LOA?

Army Vet & Parent said:
Agree with the thread and want to add: WP LOAs are a way of saying, "we like what we see so far, and PLEASE GET OFF YOUR XXX AND COMPLETE YOUR FILE!" Nothing guaranteed...
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Incorrect - you are confusing LOA's and LOE's. I know this with absolute certainty because my son received a LOE (which is kind of what you describe above). AT USMA, a LOA is a conditional "guarantee" of appointment if you address any conditions noted, and get a nomination. This was made absolutely clear to my son by his Admissions Officer. As has been discussed many time within this forum, a LOE is a "nice to have", but certainly NO guarantee. It does authorize an overnight visit (which is cool).

Below is the actual text from the instructions that were sent to my DS:

"Letters of Assurance (selected very few) will go out early in the Admissions cycle to the most qualified Candidates who have everything in their file, so it behooves you to complete your application as soon as possible . Letters of Assurance (LOA) are letters of conditional early acceptance.

Letters of Encouragement will be given this year as they were last year. These letters state that a candidate is exceptional and has promising potential for appointment, but no promises are made. An overnight visit to the academy is authorized for recipients of LOEs."
 
Disagree, but our differences probably based on our separate experiences. I am a member of the field force, a district coordinator, and have access to all of my state's candidate files. I probably should not be on this forum, but many of us periodically visit here to try to clarify many misconceptions - although at a high level. Regional Commanders (RCs) use LOAs for various purposes. Intention in my region this year with a new RC was to get them out early for motivation purposes - yes, to extremely qualified candidates who we feel have unusually high Whole Candidate Scores that will bubble up to the top on expected slates. But they are never a guarantee - even after a file is completed. LOAs go out to many candidates without complete files and to many who still have not received a nomination, completed a CFA, or finished with medical. Every year we are astounded by the number of exceptional candidates that wait to the last minute to complete files even after the interview process.
 
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Army Vet & Parent said:
Disagree, but our differences probably based on our separate experiences. I am a member of the field force, a district coordinator, and have access to all of my state's candidate files. I probably should not be on this forum, but many of us periodically visit here to try to clarify many misconceptions - although at a high level. Regional Commanders (RCs) use LOAs for various purposes. Intention in my region this year with a new RC was to get them out early for motivation purposes - yes, to extremely qualified candidates who we feel have unusually high Whole Candidate Scores that will bubble up to the top on expected slates. But they are never a guarantee - even after a file is completed. LOAs go out to many candidates without complete files and to many who still have not received a nomination, completed a CFA, or finished with medical. Every year we are astounded by the number of exceptional candidates that wait to the last minute to complete files even after the interview process.
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How many LOAs do you send out in your state?

This seems more like an LOE that I have seen:

LOAs are a way of saying, "we like what we see so far, and PLEASE GET OFF YOUR XXX AND COMPLETE YOUR FILE!"
 
Army Vet & Parent said:
Disagree, but our differences probably based on our separate experiences. I am a member of the field force, a district coordinator, and have access to all of my state's candidate files. I probably should not be on this forum, but many of us periodically visit here to try to clarify many misconceptions - although at a high level. Regional Commanders (RCs) use LOAs for various purposes. Intention in my region this year with a new RC was to get them out early for motivation purposes - yes, to extremely qualified candidates who we feel have unusually high Whole Candidate Scores that will bubble up to the top on expected slates. But they are never a guarantee - even after a file is completed. LOAs go out to many candidates without complete files and to many who still have not received a nomination, completed a CFA, or finished with medical. Every year we are astounded by the number of exceptional candidates that wait to the last minute to complete files even after the interview process.
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Hate to disagree but you are incorrect. As mentioned above, an LOA is absolutely a conditional guarantee of appointment IF the outstanding conditions mentioned in the LOA are satisfied (typically something like Med qualified, nomination, etc). Please look it up, especially since you are part of the Field Force.
 
Objective said:
Hate to disagree but you are incorrect. As mentioned above, an LOA is absolutely a conditional guarantee of appointment IF the outstanding conditions mentioned in the LOA are satisfied (typically something like Med qualified, nomination, etc). Please look it up, especially since you are part of the Field Force.
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Agreed

Sounds like Army vet is describing an LOE in previous posts
 
I mean, not to be argumentative but the quotes in my message above came from USMA Admissions.

"Letters of Assurance (selected very few) will go out early in the Admissions cycle to the most qualified Candidates who have everything in their file, so it behooves you to complete your application as soon as possible . Letters of Assurance (LOA) are letters of conditional early acceptance.

Letters of Encouragement will be given this year as they were last year. These letters state that a candidate is exceptional and has promising potential for appointment, but no promises are made. An overnight visit to the academy is authorized for recipients of LOEs."

I ain't making this up, these instructions were sent to my son.
 
TexasAggie204 said:
I mean, not to be argumentative but the quotes in my message above came from USMA Admissions.

"Letters of Assurance (selected very few) will go out early in the Admissions cycle to the most qualified Candidates who have everything in their file, so it behooves you to complete your application as soon as possible . Letters of Assurance (LOA) are letters of conditional early acceptance.

Letters of Encouragement will be given this year as they were last year. These letters state that a candidate is exceptional and has promising potential for appointment, but no promises are made. An overnight visit to the academy is authorized for recipients of LOEs."

I ain't making this up, these instructions were sent to my son.
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Things may have changed a bit then.

My DD got an LOA in late August 2018. She was still had not submitted all of her SOEs and essays/personal statements at that point.

USMA gave her until 15 October to submit the missing items or else the LOA would go away.
 
GoCubbies said:
Things may have changed a bit then.

My DD got an LOA in late August 2018. She was still had not submitted all of her SOEs and essays/personal statements at that point.

USMA gave her until 15 October to submit the missing items or else the LOA would go away.
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A new twist...a "conditional" LOA. My mind is now officially blown.
 
TexasAggie204 said:
Yeah, I guess I knew they were conditional...my point was I didn't realize there was an accelerated time stamp on them (like get all this done by Oct. 15th)
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LOL

I have seen these in USMA before. Never USNA or USAFA though.
 
... Well out of all this passion for the truth... I'm think'n maybe if WP made a mistake sending out LOA's.

Just seems like the parents are the ones who are paranoid... I don't see any future cadets complaining here.

In the end... receiving one is better than not receiving one but not an appointment-killer.

We are all on the same team... let's not fight over what was suppose to be an encouragement for our kids :biglaugh:
 
Army Vet & Parent said:
Disagree, but our differences probably based on our separate experiences. I am a member of the field force, a district coordinator, and have access to all of my state's candidate files. I probably should not be on this forum, but many of us periodically visit here to try to clarify many misconceptions - although at a high level. Regional Commanders (RCs) use LOAs for various purposes. Intention in my region this year with a new RC was to get them out early for motivation purposes - yes, to extremely qualified candidates who we feel have unusually high Whole Candidate Scores that will bubble up to the top on expected slates. But they are never a guarantee - even after a file is completed. LOAs go out to many candidates without complete files and to many who still have not received a nomination, completed a CFA, or finished with medical. Every year we are astounded by the number of exceptional candidates that wait to the last minute to complete files even after the interview process.
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Army Vet...as a field force member you are posting incorrect information and it is not helpful given how much incorrect information is already posted here on a regular basis. An LOA is a conditional offer of appointment and DOES guarantee acceptance as long as the candidate is otherwise MINIMALLY qualified academically, physically (CFA) and medically. A Letter Of Assurance (LOA) is exactly as it's stated- you're assured of an appointment if minimally qualified as stated above. What you are describing, and as others have correctly noted, is an LOE, which is nothing more than what it states. NO guarantee but encouraging the candidate to complete his/her file. As a FF member and district coordinator it is crucial that posts are factual.
 
USMA85 said:
Army Vet...as a field force member you are posting incorrect information and it is not helpful given how much incorrect information is already posted here on a regular basis. An LOA is a conditional offer of appointment and DOES guarantee acceptance as long as the candidate is otherwise MINIMALLY qualified academically, physically (CFA) and medically. A Letter Of Assurance (LOA) is exactly as it's stated- you're assured of an appointment if minimally qualified as stated above. What you are describing, and as others have correctly noted, is an LOE, which is nothing more than what it states. NO guarantee but encouraging the candidate to complete his/her file. As a FF member and district coordinator it is crucial that posts are factual.
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That's what I've been tryin' to say...
 
TexasAggie204 said:
Incorrect - you are confusing LOA's and LOE's. I know this with absolute certainty because my son received a LOE (which is kind of what you describe above). AT USMA, a LOA is a conditional "guarantee" of appointment if you address any conditions noted, and get a nomination. This was made absolutely clear to my son by his Admissions Officer. As has been discussed many time within this forum, a LOE is a "nice to have", but certainly NO guarantee. It does authorize an overnight visit (which is cool).

Below is the actual text from the instructions that were sent to my DS:

"Letters of Assurance (selected very few) will go out early in the Admissions cycle to the most qualified Candidates who have everything in their file, so it behooves you to complete your application as soon as possible . Letters of Assurance (LOA) are letters of conditional early acceptance.

Letters of Encouragement will be given this year as they were last year. These letters state that a candidate is exceptional and has promising potential for appointment, but no promises are made. An overnight visit to the academy is authorized for recipients of LOEs."
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Your DS received an LOE? So did mine. Did your DS hear about an appointment yet? My DS received 3 nominations from USMA, but we haven’t heard anything else yet.
 
Adopt3 said:
Your DS received an LOE? So did mine. Did your DS hear about an appointment yet? My DS received 3 nominations from USMA, but we haven’t heard anything else yet.
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Yes, he received a LOE and is scheduled for an overnight visit at the end of the month. He has a Senator’s nomination but no appointment. It’s still early though.
 
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