Earning College Credits for Military Service?

Hi all, I'm planning to enlist soon. I've got wind that some colleges give academic credit for military service. Can you elaborate more on it and what are the policies for different universities?

Definitely, colleges often grant academic credits for military service through a system called the American Council on Education (ACE) Credit Recommendation Service. With this, your military training, courses, and occupational specialties can be converted into college credits that can then be applied towards your degree, saving you time and potentially money. The number, type, and application of these credits can vary by school, so it's important to check directly with the universities you're interested in.

For example, at George Washington University, military training courses evaluated by ACE are accepted as transfer credits, subject to the approval of the school or college within the university that is offering the degree you're pursuing. Alternatively, Arizona State University automatically grants up to 30 semester hours for military service, training, or schooling upon receipt of official documentation. This can be in addition to any credit earned from military or CLEP exams.

Also, institutions like the University of Maryland Global Campus are known to be particularly military-friendly and have detailed transfer policies for military service credits. Additionally, many online schools also tend to be flexible with transferring military training into college credits due to their typically large military student populations.

Even schools that don't automatically grant credit for military service often have dedicated veterans' services offices that can assist with the process of evaluating your military transcripts. Plus, don't overlook the possibility of receiving credit by examination through options like CLEP or DSST exams, which might be covered under your military tuition assistance.

Ultimately, the key is to discuss your military service with your chosen university’s admissions office or a counselor who specializes in military students. They will guide you on how to present your military transcripts (through the Joint Services Transcript or Community College of the Air Force transcript) and help determine the possibility and extent of credit transfer.