great week until dreaded DQ

Last week started out with an amazing tour of the USS Midway in San Diego which further established to my DS why USNA has always been his #1 choice. 2 days later he recieved his MOC nomination in the mail and 2 days after that he recieved an email from USNA requesting 2nd semester senior grades. At a minimum he feels like he is is still a strong contender and firmly in the game. Saturday mail arrives and the dreaded DQ letter from Dodmerb arrives. DQ was for systemic allergic reaction. My DS is alergic to fish and we completed a medical remedial confirming this. it was never diagnosed by a doctor. My wife and I noticed he would break out in a rash as a little kid and we just never gave him fish again. he was honest on the medical form.

According to the letter he has a chance for a waiver if the admissions office determines he is competitive. Can anyone lend advice if they have encountered this situation and my DS's chances of getting a waiver.

I feel like he is competitive because he has at least made it this far. he recieved a CVW invitation and attended during the AirForce game weekend (that weekend was life changing BTW, sitting 20 yards from the Brigade at the game).

SAT math 740 CR 700, ACT 31
top 5% of class etc.

Thanks

I am a senior still awaiting news of an appointment to the USNA. I have a nomination and am medically qualified.

Back in September, i was deemed disqualified as well for a systematic allergy. It was to sunflower seeds. I too was never tested. It just happened once in 2010 so since then I have been avoiding them.

I was very disappointed, but never gave up. I met with my allergist and he said that since i was never tested, that we should do that. Blood tests were done, they came back negative. A skin test was done and it came back positive. I was one and one. The last test was a food challenge. On december 20th, I ate sunflower seeds infront of him and nothing happened. He was able to write a letter for dodmerb stating that I was not allergic to sunflower seeds!!!

My parents and I sent this into dodmerb but never expected a response. We thought that it was now out of their hands and that if i did get accepted to the USNA, that I would have to get a waiver from them.

Then, one week ago, I recieved a letter stating that I was now qualified for the USNA, USCGA, and NROTC (I already have a USCGA appointment and NROTC scholarship to Norwich University).

So, my advice, dont get down. Just keep doing everything you can and hopefully it will work out. Plus, when I had my one time allergic reaction, I was all out inflated face and throat swelling. If its only a rash, it cant be that bad. And if your wondering how this allergic reaction only happened once in my life, dont ask me. I guess our bodies are just that weird. hahaha

Good luck, message me if you have anymore questions.

Thanks so much for the great advice. Once my DS's skin test was completed and was positive the allergist mentioned a food challenge might be next. Was your food challenge prompted through Dodmerb or did you and your parents do that on your own?

I am a tech challenged dad and not sure how to IM you on this forum. Sorry

allergen test

If your DS has never been tested then I would have him have a allergen test taken for shellfish. That is what they required of my DS and he had a negative result.

The medical remedial from Dodmerb sent us to the allergist where they adminstered the skin test and got 6 welts on his arm so he was positive for fish. Believe it or not it is only fish and not shellfish. he can eat shrimp and crab all day long. Why did they have your DS take a test for shellfish. Did you self report it like my DS did? Thanks Currey

allergen test

My DS self reported a reaction he had to soy once. They did not do a skin test, but a blood allergen reaction test which came up negative.

Casbus08 said:

Thanks so much for the great advice. Once my DS's skin test was completed and was positive the allergist mentioned a food challenge might be next. Was your food challenge prompted through Dodmerb or did you and your parents do that on your own?

I am a tech challenged dad and not sure how to IM you on this forum. Sorry

Click to expand...

I went on my own. Everything I did was on my own. Dodmerb flat out disqualified me and told me to wait for an academy waiver if I got accepted to one. I couldn't wait though so we went ahead and it paid off. And same thing. I had the skin test done and I was positive, but negative on the food challenge.

If you think you may have an allergy, go to a doctor and get tested before you incorrectly self-disqualify.

A suspected allergy that has not been reliably diagnosed or treated by a doctor should not be indicated on your DODMERB form.

Just my opinion as a mom.

^^^^ Right on, momma!

Thanks Freda's mom, I understand and totally agree, but unfortunatley we are way past that point. My DS was adamant about taking charge of the admissions process and wanted to fill out these forms on his own. 6 months ago we honestly did not realize what kind of problems this would create and should have said nothing since it was never diagnosed and occurred when he was a kid.

That being said, does anyone have an opinion about the odds of getting a waiver based on the info I gave in the original post? Is there also anything we can do at this point to improve our odds? Thanks

Casbus08 said:

Thanks Freda's mom, I understand and totally agree, but unfortunatley we are way past that point. My DS was adamant about taking charge of the admissions process and wanted to fill out these forms on his own. 6 months ago we honestly did not realize what kind of problems this would create and should have said nothing since it was never diagnosed and occurred when he was a kid.

That being said, does anyone have an opinion about the odds of getting a waiver based on the info I gave in the original post? Is there also anything we can do at this point to improve our odds? Thanks

Click to expand...

ctoscan033's approach might be the only one open to you at this point. It may or may not pay off.

Thanks to everyone for all of the great advice in regard to the waiver situation. The great news is waiver was granted 2 weeks after DQ. Everything is now in place including NOM. Can anyone lend a little advice on BFE chances after getting such a quick waiver grant? Thanks

I know of a current Sophomore at USNA who had shellfish allergy and thought it meant end of the line. He pushed forward and did get a waiver and as my first sentence indicates.....it worked out well. My DS also had a medical issue that slowed things down and looked like a knockout blow but is now 3Q'ed and Senator nominated. Waiting to see if he gets in. Best of luck. Sounds like you've done all you can.

I cannot help but think "Who the hell cares if you are allergic to fish?" Why in the world would that keep anyone from being admitted? Allergic to air, water, any other unavoidable things - sure. Fish? Really?

Doesn't DODMERB have better things to do?

Casbus08 said:

Can anyone lend a little advice on BFE chances after getting such a quick waiver grant? Thanks

Click to expand...

I think the speed had to do more with the medical condition than the qualificaton of the candidate.

DODMERB must issue a DQ if the issue is on the list. The SAs decide whether the issue is important to them. My guess is that shellfish/seafood allergies aren't a huge issue for USNA so it was a no-brainer to grant the waiver. However, that's only a guess.

But does the fact that the waiver process was initiated at all at least mean the candidate is competitive? I recall seeing some posts earlier stating that generally the academy seeks out waivers for those they plan on giving appointments. Is there any truth to that in a situation like this?

Bwegeng said:

But does the fact that the waiver process was initiated at all at least mean the candidate is competitive? I recall seeing some posts earlier stating that generally the academy seeks out waivers for those they plan on giving appointments. Is there any truth to that in a situation like this?

Click to expand...

The SA wouldn't ask for a waiver if they weren't interested.

Seriously though, if the candidate wasn't qualified, the SA wouldn't spend the time trying to get a waiver.