question about LOA

[BReilly2017]

I've read here of kids that have LOA's that didn't get nominations. So it's not necessarily guaranteed...

I have seen those posts and understand that there have been rare occasions where LOA recipients don't get nominations.
I said its "basically guaranteed", I never stated that she would definitely get one.

 

[Ted&Gladys]

@nuc2016

Last year, DD screen-shotted her LOA from her USNA portal and included in her paper nomination applications. Additionally, she took paper copies to her interviews. In our state, senators have multiple panels interviewing 500+ candidates, so paperwork can fall through the cracks. We thought better to keep her bases covered.

 

[MemberLG]

I have seen those posts and understand that there have been rare occasions where LOA recipients don't get nominations.
I said its "basically guaranteed", I never stated that she would definitely get one.

My RC prefers to have an interview before offering an LOA. If the LOA is given based on how a candidate looks on paper only, thr candidate might turned out to be not so stellar. A candidate that the nomation panel I a on basically said I am going to the SA to play a sport. So the no nation panel didn't give him a nomination. Also had another candidate that just bombed the nomination interview.

 

[BReilly2017]

My RC prefers to have an interview before offering an LOA. If the LOA is given based on how a candidate looks on paper only, thr candidate might turned out to be not so stellar. A candidate that the nomation panel I a on basically said I am going to the SA to play a sport. So the no nation panel didn't give him a nomination. Also had another candidate that just bombed the nomination interview.

I did say in my original message "baring any major screw-ups". I would list the two examples you stated under the category of a major screw-up. Apologies if that wasn't clear.

 

[nuc2016]

Just came back from our Congressman's Office. We decided to walk in my daughters application which turned out to be a good idea. They opened it and checked it for completeness. When they noticed the LOA, my daughter mentioned it to them. They immediately replied that the Congressman also got a notice from USNA regarding the LOA and that they were aware of it. I just thought I would share this info with others.

 

[ktnatalk]

The MOC should be notified of the LOA but there is no guarantee. I agree with Calimom and LG, and it could also depend on how competitive it is for your MOC district and how they operate. The MOC panel MAY/COULD decide not to recommend a nomination believing the academy will find the candidate one.

Don't walk in with a chip on your shoulder and good luck!

 

[MemberLG]

I did say in my original message "baring any major screw-ups". I would list the two examples you stated under the category of a major screw-up. Apologies if that wasn't clear.

No apologies needed as I should have been more clear that I was just giving examples of "major screw-ups."

You might be surprised what you and I will consider as a "major screw-up" might not be considered as "major screw-up" by some candidates. Being a FFR for 10+ years and serving on numerous panels, I had to tell myself keep clam that I am dealing with teenagers.

 

[BReilly2017]

No apologies needed as I should have been more clear that I was just giving examples of "major screw-ups."

You might be surprised what you and I will consider as a "major screw-up" might not be considered as "major screw-up" by some candidates. Being a FFR for 10+ years and serving on numerous panels, I had to tell myself keep clam that I am dealing with teenagers.

If you don't mind me asking, what state have you served on panels for?

 

[MemberLG]

If you don't mind me asking, what state have you served on panels for?

MD - Served couple times with the Congressman that nominated me, several times for my Congressman, and twice for one Senator. From my point of view, there was no politics, pretty much best qualified candidates got the nomination, and time to time we discussed gaming the system but never followed through.

 

[NavyHoops]

I have sat on a few boards in two states... Same thing. They were all above board, we took our duty extemely serious and ranked the candidates based upon credentials, nothing else came into play.

 

[Brawny77]

Our MOC process seemed very fair as well (of course I would say that cause my kid got nominated). But it was done by a panel of 12 made up of academy grads from all 3 academies and there were no principal noms. They asked detailed questions and grilled him pretty good for about 20 minutes (pleasantly of course). Our MOC simply nominated based on the panels recommendation. No politics was involved because I can assure you we are about as unconnected politically as you can get. Our district is what I would call semi-competitive. I do feel for the kids who are in the ultra-competitive districts. Oh yeah I do know that our MOC and the Senators talked so nominations did not overlap. I have heard of states where one kid gets multiple nominations.

 

[HopefulDad3210]

Our MOC process seemed very fair as well (of course I would say that cause my kid got nominated). But it was done by a panel of 12 made up of academy grads from all 3 academies and there were no principal noms. They asked detailed questions and grilled him pretty good for about 20 minutes (pleasantly of course). Our MOC simply nominated based on the panels recommendation. No politics was involved because I can assure you we are about as unconnected politically as you can get. Our district is what I would call semi-competitive. I do feel for the kids who are in the ultra-competitive districts. Oh yeah I do know that our MOC and the Senators talked so nominations did not overlap. I have heard of states where one kid gets multiple nominations.

I thought multiple noms were fairly common. Not so?

 

[Trigger]

I know there are so many unknowns to ultimate decision by USNA admissions to offer an appointment, but just a "what you think?" for the regulars here. Espcecially those that have done MOC interviewing. My DS was placed on the wait list last year but no appointment. He is re-applying to class of 2021 as college/NROTC re-applicant. We have learned that LOAs for his status are very rare and college applications don't get reviewed until January. He just learned that a h.s. senior candidate from his high school just received an LOA. Will this hurt his chances in our district with MOC nomination rankings? Or do nomination boards objectively rank candidates based on established criteria and not necessarily consider the LOA when ranking candidates?

 

[NavyHoops]

None of us can answer this specific question because it's MOC specific. Some MOCs will consider the LOA and others won't. We don't know what slate method or how many openings your MOC uses/has. Bottom line, knock it out of the park at school, his application and the Nom package/interview and let the cards fall where they may. He also has one more Nom option this year with ROTC. I am guessing he was on the wait list last year he was a rock star, keep it going! Good luck.

 

[hthp37]

I thought multiple noms were fairly common. Not so?

I think it depends on the state you are in. I know in our state, which is considered pretty competitive, the moc's inform each other about their slate, presumably so there isn't overlap in a state with so many qualified candidates.

 

[AF6872]

In this State only Senators ask that the Candidate withdraw their application if they get a nomination from the first Senator panels interview (They alternate who goes first each year). Representatives make their own nominations so each applicant can get two nominations and a LOA. Members of Congress have nothing to do with an LOA. Only the Academy can issue one and/or revoke it.

 

[HopefulDad3210]

In this State only Senators ask that the Candidate withdraw their application if they get a nomination from the first Senator panels interview (They alternate who goes first each year). Representatives make their own nominations so each applicant can get two nominations and a LOA. Members of Congress have nothing to do with an LOA. Only the Academy can issue one and/or revoke it.

In our state, both senators asked to be notified if a candidate got another nom. DS informed both of congress nom. One senator nominated him anyway, one took him off their list. I guess there are no rules.

 

[Just Dad]

Kind of a moot point now, but we had an interesting situation around an LOA, associated with my kid's appointment. I have a question/s for those "Who Know".

Skipping the background: 1) Are USNA coaches in a possition to follow a given nominee's application through the reveiw process? and 2) Are USNA coaches in a possition to support a given nominees applicaton short of the issuance of an LOA?

If for example: if a coach thinks a given applicant has a 90% chance of appointment without an LOA, can that coach follow that application thru the process holding an LOA at the ready if needed, but likely having that LOA available to use for another athelete? I guess there is a 3rd question raised; 3) do USNA coaches have a limited number of LOA's to use (I am assume that available LOAs are far below NCAA 1 scholarship limits). Do USNA coaches have the ability to "sponsor" applications like the Ivys do?

If my son/daughter were being recruited, I'd be interested to know this stuff.

 

[anon2021]

I have the same question ^^^

For one of the SA, I visited and talked multiple times with the coach, and he also flew to my state and watched me practice twice. My last phone call with him was in the summer, when he called admissions and let them open my portal early. He said that I would not be able to attend a prep school because of my relatively high ACT/SAT score, and that since my sport only gives the coach 5ish spots for recruitment, he wants me to get in on my own. Problem is, I don't think my WCS is very high, though I am trying my best. He ended the phone call by saying that he is really interested in me, he "thinks" I will get in, and that I should try my best on my application. Last month, I received an email from the "Officer for Athletic Recruitment" about my portal, so I would assume that the SA knows I am a recruited athlete...? But how far can the coach actually help me if he won't "LOA" me through the process?

I'm sorry that this sounds incredibly pretentious, but I was wondering how it was fair if a low-scoring candidate who wants the same spot on the team as me will get aid into the school, whereas I won't.

 

[NavyHoops]

Kind of a moot point now, but we had an interesting situation around an LOA, associated with my kid's appointment. I have a question/s for those "Who Know".

Skipping the background: 1) Are USNA coaches in a possition to follow a given nominee's application through the reveiw process? and 2) Are USNA coaches in a possition to support a given nominees applicaton short of the issuance of an LOA?

If for example: if a coach thinks a given applicant has a 90% chance of appointment without an LOA, can that coach follow that application thru the process holding an LOA at the ready if needed, but likely having that LOA available to use for another athelete? I guess there is a 3rd question raised; 3) do USNA coaches have a limited number of LOA's to use (I am assume that available LOAs are far below NCAA 1 scholarship limits). Do USNA coaches have the ability to "sponsor" applications like the Ivys do?

If my son/daughter were being recruited, I'd be interested to know this stuff.

Yes coaches can see applications. Yes coaches can support applicants. There are now going to be more vague answers with the rest of it. A coach doesn't give an LOA but can encourage them. A coach can 'blue chip' recruits. Essentially this is the coach putting their weight behind a recruit and supporting them through the process. Not all sports are alike. For instance football gets many more blue chip spots than a sport such as cross country or rifle. A coach is going to weigh many things when blue chipping candidates... How bad they need this person? How good of stats do they have? And in terms of all the other recruits they are trying to bring in, where do they fall in all this? For instance a soccer coach might really need forwards, but you are being recruited as a goalie. They might put some forwards higher on the blue chip list because of need but their #1 recruit might be a 34 ACT kid who they don't need put so much weight behind. So they would possibly drop them on the list knowing they don't need as much assistance from the coach to get in. It's an art and a science just like coaches at other schools on who to offer scholarships. Also as someone who has lived the recruiting game, remember it's a business in many ways so one day a coach might be very high on someone but maybe someone who they considered was a reach recruit is not willing to commit and interest on you wanes. It's hard not to take personally, but it's not.

Also the other item that is unique about USNA is they bring in more recruits than most schools. For instance football brought in around 60 this year between NAPS and direct. Only 60 travel for road games! Football senior day usually has around 25ish seniors who made it 4 years and maybe half those are names we are used to hearing. Many self select and drop as they realize they aren't going to cut it, lose interest, or just decide it's too much work. It is pretty normal to only have 1/3 to 1/2 of a class that starts together finish as seniors 4 years later. That is nearly across the board in all sports. The great part about USNA, life goes on, no scholarship issues, etc.