<p>Is it an option for you at this point to apply to cheaper public schools (or taking a year off and then applying to publics)?</p>
<p>While military educational benefits you recieve with an honorable discharge are a tremendously good way to afford college, it’s not the only way to cut costs. I think it can go without saying that a) the decision to join the military shouldn’t be taken lightly, and because of “a” then b) someone should not join the military based solely on the educational benefits involved. I say this to prevent those who would end up really hating the military (any branch, really) and end up getting into a lot of trouble. It ends up being hard for these types of individuals to leave service with an honorable or other-than honorable discharge, which is the only way you’re eligible for the types of benefits like the GI Bill.</p>
<p>In any case, if you were to join the AF, their “community college” is accredited and any credits you receive from there should be good equivalents to other college courses. This would also include any class credits you obtain by way of basic training and MOS (military occupational specialty, which is your “job”) school/training. For example, Marine Corps infantrymen obtain a lot of PE and MilSci credits for having physical exercise, land navigation, and war fighting tactics as part of their MOS training. But similarly, a data and/or communications MOS can yield some CS or EE credits by being trained to work with computer hardware/software/networking and other forms of communication like radios and high tech surveillance equiptment.</p>
<p>Along with those “mandatory” (because you end up getting them automatically through training) credits, the military can pay for you to attend more traditional classes at a local CC or military equivalent college. This can be rare as you’ll need your command’s prior approval, understand that your military duties come first, and - hardest of all - have time. A new service member rarely has time to take those extra classes as they’re trying to get used to their new chain of command, new base/duty station, new unit members, constant training, and just general acclimation to the military lifestyle. Most of the service members at my duty station who were able to pull this off were more senior members (at least 2 1/2-3+ years plus service time) who had somewhat normal duty hours (placed on liberty by 5 pm everyday) and were not scheduled to deploy within the forseeable future through their end of service. I was in the Marine Corps however, and nearly everyone deployed, but the other branches may have more opportunity for this since they’re considerably bigger.</p>
<p>Also (and I didn’t know this until like my last 3 months of service) all active duty service members can take CLEP tests for FREE. You can take up to 3 per day (I think) and as many as you want throughout your enlistment. They had an entire computer room set up for this at the library for my duty station. It was awesome. I can take 2 classes less at my CC to be eligible for transfer because of the qualifying scores I received on the ones I took. Of course, you will have to make sure your future schools accept CLEP credit to take advantage of this once you’ve passed them. This would seem like a good idea early on as well because you can self-study for most of them (so you can fit the studying into your own schedule) and the tests themselves are usually multiple choice and take about an hour. I (suprisingly) passed a couple with minimal study using common sense and the process of elimination advantage of multiple choice.</p>
<p>A smart(er) service member would take advantage of the above as early as they could to get as far ahead in school as they can without even touching their GI benefits. Unfortunately, most don’t find out about these kinds of things until way late into their enlistment (mainly due to the reasons above) and try to do what they can with the last few months they have before leaving.</p>
<p>As far as it making you a more competitive applicant for colleges . . . it depends. I know, because I’m a veteran, the kinds of things other veterans are exposed to, the challenges they face, and the kinds of things they learn just be being a veteran or a service member that a piece of paper with stats won’t tell me. For those outside of the military, it takes a bit of “story telling” (often through application essays or short answers/supplements, or listing ECs) to get your maturity, unique life experiences, and invaluable insight to show as an advantage to bring to the classroom. It’s about how you sell yourself and your experiences and showing how you took advantage of your military opportunities. A service member who just did their MOS during the day, maybe went to a couple classes in the evenings, and played video games all weekend may have a harder time at this. A service member who had a passion for running before the military and decides to help coach kids from the local school (and earning the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, which IMO is a big thing because being awarded that takes a huge time commitment and has to be approved by official commands etc etc), or compete/take part in all the local military running events and shows growth from that will have an easier time explaining those types of things they took away from the military other than what a typical full-time job + part-time school person could show.</p>
<p>I think it would be best to look at other aspects involved with the military (both good and bad to you) and determine if it’s something you would be willing to do for 4 years (8 if you count inactive reserve time). If not then it may be better for you to take year off, do something you think will enhance your application competitiveness (something meaningful to you and that can bring unique perspectives to a student body) and reapply to more affordable public schools.</p>
<p>Hope that is understandable and somewhat helpful in your decision making.</p>