We at Ivy Coach believe that military veterans should be commended for their service and celebrated for choosing to pursue an undergraduate education. So, without further ado, here are our top ten tips for those veterans taking the courageous step toward applying to highly selective universities.

1. Showcase Your Singular Hook

Your singular hook is how you position yourself as an expert or specialist in a specific discipline, cause, passion, or pursuit. For veterans, this often takes the form of your specialized role in the Armed Service. For example, if you were a cybersecurity expert, you should orient your application around cybersecurity, which you should state you plan to continue to do once on campus. This hook will demonstrate how you will take advantage of all the resources and opportunities available at your prospective college, so don’t be afraid to do your research!

2. Don’t Zero In on Experience with Combat or Weapons

Such things scare off admissions officers at highly selective institutions. Redirect the focus of your application to your skills and expertise that can easily translate into a civilian context, especially as they relate to your singular hook.

3. Choose a Veteran-Friendly School

Not all colleges are created equal when it comes to veteran-friendliness. Our picks for the highly selective schools hospitable to veterans include:

• Columbia University (which has hundreds of veteran students, the most in the Ivy League, although they can still do better by refusing to segregate these heroes into the School of General Studies). And kudos to Columbia’s proud student-veterans for standing up to the pro-Hamas student-protesters despicably disparaging America’s veterans on Veteran’s Day!
• The University of Pennsylvania.
• Dartmouth College (whose former president James Wright helped write the Post 9/11 GI Bill!).

4. Avoid Writing About High School

Many veterans have been removed from high school for several years when they apply to colleges. Admissions officers would much rather hear your reflections on your service and journey into adulthood than memories from high school. So avoid the topic altogether in your essays.

5. Apply With College-Level Calculus Under Your Belt

Whether it’s from your high school transcript, your community college, a supplemental program you took during your service, or a test score demonstrating proficiency, you should be able to point to your mastery over college-level calculus on your application. Completing this essential coursework signals that you are a highly competitive applicant, so don’t delay shoring up this skill.

6. Highlight Academic Improvement Since High School

In case your grades weren’t so hot in high school, it’s crucial to demonstrate that you’ve grown academically in the intervening years. Academic improvement can be showcased through test scores, online learning certificates, college transcripts (if you’re transferring into a highly selective school), or transcripts from any supplemental learning program.

7. If You’re 25 or Older, Don’t Stress About Your SAT/ACT Score

The older you are, the less your standardized test scores will matter to admissions officers. There’s no need to reschedule an exam to improve your odds of admission. The same goes for high school grades. Once you hit 25, admissions officers will be much more interested in what you’ve been doing in your 20s than in high school.

8. Avoid Bragging and Boasting in Your Essays

No one likes a show-off, least of all college admissions officers. While you certainly should be commended for your dedication to your country, let your resume and military experience speak for itself. There’s no need to direct your application readers to your accomplishments or honors in your college essays as long as you’ve already listed them elsewhere on your application. Admissions officers want to admit humble, likable students who will integrate with the broader campus community. The bragger or boaster is not this student.

9. Do Your Research Into Life at Your Future Campus

Every school has unique traditions, history, culture, activities, and programs. Show your application reader you’ve done your research by referencing these specifics throughout your application (without name-dropping specific courses or faculty members, which can backfire). Try to teach admissions officers something they don’t already know about their college. Place yourself into a day in the life on campus and walk them through your engagement.

10. Take Advantage of Ivy Coach’s Pro Bono Services for America’s Veterans

We at Ivy Coach believe that veterans should be unequivocally supported on their journeys to an elite undergraduate education, so we offer our college admissions consulting services free of charge as a thank you for your service. If you’re interested in optimizing your odds of admission to a highly selective school, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form and we’ll be in touch.