Going to college after serving in the military can be very difficult. Whether you served in the Active Component, Reserves, or National Guard, it can be a tricky process to readjust to civilian life and begin (or resume) your college education.
In light of this, and because I myself have gone through the same thing, I’m writing a series of articles aimed at helping returning service members understand how best to handle a difficult time in their lives.
This first article is broad in scope. It includes an overview of who I am, and I will also give some general points that will serve you well if you incorporate them into your outlook regarding the entire process of using your educational benefits, adjusting to being part of society, and ultimately, being as successful as you can in your education.
Why am I Writing a Veteran’s Guide to College?
When I came home from a 15-month combat tour in Iraq and finished a 4-year enlistment as a US Army Infantryman, I immediately started college courses. My first day on campus, I felt like an alien. The difference between a college campus and a military base was so great that I didn’t know where to go, or how to act. I was shocked by how young my fellow students were, and how little they knew about things outside of their own experience. In addition to feeling lost and alone in an alien environment, I had a lot of issues to work out as a result of recently returning from a tour in Iraq.
During my second semester of classes, I wrote a paper outlining how and why I thought our college should do more to attract military veterans to campus, and as a result, was asked to help the college better tailor its services to meet the needs of Student Veterans. My career as the college’s Student Veterans Coordinator had begun, and I found myself in the unique position of being able to help my fellow Vets navigate campus, and shape policy that would help student veterans long after I had left campus.
I know how hard it can be to come home. I also know what it is to feel clueless about educational benefits, the VA, and college administration. And I know what it feels like to walk into a crowded room and feel utterly alone because no one there can ever come close to understanding what you’ve been through. So I’m writing this, hoping that it will help at least one of my brothers and sisters get through a difficult time, and ultimately find success in their education.
Some Important Things to Remember:
Keep these general principles in mind throughout the duration of this series.
Nobody “owes” you anything.
Yes, that’s right: don’t expect anyone to jump through hoops just because you’ve served our country. Some people might feel that they ought to, and maybe they will, but never should you feel entitled to special treatment. If you do, you’re going to quickly find that it only leads to disappointment and resentment.
Let me be clear. You are entitled to whatever educational benefits you’ve earned through your service. You are entitled to be treated fairly and equitably. People whose jobs are to process your claims at the VA, certify your courses so they’ll be paid for under the GI Bill, and otherwise handle your administrative needs are responsible to do the best they can to help you be successful, because that is their job.
But you have responsibilities too. For instance, you are responsible for your own finances, so when you budget, you should take into account that the new GI bill will only pay you while you are in school. And sometimes it takes up to 90 days for the VA to process claims, due in part to their own backlog. So budget wisely.
You should, as a responsible student, do everything in your power to make people’s jobs easy. If you are late registering for classes, then don’t expect your institution’s certifying official to drop everything to expedite your paperwork, “because you’re a veteran.”
Your Worldview May Be Significantly Different Than Your Fellow Students and Faculty.
As a veteran, you are older than traditional students, if not in years, than in experience. Don’t expect everyone to fall in line with what, to you, constitutes acceptable behavior. In the military, we learned a shared set of institutional values. Many of your fellow students don’t share these values, so they won’t behave according to what you expect. Be prepared for this, recognize it for what it is, and remember that everyone has some growing to do.
I, and many of the Veterans I’ve spoken with, have had difficulty dealing with other people because they don’t behave how we think they ought to. Fostering patience will take you a long way when it comes to dealing with other people, and will contribute greatly to your daily happiness.
You Are Not Alone.
Many college campuses have student veteran organizations. One popular organization is Student Veterans of America, which has chapters on campuses all over the country and provides grants and scholarships to Student Veterans. Other Veteran organizations, though not strictly for Student Veterans, offer networking opportunities, such as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).
Don’t hold back from meeting other Veterans on campus. In addition to understanding where you’re coming from as a vet, they also may have experiential wisdom they can pass on to you to help you be successful in college, and many Veteran organizations are tied in to programs aimed at employing Veterans.
Ultimately, Your College Experience is What You Make it.
Nobody’s hard work but your own is going to earn you a degree, and degrees do not come easy; if they did, everyone would have one. When you served in the military, you knew what it meant to have a mission, and to focus on that mission until it was accomplished. Your education is your mission now, and if you are going to be a successful student, you have to stay focused.
In the words of a very wise professor I once had, “I am not here to spoon-feed you an education. You are here to educate yourself, and I am here to guide and mentor you in that endeavor.”
