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<p>Right - but the academies are sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. They don’t have “early decision” or “early action” - most selective and very selective schools do. They know they are competing against these schools for scholars. This is the purpose of the LOA - to offer a guarantee to very highly qualified candidates early in the hopes that will woo them away from other schools. Because the process takes so long - they don’t want candidates to lose interest.
The LOA is also a psychological boost - kids like to be wanted. They tend to gravitate to schools that really want them. Offering LOA’s is a way for the academies to begin to build the next class.</p>