I don't remember how to do this!! :)

[darmalee]

It's been a long time since I applied to college the first time around, and even then I only applied to one school...and I knew I would get in, so I didn't really put any extra effort into it. Now seven years later I'm doing this whole thing over again, and I have a couple questions for those of you who have been through this more recently.

I'm applying as a transfer student to UT, and one of the essays that they want is a broad "pick a topic that is important to you" and I wanted to write about global hunger as opposed to our obscene wastefulness in America. My question is: is it appropriate to reference in an entrance essay or is it supposed to be a straight opinion paper? It just seems like it would be a FAR superior paper if I could put hard facts in there with their appropriate references.

Also, their page says that Letters of Recommendation are encouraged. I'm still active duty military, and have been taking online classes here and there, without really any opportunity to do otherwise. If I took a 12 week online class from someone, would a letter of recommendation hold any weight, since I never even met the teacher? Can I get a letter of recommendation from one of my superiors in the military or does it have to be an academic?

And one last thing, they also encourage a resume...something I've never ever done. Any suggestions on a website or something that can point me in the right direction? I really have no idea how to write a resume.

I'm trying to get a head start on this process, and can't even turn in an application until September, but since this is step one in my loooooong road ahead, I'm turning a little neurotic about the whole thing. Any help is greatly appreciated!!! You SDNers are all so helpful. Haha

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[bradt9881]

Also, their page says that Letters of Recommendation are encouraged. I'm still active duty military, and have been taking online classes here and there, without really any opportunity to do otherwise. If I took a 12 week online class from someone, would a letter of recommendation hold any weight, since I never even met the teacher? Can I get a letter of recommendation from one of my superiors in the military or does it have to be an academic?

Good to "think outside of the box", and get one from your commander here.

And one last thing, they also encourage a resume...something I've never ever done. Any suggestions on a website or something that can point me in the right direction? I really have no idea how to write a resume.

Hope it works. I am attaching a resume template for military that I pulled off the microsift template site for you.

 

[darmalee]

Good to "think outside of the box", and get one from your commander here.



Hope it works. I am attaching a resume template for military that I pulled off the microsift template site for you.

Thanks bradt! Does anyone have an answer on the essay? And as far as a letter from someone in the military, would it be better to get one from a senior enlisted person that I worked closely with for over a year in my last unt, or a letter from my current commander who has only known me peripherally since there are 500+ people in my unit, and I've been in this unit for less than a year? Is higher rank more influential? Any opinions?

 

[scottyT]

Is higher rank more influential? Any opinions?

It's academia, whoever reads your materials likely won't know anything about rank structure. Your competition will be community college transfer students and high school students. Any recommendation will probably suffice as long as they can say that you are smart, motivated, and mature. Pick whoever can write better. Your commander is a good choice if you can get some time to talk with him about your aspirations. Most officers are thrilled to see enlisted folk move on to college because so few actually follow through with it.

When do you get out? You should have a congressionally mandated transition assistance program (1 week workshop) where they teach you about writing resumes, applying for jobs, and filing for benefits/etc... The department of labor is in charge of the program and it's supposed to come within 180 days of discharge.

 

[sindadel]

I can't imagine that a well-reference coherent essay would go amiss. I'm sure it would be a refreshing change from the "I want to be a doctor so I can help people" drivel they get so much of.

 

[darmalee]

It's academia, whoever reads your materials likely won't know anything about rank structure. Your competition will be community college transfer students and high school students. Any recommendation will probably suffice as long as they can say that you are smart, motivated, and mature. Pick whoever can write better. Your commander is a good choice if you can get some time to talk with him about your aspirations. Most officers are thrilled to see enlisted folk move on to college because so few actually follow through with it.

When do you get out? You should have a congressionally mandated transition assistance program (1 week workshop) where they teach you about writing resumes, applying for jobs, and filing for benefits/etc... The department of labor is in charge of the program and it's supposed to come within 180 days of discharge.

Yeah I do have that stuff...but I also have another six months left on my deployment, and then with all the leave that I've got stored up, I'm really not going to have more than a month, month and a half of time to ACAP. There are some resources online, but I won't be able to attend any workshop or anything until at least April, and the deadline for applying for the fall semester is in March for the schools that I've looked at. Thanks for the tip about letters of reference though!

 

[darmalee]

I can't imagine that a well-reference coherent essay would go amiss. I'm sure it would be a refreshing change from the "I want to be a doctor so I can help people" drivel they get so much of.

Yeah, I actually ended up just calling the admissions office to ask about this, and she actually sounded surprised that I would ask something like that, but said that there was no reason why I couldn't use direct references. So, in case anyone else is wondering, it doesn't seem to be a problem. Maybe I'm the only person that worries about things like this. Haha