The upcoming July Fourth holiday is a time for patriotism and expressing our appreciation for our freedom — protected, of course, by the sacrifices of military service members.While we’ve covered topics related to service members paying for college, the Student Loan Ranger wanted to highlight a lesser-known education benefit : college credit for time served in the military.
Many people are aware that serving in the military can help reduce student loan debt. For example, the Post-9/11 GI Bill rewards eligible service members by paying full tuition and fees at public colleges and a little more than $22,000 per year at a private or international institution.
Despite this generous benefit, many veterans still end up with significant student loan debt because they need to borrow for living expenses while they pursue a degree . One way to reduce this burden is to complete your degree sooner, but this may not be realistic for many veterans, especially those with families. Luckily, veterans have another way to reduce the time it takes to obtain their degree: their military service.
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The American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,800 schools, including two- and four-year public and private schools, has developed a process to evaluate a person’s military service and recommend the appropriate amount of college credit that should be recognized for that service. Starting college with credits already under your belt can mean the difference between completing your degree in three years rather than four, along with the associated debt, which could run $10,000 or more per year just for living expenses.
The first step to transform military service into college credit is to obtain your j oint s ervices t ranscript, a document that the A rmy, N avy, C oast G uard and M arines use to translate military training into civilian language. For A ir F orce service, contact the Community College of the Air Force for similar documentation.
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From there, choose a school that accepts military service for credit. At last count, more than 2,000 schools recognized and accepted these transfer credits.
If you aren’t sure if your school does, the best place to start is reading the school’s written transfer policy, which is usually found on its website. The ACE also offers a full list of participating schools.
Once you’ve chosen a school that will consider your military experience for credit, review your transcript alongside the council’s military guide to get an idea of which credits might be accepted. Submit your joint services transcript and any other transcripts to your school of choice and wait for its determination.
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You might also want to meet with an academic adviser to get an idea of which credits might be accepted. Remember, the school ultimately decides whether your military training or service meets the requirements for academic credit.
Keep in mind that even a military-friendly school is not required to follow the council’s recommendations, or the school could choose to follow some but not all recommendations. The council is not a regulatory body, and these transfer credit recommendations are only suggestions.
Note that in most cases, schools typically accept these credits for electives or associate-level courses. Don’t plan to obtain a full degree based solely on military credits, no matter how long you have served. With that said, even receiving even a single semester’s worth of credit can make a big difference on your debt level.
For those who aren’t in the military or service members who have taken certification or training programs, the council also evaluates other educational programs to see if they can be translated into college credit. This includes corporate training, apprenticeships, certifications and exams. In these cases, it’s generally up to the organization offering the program to apply to the council for credit evaluation.
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Earn College Credit for Military Service originally appeared on usnews.com
