Are Letters of Appoinment sent out in December?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
1

<p>Will candidates recieve appointment letters before December? My daughter has received 2 nominations and is waiting for a third. She is triple qualified and has also received a nomination to Westpoint. She submitted her final application a few weeks ago and withdrew early decision from an Ivy civilian school when she decided military service was the best fit for her. USNA is her first choice. I am concerned about her decision to drop the Ivy even though she thought the decision through - and up until a year ago, Navy was the only choice. She has not received an LOA. The application was submitted just recently. </p>

<p>Is there a point in time when LOAs are no longer sent out? If so, do we have to wait until all senators from every state send in their nominations before the board decides?</p>

2

<p>Short answer. Yes! Any # will be sent in Dec. with many more to follow until Mar/April and beyond, altho it will taper off at that point.</p>

<p>Remember why LOAs are sent …to encourage and guarantee candidates deemed optimal for meeting the needs of the Navy, and in which cases, that if all aspects of the application process are henceforth successful (PRT, DoDMERB, Nomination, scholastics maintained) an offer of appointment will be forthcoming.</p>

<p>My messages would be 2:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Altho maybe not an Ivy League school, urge your daughter to have a most viable Plan B, C, and or more. There are so many variables in this process that it is impossible to scoop or project.</p></li>
<li><p>While an LOA may be a very viable possibility, even great candidates do not receive them in advance of an appointment. Do not make an LOA the objective. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Can you please clarify…How can she be triple Qed having only recently submitted her USNA app?</p>

3

<p>They had been waiting for an evaluation from her teacher. The application process began in August and the last bit of information was just submitted. We were notified of the latter by someone in good authority.</p>

4

<p>so, basically my chances of getting an LOA is better if i turn in my whole application before the deadline on March? from a source i found out that usna tries to get a quota, so turning in my application early will give me a better chance for an appointment. did i get that right?</p>

<p>i have received a nomination from 51st district congressman Bob Filner in California, and i am working on my usna application. but next week is finals week in school, and there are other things keeping me from working on my usna application.</p>

<p>Thank you. </p>

<p>(i have posted the same message on the wrong thread, so here it is again)</p>

5

<p>Akorab-alahabjab: You make no sense whatsoever.</p>

<p>"so, basically my chances of getting an LOA is better if i turn in my whole application before the deadline on March? from a source i found out that usna tries to get a quota, so turning in my application early will give me a better chance for an appointment. did i get that right?</p>

<p>i have received a nomination from 51st district congressman Bob Filner in California, and i am working on my usna application. but next week is finals week in school, and there are other things keeping me from working on my usna application."</p>

<p>If you do not turn in your application (yes, the WHOLE thing) by the deadline, you will not be considered for an appointment. That’s why they call it a DEADLINE. </p>

<p>I would imagine USNA will not be handing out LOA’s in March. Or even February. Heck, in January, they are bound to be more busy handing out appointments. At that point, nominations are in, so qualified candidates who might have merited an LOA in September will receive an appointment. </p>

<p>Again, you make no sense…</p>

6

<p>Pig: In the other thread I answered military’s question with a “no.” I read it to mean “Will candidates receive letters of appointment BY Dec?” Implying that all such letters will be out by year end. My bad.</p>

<p>I think I made it clear further along. Maybe I shouldn’t post so late at night!</p>

7

<p>" I would imagine USNA will not be handing out LOA’s in March. Or even February. Heck, in January, they are bound to be more busy handing out appointments. At that point, nominations are in, so qualified candidates who might have merited an LOA in September will receive an appointment. "</p>

<p>Actually, my son received his LOA end of February, followed by the offer of appointment a few days later. </p>

<p>I don’t want anybody thinking it is too late right now to turn in their applications, provided they met all the other deadlines.</p>

8

<p>Heavens no, it is never too late to turn in that application. The purpose of the LOA, however, if you accept that it is to assure candidates in advance of other colleges acceptances, etc that they will have an appointment (after of course, fulfilling the requirements)…well, the purpose is kind of defeated by offering an LOA immediately followed by an appointment. I have to wonder why USNA would bother. &lt;/p>

<p>pachrain, obviously your son was pretty outstanding and they chose to get that LOA in the mail ASAP. I don’t think that is a common scenario. IMHO.</p>

<p>But, yes, it happens. I don’t want candidates to think they should not bother to apply if they don’t have a chance for an LOA. There seems to be an inordinant amount of focus this year on the elusive LOA. People are totally fixated on them.</p>

9

<p>Whistle Pig i see your s/n on alot of posts and you seem to know the most about the academy. I have recieved both an LOA that guarenteed me an appointment upon recieving a nomination and then recieved a nomination a week after getting the LOA which was about 3 weeks ago. I was curious as to when they send out the actual letters of appointment and if I am now into the academy? I want more than anything to go to the Academy, but am afraid to pull other college apps off the table without a tangible letter of appointment from the academy. Can you help me?</p>

10

<p>Bless you 2010, for yours is the greatest of aspirations, the highest of callings, the grandest of life’s adventures, and worthy of all you might invest in its pursuit and fulfillment … and I join many here in wishing you well, encouraging you on in this race.</p>

<p>That noted and in order that our discourse might not become quagmired in nuance, split hairs, and self-flatulence, allow me to p.m. you. </p>

<p>But, before we go, allow one convicted thought …even were your blue folder with a letter from Admiral Fowler announcing your appointment in hand …I’d urge you to sustain your plan B as long as feasible w/o running mom and dad to the poor house. Literally, it ain’t all a lock until I Day, and crazy, bad things can and infrequently, occasionally do. Your job is to get that appointment, stay healthy, morally and legally sound, and academically engaged through the finish line …I Day … and lastly, keep your best option(s) available in the nightmarish, most unlikely possibility you would need one. And it seems each year a sad few do.</p>

<p>P.S. You’ve reached THE most difficult steps in the process of pursuing a USNA appointment …WAITING. Pray for patience, assurance, and that your Christmas Eve will come.</p>

11

<p>Received appoinment from West Point.</p>

12

<p>Congrats to your daughter, Military.</p>

<p>Just some general advice on “Plan B”. Every year, someone breaks and arm or a leg, or is injured between getting the “blue, padded folder” and I-Day. If that renders them unable to complete Plebe Summer, then that means no Naval Academy this year, and the process to re-apply begins all over again for the next class.</p>

<p>My advice - FWIW - is to hold a place at the Plan B school until you have to start paying some serious money for tuition. Sure, you might lose the $300 (or whatever the fee is) for the deposit at Plan B University if you go to USNA, but it’s like buying insurance. Most of the time you don’t need it, but you have the peace of mind of knowing you have a backup.</p>

<p>We almost always tell our appointees’ parents to wrap their future Midshipmen in bubble wrap until I-Day. :)</p>

13

<p>Excellent counsel. It’s like cheap term insurance that you hope never “matures.” :frowning: </p>

<p>And your I-Day-bound Mid-in-waiting can’t afford to leave home w/o! :eek:</p>

<p>Allows for loving parents to sleep @ nite. :cool:</p>

14

<p>My advice-FWIW-is to hold Plan B school no later than I-Day. A yelled-at stressed-out homesick plebe does not need a Plan B. Someday he will probably thank you for not providing him an ‘out’.</p>

15

<p>As instructed by my son I sent the notification to Plan B school the day after I returned home from I-Day. A few days later I received an email from that school that they would have to have the notification sent from my son’s email address. Even though I could have done that, I took that opportunity to wait for the first phone call from him to hear his in his voice that he’s where he’s supposed to be. He never knew until PPW, not that he ever considered leaving anyway.</p>

16

<p>Son prepared letters to Plan B school: housing, admissions, financial aid, etc. We mailed them upon returning home from I-Day.</p>

17

<p>I will share one story.</p>

<p>2 summers ago, trying to catch some shade on a very hot and humid annapolis day [during what was a very hot and humid annapolis week], I came across a plebe being marched along by his detailer. The plebe was in Tango, and he was being afforded an opportunity to call home. I had seen him at tables all week, along with a handful of others in the same spot.</p>

<p>The call was heartwrenching, on many levels.
I will share but one, and that was the frantic conversation as to “how can I get into another school now” [read: in time for September]. He was stressed beyond belief, and this was not helping. He wanted OUT, he wanted OUT FAST, and sure as heck he wanted a PLAN for post-Tango. He was, by all accounts, inconsolible, despite the best efforts of his detailer, and a chaplin that eventually calmed him down. </p>

<p>There will be some that suggest a back up plan offers an “easy out,” while others will council that it is a good insurance policy of sorts, a “just in case.” I can argue either side equally as effectively, for good and rational reasons.</p>

<p>All I can say is that you never know.
You never know if you will be the one that decides this is “not for me.”
It happens.
You don’t plan for it to happen, I am sure this kid arrived on I-Day ready to tackle plebe summer and all things USNA, but there you go. It was not pretty, it was so sad, and truth be told, this kid needed to “go” and find another route to the rest of his life.</p>

<p>What did “we” do?
“We” [that would be our Mid] held onto a “spot” until I-Day, then let it go. The other service academy appointments were let go early; it was a civilian one he held onto.
Was it necessary? Probably not, although we did get a most unexpected call to home [on day 3 no less] with an “I’m not sure about this” tone. Thankfully, he stayed the course and commissioning is finally in sight- almost. It’s not done until that cover gets tossed. </p>

<p>So do what you think is right for you. There are no right or wrong answers. Some people sleep better knowing they have some insurance in their pocket, some are of the opinion to go at it full steam ahead. Problem is, this is uncharted waters for just about “all” of you out there, and while everyone hopes you have researched and planned and thought this through thoroughly, you never know. Being there is very different, and YOU are the one that will be there. Not mom, not dad, YOU.</p>

<p>There is no demerit to be gained in having a back up plan, nor a slap on the back to be earned if you don’t. But DO hold onto a plan-B at least until the end of I-Day. Injuries can, and do, happen.</p>