Let me start by saying that most of my insight is going to be about my specific situation. I applied to Harvard College which is an undergraduate, 4-year bachelors degree type school. I submitted my application at the early decision deadline, which was November 1st 2019, the year before my freshman year (2020). I had no prior college completed and joined the Army straight out of high school. I had pretty much a B average (85/100) in high school. If you have taken some online classes, you could be considered a transfer student. If you already have a 4 year degree and are looking to get into a graduate school, the application process will probably differ. Whatever your situation, the principles of submitting a quality application still apply.
Taking the SAT
The first thing I did was start studying for the SAT. Most top end schools require veterans submit SAT scores, while pretty much every other school in the country waives this requirement for vets. SAT scores are good for 5 years, so if you did happen to get a really good score in high school and you are in that window, great. I was past 5 years, and my scores sucked anyways. I started studying in February 2019, but the sooner you start the better. Studying for the SAT is super easy now. If you don't have a College Board account, make one. Then use the Kahn Academy SAT practice to get going. It's all pretty self explanatory, but it's important to know what you're up against so that you can study efficiently. I go into more detail on studying for and taking the exam here.
I ended up with a 1480 out of 1600 after taking the test three times (June 1st, August 24th, October 5th all 2019). Your SAT score is the most recent academic metric a college has to look at so it is very important to get the best score you can. A big theme in your application should be that you are a better person than you were in high school. The best way to give yourself credibility and show that you are at a higher level academically is to get a great SAT score.
Starting the Actual Application
The admissions page at a school's website will have the specific application requirements. I used the Common App for my official application, where you can look up a school and see the requirements again. If something is confusing at any point, the quickest way to get it figured out is to call the school's admissions office directly.
Letters of Recommendation and References
Instead of getting old teachers to write your letters of recommendation, asking leaders in your chain of command who know you well will suffice. The higher the rank the better, but they should still know you and what kind of soldier you are. I had an officer write one of my letters of recommendation. He wrote it up in memorandum form, which looked very official and important. Depending on what the school allows and/or requires, it's good to have at least one reference who knows you strictly personally, one person who knows you inside and outside of work, and one person who knows you just professionally. Reach out to people as early as you can. For some reason, people take a while to write these and you don't want to rush someone who is vouching for you.
Personal Essay
There will probably be a list of prompts from which to base your essay. This is a spot where you can really leverage your military service. Whereas most high school kids are boring and have had very uninteresting lives. You have served in the military and have done some very cool things that most people will never do. Tell the story of your military service. Tell a great story about something that happened to you while serving. Talk about how something difficult you were faced with changed you into a more mature person. The point here is to convey that because of your time in the military, you have grown and learned so much about life and who you are that you are a completely improved version of yourself. Before you were just a normal high school kid, but from the military values that have been instilled in you, you are now an asset to any organization that you belong to.
This might sound braggish and like you're talking yourself up too much. However, college admissions offices don't know what we do in the military. Their idea of military service seldom extends beyond what they see in movies. Military culture tells us to not brag about our accomplishments: let the pins and patches speak for themselves. The reality is colleges are often looking for diversity on campus. As a veteran, you are a demographic and a brand that colleges are looking for. The more "on brand" you can be with your application, the greater chance you have of getting in. I'm sure there were plenty of high school kids that had better grades than me that didn't get in. It might be unfair, but it's unfair in our advantage. Sucks to suck.
Interview
Once I submitted my application, I was contacted by a local alumni looking to conduct an in person interview. We met at a Starbucks. He wore a sport coat and slacks. I wore jeans and a collared shirt. I also brought a professional resume to give him. Since you will be older than other interviewees, you can get away with being a little less formal and you can talk with them like they are an old friend. A big message you want to convey is that since you are in the military, you already know what it's like to be in a great organization. You know what it takes to succeed in a high level organization, and that it is the people within an organization that make it great. If you are in a prestigious unit, use that as a reference too.
I had a second interview request, this time by an admissions officer asking for a virtual interview over Zoom. It was scheduled in the middle of the day during the week, so I chose to wear my duty uniform. Anything you can do to make yourself stand out in a positive way is usually a good move.
Conclusion
It might not be Harvard, but you can get into a way better school than you probably think possible in large part due to your military service. Military culture sometime makes you forget that you are an above average member of society. Compared to the average person applying to college, you blow them out of the water in term of maturity and life experience. Colleges realize this fact, and as long as you can show you currently have the tangible academic ability to back it up, you will be able to submit a very attractive application to any school in the country.
Themes
- I am a more focused, better person than I was when I was in high school because of my time in the military
- I know what it takes to succeed in a great organization
- I want to be able to offer a unique perspective, which then makes for a better overall college experience for other students
For questions, tips, or any topic you want to know my take on, email tomdipietro@teamroommedia.com
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