USNA Application Review

PeterunsPA

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My daughter received an email this week from USNA Admissions saying that her application is complete except for the CFA and that her application will not be reviewed until her CFA is completed. This took me by surprise since I had the understanding that USNA reviewed applications and in some cases granted LOA's prior to CFA's being completed.

Has anyone else heard of this or received a similar email?

She plans to take the CFA in October when she is full recovered from a recent leg injury (distance runner).

Thank You.
 
Thanks Luigi.

Thanks for your prompt reply. :smile:

I realize the goal is an appointment, and with rolling admissions, the probability of receiving an appointment presumably increases the sooner the application is reviewed(?)

My concern is that her application is in suspense until she can complete the CFA next month, and she is missing out on an application review sooner than later.

Best Regards.

Pete.
 
Don 't fret. This is still early. Let her heal, take the CFA, and go from there.
 
To be honest, it may be that your daughter isn't in the running for an LOA. As has been noted ad nauseum, the overwhelming majority of candidates won't be offered an LOA.

However, as you appreciate, the goal is an appointment. It is still very early in the process and most candidates don't have their entire packets complete. Agree that your daughter should heal and then take her CFA.

One thing to remember about the CFA -- it is pass/fail. While candidates should obviously strive to do their very best, they don't get that much of an admissions boost for an outstanding score vs. an adequate one. Thus, if your daughter believes she's capable of scoring well at some point during the fall, she may not want to wait until she can max out at a later date. IOW, if she can run a 6:30 mile in November but thinks she could run a 6:00 by January, I'm not sure I'd wait as a 6:30 is an excellent score for a female. Also, she can submit new scores later if she's not happy with her initial submission.
 
CFA & Scholastic Qualification

In 2007, the Candidate Guidance Office changed the CFA scoring and it is no longer pass/fail. Candidates' raw scores will be converted to scale scores (0-100 points) based upon their performance on each event. The 100-point maximum scores, by event and gender, are listed here. It does now matter how well a candidate scores on the CFA and can have a positive impact to a candidates record.

The Admissions Board reviews candidate admission files for scholastic qualification as they are completed. The board meets every Thursday to review records beginning in late August and continuing until mid-April. Those candidates qualified scholastically by the Admissions Board will receive a a Scholastic Qualification Letter (known as a 'Q' letter). Those candidates determined by the Admissions Board to be highly qualified candidates may receive Conditional Offers of Appointment (known as Letters of Assurance or 'LOA').

Typically, in order to trigger a candidate admission file to go before the Board for scholastic review, a candidate must submit the following documents:
  • Math and English recommendations (1 each)
  • Candidate Activities record (ECA)
  • Personal Data record /Personal Statement
  • Transcript request
  • Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA)
I say above 'typically' because there are always exceptions to rules. The Admissions Board may review a candidate file before all documents are submitted if the candidate appears to be highly qualified. Regardless, all documents must be submitted to be considered for an appointment.

Echoing the advice already given, focus on an appointment and not an LOA. In order to be eligible for an appointment, a candidate must be:
  • Found scholastically qualified by the Admissions Board
  • Medically qualified
  • Competitively score on the CFA (be physically qualified)
  • Receive an official nomination
Once your daughter is Triple Q'ed (A term used when a candidate is qualified scholastically, physically and medically) and has secured a nomination, she will be in the running for an appointment. USNA has no 'rolling admissions' and your daughter is still tracking for a competitive admissions file. USNA starts offering appointments typically toward the end of the calendar year and will make offers through the following spring.

If you have not spoken with your BGO about this please do so as soon as possible. He/She will help you navigate through the Admissions process and will help with your questions. The information I have provided above is directly out of the The Naval Academy Information Program Handbook published by the USNA Candidate Guidance Office for all BGOs. I encourage you to use him/her as a resource in addition to the blogs.

Good luck and BEAT ARMY!
 
I am confused by your statement that USNA does not do rolling admissions - by definition that is exactly what they do - they admit as they identify outstanding applicants that meet the Nomination, Medical, physical requirements. Schools that are not on rolling Admissions admit twice a year or in some instances once a year (December and or April)The last Admissions forum that I was at in May the USNA Area Coordinator used the term rolling admissions. If it were not rolling how do you explain that there are already students with Appointments?
 
I wish I could modify my post but am unable to edit the darn thing. Apologies for the confusion.

The parent is concerned his daughter is going to become victim of a rolling admissions squeeze so I was trying to emphasize that offers of appointment do not typically start until after nominations slates have been announced. The typical close-out for nominations is toward the end of October/first of November. His daughter still has plenty of time to get her CFA completed so she can be put in front of the Admissions Board for a Scholastic Qualification Review, get her nomination and then be set for a run at appointment.

I should also further defined my use of the term typical as associated with nominations. I was thinking of Congressional primarily in the 50 states.

Looking at my list of candidates I see two of them have Presidential nominations and are Triple Q'd so they are eligible for an appointment. The offers of appointment you refer to could be tied to a Presidential nomination, one of the other military/service related nominations, or the territorial nominations.

A good rule of thumb: a candidate should have their required application documents submitted to support the forthcoming nomination.

You are correct to use the turn rolling appointment process since the Admissions Board starts in August and meets weekly to evaluate candidates through the following spring.
 
Daughter's Application Complete

As of October 15, my daughter's application to USNA is now complete. :smile:

I wanted to thank Mr. Parkhurst and others for your coaching.

This forum is a great resource for both candidates and their supporters.

Best Regards.
 
I am still confused about the scholastically qualified letter. My file was complete in August. I have a candidate visit scheduled for november. My BGO felt my scholastic creds were very good (32 ACT, 34 in math, 30 in English--3.7 GPA--A in AP physics, honors and AP courses, etc) While I do not necessarily expect to receive an LOA , I am surprised I have not received a triple Q notification or at least a scholastically qualified letter, given the fact that my file was complete so early in the process and I am assuming has been already reviewed.
Any input?
 
It has been said earlier on different threads, I have no first hand experience, that not every one will recieve a triple Q letter or scholastically qualifed letter. The Academy is very spontaneous about sending these out. Not everyone who is triple Qed or scholastically qualified will recieve one.
 
Don't fret too much at this point. I have 68 candidates in my Area and only two have had their records put in front of the Admissions Board. Things will pick up once nominations from Congress start to roll out in November.

That being said, check with your BGO on a few things:
  • Are all of your required documents recorded?
  • Is your CFA recorded?
  • Is your BGO interview submitted? (just because he/she interviewed you does not mean necessarily they have submitted the interview)
So I don't get flamed by other BGOs I will coach you, please tread lightly on the last one.

Best of luck and BEAT ARMY!
 
Thanks for your response Mr. Parkhurst. Everything is submitted. Does the BGO know when the filed has been reviewed? Unfortunately my BGO is not a great deal of help, he initially did not answer e-mails prior to our interview, in fact,--the only contact I had with him was my interveiw--which went very well. He indidcated that he was very excited about my application to the Academy. There has been no follow up however, and while he is a grad, he did not seem very knowlegable (he was not aware the CVW's took place) He has not contacted me since and I had most of my questions answered so I did not touch base with him. Should I attempt to contact him and ask if my file has been reviewed?
 
DS was advised that he has been deemed triple qualified. So, we are waiting for some news, soon. Hopefully after New Year.
 
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