LOA??

CALIapplicant20

New Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2015
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4
Hey everyone,

I have a question concerning an LOA. I recently received one from the Naval Academy. Does anyone know if it will be harder/easier getting a nomination? And should I still invest in applying to other schools?
 
It is always a good idea to pursue your Plan B options until you actually have an appointment in hand.
 
Congratulations on the LOA this question has been asked and answered may times on this forum
 
Why would you not have a Plan B? What if you are injured between now and July? What if you change your mind? What if some other dire circumstance changes your mind for you?
Unless your CC has rolling admissions - you should have a plan B. Some colleges will even refund your deposit, or hold your place for up to a year.

Why NOT have a Plan B?
 
No one knows how your MOC handles LOAs. And yes have several back up the plans. Please take a look at some LOA threads that have been going on the last few weeks. You will see many in depth responses to the why.
 
Plans B, C and even D provide some protection against Murphy's Law.

Add in: "Man plans, God laughs."

And: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

There are reasons these old sayings are still around!
 
I cannot tell you how many young basics get injured (medical turnback) or just change their minds... you are presumably 17/18 - the very epitome of mind-changing.
 
Hey everyone,

I have a question concerning an LOA. I recently received one from the Naval Academy. Does anyone know if it will be harder/easier getting a nomination? And should I still invest in applying to other schools?

Congrats on your LOA!

Your work is not done. +1 what NavyHoops said. Work hard on your nominations and Plan B, C and D.

I, many years ago, applied to and was accepted at four different colleges. And USNA. Helped me evade the Draft in the 60's...

But that's another story. I'm a VietNam combat vet anyway :)
 
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We even put deposit on Plan B school "just in case". We were upfront with them and they even held his scholarship - just in case. Even tho USNA was his #1 choice for 4 years, it's always good to have a back up. Hardest part of applying to Plan B schools for me was turning down some amazing options!
 
Chances are your MOC will know about your LOA. Bring a copy with you to your interview. Congrats. Keep up the good work.
 
Chances are your MOC will know about your LOA. Bring a copy with you to your interview. Congrats. Keep up the good work.

Actually my son had his senator interview today. They had no idea he had an LOA. He handed each interviewer a presentation packet we assembled. When they saw the LOA the interviewers perked up and the whole interview changed.

So - yes it matters, yes bring a copy with you. Even though he had a copy they asked the helper in the room to verify it on the spot. I thought that was weird.
 
Actually my son had his senator interview today. They had no idea he had an LOA. He handed each interviewer a presentation packet we assembled. When they saw the LOA the interviewers perked up and the whole interview changed.

So - yes it matters, yes bring a copy with you. Even though he had a copy they asked the helper in the room to verify it on the spot. I thought that was weird.

Coach62 --- what did you have in the 'presentation packet'?
 
Actually my son had his senator interview today. They had no idea he had an LOA. He handed each interviewer a presentation packet we assembled. When they saw the LOA the interviewers perked up and the whole interview changed.

So - yes it matters, yes bring a copy with you. Even though he had a copy they asked the helper in the room to verify it on the spot. I thought that was weird.

I too am curious what was in the packet since there is no actual letter. It's a status and email thing.
 
You can print off the screen capture or email. You can always call the MOC prior to the interview and mention you have received an LOA and if the MOC's office would like a copy. If they say yes, you can write a cover letter with that screen capture or email as an attachment. And remember what one MOC does will not necessarily be what another MOC does. I have sat on MOC boards and we had a copy of each candidates package. If they had extra documents they brought we politely declined them. We had what we needed. But another MOC may want them, it never hurts to be prepared (part of learning to be a future officer... Prepared for anything).

And to be honest... They were right to verify the LOA. This falls into the Trust but verify scenario. I hate to say it, but there can be shady stuff, embellished records and even downright lies by some. The good part is most that stuff is easily sniffed out by the boards and asked in interviews. So for those who are doing it right (which is 99% of the kids) this should be a comfort as hopefully it gets rid of a bad apple (if there were any... Which is rare).
 
Actually my son had his senator interview today. They had no idea he had an LOA. He handed each interviewer a presentation packet we assembled. When they saw the LOA the interviewers perked up and the whole interview changed.

So - yes it matters, yes bring a copy with you. Even though he had a copy they asked the helper in the room to verify it on the spot. I thought that was weird.

Coach62 --- what did you have in the 'presentation packet'?

We went to Office Depot and got some clear report folders, the kind that you would use in a presentation. We put his resume with photo first, copy of his LOA email printed off and some updated material that he knew they didn't have, like an updated ACT score.

It went over well and made him look organized and prepared. His second senator interview is Wednesday so we changed it around a bit, he added a sheet with just his best ACT scores with supporting documentation.

It's only 5-6 pages. I wouldn't make a book out of it but we felt it was something that would make him stand apart a bit.

They were similar to this. http://www.officedepot.com/a/produc...152236-VQ21-&gclid=CI7MhdjT3cgCFU8YHwod7pgCXw
 
You can print off the screen capture or email. You can always call the MOC prior to the interview and mention you have received an LOA and if the MOC's office would like a copy. If they say yes, you can write a cover letter with that screen capture or email as an attachment. And remember what one MOC does will not necessarily be what another MOC does. I have sat on MOC boards and we had a copy of each candidates package. If they had extra documents they brought we politely declined them. We had what we needed. But another MOC may want them, it never hurts to be prepared (part of learning to be a future officer... Prepared for anything).

And to be honest... They were right to verify the LOA. This falls into the Trust but verify scenario. I hate to say it, but there can be shady stuff, embellished records and even downright lies by some. The good part is most that stuff is easily sniffed out by the boards and asked in interviews. So for those who are doing it right (which is 99% of the kids) this should be a comfort as hopefully it gets rid of a bad apple (if there were any... Which is rare).

Other than his resume, everything in the packet was something they didn't have, or had been updated, like his latest ACT result. Another thing in the packet was an email he had just received inviting him to join a new leadership club for varsity captains only.

At the end of the interview, they gave all but one back to him so they did keep one.
 
Actually my son had his senator interview today. They had no idea he had an LOA. He handed each interviewer a presentation packet we assembled. When they saw the LOA the interviewers perked up and the whole interview changed.

So - yes it matters, yes bring a copy with you. Even though he had a copy they asked the helper in the room to verify it on the spot. I thought that was weird.

Coach62 --- what did you have in the 'presentation packet'?

We went to Office Depot and got some clear report folders, the kind that you would use in a presentation. We put his resume with photo first, copy of his LOA email printed off and some updated material that he knew they didn't have, like an updated ACT score.

It went over well and made him look organized and prepared. His second senator interview is Wednesday so we changed it around a bit, he added a sheet with just his best ACT scores with supporting documentation.

It's only 5-6 pages. I wouldn't make a book out of it but we felt it was something that would make him stand apart a bit.

They were similar to this. http://www.officedepot.com/a/produc...152236-VQ21-&gclid=CI7MhdjT3cgCFU8YHwod7pgCXw
Thank you!
 
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