Letters Of Assurance

buffalo said:
I was under the same impression as btown, that you could only get a LOA pending a nomination or DoDMERB. In the event that you did get a LOA without a CFA I would still score well. Surely if you fail every event, they will revoke the LOA>
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An LOA is only a "guaranteed offer of appointment" provided you satisfy the conditions listed on letter itself. For example, my son's LoA from USNA was a two page letter specifying he had to satisfy the "checked" items on the letter. The "checked" items were "nomination" and "Medical Qualification." The deadline for completion is March 1, 2008.
Other options listed but not checked for my son in particular were: Blue and Gold Officer Interview, and a list of items under the heading "Required Application Documents" and these were: Personal Data Record, Personal Statement, Candidate Fitness Assessment, Candidate Activities Record, English Teacher Recommendation, Math Teacher Recommendation, High School/College Transcript, Official Test Scores. I would think that all of these items must prove satisfactory and confirm the assertions made on the application. So "passing" the CFA is still necessary...
 
hmm interesting. the usafa LOA only said u were virtually guaranteed an appointment if you passed DoDMERB and got a nom. just 2 nice concise paragraphs. no 2 page checklists.
 
Different branches do it differently. For air force; an LOA is only given if your application is complete with the exception of your nomination and/or DODMRB qualification. The army however; has given out LOA's as early as July after the initial application phase showing intent. Either way however; to fulfill the commitment offered by an LOA; you have to eventually be 100% complete and accurate. later... mike....
 
actually i got mine w/o submitting my CFA, candidate activities record, or candidate statements
 
Steve09 - is your LOA to USAFA?
If you get an LOA, pending the CFA then you must pass the CFA. This is the "physically qualified" part of being triple qualified.

Each academy has their own criteria and benchmarks set for offering a letter of assurance. They make up their own guidelines and rules according to how they operate their admissions office.

At USMA it is true that the admissions office works in the summer. Very high quality candidates are sometimes offered an LOA starting in July. Normally these candidates have attended SLS where they also had an interview, completed their CFA. The admissions office also would have received their 6th semester transcripts.
The bar is set very high by the admissions director in the summer - it is then readjusted as the process continues through the fall and winter.
 
i recieved a letter of assurance saying,

"I, (my name), hereby choose to attend the United States Air Force Academy. I understand an Academy appointment includes full tuition, room and board, monthly allowance, and full medical and dental care. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, I will be commissioned as an active duty Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. I understand this certificate is non-binding and is contingent upon my receiving medical clearance and an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy."

then it asks me to sign my name and fax it back to the school..what does that mean? am i in? do i have to look at other schools or just air force?
 
You are in at the AFA as long as you get a nom and pass the DODMerb. It is not binding, in other words you can also accept a USNA LOA.

The LOA is as close to a "golden" ticket as you can accept for the apptmt. It is rare, only about 150 people get them, your packet showed something that said without a doubt we want them.

Now, that being said, deflate your ego and realize, that LOA's mean nothing at BCT or as a 4 dig. It doesn't mean you will make general or fly fighters. It is a recruiting tool.
 
Pima said:
You are in at the AFA as long as you get a nom and pass the DODMerb. It is not binding, in other words you can also accept a USNA LOA.

The LOA is as close to a "golden" ticket as you can accept for the apptmt. It is rare, only about 150 people get them, your packet showed something that said without a doubt we want them.

Now, that being said, deflate your ego and realize, that LOA's mean nothing at BCT or as a 4 dig. It doesn't mean you will make general or fly fighters. It is a recruiting tool.
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That would be a SHACK! :thumb:

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
air.force. said:
i recieved a letter of assurance saying,

"I, (my name), hereby choose to attend the United States Air Force Academy. I understand an Academy appointment includes full tuition, room and board, monthly allowance, and full medical and dental care. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, I will be commissioned as an active duty Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. I understand this certificate is non-binding and is contingent upon my receiving medical clearance and an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy."

then it asks me to sign my name and fax it back to the school..what does that mean? am i in? do i have to look at other schools or just air force?
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Odd... must be new this year.

Like Pima said, LOAs mean absolutely nothing once you get here. No one will want to know, know one will care, and you'll have other things on your mind.

Same goes for JROTC and CAP. Great programs, but don't go bragging about it, and especially don't let the Cadre hear that.
 
I'm wondering if it's sports related? Any chance you're a recruited athlete? I thought they signed some kind of "non-binding" letter of intent. I know others with an LOA this year that don't state that.

And Matt - I think the number one thing not to say (at least at WP :wink: ) was "I KNOW how to march, I was in band!" :shake:
 
The letter stated it was non-binding, this is why there are candidates with multiple LOA's.
 
marciemi said:
I'm wondering if it's sports related? Any chance you're a recruited athlete? I thought they signed some kind of "non-binding" letter of intent. I know others with an LOA this year that don't state that.

And Matt - I think the number one thing not to say (at least at WP :wink: ) was "I KNOW how to march, I was in band!" :shake:
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I totally wish I would have heard that... it would have been hilarious! :biggrin:
 
And Matt - I think the number one thing not to say (at least at WP ) was "I KNOW how to march, I was in band!
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And yet, some continue to say that!

For the AFA my favorite is when they believe they know everything because they were in JROTC for 4 yrs.
 
Definitely, those in JrRotc, CAP, and Scouts have a misunderstanding of the academies. They are usually less prepared than they think they would be. However, I have to say that athletes (More than 90% of cadets were athletes); and those in marching band actually do tend to do better with the physical parts of the academy. Rhythm and doing tasks together as a team is very much a part of the academy; as well it is with marching bands and team athletes. Now; that doesn't mean I would be bragging about being "Better" or "Knowing" things because I was in band or sports. Matter of fact, you shouldn't brag about anything you did prior to entering the academy. You're dealing with more than 1000 Type "A" personalities and over-achievers. You're just another fish in the pond. But I will say that for the marching, discipline, teamwork, etc... band and athletics is most definitely an advantage. mike....
 
I agree CC...band and athletics typically are better off in preparation...maybe it is due to the fact that they are structured to live in 100 degree heat during the summer and freezing rain in the fall, whereas, the JROTC cadet only knows how to wear their uniform and PT is not a part of their structure, which is a big deal at BCT.

I am not trying to slam the JROTC people, but just trying to highlight that JROTC will mean nothing when they are screaming at you at the AFA, it is your internal strength that you will need to push through and JROTC doesn't prepare you for that...carrying a 50 lb drum in polyester while playing and following the choreography on a 95 degree day with 80% humidity will prepare you or 40 degree weather while it is raining.

OBTW, I have no children in band. DS2 is in hs football.

Also, the difference between being in band or athletics compared to JROTC, school is over the JROTC student can turn on the XBox and veg...the band or athletic person may not get home until 11 at night. This is one reason that the SA's like these type of candidates over JROTC because they have proven time mgmt while maintaining their gpa. JROTC is not an EC, it is at school as a class.
 
Yeah I was in marching band, and we march way different here. But what did help me a lot was dress and cover. Some people had a hard time with that but I was pretty good, we even did diaganols in marching band. That was all though, they way we march here and commands and stuff are way different
 
I have to disagree with the JROTC discussion. I could be an exception but my JROTC background helped me a lot so far.

The marching was very similar to the way it is here. Some of the upperclassmen asked us (JROTC, Priors, and Preppies) how to call certain commands, which I thought was silly.

Working as a team was a very big emphasis at our unit. The difference being the repercussions here are worse but I would still get in trouble if one of my subordinates got in trouble.

As far as PT, our unit PT'd everyday... much more than what we do here. The only difference is we don't have upperclassmen yelling at us. On that note, we had summer leadership programs throughout the summer where real marine DI's yell at us and have their way with us for a week or two. Because of those camps, it was much easier to deal with random upperclassmen thinking they can yell at us.

We also had practices everday, morning and afternoon, some saturdays, and usually 2 weeks before scool starts during the summer. So we had to learn how to manage our time just as well if not better than athletes or band members.
 
I surprised myself last night when I saw how nervous I actually am about getting into the USAFA or USNA; I had a dream that my girlfriend, who isn't applying to either of the schools, got into the AFA...and I didn't. Needless to say I woke up pretty bummed and she laughed when I told her :(. Heh.

I mean I know I'm pretty competitive and have a good shot at making it, but as I'm not likely to get an LOA I have to sit and wait.

Grats to all of those who've received a nomination or LOA, you're finally reaping the benefits of the last twelve years of hard work and effort!
 
nsiderbam said:
I surprised myself last night when I saw how nervous I actually am about getting into the USAFA or USNA; I had a dream that my girlfriend, who isn't applying to either of the schools, got into the AFA...and I didn't. Needless to say I woke up pretty bummed and she laughed when I told her :(. Heh.

I mean I know I'm pretty competitive and have a good shot at making it, but as I'm not likely to get an LOA I have to sit and wait.

Grats to all of those who've received a nomination or LOA, you're finally reaping the benefits of the last twelve years of hard work and effort!
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Funny, my element leader at summer seminar only applied to AFA at first because her boyfriend was. She got in and he didn't, and four years later she's a firstie.
 
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