Early LOA

bsa07eagle

bsa07eagle

10-Year Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2009
Messages
670
Hi all,

From looking at some of the other academies threads, I am starting to wonder a little more about the LOA process. When I look at some of the other threads, kids are already getting LOA's. This seems crazy early to me. Are USMA and USNA different on when they send that stuff out? I know that USAFA does some things differently, but how come some academies send things out in Aug the year before, and USAFA waits much longer? I guess I am kind of confused when I see a thread under USMA saying that someone already got an LOA.

Thanks all,

Brian
 
Here is a quote from the USMA fourm:

Got LOA today!!!
I'm so excited!! Inside my mailbox today, I found a West Point Letter of Assurance!!! I'm super excited and really relieved!! I was starting to get worried... like they say - hard work pays off!! If you're still waiting and hoping for a LOA, don't give up hope, you still have plenty of time! Maybe we can start a list on this thread of 2014 class LOA's! I'm soo excited about going and hope to meet future classmates on here! Good Luck to everyone who is hoping for an appointment!

LOAs for the class of 2014
Pursueadream
Jezzie
Click to expand...

I know that it is West Point, but that seems awfully early for them to be sending anything out.
 
It's not uncommon for the army to send out LOA's this early. The air force requires a completed application with the only thing pending, to be the DODMRB physical and a nomination. The army allows LOA's with other items still pending. Same questions are asked every year. And it's the same. This is not uncommon for the army. But for the air force, you will just have to wait. If you have your application 100% complete and your application is meeting the board in September, then "IF" you get an LOA, it will be around October/November. That's just the way it is. No sense of trying to rationalize it. That isn't going to change anything.
 
I was just wondering Christcorp,

I personally can't even get an LOA because I have a presidential. I was wanting to know how the timelines for the different academies differed. Thanks for the clarification.

Later,

Brian
 
An LOA is a step down obviously from an appointment. It just says that they "ASSURE" you an appointment if you get a nomination and pass your DODMRB physical. (They wouldn't have offered an LOA if other things weren't satisfactory). But if you get to use the presidential nomination, and they otherwise would have offered you an LOA, they will instead give you your appointment early. That's how my son got his appointment the first week of november. Now; just in case you're wondering, just because you're eligible for a presidential nomination, doesn't mean you automatically get the nomination. They only give out 100 presidentials. Which means, it's possible you could get an LOA, because you didn't get one of the 100 presidentials. Then you would have to make sure you could get a nomination from some other source such as your rep or senator. best of luck. mike.....
 
Thanks Christcorp,

I realize that the presidential only has 100 slots, and it would have to be a miracle for me to get one of them. I have also applied for noms from both senators and my rep (and the VP, but I am still trying to figure that one out: only 1 appointment, that is kind of lame). If I don't get accepted it will not be because I didn't apply to enough sources, but because I just kind of suck (which is another possibility also). I like being able to say that I have applied to every source available to me.

Later,

Brian

P.S. My app is done and submitted, I am so happy :smile:. Now I just have to wait (probably a very long time).
 
You can't get an LOA if you qualify for a Presidential?
 
Nope,

LOA's are for people without nominations (mostly, there are some exceptions). Although you may also get a nom from your senator/rep, the presidential counts as an official nomination and therefore you will not be able to fill the main condition for a LOA (not having a nom). Once you have received the presidential it counts as a nom. Don't worry Drew, it doesn't really matter (in fact, I really don't understand the purpose of the LOA, besides being able to hand it to your senator so that you might be able to get a nom), if you get the presidential (and have a good package, with a whole lot of luck) you may be able to get an early appointment. Which, in my opinion, beats out an LOA any day. In any case, as it has been said before "Do you know what they call the last person to get an appointment letter? A cadet." Personally, I don't care if I am the very last one to get the letter, I just want the to be a cadet.

Later,

Brian
 
bsa; you will do fine. You've done everything you've needed to do. You're applying to the other nominations. You've got it all taken care of. You've done the best you can. Just hang in there. FWIW; the LOA has 2 main purposes:

1) It's an "Early Acceptance"; similar to a civilian university; designed to motivate highly deserving applicants in the hopes that they will be excited enough not to take an acceptance from another school.
2) It allows your state rep/senator to get an additional applicant from their state into the academy without it limiting their choice of who to make as their #1 appointee. I.e. With an LOA, you can be the #10 slot on your reps or senator's list, and you still get the appointment. Without the LOA, you either have to be the #1 slot on your rep's list, or you compete in the general pool. Same with the other nominations such as presidential, vp, etc...

So there are some advantages to both the academy and the nominators of a state when an LOA is involved. And of course, it's a great motivator for the applicants. You'll do fine no matter what. Just hang in there; finish the rest of your nomination applications; get ready for you senior year to start; and enjoy the best year of high school. Best of luck. Mike.....
 
Hey Christcorp,

Do you know much about the VP nom? I have just heard that it only offers one appointment, is that correct? I applied mostly just to say that I had. I am starting the second week of my senior year this week. It is going to be pretty tough, I have 14 credit hours, work 10+ hours a week, and have XC every day. I don't mind, I enjoy everything that I am going to be doing and it is really nothing compared to what I could be doing next year.

Later,

Brian
 
Christcorp, would I be correct in thinking that if you didn't also apply to USMA and USNA, then AFA wouldn't be as quick to give you an LOA?
 
fairwinds said:
Christcorp, would I be correct in thinking that if you didn't also apply to USMA and USNA, then AFA wouldn't be as quick to give you an LOA?
Click to expand...

Hi!

NO.

USAFA won't care where else you've applied; in fact, unless you tell them they won't even know.

But more importantly: QUIT FOCUSING ON LOA's! While they "appear" to be more common with USMA/USNA, (and I don't know that to be fact, it just feels like it) and yes, USAFA does use them, they're NOT that common. I've heard of more LOA's on this board than I've EVER seen in 15 years as an ALO.

Focus on completing the admissions process as completely as you can, and then just wait and see what happens. I've helped over 100 students enter USAFA...and to the best of my recollection none received an LOA.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Hey flieger,

Do you know much about the VP nom? I am trying to figure out what the purpose of it is.

Later,

Brian
 
VP Nominations

I do.

I could go into a long explanation, etc...etc...but the White House website actually has a very succinct explanation on it which I will paste below:

The Vice President is the only authorized nominating authority who can nominate U.S. citizens without geographical restrictions. He may have a maximum number of five nominees in attendance at each authorized academy at any one time. Normally, he has one or two vacancies each year. In order to be entered into competition for a Vice Presidential nomination, applicants must write personally to the Vice President during the application period of March 1 to October 31 preceding the year of entrance to the academies. Applications postmarked before March 1 or after October 31 will not be considered.

Due to a large volume of applicants (usually several thousand per academy), the Vice President has authorized the academies to evaluate all applications and rank them according to qualifications. In screening candidates, the academies evaluate an individual's high school or college academic record, results of the ACT and SAT tests, recommendations from individuals who are in a position to judge the applicant's character and academic potential, and physical and medical qualifications. In view of this screening by the academies, it is important that all correspondence subsequent to actual application (e.g., letters of recommendation, high school and college transcripts and ACT/SAT examination results) be forwarded directly to the academy when requested. Do not send this information directly to the Vice President.

Notification of those selected for a nomination is normally made during February or March of the year in which the class convenes.
Any additional information regarding Vice Presidential nominations should be forwarded to the appropriate academy. The addresses are:

The Director of Admissions
ATTN: MAAR
United States Military Academy
West Point, New York 10996

The Director of Admissions
ATTN: RRSG
United States Air Force Academy
Colorado Springs, CO 80840

Dean of Admissions (Code A)
United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, Maryland 21042

This is a HIGHLY competitive area...I've not had any candidate receive a VP nom.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Thanks for looking up the reference and answering Steve. That is definitely the authoritative answer. I usually tell people: The VP is the same as your Representative in basically all the same allocations and requirements. The only difference is your representative's "DISTRICT" covers approximately 600,000 people in a state; the VP's "District" is the entire United States; and covers about 300,000,000 people in the country. So basically, getting a VP slot is "500 TIMES MORE DIFFICULT". But definitely put in for it also. You never know. Good luck. Mike.....
 
Drew, you :thumb:CAN:thumb: get an LOA with a presidential. My son recieved a LOA in early August. It took into account the fact that he already had a Presidential nomination, and advised him that he needed to secure the recomendations from his HS teachers and complete his candidate statement to be assured of admission. He has until 15 Oct to complete these tasks. So far all is done, with the exception of two of the teacher letters and his counselor verification of his activities.
 
That may be true for USMA or USNA, but that does not apply to USAFA. Only when everything has been completed 100% including all evaluations and recommendations.

Later,

Brian
 
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