LOA's

A

asd3467

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Joined
Sep 17, 2021
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1.Can LOA's come any time during the admission process?
2. If I finish my application October 20th excluding the dodmerb and the nomination interview can I still receive one?
3. Is it still possible to get a LOA just based on ACT test score?

I'd greatly appreciate if someone could answer my questions. Thanks
 
asd3467 said:
1.Can LOA's come any time during the admission process?
2. If I finish my application October 20th excluding the dodmerb and the nomination interview can I still receive one?
3. Is it still possible to get a LOA just based on ACT test score?

I'd greatly appreciate if someone could answer my questions. Thanks
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Service academies can choose to give one at any time in the cycle for any reason.

The majority of cadets and midshipmen attend SAs without having received an LOA.

There is no reliable way to predict who will get them and when. I am fond of calling it a unicorn. If one wanders into your portal, rejoice, but don’t spend any energy on trying to hunt one.

You may see others receive an LOA, and perhaps one of your “stats” is better. You do not see the entire candidate package in relation to class-building goals, so again, don’t waste energy there.
 
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Precise101 said:

Maybe this will give you an idea about the process. LOA's are very nice but very few receive them so not receiving one doesn't mean you're not going to get accepted. Regarding getting accepted - applicants, last year class of 2024, began hearing the last week in January and heard all the way through May!
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Thanks for that info-graphic but are field force interviews really necessary? I thought they were optional. Also thank you Capt MJ I appreciate your reply.
 
asd3467 said:
1.Can LOA's come any time during the admission process?
2. If I finish my application October 20th excluding the dodmerb and the nomination interview can I still receive one?
3. Is it still possible to get a LOA just based on ACT test score?

I'd greatly appreciate if someone could answer my questions. Thanks
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I got a LOA in July from submitting a transcript, ACT scores, a complete personal data record, and an interview. Teacher evals, activity verification, CFA, and DoDMERB were not complete at the time. The process may be different from person to person but that’s what happened before I got a LOA.
 
redraider2022 said:
I got a LOA in July from submitting a transcript, ACT scores, a complete personal data record, and an interview. Teacher evals, activity verification, CFA, and DoDMERB were not complete at the time. The process may be different from person to person but that’s what happened before I got a LOA.
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Who did you interview exactly? Your field force officer?
 
asd3467 said:
Who did you interview exactly? Your field force officer?
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I did an interview directly with a West Point admissions officer because my field force officer was not responding to emails. Generally, I would suspect that other candidates would interview with a Field Force officer though.
 
redraider2022 said:
I did an interview directly with a West Point admissions officer because my field force officer was not responding to emails. Generally, I would suspect that other candidates would interview with a Field Force officer though.
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Did you contact your officer or vice versa? If the latter, what did you need to submit before he gave you the chance for an interview?
 
asd3467 said:
Did you contact your officer or vice versa? If the latter, what did you need to submit before he gave you the chance for an interview?
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The admissions officers contacted me through text messaging through my cell phone and asked for a transcript and grades to do the interview. They definitely were interested in getting me an LOA as it seemed as if they were kind of ushering me into the process by how quickly things moved.
 
asd3467 said:
Thanks for that info-graphic but are field force interviews really necessary? I thought they were optional. Also thank you Capt MJ I appreciate your reply.
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An interview is required and is normally done by:
  • FFR
  • SLE Squad Leader
  • Admissions Officer
Most candidates are interviewed by FFR or SLE Squad Leader for those attending SLE. Candidates considered non-competitive may not be interviewed if there is a shortage of interview slots.
 
Just a reminder that LOA's are nice but rare. As Capt. MJ said most appointments do not come through LOA's. LOA's are not the goal, an appointment is. Once you are there nobody cares whether you got an LOA or not.

All that being said, I interviewed and candidate for USAFA last night and that candidate already had an LOA from West Point. So there are already a few floating out there for the 2026 cycle. It may be about time to start the 2026 appointment threads.
 
BBQ-Devil said:
Once you are there nobody cares whether you got an LOA or not.
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Not only does nobody care, but nobody evens knows. My son made a point of not telling anyone.

I've told this story a few times on this forum, but it is worth a repeat... My son received his LOA early in the process. It was either late Aug or early Sep. I remember it was before his school year started. He already cleared DODMERB, and he already passed his CFA. The "only" thing left was his nomination.

Seven months later, he finally got his nomination. Although we were confident he would get nominated, there is nothing sure about it until it actually happens. It was a long and painful seven months.

During that time, he received quite a few athletic and academic offers at other schools. But USNA was always his top choice, so he turned those schools down because they needed an answer right away. But the decision wasn't easy. What if he didn't get a nomination?

The moral of the story? LOAs are a nice thing, but they certainly are not an appointment.
 
Just because one has an LOA, Appointment is not secured till all conditions are met.

While at an Academy event organized by NTX MOCs in our area, we happened to meet the admissions representative from USNA. She told us that there were few candidates she knew that had an LOA but could not secure an admission.

As othes have mentioned here, goal is to get an Appointment.
 
Precise101 said:

Maybe this will give you an idea about the process. LOA's are very nice but very few receive them so not receiving one doesn't mean you're not going to get accepted. Regarding getting accepted - applicants, last year class of 2024, began hearing the last week in January and heard all the way through May!
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This is not at all correct as far as "January" is concerned and the Class of 2025 (which was "last year" and not the Class of 2024 which was two years ago and had a SAF acceptance in November). I believe some CO 2025 applicants were appointed as early as September and there were some on SAF that were appointed in October. Additionally, some can be appointed in June as well depending on the circumstances.

Please do not post misleading info.
 
TheRightStuff said:
This is not at all correct as far as "January" is concerned and the Class of 2025 (which was "last year" and not the Class of 2024 which was two years ago and had a SAF acceptance in November). I believe some CO 2025 applicants were appointed as early as September and there were some on SAF that were appointed in October. Additionally, some can be appointed in June as well depending on the circumstances.

Please do not post misleading info.
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In @Precise101's defense, the timeline provided by USMA, as shown in the link to their website in his/her post, has Jan - May as the time period for official offers of admission being sent.
 
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Its that time of year! Exciting!! The annual migration of Class of 2026 Appointments, someone please start those threads with the thread rules!

Your timetable is your nominating source's submission, which could be early or right up to the deadline. Different rules of multiple or a single nom spread out among constituents. And those reporting LOAs or spectacular stats with no LOA/appointment - remember you are only seeing which stats are SELF-reported, and could have been a non-factor in the LOA/no LOA, no appointment. You have no control over the other people on a slate - how competitive/valued by SA, and when they complete their applications.
 
brewmeist said:
In @Precise101's defense, the timeline provided by USMA, as shown in the link to their website in his/her post, has Jan - May as the time period for official offers of admission being sent.
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Thanks for your opinion, but he/she is incorrect in general although the timeline does show "Jan-May" from USMA. The "you'll hear in January" thing has been said for several years now and the facts have been otherwise.

The post did not say that the statement was from the published timeline, but rather said "applicants, last year class of 2024, began hearing the last week in January...." and nothing more. This statement (which is incorrect), if based upon the "timeline" as you say, doesn't even mirror the timeline as that shows the "beginning" of January anyway.
 
According to admissions at USNA when my son was waiting for waiver approval, he received an “early LOA”. When asked what early meant in that context, she said an early LOA isn’t tied to the date one receives it (August vs January for instance). It means the LOA was generated based on the record of the candidate during that candidates process. As opposed to giving an LOA for other reasons (sports, etc) that admissions use as a tool.

So an early LOA for one candidate may occur late in the process, depending on that candidates timeline.
 
Yes, some appointments are made before January. Most of those are special cases, such as recruited athletes and other categories that receive special consideration.

For typical candidates, admissions offers appointments when the results of the competition are clear, and in the vast majority of cases that does not occur before January. In addition to the time required for a candidate to become fully qualified and nominated, USMA admissions does not have the flexibility of a civilian college in making decisions. A candidate fully qualified and nominated in October may have to wait for their competition to complete the process.
 
At least 20 members on SAF received offers of appointment to USMA prior to 1/JAN for CO 2025 and they indeed were not all "special categories" of appointment. Extrapolate out to the number of people NOT on SAF receiving an offer of appointment and the number is not insignificant. While most are after 1/JAN, there are many prior to that date and that was my point.


As was said by @Capt MJ last year:

Capt MJ said:
The spigot can turn on in September with the first drips. If someone has gotten everything in, is found fully qualified and is eligible for a service-connected nom, SA may be happy enough to go ahead and make the offer.

The big spurts do come after all elected officials noms are in.
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