USAFA Waiver Request

I am a candidate for USAFA and USNA, but I was medically disqualified by DoDMERB. On January 5th, USAFA notified me that they requested a medical waiver for me on my behalf, but my DoDMERB portal still displays "Pending Waiver Submission/Review" and the last update was made on September 25th, 2017. Is this normal? And if not, what should I do?

You can call/email your USAFA Admissions POC and ask for any update on the status of your waiver request. I would call.

The waiver process can be lengthy.

rbenson8 said:

I am a candidate for USAFA and USNA, but I was medically disqualified by DoDMERB. On January 5th, USAFA notified me that they requested a medical waiver for me on my behalf, but my DoDMERB portal still displays "Pending Waiver Submission/Review" and the last update was made on September 25th, 2017. Is this normal? And if not, what should I do?

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DS DoDMERB portal just updated today to the same thing, so that makes me nervous that yours has said that since September...yikes!

So am I understanding this correctly? At this point there is nothing else DS can do, it’s in the hands of each SA to review and see if DS is competitive? If he is then they will ask for more documentation and maybe grant waiver? Or are they looking at same records we submitted to DoDMERB and deciding waiver? I guess I’m trying to figure out if there’s 1-2 possible hoops to go through.

serviceaboveAll said:

So am I understanding this correctly? At this point there is nothing else DS can do, it’s in the hands of each SA to review and see if DS is competitive?

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If your DS has completed the DoDMERB exams, and was "DQ'd", DoDMERB may ask for some remedials without prompting from the SA. If you were asked for remedials from DoDMERB, be sure to get those done and submit back to DoDMERB so your exam file is complete for review by the SA medical waiver authority. Separately, the SA admissions office will decide if they want to pursue a medical waiver. The SAs don't pursue medical waivers for candidates they don't plan to offer an appointment. Doesn't mean an appointment is a sure thing, because things can change in the class make-up, but it is a good sign. If they want to pursue a medical waiver, typically they will tell you so, and they will notify their SA medical waiver authority they would like candidate X evaluated to receive a medical waiver .

serviceaboveAll said:

If he is then they will ask for more documentation and maybe grant waiver? Or are they looking at same records we submitted to DoDMERB and deciding waiver? I guess I’m trying to figure out if there’s 1-2 possible hoops to go through.

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The SA medical waiver authority reviews the information in the DoDMERB file. They may need additional information and may contact you directly or via DoDMERB requesting additional remedials be performed. Each SA medical waiver authority is their own authority and uses their service or other guidelines to help them make a judgement on whether to grant a medical waiver for each case and condition. (USAFA may be more conservative on one condition than USMA, or vice versa. -- One SA medical waiver (USMA) may grant a medical waiver for condition Y, while another SA medical waiver authority (USAFA) may say no.)

The "hoops" can continue until either the medical waiver is granted, or the decision is made by the SA medical waiver authority that no waiver will be granted.

Hang in there . . .

@falcon- thank you for the explanation! We did complete exams in Oct, then shoulder surgery records (AMI) were requested & we submitted in December. Today DoDMERB says “Pending Waiver Submission/Review” so wasn’t exactly sure what that means at this stage of the game. I guess...we wait

Best wishes.

I think the DoDMERB message means your file is complete. DoDMERB is waiting to hear from the SA that a waiver review has begun.

DS rec’d email from USAFA saying they have started waiver process, so not sure how long that will take. The email also said to be sure to submit and follow through with any requests. That goes back to my post above- will a the requesting Academy ask for documentation or use the surgical notes already requested in the Remedial by DoDMERB back in Dec? Email did not list anything specific, but not sure if there will be a follow up where they request something or just look through documents already submitted and make decision based on that. I appreciate any advice, suggestions and words or wisdom from you wise souls

This is a good sign. Admissions sees your DS as "competitive".

The USAFA medical waiver authority will now review all of the information in the DoDMERB file. They will then notify you directly or through DoDMERB if they need any additional remedials performed or additional documentation.

Best of luck getting that medical waiver.

Falcon A said:

This is a good sign. Admissions sees your DS as "competitive".

The USAFA medical waiver authority will now review all of the information in the DoDMERB file. They will then notify you directly or through DoDMERB if they need any additional remedials performed or additional documentation.

Best of luck getting that medical waiver.

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Thank you! [emoji631]

serviceaboveAll,
Where are you with this waiver review at this point? My DS DODBERB portal, as of today, shows "pending waiver review by USAFA".
I see that it only took 2 days for your DS to receive notification that USAFA requested a waiver. Are you still waiting to see if it was granted?
This process is painfully slow. I am worried that we are so close to when offers of appointments are made, and if a waiver is not granted in time, my DS may "miss the boat" on a possible appointment this year. He has 2 nominations (senatorial and congressional- no idea where he is on the slate), and competitive stats, but I know that that does not help the DODMERB piece.

His plan B is AFROTC in college. In the event of waiver denied (or not pursued by AFA)... can my DS expect a more favorable outcome (waiver request and later granted) through the ROTC detachment of whichever school he decides to attend? Does he need to pursue this waiver this spring with the ROTC folks, or wait until he is enrolled? (at this point we don't even know which school he will be going to- waiting on some regular decision schools admission decisions).

This is all regarding a previous knee issue (no surgery, no PT), and he is a varsity cross country and track athlete, 3 seasons, running 50+ miles per week with no pain since last year. (He was asked to include in the remedials, a letter stating his participation in athletics/recreational activities in the past year, which he did submit).

Any info is helpful here. We are new at this. The waiting and the unknowns are hard.
Thank you!

AFhopeful1197 said:

serviceaboveAll,
Where are you with this waiver review at this point? My DS DODBERB portal, as of today, shows "pending waiver review by USAFA".
I see that it only took 2 days for your DS to receive notification that USAFA requested a waiver. Are you still waiting to see if it was granted?
This process is painfully slow. I am worried that we are so close to when offers of appointments are made, and if a waiver is not granted in time, my DS may "miss the boat" on a possible appointment this year. He has 2 nominations (senatorial and congressional- no idea where he is on the slate), and competitive stats, but I know that that does not help the DODMERB piece.

His plan B is AFROTC in college. In the event of waiver denied (or not pursued by AFA)... can my DS expect a more favorable outcome (waiver request and later granted) through the ROTC detachment of whichever school he decides to attend? Does he need to pursue this waiver this spring with the ROTC folks, or wait until he is enrolled? (at this point we don't even know which school he will be going to- waiting on some regular decision schools admission decisions).

This is all regarding a previous knee issue (no surgery, no PT), and he is a varsity cross country and track athlete, 3 seasons, running 50+ miles per week with no pain since last year. (He was asked to include in the remedials, a letter stating his participation in athletics/recreational activities in the past year, which he did submit).

Any info is helpful here. We are new at this. The waiting and the unknowns are hard.
Thank you!

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I cannot comment on any ROTC scholarships and waivers, but DS has not heard anything further. The letter in his portal ( my guess is a form letter) that said they were pursuing a waiver also said to respond to medical requests, but DoDMERB did that already back in Dec. We submitted what was asked, not sure if they will be asking for more or not. Another SA already denied him a waiver, so DS was pretty disappointed. He was excited USAFA is pursuing waiver. Today DS said a student from his school rec’d appt from AFA, so now he’s nervous. DS said his class rank, GPA, and courses are better than this student, too. I keep trying to explain that there could be plenty of other strengths that stand out we are not aware of. I also had to explain that we don’t know who that appt will be charged under. The waiting is so hard! DS reached out to admissions counselor at another SA, so he was thinking of doing that for USAFA. He wanted to for a few reasons: 1) see if ok to submit alumni magazine article that speaks to an event DS independently organized ( his app deadline was early Nov and this publication came out in Dec) 2) if he needs to submit anything further for waiver process. Any words of wisdom if this sounds ok? Hope the waiting game is going better in some of your households...lol!

Service—a respectful phone call to the USAFA Admissions POC to check on status sounds like a good thing to do.