GI Bill – Military To Pay For Tuition
FINANCING FURTHER EDUCATION FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL
The US Armed Forces has 247,000 troops and civilians posted overseas, with a presence in more than 130 countries, covering every time zone. As of May 2007 there were approximately 1,427,000 total personnel in the forces and approximately an equal number in the reserve components. The age of military service is between 17 and 45 years and approximately the same number of women and men are recruited.
With such a large number of recruits, the army recognizes that many soldiers, sailors and pilots will, each year, complete their term of service and choose to reenter the civilian world as opposed to extending their contract. Most recruits are not lifelong employees and leaving the military needs some preparation to enable the soldier to rejoin civilian life.
Some soldiers have been trained for military careers since a young age and were educated at one of the many military academies that exsist through the country. These schools offered structure, discipline and self reliance to children from kindergarten to final graduation.
Military academies are chosen by parents for their child and by the children themselves who recognize that this structured education offers comradehip and builds self-confidence as well as giving a focussed education that can lead to meaningful work in the armed forces. Many children, who have not excelled in the public schol system for a variety of reasons, have found that military academy schooling has been a good experience. There are a variety of schools to choose from, many are single sex, some are summer schools and many offer day or boarding school options.
For adults who have been through military academy and have then joined up, the termination of their time in the armed forces is a life-changing event. The key is to ascertain what job opportunities are available and determining the cost of entering a new profession. It is no secret that the army offers financial help for further education and while soldiers join the military for a variety of reasons, it’s common for post service education benefits to be a major incentive. College education does not come cheaply but the Department of Education notes that average earnings for those holding bachelor’s degrees are fifty percent higher than the averages of those with only a high school degree.
College is an obvious choice although it is not the only avenue. Florida, for example, offers full time apprenticeship positions where individuals are trained in specific jobs. Yet college is the most common path and the military offer four finance plans that can substantially help the new civilian.
The Montgomery GI Bill and the Army College Fund offer college grants to soldiers up to $73,836. This can be a substantial help to financing a degree. Any soldier utilizing the plan will have made a $100 donation to the GI Bill for each month of the first year the soldier was enlisted. Meanwhile, if you qualify for and accept a critical skill position in the Army Reserve you could earn an additional MGIB Kicker that can reach as high as $24,000.
Another financial support system is offered through training programs that exist at many colleges for Reserve Soldiers. The Reserve Officers Training Corps Scholarship (ROTC) is now available on more than 700 campuses through the US. The ROTC offers a leadership course and Cadets receive practical experience in management and problem solving while training to become Reserve Army Officers. College students, or those on their way to college, can compete for full-tuition scholarships, with generous textbook allowances and an annual stipend worth up to $5,000.
Finally, there is the Army College Loan Repayment Program, which can make payment of your student loan a great deal easier. Soldiers, who have been enlisted in the Army for at least three years, can receive up to $65,000 and those who have enlisted in the Army Reserve for six years or more are entitled to a sum up to $20,000.
What courses are the best to consider? A job held in the army may lead to a specific work opportunity, but many soldiers choose to retrain in a different career. This is where the variety of courses is a luxury.
Many soldiers start earning their college degree before leaving the army. There is an extensive array of online colleges which make this possible. From any location, online access can enable a student to earn credits and later, online courses enable a student to stay with their family while completing a degree in a number of subjects.
“A degree obtained by taking online courses is as respected as a degree from a traditional college,” said Regina Lewis, an AOL adviser, on CBS News back in 2003. The number of traditional universities and colleges who now offer this path to further education has increased by 30% per year and more than 75% of all colleges now offer this option.
Alternatively, campus programs offer degrees in vocational and theoretical subjects. Health care specialists, animal care specialists, teachers, medical careers, computer technicians, legal advisors and journalists; there are courses available for virtually any career that you can conceive. There is no way around hard work, however. The hard work that is needed to earn a degree in any subject is just as hard today as it ever was.
