Letter of Assurance but no nomination

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320james

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I just wanted some insight - I'm from VA - 11 and I've received a Letter of Assurance in mid-December (non-athlete). Although I have received a nomination from Gerry Connolly for West Point, I was not able to receive one from neither of the Senators. I got my Letter of Assurance pretty late (after all my interviews) and after getting "regret" letters from the Senators' offices, I've been worried sick that I won't be appointed to USNA. I have applied for the Vice Presidential nomination but I've heard that it's very limited - as well as the Superintendent's nomination. Is there anything I can do further to help my chances of getting a nomination somehow? When I applied for my nominations I put my first choice as USMA and USNA as second - did that affect my situation in any way? When I was applying for the service academies I little clue of what I was doing haha. I know this is a rare case but does anyone have any insight on what I should do or would I have to just wait and find out? I've already tried asking my BGO and admissions counselor but they gave me little to no insight and indicated that Vice Presidential nomination would be the only avenue into getting a nomination. Thank you!
 
AFAIUI, you need a nomination to receive an appointment, but if you received a LOA w/o a nomination, you could potentially be offered NAPS, which could easily lead to an appointment thereafter. I have no firsthand (or secondhand) experience - just going off what I've gleaned elsewhere. I'm also not sure if it's too late at this point to secure a nomination - maybe the VP nom is still available...???
 
EDIT: Unfortunately the VP nom is probably the only route to an appointment and given there are only 2 people selected (as I recall) the chances there are slim. NAPS is normally only for people who are academically unqualified. Since you have an LOA you are almost certainly academically qualified. In any case, you're going to have to wait to find out.

Indicating USMA as your first choice, and getting the nom there, has derailed you. However,as you state, you didn't know an LOA was coming prior to the interviews so it couldn't be helped.

It sounds like you're still in the running for an appointment to USMA so all is not lost, especially if it is truly your first choice.
 
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I think the order in which you ranked your preferred academies probably did affect it, because if you’re competitive enough to get that LOA, then you were probably competitive enough to get nominated to your first choice. Personally, I knew if I put two academies I would not be competitive enough to get my first choice and I didn’t want a nomination somewhere that I wasn’t all-in (aka my second choice), so I only put down one, and got nominated to that one. (Also, hey neighbor! I’m out of VA-10)
 
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If I understand your post, you have a LOA to USNA, but a congressional Nom to West Point? If so, I think your BGO has advised you appropriately for USNA.

VA-11 is typically 1 of the 2 most competitive congressional districts nationally for gaining a nomination and appointment to USMA or USNA.

Typically, the Representatives and Senators within VA (or at least within Northern Virginia) coordinate their nomination selection to prevent duplicate nominations so as to provide a nomination for all of the deserving candidates within this very competitive region. The VA Senators and NoVa Representatives also require each candidate to identify which SA is their #1 choice, again so as to spread the number of nominations across the largest number of deserving candidates. Unlike other congressional districts where one candidate may receive a Nom from a MOC to more than one SA, in NoVa you get one Nom to one SA. You chose USMA as your #1 and received a nomination from Congressman Connolly. Be proud of that. Gaining a Congressional Nom from VA-11 is very difficult. Several hundred apply each year . . . approximately 50 get interviewed . . . 10 get a nomination. Since you identified USMA as your #1 choice, I don't think a congressional Nom will be forth coming for USNA.
 
You might reach out to your MOC and ask bout the possibility of switching the nomination. They may have had individuals withdraw their application since the interviews. While it may be a long shot, asking the question may be worth your effort.
 
320james said:
I just wanted some insight - I'm from VA - 11 and I've received a Letter of Assurance in mid-December (non-athlete). Although I have received a nomination from Gerry Connolly for West Point, I was not able to receive one from neither of the Senators. I got my Letter of Assurance pretty late (after all my interviews) and after getting "regret" letters from the Senators' offices, I've been worried sick that I won't be appointed to USNA. I have applied for the Vice Presidential nomination but I've heard that it's very limited - as well as the Superintendent's nomination. Is there anything I can do further to help my chances of getting a nomination somehow? When I applied for my nominations I put my first choice as USMA and USNA as second - did that affect my situation in any way? When I was applying for the service academies I little clue of what I was doing haha. I know this is a rare case but does anyone have any insight on what I should do or would I have to just wait and find out? I've already tried asking my BGO and admissions counselor but they gave me little to no insight and indicated that Vice Presidential nomination would be the only avenue into getting a nomination. Thank you!
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Oooo tough situation! I think I read a thread from USNA 1985 posting a Nom Strategy on this topic. I wish we read that thread before my DS put in his choices. It is a very clever and the right advice for us. I think that would have been the right advice for you too.

You should be very proud you got an LOA from USNA from Virginia which means you are very strong. I believe you did the right thing choosing USMA for Congressional Nom. I will bet that you are more likely to get Appointment from USMA coming from Virginia.

Now since you have LOA from USNA, it is more likely they will try to find a Nom for you when the dust settles. You should get a strong look for the VP Nom and maybe even Superintendent Nom which is very sparingly used I am learning. Academy will try harder to find a Nom for a candidate with an LOA. And may last through May. But you can still be turned down in the end because so few are given VP, only 1 from your class. And the Sup Nom few more but not many given out from what I learned. You should qualify for PG option sponsored by USNA Alumni if you want that route. But I think NROTC is a better choice if you have this option.

So reset your priorities to West Point or NROTC. If not this year and you really want to be a Squid at Annapolis, reapply like many do. Accept the reality upon you and don’t sweat it. Start enjoying what you already accomplished and it seems you have many on your shoulder. Great job and good luck!
 
When I applied for my nominations I put my first choice as USMA and USNA as second - did that affect my situation in any way?
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Short answer . . . yes. I've had this happen to several candidates over the years in NoVa. Since you put USMA down as your first choice and the MOC gave you your first choice, everyone should be happy. But you're not. Being honest, your chances of an appointment are very, very slim. You have to hope that you are such a strong candidate that USNA will "find" a nom for you -- and in today's world, that's extremely unlikely to happen.

As an aside, I don't really understand your situation. You seem to suggest you listed that USMA as your first choice with of your MOCs; thus, presumably, West Point was at some point your first choice. If your preference changed during the fall, you should have immediately notified your MOCs. If you're saying that your preference didn't change until you receive your LOA . . . well then, did your preference really change? It appears that USMA is still an option for you given that you have a nom and presumably haven't been turned down. Bottom line: other than receiving an LOA, what has happened to cause you now to want USNA? Or do you just want an appointment to both?

I've posted many times about the need for candidates in hyper-competitive states/districts to choose wisely when listing their preferences to MOCs -- I won't repeat that advice here. I also advise that, if preferences change (due to CVW, LOA or any other reason), make that known to the MOC as soon a possible. Doing so (1) after the slates have been submitted and (2) on (essentially) March 1 isn't likely to work.

Finally, candidates can and do receive multiple MOC noms in NoVa. It definitely is uncommon, but does happen. I will say that, in my experience, those with multiple MOC noms in NoVa are no more likely to receive appointments than those with a single nom.

Edited: Cross-posted with CrewDad
Now since you have LOA from USNA, it is more likely they will try to find a Nom for you when the dust settles.
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Sadly, not really true any more. In the past 10 years, I've had 5-10 candidates with LOAs and no noms. Not one of them has been appointed. Not saying it's impossible but agree with your advice to set sights on West Point or some other option and, if USNA comes through, even better!
 
CALL your MOCS! I know from personal experience (my son's GF) that a MOC could contact the Academy and possibly put your name on his slate if one of his nominees has either withdrawn, accepted appointment to another SA, or has been medically DQ'd. GF had LOA to USAFA, but noms to USNA, as she had USNA as her first choice because that's where my son was. In April she contacted her MOC and explained the situation after I had seen on these boards that someone from her district was medically DQ'd and waiver denied. Her MOC contacted USAFA and she had her appointment in a few days. She is now a USAF 2LT! MAKE THE CALLS!
 
To the OP . . . do you want to attend USNA or USMA? IOW, does your desire for USNA spawn from the fact you have an LOA or b/c your underlying preference in terms of where you want to go to school and where you want to serve has changed?

I ask b/c I have seen more than one student attend USMA when he/she really wanted to be at USNA. The schools and services are very different and in my limited experience, it has NEVER worked out. I would assume the converse is true in that, if your heart lies with WP, then you should hold out for that.
 
Thank you to everyone for the insight!
usna1985 said:
do you want to attend USNA or USMA?
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To be honest with you, the initial reason for applying to the service academies was because of a upper clansman friend who was applying to USNA (whos at USAFA now) in my sophomore year. I have no military background and knew nothing about the service academies. After the friend told me about USNA, I decided to do more research on it. I grew interest and found out that this was something I would want to do in the future. I started my applications for the USNA summer seminar and SLE for West Point as well, later on. I visited USNA at first and loved the environment there. After some time, I found out that I was accepted to USMA SLE and not USNA summer seminar. So I went to the USMA SLE and absolutely loved it. So to answer to your question, I desire to attend either service academies if I were given a chance. I put all my eggs in one basket when applying for academies because: 1) I was able to experience what I liked about West Point and not USNA 2) I didn't know what I was doing a lot of the times 3) I didn't even know what Letter of Assurance was and didn't expect to receive one. There's no definite answer to my definite preference to which school I want to attend. I simply knew that this was something I wanted to do and simply leaned one way where I felt more familiar. Maybe I am too naive and made the wrong judgement calls but I just followed my intuitions. I want this bad as any other candidate and just wanted some information on what I could do other than wait. Thank you.
 
Not naive at all and you certainly didn't make any wrong judgments. USMA was/is your first choice and you played it straight. I've no doubt you're struggling with receiving the LOA which assures an appointment if you only had a nomination. But if your good enough to get an LOA from USNA then I'm sure you're competitive for USMA. Hang tough. An appointment to USMA can still happen.
 
I like this man’s honest answer 320James. You got an LOA from USNA because they saw that you want them for sure. LOA it seems go to SAs definition of their most qualified and most desired candidates, and you don’t need to be a recruited Athlete. So you got something that many SAs like in their candidates. LOAs tend to lock you in to that Academy above all others when getting a Nom from Super Competitive Districts like VA-11 and NY-3. My DS is in a same spot. Got an LOA from USNA and thus got an Appointment to Annapolis because the chairman of the committee was a Marine and he really liked my DS to go USNA since my DS said he’d be grateful to any one of the Academies. But at the time he wanted West Point more than others. He just didn’t want to say anything that may have made any committee members think otherwise since all services were represented. In reality he should have said his first choice in his heart. So although very strong candidate to USMA he doesn’t have a Nom there. If he got one they were ready to pull the trigger based on the discussions they were having. So my DS is told to hang tight and pray hard for the VP Nom and maybe even Sup Nom. Nevertheless, my DS now accepting reality and is now regearing to report to USNA with great enthusiasm after he waits through April. Unlike you and even though he grew up mostly in the Army environment, he’s very happy with what he experienced at Annapolis. So can you the other way around with your aspiration to USNA can swing around to Black Knights if you get your Appointment there. Good luck to you!
 
CrewDad said:
I like this man’s honest answer 320James. You got an LOA from USNA because they saw that you want them for sure. LOA it seems go to SAs definition of their most qualified and most desired candidates, and you don’t need to be a recruited Athlete. So you got something that many SAs like in their candidates. LOAs tend to lock you in to that Academy above all others when getting a Nom from Super Competitive Districts like VA-11 and NY-3. My DS is in a same spot. Got an LOA from USNA and thus got an Appointment to Annapolis because the chairman of the committee was a Marine and he really liked my DS to go USNA since my DS said he’d be grateful to any one of the Academies. But at the time he wanted West Point more than others. He just didn’t want to say anything that may have made any committee members think otherwise since all services were represented. In reality he should have said his first choice in his heart. So although very strong candidate to USMA he doesn’t have a Nom there. If he got one they were ready to pull the trigger based on the discussions they were having. So my DS is told to hang tight and pray hard for the VP Nom and maybe even Sup Nom. Nevertheless, my DS now accepting reality and is now regearing to report to USNA with great enthusiasm after he waits through April. Unlike you and even though he grew up mostly in the Army environment, he’s very happy with what he experienced at Annapolis. So can you the other way around with your aspiration to USNA can swing around to Black Knights if you get your Appointment there. Good luck to you!
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Thank you! I'd honest be grateful to appointments to either of the service academies and I'd definitely attend the preparatory schools if I were given another chance. I know that I'd be able to improve on my shortcomings and be even more prepared. For now, I'm just hoping for the best. Unfortunately, after contacting my MOC to see if they were able to find a nomination for me, they explained to me that all of the nominations have been given out. The situation with the nominations didn't end up in my favor but I guess I will just have to see if it works out.
 
320james said:
Thank you! I'd honest be grateful to appointments to either of the service academies and I'd definitely attend the preparatory schools if I were given another chance. I know that I'd be able to improve on my shortcomings and be even more prepared. For now, I'm just hoping for the best. Unfortunately, after contacting my MOC to see if they were able to find a nomination for me, they explained to me that all of the nominations have been given out. The situation with the nominations didn't end up in my favor but I guess I will just have to see if it works out.
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IMO, you should keep following up with your BGO and USNA admissions officer and specifically inquire about NAPS. While kinnem is 100% right about the intent of NAPS, AFAIUI it also represents another way for them to eventually get you into the USNA without the nom - I don't think there's a hard-fast rule that would preclude you from getting in for being overly academically qualified. Hopefully a USMA appointment will come through for you, but if you can secure a spot at NAPS, that's the next best thing to an appointment, IMO. Of course a possible plan B or C would be NROTC for a year (i.e., a "college programmer") and then come back as a college re-applicant, but that's less certain than NAPS (if the latter is an option). Best of luck!
 
IMO, you should keep following up with your BGO and USNA admissions officer and specifically inquire about NAPS.
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Can't agree with either of these suggestions. If they believe someone to be NAPS material they will issue that offer. NAPS is not for 3Q'ed applicants. It is by invitation only, not requests.

The Op's son is in the same boat with many, many applicants at this stage. Should they all deluge their BGO and admissions officer?

The end is near. Contestants in this challenging game show should just gut it out and wait.
 
Maplerock said:
If they believe someone to be NAPS material they will issue that offer. NAPS is not for 3Q'ed applicants. It is by invitation only, not requests.
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Good point. ISRs are the same (you can't inquire about them; they're by invitation-only). Unfortunately, I'm unable to delete my previous post.
 
usna1985 said:
To the OP . . . do you want to attend USNA or USMA? IOW, does your desire for USNA spawn from the fact you have an LOA or b/c your underlying preference in terms of where you want to go to school and where you want to serve has changed?

I ask b/c I have seen more than one student attend USMA when he/she really wanted to be at USNA. The schools and services are very different and in my limited experience, it has NEVER worked out. I would assume the converse is true in that, if your heart lies with WP, then you should hold out for that.
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There are definitely exceptions to this. A guy in our district dreamed of going to USNA and then becoming a fighter pilot, but he also applied to USMA. He was heartbroken that he didn't get into USNA, but did get into USMA. He really struggled with accepting the West Point appointment over his NROTC scholarship, but in the end did. He has thrived at USMA and doesn't regret the decision now. IMO, if an applicant really ONLY wants to attend a single academy, then they would truly ONLY apply to that one and let the chips fall as they may. If they apply to more, then they must really be open to the others, otherwise what's the point of taking all the time to apply?
 
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