3Q Letter

Brave

Brave

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DD received a letter in her portal saying she was qualified academically, medically, and physically. We assume this is the sought after 3Q that we see others talk about. The letter goes on to talk about how they're waiting on a NOM, which we understand that part. The thing that's got us scratching our heads is, the part that says that "all qualified applicants with a nomination are placed on a National Waiting List until appointments are made. Most appointments will be tendered between 26 February and 1 May 2017".

Does this mean that if she were to receive a NOM tomorrow, they would not move forward until the end of February?

We thought being 3Q with a NOM would result in a fairly short turnaround time for an actual appointment. This tells us that even being 3Q with a NOM, you'll still have to come off the National Waiting List, so is that a ranked list by USMA or is it a first come, first served list being that everyone on the list would be 3Q with a NOM?

What would happen if she were to receive a Principal NOM? Would that bypass the National Wait List?

I guess, we're a little unsure of this news, because in terms of civilian college being put on a Wait List is not really a positive step.

Any insight?
 
DS got the same letter and he has an LOA so I imagine things can be different for different people.
 
There's a chart somewhere that shows ~1200 ish receive an appointment (and are therefore 3Q +nom). It also gives a number ~2200-2500 (?) are 3Q+nom total, so the appointment % is not close to 100%. Just going off memory, figures above are approximate.
 
Just curious, and if someone wouldn't mind answering, does receiving a letter of encouragement mean you are 3Q? Thanks.
 
LOAs, LOEs and being 3Q'd are all positive signs. And they are all conditional with little guarantee.
LOAs mean there is a seat with your name on it. You have permission to spend the night, however, you must complete your file, get a NOM, stay injury free and out of trouble
LOEs mean you are the candidate we are looking for. You have permission to spend the night, you must complete your file. Get a NOM, stay injury free and out of trouble. Continue to improve your ACT/SAT test scores, work on academics, increase your high school class standing. You will more than likely be placed on a NWL based on your WCS
Being 3Q'd means you're on the right track. No over night invitation. You must still complete your file. Get a NOM, stay injury free and out of trouble. Continue to improve your ACT/SAT test scores, work on academics, increase your high school class standing. You will more than likely be placed on NWL based on your WCS

I hope that helps. It can become very confusing

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
Now I'm going into the real of odds. Females are placed on a different standard. Yes, there is a double standard. There are less females that apply for service academies and the class profile goal will have about 16 to 20 percent. If you are URM female your odds increase. In todays society it is very difficult to attract young women who want to attend WP. Its a very special person who has a desire to enter the military and serve. The physical demands, trying to fit in a male dominated, hyper masculine environment can be daunting.

BUT IT CAN BE DONE!!

Set your goals and never give up!

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
We had some experience with this last year. Receiving a LOE does not imply that you are 3Q but they are not handed out like candy. It means that they like what they see so far and are encouraging you to complete your packet. They often come before your information is complete. Since you are 3Qd you have a WCS. The next step in the process for admissions is to resolve the congressional slates. It is early and most MOCs have not submitted their slates of candidates. Once your MOC submits nominations, the type of nominations are matched candidates. Your DD receives a principle from the MOC, they will get and appointment soon after and all other 3Qd candidates go to the NWL. If the MOC submits an open list of ten, admissions uses the WCS to select the top candidate and offers admission, the other candidates go on the NWL. This can be repeated for multiple congressional nomination sources.

Tug_boat is correct. These are all positive steps but you should keep trying to improve the things you can control.
 
Here's the chart I was thinking of (Class Profile from USMA.edu/admissions -- 2019 or 2020?)

upload_2016-11-4_15-30-43.png
 
Brave said:
Does this mean that if she were to receive a NOM tomorrow, they would not move forward until the end of February?

We thought being 3Q with a NOM would result in a fairly short turnaround time for an actual appointment. This tells us that even being 3Q with a NOM, you'll still have to come off the National Waiting List, so is that a ranked list by USMA or is it a first come, first served list being that everyone on the list would be 3Q with a NOM?

What would happen if she were to receive a Principal NOM? Would that bypass the National Wait List?

I guess, we're a little unsure of this news, because in terms of civilian college being put on a Wait List is not really a positive step.

Any insight?
Click to expand...
The process can be very confusing. Here are some facts that might help:
  • USMA will move at its own pace. An appointment may come tomorrow, in late May, or not at all. The pace in an individual case is determined by the competitiveness of the candidate and the bureaucratic maze that must be traversed. A lot has to do with the number of files that can be evaluated each week, waivers, and the relative strength of candidates within districts.
  • Being 3Q + NOM is a good sign, but there are normally several hundred 3Q + NOM candidates each year that do not get appointments.
  • 3Q + Principal NOM = appointment. Not sure how many give principal nom's - USMA prefers slate of unranked candidates.
  • Appointments will be filled for each nominating source (the actual allocation may be juggled later).
  • After those appointments are filled, the next 150 appointments are made from the National Waiting List (NWL) on merit, based on Whole Candidate Score.
  • The remainder of the appointments (usually 200 - 400) will be made from the NWL and do not need to be merit based. Here is where USMA meets recruiting goals for athletes, enlisted personnel, women, and minorities.
  • Being on the NWL is, in most cases, better than being wait listed at a civilian college. USMA will definitely make appointments from the wait list; civilian colleges may or may not draw from the wait list and sometimes use a large wait list as a soft rejection for PR purposes.
 
Mere2033 said:
Wow! Not many female applicants get admitted. That worries me for my DD. She just has her CFA to complete, Medical is being done now, and waiting for the Nom. hopefully, everything goes smooth.
Click to expand...
Actually the acceptance rate for qualified female applicants is pretty good - almost 70%. 216 is the number that entered the class, not the number appointments offered.

USMA has a high yield of offers to acceptances of 83.2 % (80.1 % for females and 84.1 % for males entering in 2015). By comparison the yield at Harvard was 79.8%.
The number of appointments offered to get the 216 acceptances would have been about 270 appointments offered out of 386 qualified female candidates - 69.9%.

As the chart shows, the tough part is getting qualified - male or female, it is a big hurdle.
 
jl123 said:
The remainder of the appointments (usually 200 - 400) will be made from the NWL and do not need to be merit based. Here is where USMA meets recruiting goals for athletes, enlisted personnel, women, and minorities.
Click to expand...

A few details missed. USMAPS will sift through their ranks, and admit roughly 150 and 20 to 30 priors who may not have gone into USMAPS

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
Thanks for the responses. DD spoke with her FF officer, who told her basically what you've confirmed here. The part that was MOST comforting to hear was the fact that the USMA Wait List was NOT the same as a civilian college Wait List. It's more or less a "holding tank" for 3Q Candidates while they play the matching game with NOM's.
 
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