Three Myths about College

From The Griffon, Spring 2005

I talk with many enlisted soldiers about college. Most of the soldiers that I meet opted to enroll in the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB). They have already given up $1200 of their own money or they have committed to a long term of service in the Reserve. Thus, they are already invested in their education.

When I ask if they plan to go to college, however, I hear more No's than Yes's. And when I ask why they do not plan to attend college, I receive a wide range of responses, including some that are especially popular.

For some people, the root of their aversion to college boils down to, simply, "I don't wanna go." They have no excuses and they make no apologies. College requires an interest in the process, and some people don't have it. Besides, higher education is not a necessary prerequisite to happiness.

But many other soldiers respond with reasons that are based on myths and misperceptions about college. Their concerns about earning a college degree stems from ideas about college that may not be true. If they knew the truth, they would at least have the option to consider college.

In the interest of dispelling the rumors, here are three popular excuses and the truth behind them.

"I don't like school/I'm not good at school."
This was my excuse. I enlisted in the military specifically to avoid college. If 12 years of school taught me anything, it was that I didn't like school.

Moreover, I wasn't good at it. I earned poor grades for so many years that I grew to believe that my grades were an actual measure of my intelligence. I came to accept the premise that the world contained good students and bad students, and I was firmly rooted in the latter group.

When I started college after serving for four years on Active Duty, I was surprised to find that I was not the student that I was in high school. And the more veterans and service members that I meet at colleges, the more I know that I am not alone.

Something happens to some people during their time in the military. It is like a part of their brains develop and they have something that they lacked before: an interest in learning. They are not necessarily smarter, but they are suddenly more interested in academic subjects. Maybe the challenge of the military awakens a need for more challenges; maybe the discipline of the military sparks an interest to learn. For whatever reason, many service members find that they have a new tool that helps them to succeed academically.

In addition, college is not like high school. Students have more autonomy to study the subjects that they want with the professors of their choice. Events and activities cater to every interest, so students can always find a way to become a part of the campus community. And the social scene is markedly different from anything you may remember from high school. Memories of high school are not comparable to the reality of college.

Does that mean that you will like or be good at college? Of course not. But it means that you won't know until you try it.

"I can't get into a good school."
You know yourself. You live with yourself everyday, and the military has probably taught you new things about your abilities. You may not know exactly what it takes to get into a top college, but you know that you don't have it.

You might be surprised to learn that you have something that the most selective schools in the world crave: diversity. Most colleges don't want to fill their halls with automatons or clones. They want different people from different backgrounds. A new viewpoint or set of experiences adds to the campus community.

As a service member, you have a completely different set of experiences on which to draw. You have work experience that many of your peers lack. You have held positions of responsibility and performed challenging tasks. You have met and learned from individuals from various backgrounds, and you have been an integral member of one of the nation's oldest institutions.

Your classmates and professors will learn from your unique views. In a political science class, you may find dozens of views about the role of the military in U.S. society, but you may the only person with firsthand experience. A history class may discuss the culture of countries in which you were stationed and spent a significant amount of time. A professor in a management class might ask students about various management styles, and you certainly have practical experience managing and being managed. You would add to class discussions and the academic experience of your peers.

Is your diversity enough to earn you a seat at an Ivy League institution? No, it isn't. You will need to prove your abilities through grades, standardized testing, and courses you've taken in the military. But your military service adds value to your application, and it will draw the attention of admissions officers at even the most selective colleges.

"I can't afford to go to college."
This excuse, in my experience, is the most popular. It is also the craziest.

During military service, a soldier can develop experiences and skills, but they can also acquire debts and responsibilities. A typical 18 year-old college student, armed with a parent's credit card and dating a similarly outfitted 18 year-old is in a much different position than a 23 year-old veteran, lugging around thousands of dollars in credit card debt and caring for a spouse and children.

Nevertheless, the veteran has more powerful financial incentives to attend college than the typical 18 year-old.

The MGIB will deliver $1004 to your door each month that you are a full-time student for up to 36 months. That money is yours to spend as you please. If you can find money elsewhere to pay your tuition, you can use that money to pay off your credit cards or to vacation with your family.

Your financial aid, unlike the aid of most 18 year-olds, does not take into account the assets of your parents. You are considered an independent student, and as a result you may receive more aid than your non-military peers. The government will determine your aid based on your financial situation, and the less you have, the more you are eligible to receive.

Financial aid can include grants that do not have to be repaid and federal loans that come at a reduced interest rate. Many states also offer special aid to veterans, adding to your financial aid package.

In addition, college might not take as long as you think. While you served, you earned college credit recommendations from the American Council on Education. Those recommended credits appear on your personalized AARTS transcript, along with any credits you may have earned through exams administered while you served in the military. Armed with your AARTS transcript, you may be able to place out of a semester or more of college, saving the cost of time in school.

And consider the alternatives. You may be able to leave the military and earn a great job without going to college, but you may eventually find that you need a degree to keep advancing in your career. A college degree will only help your chance of finding a great career and making the most of it.

Does that mean that all soldiers can afford to attend college? Maybe it does. It would take a very unusual situation involving extreme hardship to make a service member completely unable to earn a degree. In fact, when soldiers tell me that they can't afford to go to college, I often ask, "Can you really afford not to?"

Sean-Michael Green is a consultant, speaker, and author on the topic of higher education and the military. He is a former enlisted Marine; a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell University; and the author of Marching to College: Turning Military Experience into College Admissions (Random House).