From Active Duty to Harvard as an African American?

Student Lounge African-American Students
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Good Evening,

I know I posted this in the Veteran’s forum, but I wanted additional feedback from the black community as well, so forgive my persistence.

I am Active Duty in the Marine Corps and I want to get in to Harvard more than anything in the world when I am honorably discharged. I leave the Marine Corps in 2017, so I figure I have plenty of time. I have read almost every thread on here (they all have really good information) and have done extensive research on this specific subject, but every situation is different and I am not considered a “veteran” yet. Here are my stats:

Race: African American
Geography: Born in Ohio (Raised in Georgia, if Harvard cares to know)
Income: Low (If it matters)
Intended Major: Accounting
High School: Didn’t do that well, not worth posting here (Low GPA)
Community College: Currently a 3.49 (Currently taking classes; slowly improving my GPA)
Volunteering: Currently am in an internship with United Way for accounting
Test Scores: Haven’t taken them yet (Taking them this Saturday, June 13th.)

I pulled my head out of my a** when I joined the Marines. So I am pretty much playing catch-up now to get all of my cards aligned for a shot at Harvard.

When I see things like the Sergeant from my branch getting accepted into Princeton, it is very discouraging for me because for the last three years I have have worked only in the states and I try to go to college/volunteer with the little bit of time I do have. He also took loads of AP classes in high school, which I have not. I have not deployed overseas. That Sgt did. Will my [lack of a typical] Marine Corps experience affect my admission to Harvard when I go to apply, if anyone knows? That Sgt most likely put his plethora of military experiences in his essay and in his application as a whole. I do not have that luxury. How can I improve my chances (significantly) so that I can “get in?” As an African American, will a 30 or higher ACT score secure me a spot along with a solid community college GPA and a “veteran” sticker next to my name? I will do anything that is necessary to boost my application! Help!!!

Thank you in advance.

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Sergeant, thank you for your current service. I work alongside uniformed military every day as a DOD civilian. You should know that Harvard is an impossibility up front.

They intake 10-12 from the 1000 or so applicants a year. And half of them are high academic athlete recruits. So it’s a 0.5% admit rate – from among students who, as HS students, were at the top of their game. Plus, they’re all at or near 4.0 GPA at mostly top level, Harvard peer colleges right now.

You’re disappointed b/c ppl who took rigorous HS courseloads are getting into “top” schools. And like many people, “Harvard” or “Yale” or “Princeton” of “Stanford” take up a large space in your estimation of what’s considered success. That’s simply a huge mistake. I graduated from one of them and it’s not all that.

You certainly can achieve quite a bit w/o going to Harvard or Princeton. Certainly you know officers whom you respect who did not go to Annapolis. Please broaden your list of target schools, bear down on you CC coursework and see where you land once you discharge. Likely, in that community will be a fine suite of college options that will welcome you and provide you with the BA that can form a great foundation alongside your USMC experience.

Good luck to you.

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@T26E4 Sorry for the late reply. This is sound advice and I have done some re-planning since I made this post. Thank you for your thoughtful response!

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A family member of mine did Marines then Howard for undergrad and Harvard for grad school.