Letter of Rec Requests

an654

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Sep 28, 2022
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Greetings, everyone.

Hard to even know how to ask this, so please bear with me. DS has a few people from whom he wants to request letters of recommendation. Of course, he will be reaching out to his English, math, and science teachers as well as a coach. They are aware of his intention to apply to USNA. He is wondering if he should explain the nomination process as well. Can the rec letters to the academy be the same as those to the nomination sources? Lastly, should he get copies of the letters himself to submit to the academy and nomination sources, or are those supposed to come directly from the authors so that the candidates don't see the letters? DS asked me and my wife, and we did not know the answers nor who to ask. Hence, here I am.

He was prepared to ask the sources for the letters and hand them his "brag sheet" well in advance of when the letters are needed, but he wants to be able to give them the information they need as to how the letters should be written in terms of audience and objective...if any of this makes sense.

DS's application has been initiated as he is attending NASS this summer.

I apologize if these questions have been asked and answered already. My wife and I are total novices here.

Thank you in advance.
 
For the Academy, the letters are not traditional "recommendation" letters, they are an evaluation by the teacher/coach of the candidates abilities and aptitude. They are also links sent from the Academy directly to the person who will fill them out. So, the candidate will never see them. And they want an honest assessment based on the person's observations, not just a list of accomplishments. That will be provided by the candidate through various parts of their portion of the application.

For your MoC nomination applications, I think it depends on the District and Senators. Some use similar forms that they send to the evaluators, so the candidate will not see them either. In my kid's experience, this was the case.
 
Greetings, everyone.

Hard to even know how to ask this, so please bear with me. DS has a few people from whom he wants to request letters of recommendation. Of course, he will be reaching out to his English, math, and science teachers as well as a coach. They are aware of his intention to apply to USNA. He is wondering if he should explain the nomination process as well. Can the rec letters to the academy be the same as those to the nomination sources? Lastly, should he get copies of the letters himself to submit to the academy and nomination sources, or are those supposed to come directly from the authors so that the candidates don't see the letters? DS asked me and my wife, and we did not know the answers nor who to ask. Hence, here I am.

He was prepared to ask the sources for the letters and hand them his "brag sheet" well in advance of when the letters are needed, but he wants to be able to give them the information they need as to how the letters should be written in terms of audience and objective...if any of this makes sense.

DS's application has been initiated as he is attending NASS this summer.

I apologize if these questions have been asked and answered already. My wife and I are total novices here.

Thank you in advanc

When your DS begins completing his application there will be sections where he needs to insert the email addresses and names of his preferred references. The people who he chooses will then receive a link in their respective email inboxes so that they may fill out the "letter of recommendation" . I just kindly made my references aware of the fact that they would be receiving a link. I requested my letters from my Junior year Physics, Calc and History teachers, as well as from my coach and my priest. I suggest your DS begin this process early and try to get his recommenders to fill out the letters before the end of this school year; Especially the information needed from his guidance counselor. All of my letters were complete by June, except the necessary information from my counselor who went on vacation the whole summer and was not able to submit anything until the first week of September (I had asked her since May and I never continued with my follow up until she had already left for summer break). My applicaiton had been ready since June and was just awaiting her information. Thankfully everything went through (after much "hounding" )
 

as IronmanDaremo stated, the MoC's recommendations follow different formats. My Senators' were quite simple and just required an upload and everything was online. However, my Congressman required all paperwork be sent through USPS. All physical papers (letters of recommendation included) needed to be sealed and signed by the recommenders and sent together in one packet.

 
For the Academy, the letters are not traditional "recommendation" letters, they are an evaluation by the teacher/coach of the candidates abilities and aptitude. They are also links sent from the Academy directly to the person who will fill them out. So, the candidate will never see them. And they want an honest assessment based on the person's observations, not just a list of accomplishments. That will be provided by the candidate through various parts of their portion of the application.

For your MoC nomination applications, I think it depends on the District and Senators. Some use similar forms that they send to the evaluators, so the candidate will not see them either. In my kid's experience, this was the case.
Thanks so much. This is so helpful. DS said he was advised from somewhere to start getting letters of recommendation ready for the application process. He must have just misunderstood because I could not imagine his having those letters in hand to send out. This makes so much more sense. I will let him know and will have him really research MOC processes for the LOR's. Thank you again.
 
For the Academy, the letters are not traditional "recommendation" letters, they are an evaluation by the teacher/coach of the candidates abilities and aptitude. They are also links sent from the Academy directly to the person who will fill them out. So, the candidate will never see them. And they want an honest assessment based on the person's observations, not just a list of accomplishments. That will be provided by the candidate through various parts of their portion of the application.

For your MoC nomination applications, I think it depends on the District and Senators. Some use similar forms that they send to the evaluators, so the candidate will not see them either. In my kid's experience, this was the case.
Depending on your senator/ representatives, you may be able to check the application now and see. I know MD senators were open pretty early.
 
When your DS begins completing his application there will be sections where he needs to insert the email addresses and names of his preferred references. The people who he chooses will then receive a link in their respective email inboxes so that they may fill out the "letter of recommendation" . I just kindly made my references aware of the fact that they would be receiving a link. I requested my letters from my Junior year Physics, Calc and History teachers, as well as from my coach and my priest. I suggest your DS begin this process early and try to get his recommenders to fill out the letters before the end of this school year; Especially the information needed from his guidance counselor. All of my letters were complete by June, except the necessary information from my counselor who went on vacation the whole summer and was not able to submit anything until the first week of September (I had asked her since May and I never continued with my follow up until she had already left for summer break). My applicaiton had been ready since June and was just awaiting her information. Thankfully everything went through (after much "hounding" )
Wow, thanks for that. Hearing from applicants and parents who have been through this is so helpful. I guess what is in red above is what confuses us a little. When will we be able to get the links sent to the recommenders? He has initiated the process through his NASS application. Don't we have to wait for them to assign him a candidate number and so forth, or can this be done before the end of this school year?
 
As already mentioned, the candidate will supply the email for their English and Math instructors as part of their application process. Links will It will come via his application after he is an official candidate. These are not traditional LOR’s, but rather evaluations. They will be answering standard questions. Perhaps a space to add comments, not sure about that. A counselor, who is certifying his CAR, will do similar. But these are all linked and go straight to USNA. Your son won’t see them. It’s a GREAT idea, imo, to let those people know this will be coming. Ask which email they want used, as they will be on summer break (if done over the summer) and may not be checking school email, for example.

It’s also a good idea to have a convo with your counselor as they will be a necessary pice of this application process. Get them engaged before the school year ends.

A Coach won’t be doing this piece. A Coach doesn’t fill out an evaluation. USNA has, in the past, allowed ADDITIONAL/OPTIONAL LOR’s. These would speak to something not addressed already in his application/resume (ie: from an employer).

This is ALL different than the nomination process. Your nominating sources will have detailed instructions about how they want things done. Ours wanted 3 LOR’s, sealed and signed across the flap, delivered with the application package. Nominating sources can do whatever they want. Checking their website will tell you how to proceed with any school rec writers. Your son should check, as they may be open now. Deadlines for nom sources are independent of a SA.

And don’t forget NROTC!!
 
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Yeah, in MD, they are. And the interviews take place between October and December.

But they still didn't make their announcements until near the 1/31 deadline. :rolleyes:
 
Wow, thanks for that. Hearing from applicants and parents who have been through this is so helpful. I guess what is in red above is what confuses us a little. When will we be able to get the links sent to the recommenders? He has initiated the process through his NASS application. Don't we have to wait for them to assign him a candidate number and so forth, or can this be done before the end of this school year?
To be clear, he cannot start until he is an official candidate.
 
Greetings, everyone.

Hard to even know how to ask this, so please bear with me. DS has a few people from whom he wants to request letters of recommendation. Of course, he will be reaching out to his English, math, and science teachers as well as a coach. They are aware of his intention to apply to USNA. He is wondering if he should explain the nomination process as well. Can the rec letters to the academy be the same as those to the nomination sources? Lastly, should he get copies of the letters himself to submit to the academy and nomination sources, or are those supposed to come directly from the authors so that the candidates don't see the letters? DS asked me and my wife, and we did not know the answers nor who to ask. Hence, here I am.

He was prepared to ask the sources for the letters and hand them his "brag sheet" well in advance of when the letters are needed, but he wants to be able to give them the information they need as to how the letters should be written in terms of audience and objective...if any of this makes sense.

DS's application has been initiated as he is attending NASS this summer.

I apologize if these questions have been asked and answered already. My wife and I are total novices here.

Thank you in advance.
Hi so at least for my nom, I had i think 1 stem teacher or “academic” teacher then 1 not academic teacher then optional. I would say to ask the moment the semester begins because sometimes noms will keep the deadlines for the end of september. I normally explain the process the moment the semester begins so they know that they need to submit an lor by november, but request them to submit a short one for the nominations even though they do not know you that well (at least that was the problem with mine) as far as seeing the lor, i wouldn’t ask. It might come off as untrustworthy, but if the teacher or professor asks if you can proofread it, then say yes.
 
Wow, thanks for that. Hearing from applicants and parents who have been through this is so helpful. I guess what is in red above is what confuses us a little. When will we be able to get the links sent to the recommenders? He has initiated the process through his NASS application. Don't we have to wait for them to assign him a candidate number and so forth, or can this be done before the end of this school year?
I received my candidate number in May of my Junior year and was able to get the recommenders to submit the required forms via the link before the end of the school year. I had already mentioned my intent to apply to USNA to them before receiving my candidate number, and therefore they were able to help me out quickly when the time came.
 
I received my candidate number in May of my Junior year and was able to get the recommenders to submit the required forms via the link before the end of the school year. I had already mentioned my intent to apply to USNA to them before receiving my candidate number, and therefore they were able to help me out quickly when the time came.
Did you attend Summer Seminar therefore May is the expected time people receive their candidate number?
 
All of this is super helpful. He did not realize that his candidate number/official candidacy would be coming this spring as a result of his NASS app. That's where we were confused. Appreciate all of the responses. I am guessing he should be sorting through his nomination sources' policies. If I'm understanding @IronmanDaremo correctly, DS does not need to be actually getting the letters of rec and compiling them. More than likely, they will be submitted directly to the MOC's themselves?
 
As always, a quick trip to usna.edu produces some primary source insights (reminder to all applicants to read every page, drop-down or hamburger menu item or link at the SA websites, taking notes as you go) on what is required for teacher evaluations and guidance counselor submissions.

USNA Teacher Guidance

Some related best practices:
- give these teachers a heads up, some insight into how the process will work
- politely ask for a personal email to contact them at over the summer, if needed
- prepare a brief resume as reference material, though the prompts they respond to relate to their subject, there is still room for copy and paste free form comments
- other best practices from past applicants???


USNA Guidance Counselor Guidance

Notes:
- This is where conduct incidents and suspensions are documented.
- This is where accommodations, IEPs, etc., are mentioned. **** Gifted IEPs are not what they are looking for here! That can cause hiccups.
 
It does not hurt to let the teachers/coaches/etc. know that the candidate's plan is to apply and that something will come to them in the near future directly from the Academy. That way, they can look out for it and not let it get lost in their spam folder. I know for both cycles, my kid had to have admission's links resent as some people lost them.
 
All of this is super helpful. He did not realize that his candidate number/official candidacy would be coming this spring as a result of his NASS app. That's where we were confused. Appreciate all of the responses. I am guessing he should be sorting through his nomination sources' policies. If I'm understanding @IronmanDaremo correctly, DS does not need to be actually getting the letters of rec and compiling them. More than likely, they will be submitted directly to the MOC's themselves?
Each MOC has their own process, detailed on their website. Deadlines, interview/no interviews, required/optional information, method of submitting, any other process details - can vary widely from one to another.

Part of the “test” for SAs is applicants must use critical thinking, attention to detail, executive organization, perseverance, time management and many other desirable future junior officer skills to drive the process from start to finish - the SA applications, the medical/DoDMERB piece, the CFA, the nomination applications to every eligible source, the applications to ROTC scholarships, the applications to civilian schools, the development of alternate plans.
 
DS said he was advised from somewhere to start getting letters of recommendation ready for the application process.

One thing you and your son will find out about applying to any of the SA's is that well-meaning friends/relatives/neighbors or even your postal carrier will offer all sorts of dubious advice even if they have NO idea what they are talking about. As others have mentioned, start with official sources such as the USNA website as well as your MOC website that indicates how to apply for a NOM. USNA wants specific teachers to provide 'evaluations' which are not your typical 'letter of recommendation'. Every MOC runs their own NOM process and what they did 3 years ago may no longer be current. Random social media sites may offer inaccurate or outdated information from those not current on the application process.

Sites such as this forum can be a useful resource since if someone posts obviously bad/incorrect/outdated information, there are enough participants who are current on the process to provide accurate information. Since the same questions get asked annually, you can also do a search to easily find the answers to the most commonly asked questions which have likely been asked many times in the past.
 
If I'm understanding @IronmanDaremo correctly, DS does not need to be actually getting the letters of rec and compiling them. More than likely, they will be submitted directly to the MOC's themselves?
No. Yes. Who knows? Check their own website. As explained, nom sources can do whatever they want.

Be patient.

Son should be doing these things.

First step is check each website. THATS where instruction for his applications lie. Not here.

Check deadlines.

Follow THEIR instructions. It’s not hard, it’s very laid out.
 
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