It seems as if LOAs are being handed out this year. I have not completed my application due to my CFA yet. In March, I couldn't do a pull up -- now I can do 8+. I have held back my application since I was trying to improve my numbers from September-October. This being said, it frightens me to see everyone around me getting LOAs. Many people on this forum already do, and 2 people from my NASS squad have already gotten them. Should I be concerned about this and do you think this has lowered my chances?
Should I be worried?
- Thread starter usna28
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No. Stop worrying about others, and focus on improving yourself. Only a handful of applicants get LOAs, so don’t expect one. I think it’s safe to say that a majority of applicants on SAF are more motivated than most applicants, and so there might be a slight correlation between applicants on SAF receiving LOAs. Despite this, said group is probably less than 5% of the incoming class. Good job on improving your pull-ups though!
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Everyone around you has not gotten them. There was a post just a few minutes ago from someone who had received their appointment, no LOA, who had also posted a few days ago they received their appointment on 10/26. They happened to have a Presidential nom, so it was perfectly normal to see these starting to flow in October.
If you’ve been reading various threads that mention LOAs, you should have picked up:
- relatively few are given
- the whys and wherefores are unpredictable
- you can’t control any part of that process, so ignore it
- the SAs use them in a variety of situations for a number of reasons that make sense to them
- all the applications aren’t even in yet, ditto MOC noms, and the folks in college and prep won’t even get looked at until winter and spring. The rollercoaster is in the early part of its run.
- it’s not productive to look left or right. Every candidate’s path if different. Focus on what you can impact and control.
- only a small percentage of an SA class post on here. Their LOA stats may or may not reflect the big picture.
- this process has been repeatedly described as a “rollercoaster,” and “a marathon, not a sprint.” For good reason.
If you succeed in becoming a plebe at USNA, you will learn the meaning of “cage your eyes” and “eyes in the boat.” Don’t be looking around. Stay focused, stay sharp, stay positive, let the path unfold before you. It’s a life skill you are building here, coaching yourself to remain calm through a complex process.
The goal is an appointment, not an LOA. An LOA is the icing on the sprinkle on the frosting of the cupcake. Lovely to have, of course, for whatever reason it was given, but an ancillary event.
And congratulations on those pull-ups!
If you’ve been reading various threads that mention LOAs, you should have picked up:
- relatively few are given
- the whys and wherefores are unpredictable
- you can’t control any part of that process, so ignore it
- the SAs use them in a variety of situations for a number of reasons that make sense to them
- all the applications aren’t even in yet, ditto MOC noms, and the folks in college and prep won’t even get looked at until winter and spring. The rollercoaster is in the early part of its run.
- it’s not productive to look left or right. Every candidate’s path if different. Focus on what you can impact and control.
- only a small percentage of an SA class post on here. Their LOA stats may or may not reflect the big picture.
- this process has been repeatedly described as a “rollercoaster,” and “a marathon, not a sprint.” For good reason.
If you succeed in becoming a plebe at USNA, you will learn the meaning of “cage your eyes” and “eyes in the boat.” Don’t be looking around. Stay focused, stay sharp, stay positive, let the path unfold before you. It’s a life skill you are building here, coaching yourself to remain calm through a complex process.
The goal is an appointment, not an LOA. An LOA is the icing on the sprinkle on the frosting of the cupcake. Lovely to have, of course, for whatever reason it was given, but an ancillary event.
And congratulations on those pull-ups!
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@Capt MJ says it all. Heed her advice.
The best strategy for applying to SAs is to submit the best application you can as early as you can. But emphasis on the former. Make it the best package you can. You never know: those eight pull-ups may make all the difference in the world. You still may not get an LOA — 95% or more of the entering class don’t — but you could be standing on T-Court come I-Day. And that’s what matters.
The best strategy for applying to SAs is to submit the best application you can as early as you can. But emphasis on the former. Make it the best package you can. You never know: those eight pull-ups may make all the difference in the world. You still may not get an LOA — 95% or more of the entering class don’t — but you could be standing on T-Court come I-Day. And that’s what matters.