Earn your Degree

Too many of you are attending online degree programs. I know you are thinking ‘but Casey attending college is a good thing and I’m getting my degree while working around my crazy military schedule.’

Guess what, you have something other people want that is of great value: tuition assistance and the GI Bill (aka $$$). There are hundreds of colleges that would love nothing more than to pair 20 of you up with a professor working out of his home, easily clearing $10K per class due to having no physical overhead. You get an easy path to a degree and they make money. Everybody benefits, right? Wrong!

Nobody is going to discourage someone that wants to get their degree. So education counselors, your supervisor, and others are not going to tell you that your degree program is crap. But the bottom line is you are selling yourself short when you get your bachelor’s through somewhere like American Military University.

Go Brick and Mortar

Why is attending a brick and mortar college so important? Employers have strong perceptions about your degree program. When looking at your college they consider the competitiveness and difficulty in getting accepted to and making it through that program.

These employers can sniff out an easy online program a mile away. When they recognize it, they will disregard that portion of your resume and look for other ways to validate your experience and skills.

Do you really want to spend all that time and money getting your degree only to have nobody take it seriously?

Excuses

Here are some of the reasons I’ve heard that military attend college online:

• It is more convenient – it sure is! That convenience comes at a cost
• I deploy a lot so am unable to attend college in person – have you talked to your supervisor and asked to have a four-month window at home so you can attend school? I am willing to bet many supervisors would work with someone to reasonably allow them to attend
• There are no good colleges in my area – have you considered going to a junior college and later transferring those credits to another college? Or maybe waiting until your next assignment?

Valid Reasons to Attend Online

I know there are some legitimate reasons to attend college online. For the most part, the military does not care where you got your degree from. So attending online to ‘checking boxes’ to meet promotion requirements is valid.

You can also get your degree anywhere online and use it to commission as an officer. If that is your primary goal than an online program could work for you. However, keep in mind when you attend online programs that are good for the military but bad for outside employers, you are limiting your options. I don’t want the military to be my only employment option. So I’m going to go to the best school possible, just in case a full military career does not work out.

Summing it Up

I get that military life is difficult and sometimes only college is your only option. But please don’t consider it as the first option. Maximize your education benefits and take care of yourself. Take the more difficult path and get the best degree you can possibly earn. You will be better off for it.

I graduated high school with a low 2.3 grade point average (GPA). This was good enough to get me into the Air Force, but it sure as hell wasn’t getting me into med school.

Despite my low grades, a short three years after high school graduation I did the following:

1. Earned a full ROTC scholarship to pay for college

2. Was accepted into two excellent universities (UCLA, UC Davis)

3. Met the girl of my dreams 🙂

I did this by going to Junior College.

Junior College Gives You a Fresh Start

Junior college, community college, whatever you want to call it… is the perfect place to go and start over.

All of the good universities have transfer programs that allow you to start school as a junior. Their applications require the GPA from your last 60 credits (two years) of school. They do not even ask about high school.

With a junior college GPA of 3.7, military experience, and community involvement, I was able to apply to the top universities in California and was accepted into two out of three.

An Amazing Opportunity

Maybe you’re thinking – ok Casey you must be some kind of smarty pants that goofed off in high school but easily caught up in college.

The only difference between me in high school and me in Junior College was the military. Something about military life kept me focused and motivated. I had less distraction in the military and worked harder to achieve my goals. My supervisors pushed me to go to school and I took it seriously.

Create a Plan

Whatever your dream is, to achieve it you need a plan. I recommend doing the following:

1. Choose a degree that you are passionate about. Do not go for an electrical engineering degree because you heard the money is good. Do it because you’re curious about it and are truly interested.

If you are unsure of the degree you want, go with this: are you good at writing or math. Most degrees can be divided into one of those two broad categories. Stick to the one you are good at.

2. Find universities that are good for the degree you want to pursue.

3. Go to the junior college you are interested in and make sure their credits transfer to the colleges you like.

Many junior colleges are part of a state system that ensures credits transfer to major universities. It is best to attend a junior college that falls within one of these programs. For California this system is called IGETC.

Please email me if you have any questions! Stay focused on your dream and it will come true. It’s not too late to start over.

The new GI Bill should be presented with a big check like you just won the lottery.  A newscaster should ask you what you’re going to do now that you have the GI Bill.  It’s really that good.

Back in the day, getting a military scholarship to pay for tuition and books was a major feat.  For mine, I filled out mountains of paperwork.  I met with my commander to ask for an endorsement. I committed to attend ROTC.   The new GI Bill gives you a full scholarship and more without the hassle.

The New GI Bill

The new GI Bill pays a hefty living allowance, book allowance, and for most schools, full tuition and fees.  I entered my alma mater UC Davis into the GI Bill calculator to see what benefits you could receive today.  According to the results, you would receive:

• $13,079 for tuition and fees (pays 100%)
• $1,680 per month living allowance
• $500 paid twice per year for books

All this for 3 years! A quick look on the UC Davis Community Housing Listing shows that a two-bedroom apartment is around $1,000.  So the monthly living allowance could more than pay for your housing.  Get a part-time job on campus and you’re set!

Today’s military are extremely fortunate to have this program available.  A wise plan would be to accomplish the first year of college while in the military using tuition assistance.  When you go to college full-time, you’ll have a full ride for the remaining three years.

Learn More

GI Bill Application

GI Bill BAH rates (select school to view)

GI Bill Phone Number:  1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551)