumni, and others provide the same exact advice.
There is no benefit of asking other's stats...it does not help at all in the admissions process. A candidate is better off (along with their curiosity) spending the one minute that it takes to type a question on putting their head into an SAT/ACT prep book, working out, leading an activity, getting homework done, etc.

its not hurting anyone
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How do you know? I recall a lengthy, upset forum topic last year (I am sure many longtime forum members might recall it) that involved how candidates with one set of stats received appointments, yet other candidates with "better" stats did not. It definitely was a heated and "argumentative" discussion and I suppose some members (presumably, no longer on SAF) left hurt or upset.

It is better that stats are not asked. Questions, suggestions and recommendations about SAT/ACT improvement, athletics/CFA, etc. are very helpful (like how to increase the number of pull-ups, a very helpful SAT/ACT prep book was....XYZ).

EDIT: I don't think anyone specifically asked about stats in this thread...I might have mixed it with another...but the point still remains. The stats question usually comes next. The nomination and DODMERB aspects have never been a requirement for an LOA, so having or not having it doesn't make any difference.
 
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I don't want anybody to take this wrong (and this is coming from a female former officer, who has a daughter on a NROTC scholarship and a son who is a current cadet who had received a LOA), but to me, it has seemed that over the last couple of years, more LOAs seem to be going to the really well qualified female applicants. With the academies actively working to increase their numbers of females, they want to try to lock in these great women candidates as soon as they can. This can be the case with stellar minority candidates, as well. Just like the NASS, SLE, AIM, etc. summer programs being a recruiting tools, so are LOAs. The academies use these to try to woo in and secure the candidates that they want to fill out their class with and certain demographics are harder to entice, and are being courted by other academies and universities at the same time they are.
 
USMAROTCFamily said:
I don't want anybody to take this wrong (and this is coming from a female former officer, who has a daughter on a NROTC scholarship and a son who is a current cadet who had received a LOA), but to me, it has seemed that over the last couple of years, more LOAs seem to be going to the really well qualified female applicants. With the academies actively working to increase their numbers of females, they want to try to lock in these great women candidates as soon as they can. This can be the case with stellar minority candidates, as well. Just like the NASS, SLE, AIM, etc. summer programs being a recruiting tools, so are LOAs. The academies use these to try to woo in and secure the candidates that they want to fill out their class with and certain demographics are harder to entice, and are being courted by other academies and universities at the same time they are.
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That sounds like a reasonable guess. The important points though are: (1) it is just a guess, though it may be an educated one or even one based on empirical data points you either have or think you have and (2) even if there is truth in it, it is not exclusively true. I know that last point to be the case because DS could be the model of white male privilege and had a record that, while strong, was definitely not the absolute best out there and he got one. The only thing we know for sure is that no one on this forum who is not involved in admissions knows why, to whom or how many LOAs are issued. It's just not a topic that folks going through the process now should try to decipher or even focus on to any great extent. It's not like some magical formula will be revealed that will allow a candidate to better position themselves for an LOA. And even if there were, it makes absolutely no difference other than to ease ones mind for part of the time during which the process is ongoing. I dare say, however, that the stress of worrying about the LOA balances out any benefit once one is issued. Good luck to everyone and rest assured that once a candidate gets to USNA no one even has time to think about who did or did not get a LOA. No one is a second class citizen. They are all fourth class citizens! Sorry. Couldn't resist.
 
my next question is, how do you use this LOA in the nomination process. My daughter is about to mail her nomination applications in. I told her to put a copy of the emailed LOA in there. No where on the application does it mention LOAs, so she says not to include it. I am thinking that we should include it in all her applications for nominations. suggestions?
 
If your daughter walks into the interview with a copy of her LOA she's basically guaranteed a nomination baring any major screw-ups (those are the words from my BGO). Imo it's not a bad idea to include a copy of it in her packet though, so the board interviewing her can see it before hand.
 
BReilly2017 said:
If your daughter walks into the interview with a copy of her LOA she's basically guaranteed a nomination baring any major screw-ups (those are the words from my BGO). Imo it's not a bad idea to include a copy of it in her packet though, so the board interviewing her can see it before hand.
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Thank you.
 
BReilly2017 said:
If your daughter walks into the interview with a copy of her LOA she's basically guaranteed a nomination baring any major screw-ups (those are the words from my BGO). Imo it's not a bad idea to include a copy of it in her packet though, so the board interviewing her can see it before hand.
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I've read here of kids that have LOA's that didn't get nominations. So it's not necessarily guaranteed...
 
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