<p>I got a 3.7 college gpa or so and am currently a sophomore, but if I join the army for like 15 months + 2 years reserves will Ivy League consider me a lot more and have a good shot of making it? No offense to military service people if this message is offensive. And yeah I know I already posted this in another section, but if anyone who knows the admissions process can respond that would be great. Thanks a bunch.</p>
<p>I'm not in the military. However, I believe that since a LOT of people are in the military, and a number will definitely have 3.7+, it may not make you substantially more competitive. I think community service + internships would make you substantially more competitive...</p>
<p>Is this a joke?</p>
<p>You're joining the army to get into the Ivy League? I support our troops, but get a life buddy.</p>
<p>Experience will help. I don't know if the military would help more or less than other jobs though.</p>
<p>CollegeBound99, I'm applying at Yale/Columbia from West Point (planning on transferring to USAR if accepted and taking a year off to train as a 68W), and if military service is a means to an end for you you're doing it for the wrong reasons. I'm a freshmen right now and will watch 80-90% of my friends who are graduating in 3 weeks get deployed within a year. If you think we'll be out of Iraq soon and you won't get deployed, there's a skinny chance, but if not Iraq, then you're Afghanistan (or maybe even Iran!)-bound for sure. Our world isn't getting safer, and a pullout from Iraq will only add to the insecurity in the middle east (pitting Iranian Shia against Saudi Sunnis for control of Iraq). And if you straight up enlist, you might be deployed immediately after basic to fill in a whole in a BCT. Bottom line: bad idea. Join the reserves now (maybe get a deployment under your belt, but that's 7mos USMCR or 15 mos USAR plus train up and train down times) and when, if, you get into an Ivy then you can join ROTC and continue serving in the Reserves (though ROTC cadets in the Reserves are classified as nondeployable) and then you can get ROTC money and get commissioned into the Reserves after graduation (if the military is something you care about).</p>
<p>ilikeoranges, most of the people in the military are not even college caliber; but there is no way internships and community service are more important than military service. Military service isn't a few words on a resume (unless you're in the Navy or Air Force), it's an experience that shapes you and changes you forever. I did all the JSA summer sessions and soup kitchen work and started clubs and National Merit finalist and all that application padding jazz. All that chaff shows is you know what is required of you to be competitive in applying to Ivy League schools; it doesn't change you in the knowing you better be damn sure who you are because you're not just responsible for yourself, but for other men and women will.</p>
<p>I apologize for ranting, and by no means am I a professional voice on this. I've been in uniform for only 11 months, but they have been the most developmental months of my life (and frustrating, sitting in the barracks studying while my friends are taking heat downrange).</p>
<p>I was the only kid from my high school in the upper 90% of my class of 300 to join the military. I was in the top ten; the other two kids barely graduated. Our military is being filled with a lot of good kids but a lot of desperate and less-than-brilliant souls too. You really want to make a difference and perform a service for the community? Put on the uniform and bring that average up. If you'd rather have our nation be defended by dimwits, stay down but say nothing.</p>
<p>If any of this was condescending, I apologize, but I get a little ****ed off every time I see more soldiers die (13 so far this month) and Paris Hilton's 45 day jail sentence captures the headlines. It has a habit of making one pretty cynical. Now please excuse me while I go watch The 300 and forget about thinking for a while.</p>
<p>Anger is a dangerous thing...</p>
<p>statewins, I don't mean to say that internships are comparable to military service, obviously they are very different things. However, I honestly don't agree with a lot of your message. I don't understand why you don't get more ****ed off that 100+ Iraqis die in one day vs the 13 American this month vs Paris Hilton. Joining the military is definitely not a means to an end (especially for college), but tell me this: why did you join the army?</p>
<p>Perhaps it is because he has a lot closer ties to Americans deployed overseas...</p>