MN-Dad-2016
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2012
- Messages
- 597
For the medical application process, see http://www.academyadmissions.com/admissions/the-application-process/medical-evaluation/ .I have a question....she also has a 2nd DoDMERB remedial that arrived the same day. Does the LOA have any impact on DoDMERB decisions, or does it remain entirely independent as is the case with the early part of the app process?
Since you have a LOA, that means that the school said "it's worth investing time and energy" for the waiver process. DoDMERB will ask each Academy if you are worth spending the time and energy even with a LOA. If your DD or DS is borderline, each Academy may not request more information and that is the harsh reality. So in our case, both West Point (LOA) and USAFA (no LOA) said they were interested in him. If DoDMERB still flags the condition, then the Academy's head doctor has the right to offer a waiver. In other words, DoDMERB is out of the decision picture and the final decision is decided on each branch via their own medical waiver process. If one Academy says yes and grants a waiver and the other says no, that is the final decision for each Academy. You still need the nomination and the final nod by admissions. With the Air Force, you have one shot once DoDMERB is out of the picture. With the USMA, you can re-send new evidence throughout the process. But DodMERB is always the clearing house of information even when they are no longer the deciding factor.
Involvement matters. I am convinced my DS is at the USAFA because we were very much involved. In our case, we logged well over a 100 hours. It might have been a couple hundred hours. We talked with everybody we could to understand what their concerns were and later visited local experts (the Mayo) to support our case. My DS wrote polished letters to support why the diagnosis was incorrect (and it was). We pushed to get into follow-up appointments fast, we talked with our internal contacts at the Academies, talked with DoDMERB etc. It was explained that there was a large stack of waivers on their desk and that it was refreshing to know that the someone cared enough to call and follow-up. So we hopped to the front of the line. Put yourself in their shoes, would you be anxious with a sense of urgency to push paper to grant a waiver if someone didn't follow-up? You might wonder if your effort was for nothing because the student is planning on another path/school. So if you are following along, my DS's waiver was granted/helped because about everybody in the process knew who he was. Of course the waiver was granted because it should have been but involvement helped prevent mistakes. Furthermore, time may be your biggest problem. Get involved if your DD wants it bad.
Also, just curious....the unanticipated LOA and positive momentum suddenly has her realizing this could happen. She went into the process thinking long shot, but now that things are looking much better, she is getting really nervous about the reality and significance of the whole thing. Is this a reaction others have seen? THanks for any insights.
Of course! Not only should it be common that your daughter is experiencing "buyers remorse" you as parents may feel the same. We are not a military family so all of this was foreign to us. It is smart to visit the school again, have your DD network and talk with other cadets or former graduates and read and learn everything that you can. My DS reached out to over 10 current and former cadets. After all, he was going to the Air Force and he didn't think he wanted to fly!
We as parents attended a couple of MN Parents Group meetings many months in advance. That is where we got names for him to talk to other Cadets. Those contacts helped confirm that it was the right decision and those conversations helped shape why he chose the USAFA over the West Point. We as parents came on board because we understood what it meant to go to the USAFA. I know your area has a parents group. Lean on them even before you know what you want to do.
We just visited my DS this Monday while passing though Colorado. He is flourishing in this environment. He positively loves the place. But he did his do diligence. Your daughter needs to dig deeper and learn more about the USAFA or "buyers remorse" is expected.
I hope this helps!