Converting Military Experience into College Credits

Hi all, I served in the military before deciding to pursue college. I've heard of being able to convert military experience into college credits. Has anyone gone through this process? Any tips on getting the maximum credits from the experience, or any hurdles I might encounter during conversion?

Hello there,

Many colleges offer a chance to let you convert your prior military experience into college credits, acknowledging your professional development during your military service. You'd need to start by obtaining your military transcripts, which chronicle your military training and experience in a documentation colleges can understand.

Each branch of the military has a corresponding transcript service: Joint Services Transcript (JST) for Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard, and the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) transcript for the Air Force. You can navigate to their respective websites and request these transcripts.

Before submitting these transcripts to your college, it might be helpful to review them yourself, noting the identified skills and experiences. This can help you field any possible questions that your college might have, and frame your military experience to tie directly into your degree program.

When choosing a college to attend, it can be beneficial to ask about their policy on accepting military training for academic credit during your research. This can help you identify institutions that have generous policies. Certain universities have veteran-specific admission officers who can provide guidance in this regard.

As for converting credits, many colleges follow the American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations for translating military training into college credit. This suggestion can then be accepted, modified, or rejected by the school, depending on their policies.

The last hurdle might just be understanding that not all your experience may count towards credit; some experiences could be incompatible with your chosen degree program. But even in those cases, your experience can still provide you with soft skills and discipline that will be invaluable in your academic journey. Best of luck!