A Veteran's Guide to Applying to College

Applying to college can be a daunting task even after serving in the military.

Many Schools will be returning to requiring the ACT or SAT - something to consider if you did not take them in High School or want to retake a test

-ACT

-SAT

Military Transcripts

Make sure your military transcripts are in order before starting your applications

Air Force and Space Force use the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF)

Transcripts - https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Barnes/CCAF/Display/Article/803247/community-college-of-the-air-force-transcripts/

Joint Service Transcript - https://jst.doded.mil/jst/

The Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard use the JST

You can upload your JST transcript to the ACE Guide site to see what training has been evaluated for college credit

Federal Financial Aid, scholarships and grants

FAFSA is an APPLICATION for federal financial aid, which can include: Pell Grant, Stafford Loans, Parents Plus loans, and work study

CSS Profile- some colleges use this in addition to FAFSA to determine scholarships and grants

Scholarships.com and Niche to search for the 1000s of scholarships

State Education Benefits

Some states will have additional education benefits for veterans and their dependents. For example

-Texas Residents don't forget about Hazelwood act - https://www.tvc.texas.gov/education/hazlewood/

-https://veteran.com/states-offer-free-tuition-veterans/

VA Benefits

-Post 9/11 - https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/post-9-11/

-Yellow Ribbon - https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/post-9-11/yellow-ribbon-program/

-VR&E - https://www.benefits.va.gov/vocrehab/

Researching Schools

US News and World Report, College Simply and Rate my professors are valuable tools to research programs and their rankings

College Applications

Colleges have shifted to hosting their own individual applications to use a common app to streamline the process

• Common App is used by over 1000 colleges and universities and is for freshman and undergraduate transfer applications, and you can apply up to 20 schools
• Apply SUNY - 64 New York Schools in the SUNY system
• Cal State App - For the California State University School System
• UC Apply - For the University of California System
• Apply Texas -For 60 different universities

Free College Credits

CLEP and DSST exams are FREE for all military whether Active, Reserve or Guard and an easy way to earn college credit by exam vs taking a full course - saving time and money for your general education requirements

• CLEP Exams
• DSST Exams
• CLEP Study Guides - Modern States

How do I know if a school will accept the exam - Search by university - CLEP Transfer Policy

University Discounts

Check with the university veteran's affairs office, they may match in-state tuition for out of state veterans - or they may offer a tuition discount -

For Example Penn State offers a discount on tuition for online classes and waives the application fee

Many colleges will have an office of veteran's affairs to help students through the application and benefits process and help them transition from service to university life