Is LOA the same as a "conditional appointment"?

DMV1962

5-Year Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Messages
53
Hello,
I'm new to the forum and can't believe I didn't find it sooner. DS received an email letter mid-October that the Admissions Board was recommending him for admission, guaranteeing an offer of appointment if admissions requirements are satisfactorily met. The same day he received another email that he had a conditional offer of appointment. He is waiting on a nomination.

I know I need to wait, per many of your helpful posts, but this is quite nerve-wracking. DS has applied for a VP nomination and has his MOC interview next week. USNA notified our MOC of DS's conditional appointment. Am I missing anything, other than patience? TIA
 
Nope, you got it. Patience, time and ultimately a Nom. An LOA is a conditional appointment. The conditions of the appt are outlined in that letter. So if all that was mentioned was the Nom, then that is what is left to turn it into an appointment offer. Sounds like he is on the right track with his interviews coming up and applying for the VP Nom. Good luck.
 
@DMV1962 - congratulations to your DS.

Here's a timeline (for my DS last year);

October 23rd - Complete Pending Review (Waiting on Medical exam)
November 6th - Complete Pending Review (No actions required)
November 13th - Conditional Offer of Appointment LOA (Obtain a Nomination)
December 7th - 1st Nomination received
December 13th - Fully Qualified Offer of Appointment (He accepted the offer that same day)
December 27th - 2nd Nomination received
 
Thanks, NavyHoops and THParent! Both posts were quite helpful. Patience is not one of my strengths.
 
It will be!! Congrats!
 
Hello,
I'm new to the forum and can't believe I didn't find it sooner. DS received an email letter mid-October that the Admissions Board was recommending him for admission, guaranteeing an offer of appointment if admissions requirements are satisfactorily met. The same day he received another email that he had a conditional offer of appointment. He is waiting on a nomination.

I know I need to wait, per many of your helpful posts, but this is quite nerve-wracking. DS has applied for a VP nomination and has his MOC interview next week. USNA notified our MOC of DS's conditional appointment. Am I missing anything, other than patience? TIA

I know that nowhere in the LOA does it actually come out and say "this is a Letter of Assurement" but if your DS checks his online portal it will say that he has received an LOA and that the only action necessary is receiving a nomination. I'm in the same boat. Good Luck!
 
This is how they read;

"Congratulations! You are being offered a LETTER OF ASSURANCE (LOA), which is a Conditional Offer of Appointment.
This means that if you complete the remaining requirements for admissions, you will be offered an appointment to the United States Naval Academy.
Our records indicate you still need to complete items to become fully qualified for admission."
 
@DMV1962 - congratulations to your DS.

Here's a timeline (for my DS last year);

October 23rd - Complete Pending Review (Waiting on Medical exam)
November 6th - Complete Pending Review (No actions required)
November 13th - Conditional Offer of Appointment LOA (Obtain a Nomination)
December 7th - 1st Nomination received
December 13th - Fully Qualified Offer of Appointment (He accepted the offer that same day)
December 27th - 2nd Nomination received

This timeline and the one posted by @CrewDad in another thread (Advantages of Early Filing) have been a great resource for our family as our DS moves through the process. It has helped manage expectations. We also know that timelines for one candidate will not be the same for another candidate. DS received LOA in September, medically qualified in October, and MOC nomination was in his portal on 11/26. We are uncertain of how long we would have to wait before the LOA turns into an official appointment. Saving our excitement until an actual appointment is received and then for I-Day. Thanks for sharing.
 
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@4Books. It seems to me your DS will hear from USNA with a Congratulations on your DS Appointment real soon, between mid December to week of Jan 7 after Winter recess. I see no reason not to believe. My DS received his Appointment on Jan 7 after receiving a call from the Congressional Nominating Committee before Christmas and from his Congressman two times, once before Christmas and one day before receiving Official Letter of Appointment from USNA. He waited since Sep when he received his LOA. So DS waited 4 months. But he also let USNA wait 4 months through mid April to let them know he is signing on with ANNAPOLIS and happily reported to USNA on I-Day. Just got off the phone with him and he’s in great spirit as the Fall Semester is coming to a strong and grateful closure. His Company and others participated in a Brigade wide tradition today. Sounded ridiculous but I’m sure most had a good time nevertheless.

Hang tight, given that your DS met all required qualifications for an Appointment, I am confident your family may celebrate before Christmas or in the early days in January. January is the real first wave. About 10% of the class receives Appointment in January. These Appointees are considered the most diligent and a highly qualified group. 85% will get their Appointment in Feb-April. About 5% between Aug-Dec (real early few) mostly with Presidential Noms and few in May/June.
 
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I agree the OP’s DS is in good shape for an appointment, but from their post it appears he has not been notified of a Nom... yet. OP, just so expectations are clear... MOCs have until Jan 31 to submit their nom slates. I understand his interview is next week. So if he receives a nom (good luck, I am sure he will knock it out of the park) it’s really a matter of time for the MOC to submit the list. Many times a MOC will contact a candidate and notify them, but until it appears on their portal it means the list hasn’t been submitted yet. Also, as you well know, USNA is headed to the holiday season. So plenty of folks take vacation in admissions for the holidays. So really it comes down to when the slate is submitted, him being on that slate and then admissions turning it into a full appointment. The timing for it to become a full appointment can vary depending on how busy things are in admissions and time of year. Best of luck to your DS.
 
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Thank you, @NavyHoops. All helpful information! @CrewDad, thanks for your timeline. Does your DS row for Navy? My DS was recruited for men's heavyweight. Fingers crossed he'll pull for Navy!
 
@4Books. It seems to me your DS will hear from USNA with a Congratulations on your DS Appointment real soon, between mid December to week of Jan 7 after Winter recess. I see no reason not to believe. My DS received his Appointment on Jan 7 after receiving a call from the Congressional Nominating Committee before Christmas and from his Congressman two times, once before Christmas and one day before receiving Official Letter of Appointment from USNA. He waited since Sep when he received his LOA. So DS waited 4 months. But he also let USNA wait 4 months through mid April to let them know he is signing on with ANNAPOLIS and happily reported to USNA on I-Day. Just got off the phone with him and he’s in great spirit as the Fall Semester is coming to a strong and grateful closure. His Company and others participated in a Brigade wide tradition today. Sounded ridiculous but I’m sure most had a good time nevertheless.

Hang tight, given that your DS met all required qualifications for an Appointment, I am confident your family may celebrate before Christmas or in the early days in January. January is the real first wave. About 10% of the class receives Appointment in January. These Appointees are considered the most diligent and a highly qualified group. 85% will get their Appointment in Feb-April. About 5% between Aug-Dec (real early few) mostly with Presidential Noms and few in May/June.

Happy to hear your son is thriving and doing well! Thank you for your encouragement.
 
I dont know if it's just me, but why does this forum seem to be run by parents for their kids (yes, I know there are some candidates on here, but the majority of poster are parents.)? It seems as though the candidates' parents are more concerned with their application process and getting their kids into the academy than the kids are themselves. It's trumpeted on the forums that "kids need to take charge of their own application," yet on the forums, the parents seem to be the one taking charge (Asking questions, posting on Appointment threads, etc.).
 
Amen to that, @SAFSkeptic. It’s a lot of parents doing exploration for their kids, worrying for their kids, trying to solve things for their kids. Unfortunately, you see the same dynamic on Facebook pages for cadet/mid parents. For every 100 posts in which parents hover, there’s one post telling them to let their kids FIO — figure it out! (And perhaps there’s the same dynamic in active duty also. Sigh.)

So I admire the few actual candidates who are here, trying to figure it out on their own. And I admire their parents for allowing, and even encouraging, that. My DD was one of those, though she won’t tell me her user name, so I have no idea if she’s ever posted. Just a lurker, probably, but I know she learned a lot from here. As have I — but I didn’t actually join until after she received offer of appointment.
 
I dont know if it's just me, but why does this forum seem to be run by parents for their kids (yes, I know there are some candidates on here, but the majority of poster are parents.)? It seems as though the candidates' parents are more concerned with their application process and getting their kids into the academy than the kids are themselves. It's trumpeted on the forums that "kids need to take charge of their own application," yet on the forums, the parents seem to be the one taking charge (Asking questions, posting on Appointment threads, etc.).
From the time in the 8th grade that she committed herself to attending an Academy, my DD has most definitely taken charge of her application. She worked part time as a lifeguard her freshman and sophomore summers to pay to attend Summer Seminar at both USNA and USAFA. She completed those applications on her own. She has completed all of the SA and MOC applications on her own. She initiated contact with the coaches at all of the SAs to let them know that she wanted to swim for them if/when she was appointed. As a result, she has an LOA from one academy, a sports participation agreement with another, and has, so far, received 2 congressional nominations. Did her mother and I help her when she had questions, or when she wanted editorial assistance on her essays? Certainly. But every aspect of her journey from hopeful youth to proud appointee will belong to her, because she has been the driver of the process. In short, she has complete ownership of the entire process.

To be honest, while she lurks here and has probably read more threads than I have, she does not have the time, nor the inclination, to create an account and post. It is ancillary to her focus. It is possibly the same for many of the other candidates. They just have a lot on their plates and view active interaction on this site as a secondary, or tertiary, priority.

Parents, however, have both more time and greater inclination to post here. We are proud of our kids. We are anxious about their chances of accomplishing a long-term goal. We have concerns about whether our kids will be able to endure the rigors of the Academies. We are impatient and seeking reassurance. And so on.

So, yes. It appears to me that this site is populated more by parents than by candidates. However, that does not mean that the candidates do not benefit from the wisdom and experience of the knowledgeable respondents here.
 
Time is the big factor. My DS never posted here of cared about anything being discussed here. He did his own thing and I followed along, learning along the way.
The whole SA thing was so foreign to me and my experience in the Marine Corps, that I have found it to be very interesting. Traditions and history go a long way with me, so learning about it has become a hobby.
The threads posted by candidates seem to be the same from year to year, so the feedback from parents who have learned from their own DS/DD experiences and especially from posters like @Capt MJ (for example) is almost immediate, and usually accurate. That's really what a lot of candidates want these days - immediate response - without having to look it up. There are lots of parents of Midshipmen who are glad to answer, even though they know the poster could learn everything they need to know about the application process by simply reading everything posted on the USNA.edu website. That's what my DS did, and honestly he thought the whole thing was easy.
Different strokes for different folks.
 
Thank you, @NavyHoops. All helpful information! @CrewDad, thanks for your timeline. Does your DS row for Navy? My DS was recruited for men's heavyweight. Fingers crossed he'll pull for Navy!

Great sport! My DS was invited to Row for ANNAPOLIS in March. He did it throughout the summer loved it. Did it at the start of AC year loved it. He learned he had to miss many Company activities and responsibilities during AC year so decided to pass during his Plebe year as he finds his place in the Company/Brigade. Crew starts early 0500 daily during fall and spring and have to miss many Company activities which can hurt your leadership points he learned. He may rethink in his Youngster year to join again. He’s a light weight. He said that Crew Athletes are extremely well fit. Excellent runners and strong all around. He’s 6 feet 150lbs now. He gained few lbs thanks to the Navy. Most heavy weights in the team are 6’2 to 6’6. He was asked to Row in Light Weight or Coxswain in Heavy Weight. If your son reports to Annapolis he will absolutely enjoy the sport and the team. Navy is ranked top 10 in the Nation. Has excellent training tools and facility at the Yard. I believe Brown is ranked #1 and Yale #3. Harvard ranks in top 10 with Navy.
 
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@furureacademydad? Post is spot on.

I also think it’s a generational thing. DS was able to search for info, find it, and use it. No need to post or ask. I on the other hand didn’t seem to get how to do that effectively early on so posted my own inquiries of others with experience. Now over a year later, I enjoy helping others who have questions or inquiries.

Additionally, IMO kids are swinging to the opposite end of the “social media” internet posting spectrum....moving away from leaving their permanent mark on the internet. Instagram, Facebook, and other internet sights no longer as cluttered with endless displays of their daily lives. Maybe they have listened and learned to not put stuff on the internet. My point, IMO, is to not take the apparent lack of youthful posts here on the forums as a lack of inquiries from them. At least in my DS’s case, he used the forums but didn’t find it necessary to leave his mark forever in the form of a post. And kudos for that!
 
My DS has no social media - none. Not Facebook, Snapchat and has never twitted. He lurks here but to my knowledge has never posted. He has asked me to post a few questions. I have never interfered with any of his applications and have never been on any of his portals. I have no idea what his passwords are. He is #3 of 4 sons so we realize it’s his life and don’t stress out about it (too much). But DW and I still have parental responsibility of being coach, counselor and ever-thinning safety net. We have a responsibility to our other boys as well. As a family, we have to know what DS is getting us into. DS turned 18 two weeks ago and registered for Selective Service while preparing for MOC interviews the next morning. He’s a man but he will always be our son.

That’s why I post here - and I make no apologies.
 
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