<p>I'm thinking about joining the army to pay for college. Where can I find the programs that do this and how do thy work?</p>
<p>You can:</p>
<p>1.) Get a phone book and look up the phone number and address of your local recruiting center to go active duty. Serve a few years, then go to school on the G.I. Bill. I don't know if Reservists have this option or not. My brother went straight into the Navy after graduation, served six years, and is not attending college and the G.I. Bill is paying for him.</p>
<p>2.) Join the Army ROTC at your college, get a free education and serve as an officer for a designated number of years after graduation.</p>
<p>Its not worth it.</p>
<p>1) Only about 50% of the people who join up with the military recieve benifits of the G.I. bill; even though they have to pay into it.</p>
<p>2) The G.I. bill is counted as financial aid. That is to say if the FASFA puts your EFC at $10,000 and you attend a school that costs $20,000, you still have to come up with that $10,000 because the G.I. bill is only going to pay for the half that probably would have been covered by grants anyway.</p>
<p>Join the military if that's what you want to do, don't do it to pay for college.</p>
<p>
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1) Only about 50% of the people who join up with the military recieve benifits of the G.I. bill; even though they have to pay into it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Anyone who gets a discharge that is not dishonorable is eligible for it, as long as you signed up for it during boot camp. You pay $100 per month for only your first twelve months of enlistment ($1200 total).</p>
<p>
[quote]
2) The G.I. bill is counted as financial aid. That is to say if the FASFA puts your EFC at $10,000 and you attend a school that costs $20,000, you still have to come up with that $10,000 because the G.I. bill is only going to pay for the half that probably would have been covered by grants anyway.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is not necessarily true, in fact many individuals on the GI Bill get plenty of grant money as well.</p>
<p>Merit Grants, but the money from the G.I. bill lowers your need in the eyes of FAFSA and you will get less need based aid</p>
<p>1.) Get a phone book and look up the phone number and address of your local recruiting center to go active duty. Serve a few years, then go to school on the G.I. Bill. I don't know if Reservists have this option or not. My brother went straight into the Navy after graduation, served six years, and is not attending college and the G.I. Bill is paying for him.</p>
<p>How would the admissions for that work?</p>
<p>When I went to a USAFA meeting (I didn't want to go to begin with). I asked what my college exprience would be like and how graduate school would work. I really hard to pressure them for a straight answer and it works something like this. You can go two years of school at the USAFA and get free schooling, but you have to do Physical Training almost everyday too. You also get a free education, but you're olbigated to the military. Once you hit graduate school you add that time to the already 4 years of service you're commited to. For example go two years of graduate school add 2 years to your time in the military. See what I mean? I'm sure you get a decent education, but to me it wasn't worth it, because you can be called up and put on active duty which would delay your education. So really you just put more shackles on your choices in life.</p>
<p>If you don't have to then I recommend not doing it. That's just my opinion. I'm not saying it's a bad choice, I'm just saying it wasn't the right choice for me.</p>
<p>CollegeFresh...going to a military academy (USAFA, Navy, West Point, etc) are different situations than going to the military and then returning to any college in the country that you're accepted to. </p>
<p>OP, if you go active duty and then go to college, you will apply to schools just as you would as a HS senior. The only difference is you'll be a few years older than most of the kids in your classes. My brother applied to Cornell, MIT, Cal Tech, Iowa State, and a few others, and now attends Iowa State because as anothe poster stated, the G.I. Bill is only a source of financial aid, and although he was stationed in Maine, his permanent residence was/is Iowa so he was granted in-state tuition which the GIB happens to cover completely for him. He hasnt had any issues as far as being older than other students, nobody even knows unless he tells them.
And he lives off campus so he doesnt hang out with kids that much...it's weird because he's in Mechanical Engineering taking the same courses some of my friends are taking. We both started college this past year.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Anyone who gets a discharge that is not dishonorable is eligible for it, as long as you signed up for it during boot camp. You pay $100 per month for only your first twelve months of enlistment ($1200 total).
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</p>
<p>Tell that to all the former military persons living on the streets right now (1/3 of all homeless people are veterans).</p>
<p>There are numerous cases of "conditional" honorable discharge, which is pretty much there was of saying you did nothing wrong, but still can't get the G.I. bill.</p>
<p>inyczreflex -- </p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with joining the military -- and plenty of people join it for reasons that have nothing to do with being gung-ho about the military. Pay and benefits are good, job security is good. There are many good reasons to consider joining. However, many people are not well-suited to the lifestyle and dislike it intensely.</p>
<p>I would suggest that your contact 2-3 people who currently serve in the military and 2-3 people that have recently retired or been discharged. Ask them questions -- what was good, what was bad, etc. Do not ask recruiters -- their job is to recruit you. While someone who has spent the last 20 years in the Air Force may be pro-military, they have usually met enough people who were unhappy serving that they can give you a good idea of what it will be like.</p>
<p>I would suggest you consider applying for an ROTC scholarship if you are interested in serving. I would not suggest joining, serving and then going to college -- just too many things in your way before you go to school, you might never make it.</p>
<p>You need to do some research -- all military branches require extensive health exams, so if you have any health issues or you are not in good physical shape you will not qualify.</p>
<p>You have several options to choose from -- each with different programs: army, navy, air force, marines and coast guard. </p>
<p>Serving in the military can be a fantastic experience for the right person and the benefits you receive can be excellent -- I know many people who were career military officers that felt the overall experience was great and I know others who served their 4-6 years and got out as quickly as they could.</p>
<p>I do not suggest contacting a recruiter, asking them questions and then signing up -- this is a big commitment and needs come careful research.</p>
<p>I don't get why all these people are having trouble paying for college. I got a full ride, without any scholarships, etc, just government grants. If I was to attend a CSU, I would get approx 8K. So with that math, I end up with this.</p>
<p>CSU Finance
$8,000 (grants) - [$3,000 (tuition) + $600 (books, used of course)] = $4,400 left over! You're getting paid to go to school!!!!!! Now if you'd just live at home, you'd have more than enough to stay afloat.</p>
<p>So, lets switch situations. Let's say you don't want to live at home anymore, FINE! you'll still have enough money!</p>
<p>Rent = ~$10,000 for a dorm or a apartment building. (probably less if you find an apartment off campus)
$10,000 - $4,400 = $5,600. Okay, now ,you'll need to get a job.
$5,600 - $4,000 (school job) = $1,600. Okay, you still have money to pay off, so take a loan, you don't need to pay them off until after college, plus most of them don't generate interest until 1 year after you're out of college.</p>
<p> UC
$15,000 (grants) - [$6,000 (tuition) + $600 (used books)] = $8400 left over.
Rent = 10000-8400 = 1600.
UC job = 3000
3000-1600 = 1400 left over.
No borrowing required.</p>
<p>In addition to the pre-military programs like ROTC and the post-military programs like the GI Bill, there are constant opportunities to take college classes while you are on active duty. Almost every American military base in the world has at least one (and usually several) colleges offering classes on base. And the military pays for most of the tuition. </p>
<p>There are a few colleges that are literally all over the world, which means that even if you transfer, you can often continue with the same degreee program. I started a master's degreee from Central Michigan University while stationed in the Azores, and finished it a few years later while stationed in Hawaii. In each place they flew excellent instructors out to the islands to teach classes.</p>
<p>Just Browsing, I was in the military for 22 years and never heard of a conditional honorable discharge. There are honorable, general, Other than honorable, and punitive discharges like dishonorable and bad conduct. If you leave with anything less than an honorable discharge then you have done something wrong (possibly illegal, at least something inappropriate in conduct or duty performance). While the new GI Bill is nowhere near as good as the early Montgomery GI Bill, it is certainly an avenue for people to attend college.</p>
<p>Tourguide 446,
I work for one of the SOC schools at a military education center . Central Mich is down the hall from us!</p>
<p>As I've said on a previous thread; I accepted an AFROTC scholarship at the age of 17. I had never known anyone in the military, there had not been a war since I was about thirteen, and I was not the kind of high schooler that could anticipate what I would want and what my values would be when I got out. I accepted the money for four years, and by my senior year when I was being offered another four year scholarship to go to medical school in exchange for 6 additional years of obligation, I started o realize what I had traded for. I took a loan instead. Years passed, and every day I was increasingly greatful that I didn't get the call that said "drop what your doing; it's time for active duty". About 16 years from the time I took the scholarship, I went on active duty, coincidentily, the day the gulf war started. I was a Psychiatrist and a good part of my job was evaluating people who desperately wanted out. There is no changing your mind and getting out honorably. Usually you can't even get out dishonorably. The most important thing for young people to understand is that you could have children you will have to leave behind. There COULD be a war. You COULD have to go. You COULD have to kill somebody, or be responsible on some level for it. The military is not just another job. I know it's a neccessary evil. Just understand what you are commiting to.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a "conditional honorable discharge." However, there is, in the Army, Air Force and Marines, a "conditional waiver," essentially an agreement to either an honorable or general discharge in exchange for foregoing board review of the basis of the discharge.</p>
<p>Basically, it's a plea bargain.</p>
<p>inyczreflex, Do you really want to be in the military or are you just looking at it as a means to pay for college? Military life could turn out to be miserable for you and might regret the decision to do it if it's only for the money. </p>
<p>My S (rising college Jr) is going to college on a NROTC scholarship. He has always wanted to be in the military and would have done NROTC even without a scholarship. </p>
<p>The scholarship is great but it does not pay for everything. It covers tutition, fees,books, uniforms. You also get a monthly stipend from the military. Room and board are your responsibility (except at a very few schools who provide room/board scholarships for ROTC scholarship recipients).
And you have to take extra ROTC class/lab every semseter and do lots of PT. Then you must serve 4 years active duty and 4 years reserve duty after college graduation. So while the money is nice there are a lots of strings attached.</p>
<p>Do your research wisely and think long and hard before you make a committment.</p>
<p>
[quote]
When I went to a USAFA meeting (I didn't want to go to begin with). I asked what my college exprience would be like and how graduate school would work. I really hard to pressure them for a straight answer and it works something like this. You can go two years of school at the USAFA and get free schooling, but you have to do Physical Training almost everyday too. You also get a free education, but you're olbigated to the military
[/quote]
Please don't base your ideas off of this. To start, USAFA is a four-year institution. You do not have commitment until you are done with 2 years. </p>
<p>The military is a good way to pay for education, if you want to be in the military. I would not reccomend it solely for the money. For me, the military offered the job I wanted and a host of other benefits (a $300,000 education being a big one). It was attractive to me, and I don't regret it.</p>
<p>To second another post, interviewing current and former military members is a good idea.</p>
<p>Fighter Pilot? ;) WOOOOOOOOO TOP GUN!!! DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN Shove it into overdriveeeeeee.</p>