If you live in a country with mandatory military service after high school, you may wonder how this requirement meshes with your U.S. education plans. Should you apply to American colleges after you’ve completed your military service or is it better to do it while you’re still in high school, with the hope that those colleges that admit you will allow you to postpone matriculation until your military obligation is complete?

Some college Web sites (as well as the highly unreliable grapevine!) may tell you that no college will allow a “deferral” of more than a year. In many cases, this is true. U.S. students commonly request a “gap year” to travel, to work, to engage in a research project or just to catch their breath before heading back to the classroom. In such cases, colleges are unlikely to grant more than a single year off to those who haven’t even officially enrolled. However, most U.S. schools will make an exception for students who must engage in military service before starting college and will allow a two-year deferral (and perhaps even more) while their future students soldier on.

According to a recent survey posted on the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) listserve, even the most selective institutions such as Princeton, Columbia, and Stanford will honor requests from admitted students from such nations as Singapore and Israel who need to complete their military service before beginning college. (Of course, getting into such schools is so difficult that the deferral may be the least of your worries! )

Young soldiers in Singapore will have time for football games and keg parties later

Why Apply First?

It often makes sense to apply to college when you’re still in high school, where you’ll have easy access to your teachers and counselors for assistance and recommendations. For many students facing military service, it’s also reassuring to realize that there’s a plan already in place when it’s time to return to civilian life.

But, on the other hand, there are drawbacks to this approach as well. Two years in the military can often change one’s perspective and goals. So the college that seemed so “perfect” at age 18 may not be what you want at 20 or 21.

And now, thanks to the Internet, it’s usually easy to track down high school teachers and administrators, even after you–or they–have moved on.

Note, too, that some colleges (e.g., the University of California system) will not grant any deferrals whatsoever. So always ask about such policies if you know that you will have to fulfill a military obligation before you can begin your college career.