LOA

Pima, thanks for the information. Our Congressman is Walter B. Jones and my S is also getting an requesting and JROTC nomination too. Covering all bases, but hoping for one!
 
Would all of you with an Loa mind posting your stats. I like to see exactly what the academies are looking for at such an early stage. Also, have you completed your applications already?

Just a few things in general.....
Completed Naval Academy Application
BGO interview is completed
Letters from teachers/high school have been submitted
went to NASS
1300 plus on SAT
President of the NC Beta Club
plays 3 varisty sports in HS- but is not the star on any
#8 in a class of 200+
Attend the following leadership trainings HOBY, Broyhill Youth Leadership, Lead-America, Congressional Youth
GPA over 4
Had good scores on his fitness test

Hope this helps. The important thing is to be yourself!
 
Jones had his in prior to Butterfield...we happen to live in area that both Jones and Butterfield serve. I believe Jones submitted his in Nov.

Good luck!
 
Son received LOA today and younger son helped win crosstown rivalry midget football game tonight! Hooray!
 
You definitely want your nominating sources to know that you have an LOA. You will likely find that they already know (ours did before we contacted them). Your MOC want to nominate someone who has an excellent change of receiving an appointment....therefore, having an LOA will only make your process easier. Imagine you are Senator X. You can put 10 names on your nom list...only your primary is a shoe in. Why wouldn't you put your LOA candidates in the other 9 slots? You want to go back to DC and be able to brag that everyone on your slate received an appointment. For example, the MOC who nominated my son had 9/10 on his list receive an appt...one just couldn't clear Dodmerb.
I'm fairly new at this. I saw that your post is from 2007, but I hope you are still "in business". I'm confused about the number of nominations that a MOC can give that will actually result in an appointment. I know MOC can send a list of ten names, but how can they all end up with an appt., even if they are otherwise qualified.
 
I'm confused about the number of nominations that a MOC can give that will actually result in an appointment. I know MOC can send a list of ten names, but how can they all end up with an appt., even if they are otherwise qualified.

Each MOC can have up to five mids at USNA at any one time. The mid counts "against" the MOC for as long as he/she is at USNA. Thus, if the mid stays to graduation, it's all four years; if he/she leaves early for any reason, a slot opens up at that time.

Thus, if you do the math, an MOC typically has one open slot per year and two slots every few years. For each open slot, the MOC can nominate up to 10 candidates. Thus, if one open slot, MOC can nominate 10; if two, MOC can nominate 20. It is extremely unusual for an MOC to have more than two open slots for one SA in any given year.

One of the 10 candidates nominated by the MOC will be slotted to/allocated to that MOC and count toward his/her total of 5. The other 9 go into a national pool. A certain number of candidates in the national pool (chosen in order of merit) will also be offered appointments. They are slotted to other sources, such as the SecNav or Superintendent. Thus, it is possible for up to all 10 of the candidates nominated by an MOC to receive appointments. Typically, not all 10 do, but it's not unusual -- especially in highly competitive geographic regions -- for several of the 10 to end up with appointments.

Does this clear it up?
 
usna1985

from gabridge (uSNA 1980)

My twins got the LOA's in July, DODMERB qualified four weeks ago and a Presidential Nomination four weeks ago. When would an appointment be realistic?

Thanks
 
^^^^^^

Not sure. I TYPICALLY haven't seen appointments come out prior to October, but the entire calendar seems to be moved up this year. For example, I typically haven't seen LOAs before September (not saying they haven't been sent out earlier, just that I haven't seen it happen that early until this year).

USUALLY, USNA first notifies your MOC of an appointment and allows him/her a week to contact the candidate. The MOC may or may not do so. Then, regardless of whether the MOC makes contact, they send the letter to the candidate a week later. THEN, they tell the BGO (we really are the last to know). Thus, calling your BGO won't help.

Thus, you could see the appointment letter any day or it may take a few months. The good thing is that, with an LOA and a nom in hand, you know it's coming.:smile:
 
BGO is top shelf. Lives less than two miles away. He was all over making this happen. The process has been much easier than I thought it would be.

We had no idea what an LOA was when it showed up in late July. Had to read it several times to decipher the Navy speak.

It sure helped starting so early and having all the paperwork done. A key is to develop a resume that fits the requirement areas of the SA's. Started that when the twins were 9th graders -- makes all applications a 30 minute exercise--cut and paste.

Thanks
 
Hello again. I just received an LOA from the Naval Academy. Thank you for all of you help and insight.
 
Many congratualtions, bobcatmatt! :thumb:

Good luck pursuing your nominations!
 
Hello again. I just received an LOA from the Naval Academy. Thank you for all of you help and insight.

Congrats BobCatMatt!!

Now just tell USMA thanks, but you have bigger and better things in store at USNA...! :wink:

You're in a great position. Best wishes to you!
 
BobCatMatt congratuations! You have made a great accomplishment, no doubt due to your hard work.
You have choices - that is terrific!
Now you have to complete your nominations - hopefully you have Dodmerb under control.
Hopefully, you will have an opportunity to visit both academies. Go to Navy for a CVW and schedule an overnight candidate visit at WP - this will give you an excellent picture of both academies and explore Army and Navy career options and assist you in making an informed decision.
 
BobCatMatt: you have received good advice: visit those academies! My son was in your position one short year ago. After visiting both schools, his decision was much easier. He, like you, was lucky to have options. Get those files done and satisfy all conditions of your LOA's. Get your appointment packages in and polish your interviewing skills. Follow your heart and make a good decision. Getting in is the easy part...as my son would tell you....juggling Calculus and Chemistry with duties and the rest of the 20 hour courseload is the hard part!
 
If the USMA candidate cycle is similar the USNA candidate cycle, you have received an LOA because you have been found exceptionally scholastically qualified, have good potential to succeed as a midshipman...er...cadet, and appear to have the qualities valued in a naval...er...army officer. Congratulations!

By all means let your nomination sources as well as your BGO know you have received a USMA LOA. This will help show you are competitive for a service academy appointment.

Regarding your chances of receiving a Qualification Letter (Q Letter) or a Letter of Assurance (LOA), the link below will take you to a thread that may help answer your question:

USNA Scholastic Qualification

Good luck and BEAT ARMY!
 
Actually, they send some out earlier than September. My son's was dated July 25th. Good luck to all of you for a nomination!!
 
Two questions--it seems that some LOA's were received last week--I am assuming this coincides with the fact that the admission board met. If a complete admission package was submitted (everything but nominations) and I have been invited for a visit, is it fair to assume that my candidate packet has been reviewed and I will NOT be receiving an LOA?
Also, I have seen a few references to a "Q" (scholastically qualified) letter in this forum. What exactly is this and who receives it.

Thanks!
 
Kicker, my S received one of those weekend visit invitations even though his file was lacking his teachers recs, GC verifications, and his BGO interview. I could be wrong but they might be sending out those letters seperately from LOA consideration.
 
Trying to decipher admissions logistics

It’s a little difficult to extrapolate what is going on when the USNA CVW is factored in, and a candidate’s application is fully completed way before the USNA admissions board started meeting beginning in August.

My son has had a complete application since July of 2008. This included a passed CFA (done at NASS) and DodMERB exam. The B&G officer submission shows mid September 2008. There is absolutely nothing else that can be added to the application. Theoretically, this should have been one of the first applications that would have been looked at. If the admissions board is the entity responsible for providing invitations to the CVW, then his totally complete application was in fact reviewed because he did get an invitation to the CVW (and is going).

If he met the criteria for an LOA, I would think it would have been produced and sent at the time of the application review. He actually did meet the criteria for an LOA (not as a recruited athlete) to the USMA that he received August of 2008. Accordingly, without going into detail, I believe he does meet the criteria of exceptional on a whole person basis. If he did not meet the criteria for an LOA from the USNA, wouldn’t it make sense that the “Q” letter be provided at the time of review, or does a complete application continually cycle before the admission board every week until some other factor triggers a letter of some sort?

Of course, if the invitation to the CVW is not based upon the ordinary candidate admission determination review by the admissions board, then in theory my son’s application has not even been considered for an admissions decision.

Or is it possible that he did not qualify for an LOA during this review, and the sending of “Q” letters (or even not qualified letters) are deferred for a lengthy period of time? Maybe an invitation to the CVW is sort of a “close but no cigar” thing (from an LOA perspective)? To reiterate, it is very hard to extract the logistics.

It has been mentioned many times in this forum that an appointment, not an LOA should be the objective. However it is always nice, and sometimes necessary to know your options as soon as possible. From my son’s perspective, the USMA is a real option, and the USNA remains an unknown. Either way, he will be forced to decide in November if and when he is invited for an interview with the MOC’s office. In NY, you only get one nomination from a MOC, and you are locked into choosing by November. Choosing USMA is a sure thing and choosing USNA is a gamble that may very well result in losing it all. Choosing an academy should be based upon a comprehensive, well informed decision, not an artificially early deadline that is underpinned with a gamble.
 
It is only September! Ok well tomorrow it is October! This is very very early. If your son is applying to some civilian schools as well you already probably know unless there is rolling admissions he won't get an acceptance this soon.
From what I recall in other years - USNA seems to issue most of their LOA's in October. A lot can happen in a few weeks.

Okay - you son feels though he has a dilemma - he has an LOA to USMA but not to USNA. What to do about nominations?

The decision to nominate a candidate rests with each individual member of congress. There is nothing that NY says that keeps your US Representative from awarding him two nominations. Yes, many MOC's do "talk" but the decision rests with each office.

Your son is going to have to choose eventually. He should be honest on the application and pick the academy which is his first choice.
If Navy is his first choice then he should pick it.
Make absolutely sure he applies for the Vice Presidential nomination.

If he has an LOA from USMA and he doesn't get a nomination from his MOC - talk to admissions. More than likely they will "find" him one. It may be the VP nom (which is chosen by each academy) or a Superintendent's nomination. He also may not receive his appointment until later in the spring. Bottom line is - West Point wants your son. If he makes a good faith effort to gain a nominations then admissions will take care of him.


If your son is confused about what to do then he should call the nominations manager in the congressman's and senator's office. They usually are very helpful.

If your son has questions about the status of his USNA application then he should call the Navy admissions office.

I suggest you read through this thread, it illustrates the importance of candidates like your son applying for the VP nomination:
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=2131
 
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