<p>I am currently in the military, and am planning to get out in 2 years. I joined right after high school, with the intentions of doing 4 years in the military and then going to college. Now how would I go about picking one? </p>
<p>I'm looking to get a Computer Science degree, and I am from Pennsylvania so while I really don't care where in the country I go to school, I have heard that going to school in the state you are from is cheaper. </p>
<p>Also I am going to be using the MGI-Bill, which is around 1100 a month for 36 months, which at the few schools I looked at is just enough to keep me in debt instead of extremely in debt. So, if they exist, a college that has scholarships for being in the military would be awesome. </p>
<p>Another thing as far as getting accepted in to the college go, how badly will my horrible GPA in high school affect me now? If the college also happens to offer online courses, would taking a bunch of classes online in the 2 years I have left in the military help me get accepted?</p>
<p>Also I never bothered to take the SAT, I'm guessing it would be probably be a good idea to take it before I apply to a college. When would be a good time to take it? Like if I were to take it now, would the results still be valid in 3 years, or should I wait until the year before I apply?</p>
<p>Thanks for any help you guys can give me, google has been letting me down so far..</p>
<p>I am on the same boat. If anyone can answer this one it would help us out greatly. I am scheduled to leave the military early next year. Good luck to you, bob.</p>
<p>If there are colleges that give scholarships simply for having been in the military, I'm not aware of them. That's not to say they don't exist.</p>
<p>Financial: You'll be given a financial aid package by most places. Generally, the wealthier the college, the better the package. Since you are on your own and will not have much projected income as a student (other than the GI bill), you might get a fair amount of financial aid. In other words, financially, this might be a bit easier than you thought, but there are no guarantees.</p>
<p>High school GPA: Well, having a low high school GPA won't help much. Basically, most colleges will want to have some evidence that you're now more mature, a much harder worker, and a more academically skilled student (note: some colleges aren't at all selective. Some take 100%. So you WILL get in somewhere.)</p>
<p>If you can provide proof of good academic achievement in the military, that would be useful. I'm not sure about taking a lot of classes on-line, frankly. Perhaps someone else will know more about that. </p>
<p>SAT: One way to demonstrate that you are more academically skilled than you past record would indicate is to take this test and do very well. That might mean waiting in order to improve your skills. Reading a lot will help a lot. So will getting test prep booklets and completing them.</p>
<p>I would also suggest studying for and taking the ACT when you get a chance. You can take it as many times as you want and only send the best score to a college. </p>
<p>I believe that there are some schools that have special offices for veterans, that might help you through the process. For example, in googling, I found the following link for the University of Houston</p>
<p>If your schedule permits it, take a course at a college near your post or base. If online is your only option because of your schedule or location do what you can to make sure it is good quality-- definitely accredited and having a campus with full-time students might be an indicator. I am biased against courses offered on post because I think they tend to be easier than those offered at regular colleges. But don't let biases (mine or anybody elese's) keep you from taking advantage of whatever is available.</p>
<p>Do a scholarship search, for example at collegeboard.com. Check out the VFW, American Legion, Noncommissioned Officers'Association and other similar organizations. I don't think any of them gives big scholarships, but every little bit helps.</p>
<p>If you are interested in continuing your service, find out whether the states you are interested in give tuition breaks to members of their National Guards. Or you could join just for a little extra income*. Or consider ROTC.
*Consider carefully before you join a reserve unit-- though many commanders will be flexible, the training schedule might not be compatible with your school schedule; and you risk interrupting you education for a deployment.</p>
<p>Save!</p>
<p>I'd like to believe that your military service will give you an edge at schools that are somewhat selective. You bring experience (diversity) that kids straight out of high school don't have.</p>
<p>Thank all of you so very much. I have another question: what is a decent score on an ACT and SAT? Also, how recent must this ACT or SAT be in order to be considered valid? </p>
<p>1) I sort of remember someone telling me that if you're in the military, you can choose any state to be your domicile, so if that's true, choose carefully.</p>
<p>2) There is a website called Free</a> University Project - Introduction which tells you how to prepare for CLEP and DANTES exams. Using CLEP you can get credit for some college classes and could save a boatload of money. If you want to study computer science, you're going to have to get your math skills up to the college level anyway and that is where I would start. I would at least try to CLEP out of as much math as you can because not knowing it will hold you back in computer science for sure. </p>
<p>3) The College board has a website specifically about CLEP for military personnel. </p>
<p>4) There is company called Thinkwell (thinkwell</a> | welcome!) where for about $100 per course, you can get excellent materials to learn math at the college level. Buy the whole set including the video CD's. </p>
<p>5) After you've brought your math skills up at least through college algebra, start preparing for the SAT or ACT after taking a practice of each and seeing which style works better for you. Then buy a good review book and study for it. </p>
<p>6) Choose a college that has a program you want and will accept your CLEP credits. </p>
<p>Decent SAT scores-- bad question to ask on CC. Everyone here seems to think you need 700's in each section. That might be true for the very, very top colleges, but scores in the 600's are very good to excellent and in the 500's are at least decent or good. You still have a lot of choices in the upper 400's. (I just did a search on College Navigator capping the middle 50% of the SAT scores at 500 and got 800 colleges that included some colleges with very good reputations though not elite.)</p>
<p>As far as military choosing any state for residency-- not true. You usually can change it to a state where you are stationed if you are so inclined and intend to make that state your home. Otherwise you keep the residence you had when you entered the military. If members of the military could choose their state of residency, they would all be residents of Alaska and try to collect the permanent fund dividend.
If you like where you are and would like to go to a public college in that state, change your residence (driver's license, voter registration are two basic steps). Realize that once you are a resident of that state you will have to pay that state's income and property taxes. If you are lucky, you are in a state that doesn't have income tax or doesn't tax military pay.</p>