<p>Agreed. Reality is that it's up to the young women who are admitted to prove to some that she is more than "just a girl who got into West Point". Some attitudes are slow to change, but they do if given a reason to.</p>
<p>Shogun,
I can't tell you how impressed by the young women at USMA. I live fairly close to WP and have been able to meet a few of the women cadets and they make you so proud. I'm looking forward to chatting to a few tonight at WP function. If a young women can hack all they throw at you at WP then they are capable of doing the just about anything. There is also unbelievable oppurtunites at her disposal when AC year begins, it is possible to have some fun as a Plebe at WP.</p>
<p>BigGreen and Shogun:</p>
<p>LOA's are not just for Women, minorities and athletes.</p>
<p>Our son is the USMA candidate Shogun referred to earlier. He received an LOA in early August after attending IAW but prior to sending in his formal candidate application.</p>
<p>His academic and athletic credentials are similar to Shogun's daughter's. Strong academics and a good athlete, but not a recruited athlete. He is caucasian and not in any special interest classification. Another young man from our son's school with similar credentials also received an LOA. I am sure there are many other similar situations. </p>
<p>Are LOA's used as a recruiting tool? I am sure they are. USMA is competing against other top universities with early decision programs. USMA is also competing against the other military academies. Being told you are wanted is a big motivator.</p>
<p>Do women have an easier time getting an LOA than men? I don't know for sure, but I don't think so. All the women on this forum who have received LOA's and shared their credentials are mighty impressive individuals.</p>
<p>Finally, do candidates "earn" LOA's. Sure they do, just as top quality athletes "earn" their recruited athlete status and top quality scholars "earn" their scholarships.</p>
<p>BigGreen,
Female mids at USNA outperform males academically, and you have to be pretty smart to get in to begin with. Don't know if the same is true at USMA. In addition to the LOA from USMA and USNA, Shogun's daughter got a nomination in a competitive state, California. Moreover, she was accepted to some pretty elite universities: UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego. UC Berkeley is considered by many to be THE top public university in the world. Average GPA of last year's freshman class at UC Berkeley and UCLA was around 4.35 with excellent SATs, ECs, community service, etc. Additionally, the UCs require respectable scores on two SATII exams.(The applicant pool for UCLA was the largest in the nation: 42,000 applied, 4,300 accepted.) My daughter received an appointment to USNA, an NROTC scholarship to UC Berkeley, and was accepted to UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego.
She also was named the principal nominee by a US Senator from California. Her candidate file wasn't complete until mid-fall. I thought she may have received an LOA if we had gotten the application in earlier, but that's pure speculation. She got her appointment relatively early anyway, so it's a moot issue now.
Also, the candidates who receive LOAs often get them from more than one service academy. Let's face it, they're superstars!</p>