College credit from military service?

Hey everyone, is it possible to get college credits for my military service? I've heard that some colleges give course equivalent credits based on experiences and skills obtained during military service. How does this process work exactly?

Absolutely, there's a good chance you can transfer some of your military experience into college credits. This is often done through the American Council on Education's Military Transfer Guide (ACE), which evaluates military training and experiences for equivalency to college credits that can be transferred to colleges or universities.

The process usually follows these steps:

1. You submit your Joint Services Transcript (JST), which includes details of all your military training and occupations, to ACE. The Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard use the JST system to keep track of their service member's training.

2. ACE will review your JST and will recommend college credits based on your military duties, training, and/or coursework.

3. Then, you can submit your JST with ACE's recommendations to the college or university you're interested in.

4. Each college will, in turn, evaluate your JST and the ACE recommendations and decide how many, if any, credits to award. Some schools may also require extra information or personalized assessments.

A key point to remember is that the acceptance of these credits really depends on the individual college's transfer policy. Some institutions may fully accept the recommended credits, while others might only provide partial credit or none at all. Therefore, it is recommended to reach out to the universities you're applying to, in order to get a better understanding of their policies regarding military training credits.

It's definitely worth the effort to check, as being able to translate some of your military experience into college credits can save you money and time on your path to earning a degree.