USNA Class of 2027 Waiting and Speculating

Proudmom27 said:
Hi! I am new here. I join this forum to try to find answers and after reading so many comments yours in particular gave me hope and the strength to keep cheering up my son. He is applying to USNA ‘27 is his #1 choice from his heart from a very young age wants to go to the Naval Academy. He had done his application early after so much hard work he had everything in with 2 Nominations, one from MOC and the second one from his NJROTC school. In the Portal still show Complete - Pending Review for the past month in a half. He went Summer Seminar and We just went for CVW.
I was very impressed by their campus is Magnificent. Right now we are in the waiting game holding the fort! Any advice anyone will be well appreciated.
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Those are all amazing accomplishments. Many qualified candidates still do not obtain an appointment on their first try. My advice, beyond enjoying and really being present in their senior year, is to find and get exited about plan B. Put in a deposit for a room, to have options. Visit the school. Find a roommate and plan your dorm. Not only is this a good idea, its a productive one. BC he will be in the mix with everyone else doing the same thing at his school. And should an appointment arrive? Then you switch your focus. Being actively involved in something (alternate plans), vs playing the waiting game, what if, on the sidelines, is the route my waitlisted guy took. Until May….7 months from now! And I think it was a very healthy and beneficial way to go, allowing him to really be present in his last year of his K-12 career. Mom and dad, too!

Hunker down, be glad he is done and has noms, and wait.
 
Dr. Strange Love said:
The Service Academies are in the business of breaking parents down and rebuilding them anew and better …

We survived … and we are better for it …. and You will become better for it too 🙏

… and I agree … USNA is Magnificent !!!

If my mother were alive today, she would say, after hearing that her granddaughter made it into the USNA, …

.. that’s just “Glorious” … 🌅
.
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Speak for yourself! I am still in turmoil about the April 17th appointment (CPR for months....) and my DS is a Firstie lol One a more serious note, best of luck for all those who are applying this cycle!
 
Proudmom27 said:
Hi! I am new here. I join this forum to try to find answers and after reading so many comments yours in particular gave me hope and the strength to keep cheering up my son. He is applying to USNA ‘27 is his #1 choice from his heart from a very young age wants to go to the Naval Academy. He had done his application early after so much hard work he had everything in with 2 Nominations, one from MOC and the second one from his NJROTC school. In the Portal still show Complete - Pending Review for the past month in a half. He went Summer Seminar and We just went for CVW.
I was very impressed by their campus is Magnificent. Right now we are in the waiting game holding the fort! Any advice anyone will be well appreciated.
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Service Academy Forums (SAF) is a great place to be whether as the applicant or the parent.

Sometimes I think the applicants handle the waiting much better than the parents.

Just like MidCake and justdoit said have your son work on finishing those alternate plans if he hasn't done so already. I think having back up plan(s) or alternate plan(s) is very important in life, not just academy applications/colleges. Keep working on and improving his physical fitness. Remember to have him enjoy his senior year. The next several months will go faster than you think. Hug your son more and just enjoy having him around.

Good luck to your son!
 
I am very humble and I want to thank all of you for your great advice.
Yes, that's what we had been doing lately after our return from Annapolis.
He already received two college offers from plans B, and C and right now he is focused on continue with good grades, maintaining his physical fitness, participating in his Varsity sports, and extracurricular activities like every year to keep his mind busy and productive. As parents, we are very supportive.
Thank you so much to all of you for your great advice means the world to me. 😊
 
txrearea said:
I received a LOA on October 1. I have passed every test and check except for my nomination which I will interview for in December and find out by the end of the year. Are my chances high enough to be able to make plans to attend next semester or is there still a good chance I could not receive an appointment?
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Hi! Congratulations! If anyone can explain me. How some candidates receive an LOA without a nomination?? Have soo many others great candidates with everything in?? 🧐
 
Proudmom27 said:
Hi! Congratulations! If anyone can explain me. How some candidates receive an LOA without a nomination?? Have soo many others great candidates with everything in?? 🧐
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The LOA is a Service Academy (SA) process. Nominations are the MOC and other Nomination source process'. So a SA may issue a LOA to encourage and increase the chances of getting that particular candidate into that class year. An LOA will, almost always, have conditions including getting a Nomination. Hope this helps.
 
ParachutePanda said:
So crazy that '27 is applying and getting offers, only seems like yesterday that applications for '26 opened. Time sure flies by! Good luck to all candidates!
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My son, a classmate of yours, says he can't wait until c/o of 2027 arrives and c/o of 2026 is no longer on the hook for this Plebe stuff! Will be here in no time I'm sure.
 
Proudmom27 said:
Hi! Congratulations! If anyone can explain me. How some candidates receive an LOA without a nomination?? Have soo many others great candidates with everything in?? 🧐
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This is a good question. I’m not fully understanding the LOA process. I thought it was part of the rolling admissions process for those who have completed applications early but are waiting on nominations.
 
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Coffee22 said:
This is a good question. I’m not fully understanding the LOA process. I thought it was part of the rolling admissions process for those who have completed applications early but are waiting on nominations.
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That’s not correct.

A LOA is a ‘conditional’ offer. There will be an offer forthcoming, when XXX condition is met (and sometimes the condition isn’t met, and no offer comes). Most often, at this time in the process, that piece that must yet be met, is securing a nomination or being medically qualified.

Nomination slates are not due until the end of the year. Medical can go longer. This allows USNA to offer appointments to candidates before then, for example. They are issued by admissions, and only they know how/why they decide to issue one to a candidate. LOA’s are not the norm. Most people won’t have them. They are not the goal. The appointment is.

You can search around the forums for tons of discussion about LOAS.
 
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Building on @justdoit19 excellent response: LOAs are not the norm. They are rare, given to a few applicants that SAs believe are “absolute must haves,” the cream of a very strong crop. The vast majority of appointees do not receive an LOA. Also, LOAs are great but are no guarantee of anything. Each year, there are a few who fail to fulfill the stated condition. So again, the offer of appointment is what matters!
 
LOAs are not uniform across the SAs either. For example, DS1 LOA and appt to USAFA, Early Action appt to USCGA, April appointment to USMMA, and a TWE from USNA. Same kid, widely varying results. Not a recruited athlete. DS2 has an LOA and appt to USNA, but nothing, so far, from the other SAs.
 
Nomination slates are due by 1/31 of each year. So, buckets of time left until then.

LOAs are given to candidates that a service academy really wants to have in their class make-up. It is a complete mystery as to who they decide to give one.

And, as mentioned, they usually have conditions. If not met, no appointment. And yes, people with an LOA do not always meet them. My son got an LOA in November during the c/o '25 cycle. Never got a nom. No appointment because he didn't satisfy that condition.
 
Is it time for me to trot(!) out my unicorn analogy?

LOAs are unicorns, rare and unpredictable. If one wanders into your portal and gracefully takes up residence there, rejoice, but don’t spend any energy on trying to hunt one or lure one into your portal.

At this stage of the admissions cycle, LOAs usually have conditions attached for the applicant to fulfill. If the applicant fulfills those, that usually means an offer of appointment will eventually arrive in the portal or a call will come in from an elected official.

Every year, there are candidates with LOAs who fail to meet the provisions, and do not receive an offer of appintment.

Admissions has decades upon decades of class-building experience. They can often tell very quickly who they are sure they want, and they don’t have to wait for medical or a nom or even a full application to make their intentions clear. They can give as many LOAs as they wish, for whatever reason, at any time.

We did observe, near the tail end of the last USNA cycle that “the system” was generating LOAs to candidates who were in complete status, with no attached provisions to fulfill, more as reassurance and a “hang in there with us” mode.

The entire complex process is a dynamic system with parallel and intersecting processes, teams of people with specific functions, all acting in concert to build the class each year.
 
Just think about the years of data that they have to work with, to effectively build this class. Not only do they know the qualifications of every Midshipman who has gone on to commission, they know how many Midshipmen accepted LOAs and went on to commission. When they offer you an appointment, they are at the very least 90% sure that you have what it takes to not only get through those four years, but to flourish while you're there and be a valuable member of The Fleet or The Corps, later.

If they give you a letter of assurance - I would wager that they are 100% positive - based on objective data. Does that mean that everyone succeeds? Absolutely not. The class of 2022 lost 201 Midshipmen over those four years, which isn't statistically different than a lot of years before it. I'll bet that every one of those had what it takes (at least on paper) to succeed there - but since they didn't - I'll also bet that it makes the criteria for offering an appointment even more reliable. In the end, they want an outcome of a high percentage of graduates (at least 90%) every year to fill in the ranks as officers cycle through the service and retire or leave after their commitments are honored.

@CaptMJ is spot on as usual. LOAs are very much like Unicorns. No one outside of admissions even knows how many are handed out every year, but everyone agrees that there are precious few of them. It is a very well-kept secret - which is impressive - being so close to D.C. and all. :D

Don't chase the LOA is the best advice anyone can give here. The second best advice I can think of is to make sure that you do all that is possible to get a nomination. Without a nomination - it doesn't matter if you are the best candidate they have ever seen - you will not get an offer of appointment.
 
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THParent said:
Just think about the years of data that they have to work with, to effectively build this class. Not only do they know the qualifications of every Midshipman who has gone on to commission, they know how many Midshipmen accepted LOAs and went on to commission. When they offer you an appointment, they are at the very least 90% sure that you have what it takes to not only get through those four years, but to flourish while you're there and be a valuable member of The Fleet or The Corps, later.

If they give you a letter of assurance - I would wager that they are 100% positive - based on objective data. Does that mean that everyone succeeds? Absolutely not. The class of 2022 lost 201 Midshipmen over those four years, which isn't statistically different than a lot of years before it. I'll bet that every one of those had what it takes (at least on paper) to succeed there - but since they didn't - I'll also bet that it makes the criteria for offering an appointment even more reliable. In the end, they want an outcome of a high percentage of graduates (at least 90%) every year to fill in the ranks as officers cycle through the service and retire or leave after their commitments are honored.

@CaptMJ is spot on as usual. LOAs are very much like Unicorns. No one outside of admissions even knows how many are handed out every year, but everyone agrees that there are precious few of them. It is a very well-kept secret - which is impressive - being so close to D.C. and all. :D

Don't chase the LOA is the best advice anyone can give here. The second best advice I can think of is to make sure that you do all that is possible to get a nomination. Without a nomination - it doesn't matter if you are the best candidate they have ever seen - you will not get an offer of appointment.
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And...they have insight (hopefully staticatical data analysis with high confidence intervals) to support understanding the qualities needed for graduates to end up being successful career officers (for insights see Rand Study on USMA).
 
Take this from a current plebe: don't spend your time worrying about LOAs. A lot of people I know have no idea what it even is or how someone even goes about getting one. If USNA wants you, they'll offer you an appointment. A kid in my company got accepted 2 weeks before I-Day, it's possible. Don't give up the ship and keep the motivation going throughout senior year.
 
So my son's portal also says complete pending review...except his app isn't complete....still missing some items especially nom...is it a glitch?
 
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