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Letter of Recomendation
- Thread starter bobster
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yes
pretty much anything that you can do will increase your chances. do anything possible to seperate yourself from the other guy/girl that it could come down to in a tight situation i.e. sending then mail a/b accomplishments you have recently made, e-mailing coaches, getting to know your counselor (which i have heard they keep record of counselor calls)
pretty much anything that you can do will increase your chances. do anything possible to seperate yourself from the other guy/girl that it could come down to in a tight situation i.e. sending then mail a/b accomplishments you have recently made, e-mailing coaches, getting to know your counselor (which i have heard they keep record of counselor calls)
usunkmybship
Registered User
Sorry, I can't help that it seems you're trying to get in because of connections. Any clubs or activities you're in so you can get an adult who can explain your accomplishments and your leadership skills?
usunkmybship
Registered User
Why would you need a LOR from an admiral or alumni anyways? On the application they have 2 sheets for only your math and english teacher to fill out.
Depending on your senator or congressman nomination applications you can get reccommendations from additional people.
Depending on your senator or congressman nomination applications you can get reccommendations from additional people.
Well let me clarify:
When you're applying for Nominations, then YES letters of recommendation are both needed and helpful. However, MOST nominating source EXPLICITLY state that they want NO MORE than 3 letters of recommendation. This is because too many people in the past send in 30 recommendation letters and nobody wants to read all those. A great letter from your high school Principal will probably mean more than the veteran captain who is your next door neighbor.
As far as the Academies and "knowing" people are concerned, for the most part that is BS. It's like only 5% of all new plebes come from military families, so it's not like everyone has an Admiral for a daddy to push them through. As far as letters go, USNA doesn't even ASK for them. As USUNKMYBSHIP said, they provide evaluation sheets for your teachers to fill out, and that's what they go by as far as "letters" go.
Now there ARE extreme cases where knowing someone does help. For example, Senators and Congressmen can stop using the COMPETITIVE method of nomination (used by 95% of all congressmen) and instead use the PRIMARY/ALTERNATE method. That means they select a single PRIMARY candidate, and USNA is REQUIRED BY LAW to accept that candidate if he/she is medically and academically qualified. This happens in rare cases, where the Senator/Congressman really wants to hook some kid up for some reason, but it is exceptionally rare.
Also, if your daddy happens to be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or a 4-Star Active Duty Admiral, or the ex-Superintendant of the Academy, then you will probably get in if you want. One of my classmate's father used to be the Director of the FBI. I bet that helped in a lot in the admissions process. But again, these are exceptions, and they involve very very high ranking people. Keep in mind that Navy Lieutenants and Commanders are a dime a dozen, and knowing them won't really mean much to admissions.
When you're applying for Nominations, then YES letters of recommendation are both needed and helpful. However, MOST nominating source EXPLICITLY state that they want NO MORE than 3 letters of recommendation. This is because too many people in the past send in 30 recommendation letters and nobody wants to read all those. A great letter from your high school Principal will probably mean more than the veteran captain who is your next door neighbor.
As far as the Academies and "knowing" people are concerned, for the most part that is BS. It's like only 5% of all new plebes come from military families, so it's not like everyone has an Admiral for a daddy to push them through. As far as letters go, USNA doesn't even ASK for them. As USUNKMYBSHIP said, they provide evaluation sheets for your teachers to fill out, and that's what they go by as far as "letters" go.
Now there ARE extreme cases where knowing someone does help. For example, Senators and Congressmen can stop using the COMPETITIVE method of nomination (used by 95% of all congressmen) and instead use the PRIMARY/ALTERNATE method. That means they select a single PRIMARY candidate, and USNA is REQUIRED BY LAW to accept that candidate if he/she is medically and academically qualified. This happens in rare cases, where the Senator/Congressman really wants to hook some kid up for some reason, but it is exceptionally rare.
Also, if your daddy happens to be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or a 4-Star Active Duty Admiral, or the ex-Superintendant of the Academy, then you will probably get in if you want. One of my classmate's father used to be the Director of the FBI. I bet that helped in a lot in the admissions process. But again, these are exceptions, and they involve very very high ranking people. Keep in mind that Navy Lieutenants and Commanders are a dime a dozen, and knowing them won't really mean much to admissions.
usunkmybship
Registered User
I never took the SATs 
American_Ace
AFROTC
Very true, my BGO was a Captain, an F-4/14/18 pilot, Vietnam vet, base commander, etc., etc. and all he could do for his daughter was give her a Presidential nomination. She was actually notified of her appointment less than a week before Plebe Summer and she turned it down, went to U of A for a year, reapplied, and got in.
These next two stories are off-topic, but interesting (and very sad). Her best friend, however, got accepted, but the family dog bit her face the day before she left. She tried to get through plebe summer, but the wound was too bad to bear, so she had to go home.
My best friend's brother-in-law (his sister is five years older) was the highest-scoring candidate the year he applied. 1600 SATs, perfect GPA, sports, his dad was an admiral, he was the perfect candidate. He got in, had his first asthma attack during plebe summer, they sent him home, and he had to settle with Stanford.
On a different note, his dad gave me some excellent advice. He told me I would have a much better shot at becoming a navy pilot, since AF pilots don't retire until they start losing their dentures in their oxygen masks (he didn't say that word-for-word).
These next two stories are off-topic, but interesting (and very sad). Her best friend, however, got accepted, but the family dog bit her face the day before she left. She tried to get through plebe summer, but the wound was too bad to bear, so she had to go home.
My best friend's brother-in-law (his sister is five years older) was the highest-scoring candidate the year he applied. 1600 SATs, perfect GPA, sports, his dad was an admiral, he was the perfect candidate. He got in, had his first asthma attack during plebe summer, they sent him home, and he had to settle with Stanford.
On a different note, his dad gave me some excellent advice. He told me I would have a much better shot at becoming a navy pilot, since AF pilots don't retire until they start losing their dentures in their oxygen masks (he didn't say that word-for-word).
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