<p>I'm a Marine currently serving my second tour in Iraq. I will be leaving the Marine Corps this summer and plan on enrolling in college in the fall of 2010. I'm throwing all of this out there because frankly, I'm having trouble in the application process. I attended a well regarded private prep school but unfortunately didn't take my academics seriously enough. When the fall of my senior came around I became extremely disappointed and frustrated with myself and opted to go on an "adventure" by enlisting in the Marine Corps infantry.</p>
<p>Three and a half years later I'm on a completely different planet in terms of maturity and work ethic and more than ready to attend college. Unfortunately, college applications are all geared towards evaluating me as a 16-18 year old, not as a 22 year old with a lot of life altering experiences. How can I get colleges to truly see what I bring to the table? I've considered attending a local state school for a year in order to pad my stats towards acceptance to a more prestigious school. Several people have told me I'd be cutting myself short and that as a non-traditional student my high school academics wouldn't be a huge consideration. I'm posting this in the main admissions section and not the veterans section because I've found that most of my fellow service members have the same unanswered questions. </p>
<p>How should I go about "selling" myself to schools? Will my military service provide me much of a boost? Would it be a good idea to attend a local college before moving to a more rigorous school?</p>
<p>My High School stats:
3.2 GPA (Mostly honors classes with 3 AP)
SAT I (590M 650W 690V) Took it twice but never took a prep class
SAT II (650 American History (can't recall the other offhand)
Soccer, Track, several leadership conferences and clubs
Part time job </p>
<p>I didn't play what I jokingly like to refer to as the "game" in high school and obviously my high school stats reflect. I'm now a completely different person and I'm more than ready to work to my potential.</p>
<p>you’re going to be best off by going to a community college first. a high gpa like a 3.8 from a community college will be taken very seriously by top universities. while i think it’s good to draw from your military experience in your essays when you transfer, keep in mind not to rely on military precision while writing, because they’ll be looking for humor and insight.</p>
<p>Is that GPA weighted or unweighted? An issue is simply which colleges are you considering. Your stats already are good enough for probably 90% of all colleges particularly when you add the maturity factor with military service (definitely considered as a favorable factor at most colleges). Obviously you are low for a Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, other very high ranked colleges. Not sure what you mean by “local state college” since you do not give state or school, but be aware that state universities generally give preference to admitting veterans who are residents of the state (and in fact, in many states, e.g., California, the universities are required by law to favor veterans). Your chance to “sell yourself” is mainly in a good essay.</p>
<p>Note, I am assuming you have finished high school but your post is not clear on that – you give stats but mention that in fall of senior year you decided to enlist. If you have not finished high school, you need to do so first.</p>
<p>A huge thank you IgIsBliss for your sacrifice and service!</p>
<p>As Viloadad stated, the Yellow Ribbon Program will open a lot of doors for you. Your military service will be a HUGE boost. The colleges will look at your service to the country, leadership, and experiences as maturing factors in your adult development. Your high school record will not be the most important record.</p>
<p>Your HS SATs are very respectable, and you can check online at the colleges’ websites (or email the admissions offices) to see if they want you to retake the tests.</p>
<p>While top school admissions may seem like a big hurdle, the current climate on campuses is very pro-veteran admissions. (Even Harvard announced proudly their Yellow Ribbon Program late this spring, and they are starting to review their anti-ROTC policy, finally.)</p>
<p>If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. (Have aided the apps process for one Princeton grad-now USAF -, and one current Harvard student). Best of luck, am rooting for you!</p>
<p>It would be VERY worth it to look into Dartmouth (if you are still interested in prestigious schools).</p>
<p>While there is no official program that recruits veterans, the admissions committee has been pressured by the college’s president to pay special attention to non-traditional applicants in recent years, ESPECIALLY VETERANS!</p>
<p>OP - Just one more “Thank You!” for you service.</p>
<p>I have hands-on experience with your situation, having been discharged from wartime service in the early 1970’s. Despite domestic disfavor with that conflict, I found colleges VERY welcoming to returning Vets. I did retake the SATs, doing much better as a mature 22 year old. And I personally visited the admissions office at each university I intended to apply to. I was accepted everywhere I applied, and I did very well in both UG and Graduate School. Maturity can make ALL the difference. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is a school that has announced a commitment to take some vets each year. I would focus on retaking the SATs or trying the ACT, with a good score you should be an interesting candidate at very good colleges.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the replies. This has been a bit of a sensitive issue with me recently so all the positive feedback has been great. </p>
<p>To answer you, drusba, my state of residence is Maine and I did graduate high school (despite a common misconception that the majority of us have not). The several references to Dartmouth are very interesting as the school is very nearby. I understand I’d need a year or two to boost my stats but its great to hear of the possibilites. Right now I’m most interested in Northeastern, Fordham, Uconn, and possibily one of the small LACs in the area. </p>
<p>ChoklitRain you mention that a high gpa at a community college would be taken seriously by top schools. I’ve been considering this angle for a while but was concerned that a CC wouldn’t be viewed in the best light. Could anyone else offer insight?</p>
<p>i don’t think community college is necessary–your stats are very respectable right off the bat. i would say the math is a little low but that’s really it. the colleges u listed right above seem very attainable, so i would suggest attending one of those for undergraduate & perhaps something of ivy-caliber for graduate. plus, the veteran thing is an awesome hook gl!</p>
<p>Well I know that a huge number of people go from CC’s in California to Berkeley and UCLA. generally community colleges are considered more rigorous than high schools. but of course, transferring from Northeastern/BU to a school like Dartmouth is an equally legitimate strategy.</p>
<p>I’d recommend contacting Dartmouth admissions soon and asking them about the test score issue- whether or not they recommend retaking them. I agree with above poster that only the math is a little weak.</p>
<p>If you like Dartmouth, why not go for it? They have shown strong support of vet applicants so now seems to be a great time to apply.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you for serving our country!
Going to a year or two in community college, or a smaller satellite school (Penn State has a 2+2 program) could really help you transition into academic life again.</p>
<p>I’m sure that your veteran status will give you a “hook” in the admissions process, and their are 4 year universities in which you could attend right away too, if that’s more what you were looking for.</p>
<p>The bright side is: I’m sure you’ll be able to write an amazing essay with no problems at all!</p>
<p>IIBliss - Community colleges in some states are excellent … in other states, less excellent. The workload difference between UConn and a weak Connecticut CC (for example) is HUGE. Based on my experience and your maturity, add my voice to those who suggest starting your college education at a four-year university. JMHO of course.</p>
<p>Thank you for your service. You bring a lot to the table. </p>
<p>I agree that you don’t need to waste your time on a community college or your local state school. I also would consider your social life. I think that you would enjoy going to a university that has graduate students who are your age more than you would enjoy going to a small liberal arts college where your fellow students, day and night, will be just out of high school. You seem way beyond that. </p>
<p>Your best option may be to do your studies starting in Fall 2009 (or Spring 2010) at the Harvard Extension School. This could potentially be ideal for you because the admissions requirements won’t even consider your grades and your SAT. You basically sign up for classes as a non-degree student. In order to be accepted into a degree program, you must complete 3 courses, with grades B- or above and complete E-25 Expository Writing with a C- or above. If you earn a B- in E-25, it can count as one of the 3 courses.</p>
<p>The program is designed for nontraditional students, is of very high quality and quite rigorous. Also, there are courses that would help you get your “academic game” up to where it needs to be regardless of what you’ve done in the past. Again, you will be in an area (Boston/Cambridge) with a lot of people your age. It’s also very inexpensive costing roughly $1000 per course or $32,000 for a whole degree!</p>
<p>Are you interested in a liberal arts education or do you have particular pre-professional aspirations?</p>
<p>Thanks for more input everyone. To answer you ClassicRockerDad I’m considering business or possibly something in international relations as a future career. I do, however, have a great passion for history which I’ve been considering more and more as an undergraduate option. I continue to hear that a LAdegree(in something I enjoy)+MBA is a great path to go.</p>
<p>While Harvard Extension is a fine idea, I would encourage you to apply to Harvard College, get your BA (called A.B. at Harvard) in history, then do your MBA somewhere. Now is a great time to apply as they’ve just committed to the Yellow Ribbon program. Are you interested in applying this fall for the Class of '14?</p>
<p>The following thread looks is very relevant and gives great perspective on how colleges view older nontraditional students, especially veterans. It does seem like proving your self on college level work wipes away your high school issues. </p>
<p>Amherst seems like a great choice because it’s near UMASS and there would be a broader social life for a veteran. </p>
<p>Contrast that with a place like Williams or Middlebury where there the college IS the community and the OP would be the oldest student for miles. </p>
<p>BTW, Harvard Extension offers Associates Degrees also, so you could reprove yourself academically there and have the option to transfer or the option to stay. </p>
<p>Also Columbia and Penn also have similar programs for nontraditional students.</p>
gl!</p>