<p>Three kids in my school (four in the area) including myself received an LOA from the USNA. I know that is extremely rare and it says we SHOULD have a good chance getting an appointment. However, I am concerned on how the nominations will go. What will happen when at least four students send their LOAs to the same Congressmen and Senators?</p>
<p>USNA Candidate,
If you have not already found [United</a> States of America Service Academy Forums - Powered by vBulletin](<a href=“http://www.serviceacademyforums.com%5DUnited”>http://www.serviceacademyforums.com) I suggest you go to that website as this exact topic was discussed a few weeks ago on that website. Here is the link for that particular thread:</p>
<p>[Is</a> it possible for two people from the same high school in the same grade to attend? - United States of America Service Academy Forums](<a href=“http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=7547]Is”>http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=7547)</p>
<p>And on this forum, there are a number of posts over the past years about multiple appointments from Congressional Districts and Senatorial “kingdoms.” More than yours.</p>
<p>But in a larger sense, yours is a most timely topic, as the USNA aggressively recruits students who are seen as candidates for filling the diversity “needs of the Navy.” Means your question and many others will become commonplace. Even, maybe especially redefining LOA. </p>
<p>Let us know what you discern and learn. Your findings will be helpful to others. Good luck and congratulations! </p>
<p>Now, let’s hope Navy beats LA Tech, alma mater of what famous NFL QB??!!</p>
<p>hmmmm, could he be another famous #12? Could he have competed in a SB with our beloved Roger?</p>
<p>eagle, you’re flying high!</p>
<p>LOL and as a lifelong Cowboy fan (born and raised in TX) and a big fan of the Dodger, thinking about that SB always makes me sad.</p>
<p>Wich one? X or XIII?</p>
<p>usnacandidate-
congratulations on your LOA.
At this point please concentrate on completing the nomination process, rather than focusing on the “odds.” </p>
<p>If your MOC interviews (most have a committee that does that) make sure they know that you have an LOA for the academy- I would add to that to mention it at the END of your interview- impress them first with who you are!</p>
<p>My son received an LOA for the Class of 2014 today. It is not a certificate, but an official letter, similar to what others have described. It is a huge psychological boost, but we are not doing the “happy dance” just yet, as he has yet to hear any news on a vision waiver, and of course the nomination process still lies ahead - It is interesting that at the very end of the LOA it states that copies have been sent to his MOC and State Senators, so I guess they will already know about it when he goes for his interviews.</p>
<p>First of all CONGRATULATIONS to your son!
We are hearing a lot of different advice regarding letting the MOCs know about LoAs. My son was notified of his USNA LoA a couple of weeks ago. He asked his admissions director what he should do about notifying the MOCs. The admissions director recommended he not say anything unless asked about it, and to let my son’s record speak for itself. However, we noticed when the letter arrived that it showed that the letter had been cc’d to the MOCs. (Interestingly enough, his LoA from USMA shows it was cc’d only to his MALO). His BGO is advisng him to say something. So he’s a little confused.</p>
<p>
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<p>I’m just curious - I just read on another forum that there are approximately 2000 more candidates applying to the Academy this year. It is stated that the candidate pool is extremely competitive. So I ask, Why would the Naval Academy already give out 4 LOAs to candidates who live in the same area (let alone 3 at one school)?? How does that represent “diversity” (in the sense that they want people from all over the country)? Seems a bit unfair to me to use 4 LOAs on these students from the same area when there are so many candidates. What deems these 4 candidates so desirable that they would each get an LOA this early in the game? (I hope that I don’t sound critical - I really am just wondering…). (I am not focusing on the LOA - I’m just asking a question.).</p>
<p>All 3 MOC’s were copied on the LOA paperwork that came to my MID. He did not do anything, let the Academy handle it as they saw fit.</p>
<p>Just because there are 4 candidates with LOA’s from the same school does not mean all four will chose to attend. What you fail to realize is that the academy senses that these will be highly sought out students from other institutions and probably hope to land just one or two. They may be athletes, may be extremely well qualified academically, have outstanding leadership qualities. Only admissions will know what those qualities are. Even though the process of obtaining an Appointment is much more involved than just applying to College XYZ, there are those who will go through the entire process, achieve the appointment and in the end choses not to attend.</p>
<p>As far as regional diversity, LOA’s have nothing to do with having a class composed of students representing every MOC district. The nominating process will make sure that regional diversity is in tact.</p>
<p>Does a candidate need to have all items complete to be issued a LOA? My D is recovering from an broken leg and can’t complete here fitness test for a few more weeks (months?). But has everything else done. Do they give conditional LOA’s? After all, they all are conditional on obtaining a nomination.</p>
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</p>
<p>From what I understand, the Academy only gives out 100-200 LOAs so my question is (which I believe is really unanswerable) “What makes a candidate qualify for an LOA?” My BGO stated that the Academy accepts candidates who are ranked in the top 15% of their class but there are plenty of candidates who are ranked in the top 2-3% of their class, have very strong leadership qualities and are very good athletes - yet they do not receive LOAs. What makes the students who have received or are receiving LOAs deemed more desirable? (Once again, this question really can’t be answered, can it??).</p>
<p>Osdad,
If you haven’t already found it I suggest you go to [United</a> States of America Service Academy Forums - Powered by vBulletin](<a href=“http://www.serviceacademyforums.com%5DUnited”>http://www.serviceacademyforums.com), you will find the answer to a lot of questions there. You can also get the email contact for Larry Mullens who is the Deputy Director at DoDMERB. He is very helpful with dealing with any sort of medical issues in the DoDMERB process.</p>
<p>Basically all LoAs are conditional. The actual LoA letter has several things listed with boxes in front of them that are checked off if that condition applies.</p>
<p>The letter reads: "Please remember, however, that your guaranteed offer of appointment is contigent upon satisfactory completion of all the remaining admissions requirements. You must complete the following marked requirements … " </p>
<p>Then listed are the following categories:</p>
<p>1)Nomination
2)Medical Qualification
3)Blue and Gold Officer Interview
4)Required Application Documents:
-----Personal Data Record
-----Candidate Fitness Assessment
-----Candidate Activities Record
-----Math Teacher Recommendation
-----English Teacher Recommendation
-----Candidate Academic Information
-----High School/College Transcript
-----Official Test Scores</p>
<p>In my son’s case his LoA is conditional on getting a nomination.</p>
<p>The first Admission’s board, I believe, started meeting recently or will be starting up soon so we’ll probably start seeing more people on this and the Service Academy Forum announcing their LoAs and hopefully they will be able to share what their LoA is contingent upon. </p>
<p>If she hasn’t already done so I suggest your daughter talk with her BGO. I also recommend she either email or call her regional director of admissions (you’ll find their number on her online application) to let them know what’s going on and ask them if her file is ready to go before the admissions board. My son’s Reg Dir was very helpful.</p>
<p>Thank you mumsy.</p>
<p>D has completed all the steps except CFA and (of course) nomination. She had her medical exam last week but has not heard from DoDMERB. The examining doc did not note any issues. So maybe she’ll get a letter soon with only those two checked.</p>
<p>Coincidentally, she got an email from her Regional Dir today setting up a meeting for later this month.</p>
<p>Osdad,
I sent you a PM</p>
<p>Leoti,
Yours is a difficult question to answer as we are learning that there are so many different criteria involved. </p>
<p>It appears that these early LoAs are going out to stellar applicants and recruited athletes. What makes a stellar applicant? USNA definitely wants to see students that are more than just all academics or all just athletics. They have their criteria that they use to determine who would make a good leader, who has the intestinal fortitude, who has the academic and physical strengths to make it through this rigorous program. In my son’s case he has a strong file (academics, athletics, ECs, leadership, volunteer, etc), he is not a recruited athlete.</p>
<p>Check out [United</a> States of America Service Academy Forums - Powered by vBulletin](<a href=“http://www.serviceacademyforums.com%5DUnited”>http://www.serviceacademyforums.com). There you will find a lot of people in this process. You’ll find a lot of people (such as BGO’s, parents of current mids/cadets, parents of current candidates, current mids/cadets and current candidates) that you can read their posts or private message to help answer some of your questions. (As always bear in mind that people on any of these forums are not official admissions folks so obviously be careful about the info you read.)</p>
<p>The best advice we’ve received is to make sure your file is as strong as it can be and keep in touch with your Reg Director from USNA (email or call them). Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I wish you luck.</p>
<p>Perhaps someone can confirm, correct …but the 100-200 LOA # is old stuff. Last year commenced a somewhat new day in USNA admissions. My speculation is LOA #s will be dramatically higher and that changes were made for 2 reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Historically, USNA was slow. Often, perhaps generally, were the last to communicate good news throughout the process. My guess is that the Supe recognized this issue, and especially in light of his seemingly central mandate. See #2.</p></li>
<li><p>Diversity as a key mandate. He recognized that other SAs as well as highly selective institutions were moving more quickly, nurturing emotional assurance and investment among these highly pursued candidates. USNA Admissions staffing reflected such. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>And so it is that 1st and foremost, those highly desirable candidates have been more aggressively pursued and in more timely fashion. Thus, I’d guess there are many more LOAs being extended. And as we might speculate from the situation of 4 LOAs being extended to a geographic area, this could lead to some interesting challenges of how USNA maneuvers to ensure or at least encourage nominations for these candidates (and this will not be an unusual situation or anomaly. Their recruitment strategy has recognized that ramped-up effort is critical in very specific commuities, simply recognizing that certain categories of candidates must be pursued where they are, not where MOC’s are distributed. So, we quickly see that this could lead to political and policy concerns as disproportionate distribution becomes common practice. </p>
<p>And so it is, that I believe the pragmatic definition of LOA is a work in progress. In other words, no matter the words, it holds different meaning today than it did 2 seasons back.</p>
<p>One other possible caveat on LOAs …they become infrequently used for non-diversity candidates, regardless of their whole person qualifications. USNA might risk losing those candidates more readily than they would a lesser qualified (under traditional qualifications) diversity candidate.</p>
<p>The bottomline here is that this too is changing and my guess is that BGOs and perhaps even Regional Admissions Officers don’t know the reality of outcome yet. What we know for sure? There is no “free lunch.” USNA admissions process is different, changing, and the LOA picture as well as other aspects are key components of the change. It will be interesting to watch, because even though this will impact only a relative few, it will likely be significant to the overall profile of each class and dramatic, especially for those who will be excluded.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>USNA gave no indication that the number of LOAs will increase to improve diversity. Rather, they said that they don’t like giving LOAs b/c it inhibits their flexibility in filling the class but do so to attract particularly strong candidates who will receive Early Decision/Action for civilian schools. </p>
<p>The issue in recruiting diverse candidates may not even be aware of USNA and its benefits; thus recruiting efforts are directed toward familiarizing them w/the benefits of USNA that rather than to ensuring them they will be admitted.</p>