In short, I plan on using the GI Bill after my time in the navy, I just joined, but I’m kind of in a rut with how I carried out my education in high school where I had a low GPA and graduated by the skin of my teeth. I did some community college after high school but I didn’t take that too seriously either which leads me to my current predicament. I would like to apply for art school and get into animation after the military but I’m afraid that my past will get in the way of that. I was thinking of doing community college in an attempt to build up my GPA and try transferring into a school but I’m unsure if it is repairable at this point.
My brother used any college fund we had and the funding I would get from the military would be a huge deal for me. I’m just not sure if school would be a possibility for me at this point.
When are you going back to college? If your grades are maybe 3 years old by then the admissions people will believe that you have matured. Doing a community college year will do even more to replace your old grades with new information.
If possible, try to keep sketchbooks while you’re serving. Drawings and sketches will be useful for art school portfolios.
My contract is for five so I’ll be 26 when I get out of the military and also thanks for the reply.
Messing up when younger, and then doing better when older, is a theme that schools have seen before. There are many cases of students who went back to community college after some number of years working or in the services, and then went on to do well at very good universities.
Colleges are often ranked according to their graduation rate. One of my ongoing complaints about this is that it doesn’t count the cases where a previously weak student goes to community college, does very well, and then goes on to a very good university and graduates there. This is a big success for the community college and the student, even if the student never gets a degree from the CC.
Serve with honor and keep sketching and learning.
As a 26 year old man, your high school record won’t be held against you, but your CC record will - so, once you’re done serving, settle in a state with a good CC to University system (Florida, Virginia, California are great in that respect). Spend 2 years in community college proving that your earlier CC record is a proof of your immaturity, not a proof of your intelligence, get high grades. You’ll transfer based on those grades.
I teach in an art department that has lots of adult students many of them who come to us via community college (and the military). That’s all great advice everyone’s giving above. Just keep an eye out for how your credits will transfer. Once you start your research, make sure to plan out what classes you’ll take at CC and then talk to the department heads at the colleges you’d like to apply to so you make sure you’re not wasting time or money and that your CC credits will transfer into the 2nd school. Most art schools have a foundation year of specific art ‘basics’ classes, so you’ll want what you’re taking at CC to line up with that so you don’t have to repeat any of those foundation year classes.
Animation is very good in Utah. UU is not too difficult to get into and it’s a good state for veterans. The top program in that State is BYU. You don’t have to be LDS to attend but it requires taking into account its culture (on the other hand, it’ll probably not be too hard after the military as far as discipline and dress codes go, just add no alcohol.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/magazine/when-hollywood-wants-good-clean-fun-it-goes-to-mormon-country.html