<p>I have identical twin sons who are currently candidates for the Class of 2013. We are going through the whole nomination/application process.</p>
<p>I have one question about the academy's online application.</p>
<p>They ask for the name and e-mail address of a math and English teacher. Apparently, the way it works, the academy contacts that teacher, via e-mail, and sends them to an site where they answer questions regarding the candidate online.</p>
<p>We have done this, yet neither of the teachers have received any notification from the academy. I'm wondering if the academy purposely waits to notify the these teachers until school is in session - not during the summer months. Is that true?</p>
<p>We are eager to have everything completed so that they get an early look from the Admissions Board when they begin evaluating candidates, and giving out Letters of Assurance, in mid-September.</p>
<p>the teachers should have gotten the emails. my english teacher apparently got the email literally a few seconds after i submitted her name. try emailing your regional director. Good luck!</p>
<p>We ran into a problem last year in that the Academy email ended up in the recipient's junk folder. It may be necessary to remind the teachers to check there.</p>
<p>Does the academy have the private e-mail access of the teachers? Many of us don't access our school accounts over the summer. </p>
<p>Also, it may be that the teachers are not willing to do this over their summer break. It sounds as if you are talking with the teachers. I know this will probably "sound" ratty, but did you take your sons to the doctor after business hours or during the weekend for their physicals? Teachers usually use the time during the summer to work additional jobs, take classes, write curriculum, plan their classes and generally "get ahead" over the summer. </p>
<p>The teachers may see this as less than urgent, especially if your sons are rising seniors. </p>
<p>BTW, I have had people drive to my house and hand me a reference sheet to fill out for their child while I am mowing my lawn during the summer. And I teach second grade. It must be exponentially more intrusive for high school teachers. Yes, I did it, but geez.</p>
<p>Our son didn't get his paperwork for the Presidential nom. in until November, and received an appointment in December. I applaud the desire to get it all done in order to make every board, but LOAs are not the be all and end all. I am sure the teachers will do it when they get the link, or shortly after school starts. Perhaps you could call the academy to ask the question about when the links are sent. </p>
<p>Seriously, I applaud the diligence! I am not trying to give you hard time, just trying to give you another perspective. Good luck to your sons!</p>
<p>My son got his letters from the English/Math teachers at the end of the school year before they got out for the summer this year. He has already received an LOA from the Academy - non sport.</p>
<p>Some schools' email systems reject emails that are really benign. For whatever reason. Our school had to ask USNA to resend some emails which they promptly and pleasantly did. If the teachers didn't get them, make some calls--they ought to have.</p>
<p>And handing a paper to a second grade teacher while he's mowing grass in the summer. Expecting a high school teacher to complete an email for a service academy in the summer is NOT unreasonable.</p>
<p>momof1: USNA has whatever email address the candidate submits for each teacher, so it's important to make sure that the address is typed correctly BEFORE the application is officially submitted. A typo in the address might be the reason the teacher hasn't received any info from USNA. As a post above stated, each teacher should receive the request from USNA immediately after their address is submitted.</p>
<p>LOAs are not the be all and end all of pursuing an Appointment, but my daughter was very glad to have her entire package completed before beginning senior year. As I have posted before, given the length of time it took for her medical waiver to be granted (1 Aug initial exam, waiver the following 13 May), she would not be part of the Class of 2012 if she had not turned everything in extremely early. Besides that, her teachers were, frankly, glad to have her request during the summer, when they had plenty of time to deal with it, without a deadline looming, and without other students' requests.</p>
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Handing a paper to a second grade teacher while he's mowing grass in the summer--that's unreasonable. Expecting a high school teacher to complete an email for a service academy in the summer is NOT unreasonable.
<p>Have your son/daughter contact the teacher is there is a question about the reference. On that note, giving them a heads-up is advisable...(in other words, that you are applying, that you would like to use them as a reference, and that the USNA will be contacting them via email).</p>
<p>It is very possible there is a firewall on their end that might prevent them receiving the notice from the USNA- although .edu is not commonly blocked- but you never know.</p>