LoA and Triple Q

USMA_hopeful · 07-11-2009, 01:02 AM

I recently received a LoA from USMA admissions and I am academically, physically, and medically qualified. Does this give me any advantage in the nomination process? Do Members of Congress or Senators usually nominate people with an LoA? Any comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

mom3boys · 07-11-2009, 07:54 AM

Your MOCs likely know about your LOA (ours did). You will want to send a copy of it to them with your file. MOCs want to nominate candidates who have a good chance of getting into the academy (i.e. you). They like to say things like, "Everyone on my slate received an appointment." Basically, if USMA finds you a strong enough candidate to offer an LOA, your MOC will see you as a strong candidate as well. Of course, this depends on many factors, including how many applicants there are from your area. Best of luck to you! (Get your applications done early!!)

momoftwins · 07-11-2009, 09:46 AM

Congratulations, USMA_hopeful! Receiving the LOA so early in the process means you have a very special profile. Follow mom3boys advice about including a copy of the letter in your MOC application packets. If you've already submitted nomination applications, I'm sure you can update with a copy of the letter.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Momathome · 07-11-2009, 10:46 AM

Congratulations on your LOA! I didn't know that the Academy was even offering them this early. My son submitted a preliminary app in June but the website says they will not even be evaluated until mid-August.

Have you had your DODMERB exam yet? If so, did your status change in the last few days? (I have heard that is a way to know if you are receiving some kind of offer.)

USMA_hopeful · 07-12-2009, 12:29 AM

Yes I had my exam and I was deemed qualified the day before I received my LoA.

So if my congressman does the principal nomination process and I happen to not get the principal nom but I am one of the other 9 that he has nominated does that mean I still will get an appointment because I technically got a nomination or do I have to get a principal nom to receive an appointment under the LoA? This whole nomination process is confusing.

Thanks for all your comments

mom3boys · 07-12-2009, 07:35 AM

You will most likely NOT get the principle nom. Why? You only need to be on the slate to get your appointment. Someone else will get the #1 slot--thereby assuring your MOC having at least 2 from his/her slate receiving appointments.

aprouddad · 07-12-2009, 11:27 AM

With an LOA, any nomination will do. Last year, my son got an LOA then a JROTC nomination. Appointment immediately followed. This all happened before the MOC nomination applications were even due.

Luigi59 · 07-12-2009, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aprouddad

With an LOA, any nomination will do.

Provided the LOA in question is contingent upon a nomination.

Although most are contingent upon nominations, LOAs can be contingent upon other fators as well (CFA for example).

aprouddad · 07-12-2009, 12:55 PM

Luigi59,

Absolutely. I didn't mean to imply that LOA + nom always means a done deal. My son's LOA said "... contingent upon receipt of a nomination, medical qualification, and continued excellent work in school." It also contained the statement (in italics) "This letter will be withdrawn if you are not medically qualified by April 15..." As indicated by the statement above, you could say that all LOAs are contingent on "continued excellent work in school". Even if already medically qualified, an LOA (even an appointment) is contingent on remaining medially qualified. In my son's case a medical issue arose after his appointment that would have caused his appointment to be withdrawn if he had not received a waiver. Bottom line: nothing is certain in life. I know you know all this. Just stating it for the record.

USMA_hopeful, not trying to throw cold water but are you sure what you have is an LOA? About this time last year, my son got what I would call an LOE (Letter of Encouragement) "... great potential for gaining a cadetship... send us an updated transcript... pursue nominations...etc". The LOA (which never used the term LOA or even the word assurance) contained, in addition to the verbiage mentioned above, the words "I have reserved a cadetship for you...".

The one sure way to know where you stand is contact your admissions officer at USMA. My son always got quick and helpful responses from admissions. All most of us on this forum can do is tell you how things worked in the past.

If you have an LOA, that's wonderful, but as others have already pointed out, your goal is not an LOA. Your goal is an appointment and making it to R-Day.

One more thing... I am a strong believer that even with an appointment in hand (certainly an LOA), you should still have a good backup plan in place. That means more that just an idea of what you would if... It means applying for other scholarships (ROTC, academic, etc). Apply to other colleges. Visit other colleges. Even pay the deposits. A LOT can happen between now and R-Day.

As a wise man (Larry Mullen, DoDMERB) told my son: "Your goal is not to graduate from high school with the one option you want most. Your goal is graduate with lots of options to choose from then choose the one you want most."

USMA_hopeful · 07-12-2009, 08:07 PM

I'm pretty positive it is an LoA it says " I have reserved a cadetship for you" and it even says letter of assurance.

I also have a lot of back up plans incase West Point somehow falls through.

aprouddad · 07-12-2009, 08:12 PM

Then congratulations are truly in order. Apply for all nominations for which you are eligible, stay healthy, keep your grades up, start/keep running. Good job!

USMA_hopeful · 07-12-2009, 08:20 PM

Thank you very much aprouddad.

I have one more question, do people with LoAs and who are appointed fill one of the congressman's or senator's 5 spots or is something different?

marciemi · 07-24-2009, 09:31 PM

Bumping this up because we're hoping to get the answer to that question too. My son also recently got an LOA (to Navy though). I read on Service Academy Forums on the nominations boards there people saying that it didn't count against your senator or congressman's slate, and you just needed to be one of their top ten. Meaning that they could also their first choice (if done that way) or another candidate (on a competitive slate) appointed. I hadn't heard that before and we're wondering if it's true. Anyone?

mom3boys · 07-24-2009, 10:51 PM

marciemi-yes, it's true. If you are triple qualified w/ an LOA, as long as name is anywhere on the slate, you are in. Am surprised your son got the Navy LOA before USMA. They are usually not as fast as USMA in getting those out. Get busy on the applications for the academy and the nominations...make sure MOCs know about the LOA (send copy in the file). Good luck!

Go Army!

marciemi · 07-24-2009, 11:18 PM

Thanks. His Navy application is complete, and they called him about it a couple times trying to track down the last few items. He finally got the last thing in (candidate academic information - his principal had to input it) and they literally called him within a couple hours to tell him about the LOA.

For USMA, as far as I know, he isn't able to actually do anything on his application yet. He went to SLS, so has the precandidate portion in, but hasn't been able to update anything else (he did send them his new CFA scores and the ACT has been updated). Although to be honest, USAFA is his first choice, and now with the USNA LOA, I don't really think he's going to even complete the USMA application since it's his third choice.

We're particularly surprised about the LOA because he's not a recruited athlete, which is what I thought was the only thing they were looking at right now. He does, however, have a friend (met at SLS) who is a recruited athlete and has USNA as his number one choice and just got an LOA from USMA! So they're both working on them!