My son received his LOA- likelihood of nomination?

My son received his LOA from the USNA yesterday. He has completed all application requirements except for the nomination. We are beyond thrilled! We live in Illinois and have sent application packets this summer to the 3 MOC's but they will not be making decisions/doing interviews until later this month and in December.

From what I understand, because he has an LOA, they will not have to use their principal slot for him so that means he is much more likely to receive a nomination. Can someone tell me if this is indeed the case? Has anyone heard of kids receiving an LOA and then NOT getting a nomination?

Thanks in advance!

I'm in the same boat. I just recieved an LOA from USNA this past Thursday and my first nomination interview is tomorrow. Can anyone clarify if I am likely to recieve that nomination? My friend in Maryland actually did not have to interview for his nomination after recieving an LOA last year.

Ditto here. My son received his LOA yesterday to AF. He has his nomination interviews with both senators next Saturday. He just emailed both of them a copy of it and asked if he should bring paper copies with him. We'll let you know what we hear!

My understanding is that most MOC's will give them the nomination, because, as you said, it isn't charged to their slate anyways. Although I have heard that if you are the top candidate, you are charged as their "choice" for that year. Not certain on that. I have also heard that a few MOC's intentionally do NOT nominated candidates with LOA's because they figure that if the academy wants them that badly, they can find a nomination for them somewhere else. Don't think that's very likely though.

The only case I've read on these boards of someone with an LOA not getting a nomination (and this isn't really the same thing) was when they changed their minds. For example, had LOA's to WP and Navy, asked the MOC for Navy and then later decided they wanted WP more. Since the MOC had already assigned their WP ones they couldn't give one and since WP felt they hadn't really tried for the nomination, they didn't give them one. But I think as long as you tried for all nominations you were eligible for, then even if your MOC didn't give you one, the academy would do their best to round one up for you somewhere else.

here's a slight variation:

My first choice is USNA, but I just received a USAFA LOA. My Senators only let me note my top choice, but my Congresswoman lets me rank my preference (USNA, then USAFA).

How does that situation affect LOA + securing a nom?

I have a related question...a few of my friends have LOA's yet they will still interview with the Congressman. Obviously, they all can't have the appointment so I'm assuming the academies will find noms for them. If that's the case why bother interviewing? I would think that the congressman would give the nom to someone without an LOA so as to get the most people in from the district. Is this usually the case?

yankeefan8182 said:

I have a related question...a few of my friends have LOA's yet they will still interview with the Congressman. Obviously, they all can't have the appointment so I'm assuming the academies will find noms for them. If that's the case why bother interviewing? I would think that the congressman would give the nom to someone without an LOA so as to get the most people in from the district. Is this usually the case?

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The MOC's can do it any way they want to ... that said, the majority will recognize the LOA and give them a nom. The MOCs work closely with each SA. It is in the MOC best interest to have as many qualified kids from their district get an appointment. The only way to guarantee that their LOA candidate will get an appointment is to give them a nom. Without a nom, there is no guarantee that the SA will provide the appointment. Yes, the SA MAY have access to other nom sources and they MAY choose to use it on a candidate that did not get a MOC nom, but they are not obligated to do so. The SA is charged with making the strongest class possible, within the restrictions inherent in the nomination process. If a candidate does not apply for all noms for which they are eligible (presumably because they figure the SA will "find" them a nom), it is quite possible that the SA will elect not to come through for that student. If, however, that student applied for all possible noms and did not get one, then the SA is more inclined to come through for the candidate. It is rare for an LOA recipient not to get an appointment but I have seen it happen on more than one occasion. Typically, the applicant did not apply for all that they were eligible (some not applying for any noms at all).

To reiterate your question of why a MOC would given any LOA a nom, the answer is that while not many LOAs are granted, if every MOC decided not to give any LOA a nom, the SA would be in a pickle and lots of LOAs would not get an appointment - and an LOA that did not get an appointment when they did apply to their MOC is a bad thing. A MOC that does not give an LOA (that applied for a nom) - and as a result of not getting that nom the LOA recipient then does not get an appointment can be bad press for the MOC. Imagine the local top notch kid whom the SA has granted an LOA (in essence telling the world that the kid is going to be accepted IF they get a nom). Now they don't get a nom and the small town press has a field day. Why didn't the MOC give this apparently top notch kid a nom? The decision not to give the nom changes the future of the kid. MOCs typically prefer the sure deal and an LOA recipient is a sure deal.

Now, in very competitive districts that I am aware of, the MOC may have more than 10 LOA recipients in the district. The MOC can only give 10 noms (per opening). If the LOA students all applied to ALL NOM SOURCES FOR WHICH THEY ARE ELIGIBLE and they are ranked #11 on their MOC list - they will not get the nom but they will likely get a nom from another source. However, if they did not apply to all sources they will not get that nom and the message they sent to the SA was that they did not cross their "t's" or dot their "i's" because they didn't apply to all for which they were eligible - some in that scenario will not get an appointment.

On a side note - typically the candidates have no way to know how many LOAs have been given in their district. I doubt a MOC would release that information. Our district certainly would not.

Hope that makes sense.

One more thing - you mentioned that multiple LOAs were in your area and obviously not all could get the MOC appointment. While that is true, what is likely to occur is that they will all get a nom from the MOC but only one (or none) of them will be "charged" to the MOC. The rest will be "charged" through the Supe nom or maybe a VP or whatever. It is also possible that all LOAs will be charged through another source.... Many MOCs will put a principal and ranked slate in that situation - putting the LOAs at the very bottom and a non-LOA as principal. This will assure all LOAs an appointment PLUS a non-LOA will get one too.

It can get tricky but the key is that the candidate has absolutely no control over it. The MOC decides how they do it and they may, or may not, tell the candidates how they plan to do it. You can ask the MOC staffer - likely response is that they either a) have not determined the method they will use this year or b) do not divulge that information. Some actually tell the candidates during the process how they will do the noms but the majority elect not to.

2011's Mom said:

One more thing - you mentioned that multiple LOAs were in your area and obviously not all could get the MOC appointment. While that is true, what is likely to occur is that they will all get a nom from the MOC but only one (or none) of them will be "charged" to the MOC. The rest will be "charged" through the Supe nom or maybe a VP or whatever. It is also possible that all LOAs will be charged through another source.... Many MOCs will put a principal and ranked slate in that situation - putting the LOAs at the very bottom and a non-LOA as principal. This will assure all LOAs an appointment PLUS a non-LOA will get one too.

It can get tricky but the key is that the candidate has absolutely no control over it. The MOC decides how they do it and they may, or may not, tell the candidates how they plan to do it. You can ask the MOC staffer - likely response is that they either a) have not determined the method they will use this year or b) do not divulge that information. Some actually tell the candidates during the process how they will do the noms but the majority elect not to.

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If a MoC has more LOA's assigned to his/her candidates than slots he/she has "open" the ones that exceed that number will be "assigned" to the qualified alternates pool and appointed from there.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83

Thanks all! So, if I'm deciphering things correctly, as long as my son is on that list of 10 then that means he will get the nomination, correct? I am hoping with the LOA and the fact that our district is under-represented, that will help matters a bit. His first MOC interview is December 5th- will be saying lots of prayers over the next month or two!

How often does someone get an LOA, apply to all nomination sources, and still not get an appointment (not including medical stuff)?

I just got my LOA a few days ago and have an interview with my MOC tomorrow, we'll see if he mentions it...a few friends of mine who also have LOA's and interviewed today said that my MOC's board did not mention it explicitly; surprisingly it seemed to be a non-factor.

Remember -- always remember -- that MOCs can run their nom process any way they want, provided they comply with the law. Thus, one MOC's approach to LOAs, SATs, grades, activities, etc. has absolutely no bearing on how another MOC will treat the same set of facts. This is why some MOCs interview and some don't. Why some care about LOAs and some don't.

The same MOC can do things differently year-to-year. They can interview year one and not year two. They can require candidates to rank or choose a SA one year and not the next. Etc.