To be considered for LOA

grappler145

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
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13
What parts of your application need to be in to be considered for a nomination?

I have completed my
Personal Data Record
CFA
English Evaluation
ACT/SAT Scores
Transcripts
And I went to Seminar so they have the squad leader evaluation as well


My Candidate Activities Record is complete but not verified
My Math Evaluation, Counselor Eval, and BGO interview are pending as well
Dodmerb stil pending

I am having trouble contacting Math Teacher and Counselor over summer.

Is that enough completed so far to be considered?
 
I'm assuming you are referring to receiving an appointment to USNA vice a nomination, as that is other process that takes places via Senator/Congressman or other nomination source.

Conditional Offers of Appointment/Offers of Appointment aka Letter of Assurance (LOA) are usually handed out to exceptionally qualified candidates that have been found scholastically qualified by the Admission Board. The LOA guarantees an offer of appointment after the remaining admission requirements have been completed. I have yet to see or understand the science behind people who receive LOAs and those who don't. So don't fret if you don't receive a LOA. Your focus should be on getting your packet completed as soon as possible, getting your nomination process packet completed and of course earn a nomination b/c w/o one it wont matter if you have a LOA, a nomination is required!!

Obviously don't slack off on your studies this year, keep the press on and stay focused.
 
I spoke to my regional admissions officer a few days ago because I needed one of the recommendations re-sent. I didn't ask about the LOA, because scholastically I'm no where near the typical LOA recipient. But she told me anyway, that to go up for review you need everything except DoDMERB, CFA, and Nomination. So I'm assuming, the LOA is dependent on DoDMERB, CFA, and nomination.
 
Yes, as long as you are fully medically cleared (no waiver), pass your CFA, and receive a nomination then the LOA guarantees you an offer of appointment.
 
The appointment is dependent on being medically qualified, physically qualified, nomination in place and BGO Interview completed. You can be missing some of those requirements and receive a LOA.

When my son received his LOA he had not yet been medically qualified nor received a nomination. The LOA stated that the offer was conditional on 4 items: completing BGO Interview, being medically qualified, physically qualified (CFA) and receiving a nomination. He received the appointment within a week of the last requirement being met.

The goal is the Appointment not the LOA so don't get all caught up in what is needed for one.
 
for the class os 2010 this was the case....our girl attended summer seminar and within a week after that USNA admissions contacted us and told us cryptically: "get your application complete as soon as possible" ( we were still newbies at this so we really didn't understand the import of this message back then).... Our girl had email contact with her teachers so she asked them to immediately complete their recommendations over the summer if at all possible. Within a week her DoDMERB came through. She had sat at our computer on Feb. 1st to apply for Summer Seminar ( which is technically the opening of an official USNA application) so her number was pretty low and that's why we figured she got an early DoDMERB appointment near our home. The summer ended and when Janell hit her first week she learned got a second USNA call urging her to complete her application. She questioned what was still missing and the dear young officer told us "The Math teacher rec". "What?!" We thought it was taken care of in July, not September. So she queried her teacher who told her that indeed she did sent the recommendation in July - showed us the email herself but, thank God she kept the copy on her computer and in our presence resent it. Within 2 weeks our girl's LOA was in the mail with only her DoDMerb, Nomination and BGO requested for submission. Another option on the paper was the suggestion that she request a visit of the campus for an overnight....but she had already done that and it was already scheduled for November. Our local Congressman didn't even begin his Congressional noms until mid December....and the actual choice was made early in January of her senior year. As soon as USNA got her nomination her BGO was contacted and she was called that she moved past her LOA to an appointment in the mail.

So hope this gives at least one possible trajectory of how USNA might handle a candidate.

And as others have said - rougly 200 LOA's out of tens of thousands of applications are given so don't try to get one. Just try to complete all the requirements to the best of your ability on time and stay in contact with your BGO and USNA Admissions.

Hope this helps
 
I spoke to my regional admissions officer a few days ago because I needed one of the recommendations re-sent. I didn't ask about the LOA, because scholastically I'm no where near the typical LOA recipient. But she told me anyway, that to go up for review you need everything except DoDMERB, CFA, and Nomination. So I'm assuming, the LOA is dependent on DoDMERB, CFA, and nomination.

No, the LOA is independent of DoDMERB, CFA, and nomination. In fact, on the LOA letter is a checklist, of sorts, of those items that the academy considers "pending". On that list are DoDMERB, CFA, and nomination.

In other words, you can receive an LOA without those items completed.

Of course, NOBODY can get an appointment without completing everything that is required, whether you have an LOA or not.
 
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Can others confirm whether or not it is necessary to have completed the BGO interview before being considered for an LOA? Thanks!
 
Can others confirm whether or not it is necessary to have completed the BGO interview before being considered for an LOA? Thanks!

I am looking at an actual LOA letter, dated November 3, 2008.

It says the following:

We are pleased to advise you that the Admssions Board has found you qualified to compete for admission to the U.S. Naval Academy with the Class of 2013. You are guaranteed an offer of appointment if your remiaining admissions requirements are completed. You should be proud of your outstanding accomplishments as you have earned an opportunity to join one of the country's permier officer training programs. As the undergraduate college of the Navy and Marine Corps, the Naval Academy will prepare you to become a leader in the Naval Service and provide an experience unmatched by any other college or university.

Please remember, however, that your guaranteed offer of appointment is contingent upon completing the following marked requirements by 1 March 2009 or this offer may no longer be valid. Please notify the Admissions Team if you need additional time to complete your medical exam.


Items listed as potentially incomplete are:

Nomination
Medical Qualification
Blue and Gold Officer Interview
Required Application Documents
- Personal Data Record
- Personal Statement
- Candidate Fitness Assessment
- Candidate Activities Record
- English Teacher Recommendation
- Math Teacher Recommendation
- High School/College Transcript
- Official Test Scores

These are the four categories listed. As you can see, the fourth category, "Required Application Documents", is rather all encompassing. From what I've heard, just about everything on that list (with the exception of the CFA), typically, must be completed before an LOA will be awarded.

Here's what the most recent Naval Academy admission catalog says regarding Letters of Assurance (p.26):

We use “rolling admissions”, a selection process. When all of your candidate forms are received, the Admissions Board will determine your “whole person” qualification. If your record of achievement is truly outstanding, you could receive an early offer called a Letter of Assurance. This indicates our intent to extend an Offer of Appointment, provided that all your remaining requirements (nomination, CFA, and medical) are successfully completed. A Letter of Assurance could be received as early as September of your senior year. Of course, final admission will depend on continued success and good standing in your high school as well as continuing to maintain your qualifications for the Naval Academy.

Note, they do not specifically mention the B&G interview, although that does appear as a potential incomplete item on the LOA letter.

The bottom line is this: I'm sure the Academy can pretty much do whatever they want with regards to an LOA. The more they want you, the less they care how far along your application is.

My sons have made the following rather unscientific observation. It seems, to them, the high end of the spectrum of new midshipmen is getting higher and the lower end of the spectrum is getting lower. The shrinking group seems to be the "typically-average" midshipman. In other words, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poor, so to speak.

CAVEAT: I am not a Blue and Gold Officer, but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. :smile:
 
My sons have made the following rather unscientific observation. It seems, to them, the high end of the spectrum of new midshipmen is getting higher and the lower end of the spectrum is getting lower. The shrinking group seems to be the "typically-average" midshipman. In other words, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poor, so to speak.
Memphisp9489: How many sons do you have at the USNA?
 
My sons have made the following rather unscientific observation. It seems, to them, the high end of the spectrum of new midshipmen is getting higher and the lower end of the spectrum is getting lower. The shrinking group seems to be the "typically-average" midshipman. In other words, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poor, so to speak.

Help me a little here. What does this have to do with the question about BGO interviews prior to LOAs.

And have they been there say the five or six years necessary in order to validate these trends? And I suppose they have data to back this observation?:rolleyes:

If the system is workng properly as revised this past year, the BGO interview should be complete prior to a potential LOA record going before the board. In most cases, the CFA will also be required. The only possible exception to both these caveats might be heavily recruited athletes.
 
Memphis is correct. Any LOA is contingent upon completion of all other requirements. You do not need a BGO interview to get one. Believe me a LOA with a DoDMERB issue can be a killer. LOA is not always for recruited athletes.
 
Help me a little here. What does this have to do with the question about BGO interviews prior to LOAs.

It has very little to do with LOAs. Does that help? :smile:

I'm wondering, just out of curiosity, if you think the observation is false?

And I suppose they have data to back this observation?:rolleyes:

Didn't I say it was "unscientific"?

Didn't I say it was just their "observation" - not their data collection?

If the system is workng properly as revised this past year, the BGO interview should be complete prior to a potential LOA record going before the board. In most cases, the CFA will also be required. The only possible exception to both these caveats might be heavily recruited athletes.

The Naval Academy does not seem to advertise the details of their admissions process. That's their right. I think the LOAs are just as much a mystery as some of the appointments and non-appointments are.

So, I'll stick with my "unscientific" statement that the academy will issue an LOA to whomever they want regardless of what has been completed or what remains uncompleted - depending on what academy's objective is.

If there is some superstar quarterback in Texas who runs like the wind, has reflexes like a cat, and would be a perfect fit for the Naval Academy's triple option attack, I'm guessing he could "earn" an LOA hardly having a candidate number.

Since I'm on a speculation roll, I'm guessing that LOAs are issued for one of two primary reasons; 1) those who are super-academically qualified and are primarily used to bring up the "class average" and 2) those who are stupendous athletes and would help USNA be competitive at the NCAA Division I level.

The LOA has not always been around. There was no such thing in my day. It was mostly in response to more and more colleges/universities issuing early acceptance. Many candidates, once they've been early accepted by, let's say, a quality school like Vanderbilt or Cornell, stop processing their Naval Academy application. They're in! In comparison, the application to a service academy is a huge pain in the butt. Off goes the quality candidate to a civilian school.

Knowing that you're "in" can have the psychological impact of motivating a candidate to finish the remaining items and attend. Everybody tends to like the school that likes them. That fact has not been lost on the service academies.

I'm sure the BGOs have statistics on this, but there are a lot of candidates who begin, but never finish, the academy application process.
 
My sons have made the following rather unscientific observation. It seems, to them, the high end of the spectrum of new midshipmen is getting higher and the lower end of the spectrum is getting lower. The shrinking group seems to be the "typically-average" midshipman.
Have your sons noticed (unscientifically) any common characteristics among the three groups?
 
Just to add what my admissions officer told me a few days ago. To go up for review you need to have the BGO interview. Maybe completely wrong, but this was what I was told.
 
Memphis9489,
I'm planning on applying to USNA in February (along with the summer seminar). I know that an LOA is extremely rare to get, and it is only given out to extremely qualified candidates. If you don't mind me asking, what did your sons do in high school to get an LOA?
 
Memphis is correct. Any LOA is contingent upon completion of all other requirements. You do not need a BGO interview to get one. Believe me a LOA with a DoDMERB issue can be a killer. LOA is not always for recruited athletes.

"LOA with DoDMERB issue can be a killer" - Do you mean that it is very disappointing to have a DoDMERB issue when you have an LOA or that it is hard to get an LOA with a DoDMERB issue?
 
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