foreign military service as a soft? Forum

[Ascend]

As former U.S. military, I've spent quite a bit of time searching over the posts here at TLS, and the overwhelming majority seem to think that it has minimal effect on your application. Of course, it could just be the misinformed opinion of the masses as well, lol.

[justadude55]

at the end of the day, it's #'s and minorities, because that's where the rankings come from.

but i would imagine the military in general would be a tiebreaker, particularly the israeli military.

people, and admission officers say the only softs that override numbers are really prestigious awards such as an oscar or a gold medal. in this, i'd imagine a soldier who wins a purple heart or something of the sort would have a similar advantage. but an ordinary soldier----they should be thanked for their service, but why are they special?

[Ascend]

but an ordinary soldier----they should be thanked for their service, but why are they special?

Well, from a purely academic standpoint, most have demonstrated a level of discipline, commitment, teamwork and selfless service that can't be replicated in most civilian work places and almost certainly doesn't exist within the 4 years of undergrad work. During my time in the military, the biggest slackers were 3 times as diligent, dedicated and persistent as those in the top 10% of my undergrad classmates (and I attend a top 100 private university). Those soldiers that were considered "high-speed" put the top 10% to shame.

Quite simply, from someone who has been there and done both, college is walk in the park compared to military service. If law school is twice as difficult as undergrad was, it will still be easy compared to the 85 hrs a week I put in during my stint in the military.

[fatduck]

I find it sort of amusing that people say "what's special about being in the military" and then suggest that an exception may be a Purple Heart, an award for which the only requirement is being wounded...

If I were an admissions officer, I would view military experience as a type of work experience, and evaluate it that way. Seems reasonable to me, and depending on the school work experience seems to have a fairly significant impact on admissions.

[YCrevolution]

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[09042014]

Bump for my own purposes. I will also be joining the Israeli Army before law school. I wanted to know if this would count as solid WE for a school like NW?

NW doesn't really need solid W/E. Just something fulltime. That would definitely qualify.

[motiontodismiss]

Bump for my own purposes. I will also be joining the Israeli Army before law school. I wanted to know if this would count as solid WE for a school like NW?

NW doesn't really need solid W/E. Just something fulltime. That would definitely qualify.

So waiting tables full time counts?

[YCrevolution]

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