Stepping into a classroom after years of serving in the military full time can be difficult, especially for veterans who are still adjusting to civilian life.
The choice between community college and a four-year university can make a difference in student comfort and success. The structure, cost and demographic of students can make community college a better option for some service members who are interested in earning a degree or job skills.
Community colleges tend to offer a large and diverse range of courses and certifications that fall under the GI Bill, many of which match some of the skills that service members built in the military. With certifications that can be earned while veterans pursue a degree, community colleges can help veterans get to work in high-paying, in-demand career fields in less time than a traditional degree program, experts say.
[Learn how to get academic credit for military training. ]
“You can get a certificate that puts you in the workforce quickly, which most the veterans need,” says Bruce Brunson, executive director of the center for military and veterans education at Tidewater Community College in Virginia. “And then that can build into an associate degree, and a lot of those programs will go into a bachelor’s degree.”
But veterans will need to take advantage of the advising services that schools offer to make sure they’re in programs that will lead to jobs and fit their interests and goals, he says.
Veterans may also find it easier to relate to community college students than their four-year counterparts. Community college students are more likely to be over the age of 25 and part-time than students at four-year universities, who are more likely to be younger than 25 and attend full time.
[Discover four types of people who benefit from community college.]
“They feel less disconnected, as opposed to if they were in a class of 200 18-year-olds that they don’t really relate to,” says Katie Schellenberg, CEO of Learning Lab LA, an education consulting company. Schellenberg says that community colleges may also have more services on campus specifically for veterans.
Alan Kipping-Ruane, 28, went to Tidewater Community College for a year while he was still in the Navy to make his transition to civilian life and the academic setting easier. He found the mentality of the students in community college and the support from professors helpful.
“People are there because they want to change their lives,” he says of his community college peers.
“You have a lot more adult students who are trying to impact themselves to make their lives better in some sort of way,” he says. The students didn’t make him feel out of place for being in the military and they were all able to work together to achieve their individual and collective goals, he says.
Kipping-Ruane transferred to Pennsylvania State University–University Park in 2010, and struggled to find common ground with younger students at the four-year school. Out of the military and without a strong support system, Kipping-Ruane struggled personally and academically until he reached out for help.
“I couldn’t find anyone who was similar in my degree. There was so much going on and I was being pulled so thin,” he says.
The lower cost of community college compared with a four-year university is another benefit. Student veterans who are determined to get advanced degrees should work with a career and financial counselor to map out the best way to use their GI Bill funding, experts say. Service members who plan to earn a bachelor’s or a master’s degree may be better off paying out of pocket for community college and using the GI funding for the more expensive degree programs.
[Read more about the GI Bill and student veteran degree completion rates. ]
“The veteran will use their GI Bill up during the community college years when they may want to save that and use financial aid later on for a bachelor’s or a masters,” Tidewater’s Brunson says. “They’re getting to the last year or two of their bachelor’s and finding out that they’re out of their GI and they’re going to a college where the tuition is 30 or $40,000.” As a result, many vets end up taking on student debt, he says.
There are some disadvantages to going to community college for student veterans, experts say.
“A four-year university may be more streamlined depending on what they want to study,” says Schellenberg . “They may not have as thriving as an alumni network so that’s something that the student should be cognizant of by doing internships.”
Based on his experience at both the community college and four-year university, Kipping-Ruane who finishes his program in kinesiology this summer, says he wished he’d spent more time reacclimating himself with school and getting the basics at community college and encourages other vets to do the same.
“Take a semester or two at a community college, and figure out what you want to do and get the general stuff out of the way . And then start applying,” Kipping-Ruane says.
Trying to fund your education? Get tips, news and more in the U.S. News Paying for Community College center.
More from U.S. News
3 Ways to Get Academic Credit for Military Training
Manage Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in College
Federal Programs Give Student Loan Relief to Service Members
Explore Ways Community Colleges Serve Veterans originally appeared on usnews.com
