<p>Hi, I have a rather unique situation. I was accepted into the University of Washington for the class of 2016, but as I am a Singapore Citizen, I mandated to serve in the country’s military for two years. I have already talked to undergraduate admissions, and they have said that they are unable to defer my admission at all, and that I will have to re-apply. I have, however, requested that a note be made in my file explaining my situation and expressed my great interest in the school. I was wondering, since I was accepted to enter in the fall of this year, will it help my chances of getting into the University of Washington two years from now after I have served in the military? I appreciate any input.</p>
<p>It will neither help or hurt you.
You will be compared against the new batch of applicants that you will be applying with</p>
<p>Thanks for the input! Being in the military would probably boost my resume though right?</p>
<p>Not necessarily, I know people who’ve been in the military and didn’t get accepted (and those were people who <em>chose</em> to go into the military vs. being mandated into going). Which you think if it were to help at all (which I don’t) it would be for those who chose to serve.</p>
<p>Like I said I don’t think it’s going to hurt or help you. You’ll be evaluated with the new batch of people applying (some of which are also people who have been in the military.)</p>
<p>If you got accepted before, you’ll probably get accepted again (although no guarantee). But being in the military wouldn’t help or hurt you.</p>
<p>“Thanks for the input! Being in the military would probably boost my resume though right?”</p>
<p>Well. If you can fit it into your personal statement, then yes (just like any EC). However, don’t expect any special treatment because you didn’t serve in the US military.</p>
<p>The only way it could “hurt” you is that the pool will presumably be bigger, and therefore less kids will be accepted.
If a note is put on your file, and you feel as though you got in without much difficulty (if that makes sense) I would have to think you would get in again. They will tell you they evaluate you without regard to your prior acceptance but I can’t imagine you getting denied admission after being accepted two years before and not attending because of military purposes.</p>
<p>I disagree that the military service will hurt the application. I feel it will help, the difference is whether or not the enhanced application will look comparably worse when contrasted to the different applying cohort for the Class of 2018.</p>
<p>Regarding the military service- I think that a stint in the military can do no harm (application wise). In my case, when I talked to an admissions officer/rep, she mentioned that my National Guard participation stood out as positively on my file. Emphasize your two years as community service, and talk about the character building aspects you gained (endurance, responsibility, good time management, social skills, loyalty, etc) and your time in from a cultural standpoint. As you are very aware, your situation is rather an unusual one. Military service here in the states is completely voluntary, and the percentage of vets out of the pool of applying students is subsequently very low. Explain the different expectations (military and otherwise) that are upon you as a Singapore Citizen, rather than as an American.
UW has a page addressing this on their admit page: [Veterans</a> | University of Washington](<a href=“http://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Freshmen/Veteran]Veterans”>http://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Freshmen/Veteran)</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone said it would <em>hurt</em> him…unless I misread someone’s post</p>
<p>@travelgirl: I’m sorry, I was disagreeing with your statement that it will neither help nor hurt. I feel it will help, unless the applying cohort is significantly better qualified.</p>
<p>Yeah, disagreement there.</p>