Is there a chance a cadet candidate can receive a LOA and be 3Q'd... but denied a nomination? Realistically, I suppose anything is possible but it doesn't seem logical to deny a nomination for a cadet candidate who already has been conditionally accepted to a service academy. I know nothing is 100% but just curious because nobody asked this question in the past. If already answered, appreciate a link... Thanks all.
Received LOA and 3Q'd but no Nomination... possible???
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Remind me MJ, Supe has 50 of those? Am I recalling the reading I have done correctly?
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I think that’s the number I’ve seen for USNA, and since I’ve wandered over into the mule pasture from the goat pasture, I would speculate the same.
A1Janitor
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Thank you
Not done yet. Test of patience.
DD got a letter saying.."she would receive an appointment in their first big wave usually in February"
LOA 09/24; JROTC nom confirmation letter 10/23; Appointing you later letter 10/28
And not to be taken lightly..."continued academic excellence".
But who knows - could be different for everyone!
DD got a letter saying.."she would receive an appointment in their first big wave usually in February"
LOA 09/24; JROTC nom confirmation letter 10/23; Appointing you later letter 10/28
And not to be taken lightly..."continued academic excellence".
But who knows - could be different for everyone!
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sanman
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February!! Jeez and here am I chewing my fingernails down to my elbows waiting for December the 23rd!
A1Janitor
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I am in the minority on this one I am sure - so take it with a grain of salt.
An LOA spells out that the SA is assuring that a candidate will receive an offer of appointment if they are medically qualified and have a nomination.
Could something go wrong so that the LOA candidate medically qualified with nom doesn’t receive an offer of appointment? Sure.
As far as academic excellence ... when my son called admissions counselor at USNA - she said he was all set and didn’t need to submit further academic records. She indicated his academic record submitted to earn the LOA was sufficient.
Prior threads on this topic indicate, ultimately, timing is up to WP admissions. Assuming qualified academically, physically and medically with an LOA and nomination in hand then an appointment is highly likely though as HCopter correctly points out, that LOA does indicate the need for continued academic excellence, which I think gives WP Admissions the final say.
A1Janitor
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From USMA:
Somewhat independent of this Congressional nomination process is West Point's own method of "locking down" highly qualified candidates early. Since West Point competes for the same pool of kids that the Ivies, other service academies and top-tier schools also want, they resort to the LOA method. When a candidate first applies for admission, West Point classifies them into one of four categories: Admissible, Competitive, Risk, and Screened. Most Admissible candidates get LOA (Letters of Assurance) which means that conditioned on the candidate's meeting of all the admission standards, the candidate is assured of getting an offer to be admitted. Strong candidates get LOAs very early, even before the Congressional nominations. This LOA line is adjusted up or down by COL Jones, the Director of Admissions, depending on the progress of the admissions process.
Somewhat independent of this Congressional nomination process is West Point's own method of "locking down" highly qualified candidates early. Since West Point competes for the same pool of kids that the Ivies, other service academies and top-tier schools also want, they resort to the LOA method. When a candidate first applies for admission, West Point classifies them into one of four categories: Admissible, Competitive, Risk, and Screened. Most Admissible candidates get LOA (Letters of Assurance) which means that conditioned on the candidate's meeting of all the admission standards, the candidate is assured of getting an offer to be admitted. Strong candidates get LOAs very early, even before the Congressional nominations. This LOA line is adjusted up or down by COL Jones, the Director of Admissions, depending on the progress of the admissions process.
GoCubbies
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There was sort of a big wave the week before MLK weekend.
DD got an LOA from USMA mid-late August. She was given a deadline of 15 October to complete her app which was missing all her SOE and essays. Everything was in my first week of October. DODMERB qualified and presidential nom on file by late summer. She got her appointment the Wednesday (MOC called her) before MLK Day. The Saturday after the MOC called her, the portal changed to give her the option to accept the appointment.
So... the good news may come before Februrary so your agony may not be for much longer...
You never know with the govt though. It could be in March or April for all we know.
To answer our OP - yes, it is very possible to get LOAs and no noms.
Each SAs LOAs will be different and you can only go by the one specific to you. I interpret USMA and USMMA's "continued academic excellence" as 7th semester grades, which both have links for on their portals, but I don't think USAFA and USNA have those, and those LOAs say nomination and complete your application.
Each SAs LOAs will be different and you can only go by the one specific to you. I interpret USMA and USMMA's "continued academic excellence" as 7th semester grades, which both have links for on their portals, but I don't think USAFA and USNA have those, and those LOAs say nomination and complete your application.
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Some MOC boards will play games to maximize yield for their congressional district. One school of thought surrounding LOA and Recruited Athlete is that the school has declared significant interest in the candidate and the SA will find that student a NOM. It is not unheard of for the board to leave the LOA/RA off their slate and force the SA to use an alternate NOM path for that student. While not especially friendly to the process, it is one way a MOC can gain additional students at the school. Meaning - nominate your highest qualified people and let the SA find a NOM for those with LOA/RA. This would net the MOC more students at the academy than their typical allocation.
As soon as the MOC lists the LOA/RA on a NOM slate, it can be charged to the congressional district and save one of the alternate NOM paths for another potentially less qualified candidate who has is LOA/RA but failed to net a NOM from their MOC.
Scenario:
Board nominates 10 unranked students
1) Recruited Athlete
2) LOA
3) LOA
4-10) Highly qualified students
SA receives the slate and then charges the RA to the district, and then finds alternate noms for the two LOA candidates, and then that leaves (potentially) the other highly qualified students who have a NOM without a home this cycle because the MOC slot was charged to the recruited athlete.
In the alternate universe where the board strongly believed the SA would "find a NOM" for the others, the MOC would net 4 students and not just the 3.
To be clear, I am not advocating for an approach that assumes a qualified candidate with find a NOM via another path. I prefer not to gamble on the future of great students.
In the same vein of thought, an additional potential category of candidates that potentially would be in the same scenario would be someone who is currently a sponsored prep school student.
In my experience on MOC boards, these scenarios are discussed but I did not experience anyone being left off a list because the panel wanted the SA to find another way.
Aina Haina
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Another way I have seen it done is the MOC submitting a Principal nomination for a candidate who does not have a LOA and is not a recruited athlete. Given that the principal nominee is 3Q'd, the principal nominee receives an appointment, meanwhile, those nominees with the LOA and recruited athletes also stand a chance of getting their appointments as well. Some MOCs disclose their principal nominations and some do not. Some may use the principal method one year, but not the next. Many scenarios in how it can play out. Bottom line, apply to as many nomination sources as you eligible for.