Have you started pursuing a college degree and stopped?

SGT Jessica Higgins — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:17:52 -0400

I work in Higher Education and the retention/persistence rates for military students are slightly lower than for civilian students. There are some obvious, overarching reasons, but I am looking for more specific challenges that have prevented you from pursuing a degree. Why did you go to school after getting out of the military? Did you enjoy it? Why or why not?

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 13 at 2014 12:12 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:12:48 -0400

Yes, because my Gulf War Illness became worst. I was dressed because I was getting 4.0, when I was in high school I was getting 1.5, or 2.0!

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Aug 13 at 2014 4:09 AM

SFC Mark Merino — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 04:09:25 -0400

VA doesn't pay for anything post-masters :(

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Aug 13 at 2014 6:54 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 18:54:58 -0400

Yes, I got 1/2 way through my masters and what do you know, kids came along. Still in a holding pattern.

Response by SFC Charles W. Robinson made Aug 13 at 2014 11:14 PM

SFC Charles W. Robinson — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 23:14:18 -0400

I was almost finished with my BA degree in Business Information Systems and had to drop out during my last year in the military (2011/2012). My brain tumor came back and I spent that last year going through radiation treatments and puking - joy, joy.

I retired in September of 2012 and lucked into a great position as a Director of Human Resources.

I resigned in January of 2014 to go back to college full time. I wanted to get my BA degree and just could not pass up the great benefits.

SIUC does not get it accreditation from the same people as the University of the Incarnate Word so they would not take my 300 or higher level classes. So instead of retaking the same classes, I changed my major to marketing to pick up additional skill sets.

I am having a blast and I enjoy marketing a lot. I have taken 8 courses so far and have all A's.

I will complete my degree after the 2015 summer semester and I plan to go on for my MBA specializing in Marketing & International Business.

Response by 1SG Rich Martinez made Aug 14 at 2014 12:47 AM

1SG Rich Martinez — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 00:47:59 -0400

It took me almost 13 years to finish my degree. It was a start and stop for 13 years and I finally finished it. Most of my reasons for stopping were due to my seven deployments and many lengthy field training exercises. I am glad I finished it and it helped me land a great job after retirement.

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Aug 14 at 2014 8:07 AM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 08:07:18 -0400

I dropped out of UF in 1986 as a sophomore, then waited 5 years to take some courses with UM-Europe while in Germany, due to the deactivation of my unit I was unable to transfer my previous classes and didn't restart classes until 2009 when I enrolled in AMU and earned my AA after pretty much a 25 year break lol, but hey I finally finished what I had started! Decided for now to forgo working on my bachelors and passed my GI Bill on to my youngest who is attending a community college at the moment and will transfer after 2 years.

Response by SSG Jeffrey Spencer made Aug 15 at 2014 2:20 PM

SSG Jeffrey Spencer — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 14:20:08 -0400

I did. I got out at the end of 1984 and started going to school in 1986 using my GI Bill. Then Congress stopped the payments in 1989. I stopped going to school, trying to figure out how to continue and get Congress to honor its commitment to my service. They never did.

That took 4 years and I realized I was getting nowhere, so I finally had to just continue on student loans that I am still paying off. Since I only attended night school, it took me another 5 years to get through two Bachelors and another 3 for my Masters.

Response by Sgt Jennifer Mohler made Aug 15 at 2014 3:55 PM

Sgt Jennifer Mohler — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 15:55:40 -0400

While still active it was extremely difficult to take any courses. My first enlistment I was unable to take a single course due to deployments/training/work commitments. On my second enlistment I moved jobs and was able to get a few classes in, but again work commitments and kids made it challenging. I am now starting to use my GI Bill, but again I have young kids to care for who are not old enough for school themselves, so this leave me only nights and (their) nap time to get anything done. I am determined to close out my BA before the GI Bill runs out though.

Response by SrA Joshua Hagler made Aug 28 at 2014 12:18 AM

SrA Joshua Hagler — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 00:18:14 -0400

I went to school after getting out purely because that is what you're supposed to do. Discovered that online school is not for me, almost failed every class. I joined the military to one, avoid college because I do not like school, and two I value hard work over school. Sadly I can not go to school right now because I can not afford not to work. I also started school after getting out to get my GI payments, it help keep lights on and kept me from being homeless. Though the biggest reason I have not gone back to school is that I have no idea what I want to go to school for. However I do love learning, I just can not afford having fun.

Response by SFC Mario Rodriquez made Jan 26 at 2015 8:02 AM

SFC Mario Rodriquez — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 08:02:17 -0500

The SVA conducted a survey of their members and found the #1 reason for veterans dropping out is financial. It is much easier to enroll in school than to find employment. Many try to live off the monthly Post 9/11 stipend and realize it is impossible, then drop-out. As far as active duty, it took me six years of on and off school before I finished my Bachelor's. When I retired I finished my MBA in 18 months, but I had a good job and a wonderful wife and family that supported those long hours. I am about to finish another Master's Degree, this one in Project Management. I took all classes in about 12 months and never completed the Capstone. Now I am finishing the Capstone about 2 years later. I also work with veterans and their employment and my main focus are veterans in post-secondary education. I work with them to keep them in school by assisting with employment searches and placement.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Jan 26 at 2015 8:06 AM

SGT Jim Z. — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 08:06:30 -0500

When I was on active duty I started like a brush fire being in Korea and having nothing better to do than go to school or drink which I did both. I then PCS'd to DC as a PFC and SPC guess what I put my college on hold to be like most 20 somethings and party. I did not really get back on track until after I left the service and it was mainly for piece of mind and career advancement in the civilian work force.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Jan 26 at 2015 9:39 AM

MSG Brad Sand — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 09:39:30 -0500

I was able to slowly complete my Masters, but I was not attending classes full time during this period. It was slow, but as long as we keep progressing toward our goal, I think we are okay. Having a my first child come into the world in the middle of it, did not really help speed it along but even the tortoise crosses the finish line in time.

Response by SGT James Hastings made Jan 26 at 2015 9:50 AM

SGT James Hastings — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 09:50:00 -0500

I started taking courses when I got out, overseas and had no real plan, just took what interested me. When I finally got serious and finished my AA degree back in the States I found I had way more credits than would transfer. My bad. I was working and going to school at night most of the time and enrolled in the BA program at California State University, Los Angeles but the guidance counselor signed me up for level B of a course in neural anatomy which I struggled through and after finishing it I dropped out for a few years in anger at being misguided by the counselor. Finally, I went back and told them I'd pick out the classes myself and they would approve them or I'd go somewhere else. They agreed. So, stupid mistake number 2 was to take whatever class was on my required list whenever it came up instead of taking classes in a logical (not obvious to me at the time) progression. As a result I graduated sooner but realized often that the class I was in at the time now made more sense because I'd taken the class I should have before it, which wasn't always what I did. Long story short, guidance is helpful but not always the quality that is needed. When I did my grad check I was told I'd already graduated! They had given me credit for military that they denied me the first time but no one told me. Little things like that to someone with a short fuse I let get the best of me all too often and cut my nose off to spite my face. If there had been a vet who I could have talked to on campus I might have had a smoother time.

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Jan 26 at 2015 10:49 AM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 10:49:41 -0500

I will make some off the cuff suggestions based on my observations (Translation: I'm gonna make some stuff up with no actual evidence).

I would expect that a lot of it has to do with "mental age" compared to the general college population. Soldiers, even when garrison is the norm, are more responsible for more things at a younger age than their "peers." Peers was in quotes for a very good reason. It can be very difficult to see these people in the class with you, with their total disconnect with reality to be in any way or shape your "peer." Add on having been responsible for other's lives in a deployed environment and listening to someone emote about how hard their life is....

Similarly, when a military transition out they have an expectation that they are done with "pointless admin crap." Then they encounter academics... Not the same, not even in the same ballpark, but a lot more than was expected. F this...

Then there is the self-importance of non-important people whom you nonetheless have to deal with... Who lecture you on how important their class is to your future career, and how they know everything about everything, and especially how the military gets it wrong. (My favorite on this line was a programming instructor whose two themes were math and teamwork. Without a really strong foundation in both, you couldn't program. At the time, I was working as an individual contributor programmer. In my 8 years as a programmer, as well as 8 years as a manager in IT, I have seldom used math greater than an 9th grade level. And when I did, it was simple statistics.... Programming languages have things called "libraries" to do math.)

Add to this that the veteran is going to be a bit older than their "peers" and they will see others skipping higher ed to just get a job, and there is a strong incentive to say "screw it."

In other words, higher ed is just like everything else when you get out. :-)

(Note: I engaged in a little hyperbole above, I am not anti- quality higher ed, just trying to share the mindset.)

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2015 5:57 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 05:57:48 -0500

Yes Ma'am...Long hours are a killer for higher education!

Response by SP6 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 6 at 2015 9:12 AM

SP6 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 09:12:18 -0500

I complete my degrees being an Active duty Soldier- I have three AA degrees, one BA in Health Care Management, one Master Degree in Public Health (completed in 11 months) and I was working in my PhD in Public Health but because I family issue I stopped it. Hoping to come back next 2016. Sill active duty and so far I do not know if all those achieved degrees would help me in the future.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2016 6:27 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 05 Mar 2016 18:27:27 -0500

I pieced my degree over the course of a decade or so. I had to drop several classes along the way, which definitely drew things out. The mission comes first of course. Deployments, military schools, unexpected TDY trips among other things played a part. It's actually the reason I left the Army. I wanted to apply to physical therapy school, but that required a handful of science courses with labs which ended up being impossible to do while on AD. I decided to take the risk of getting out, knowing I may very well not be able to get back in.

Response by MAJ Raúl Rovira made Mar 7 at 2016 1:00 AM

MAJ Raúl Rovira — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 01:00:01 -0500

I once took a break with two incomplete classes, daughter was born and PCSed from Germany to Italy. After one semester I caught up and then continued. Eventual graduated.

I enrolled in a second masters with CMU. I took a semester off to retire, design a house and work a few other transition issues. I'm on my last class right now. My last degree is from 2006 and I wanted something different and more current.

Sometimes life happens. I made planned academic pauses.

Response by Maj John Bell made May 2 at 2016 4:57 AM

Maj John Bell — Mon, 02 May 2016 04:57:14 -0400

Yes. Decided I was going to kill myself with booze or a shotgun if I had to work one more day in a conventional 9-5 suit and tie work environment. The things I wanted to do were either OJT or not taught in a conventional college environment and I didn't know if I was going to make a $1 a year. Its not for everybody. I work more hours than most and haven't had a whole day off since 1998. Working outside 10 hours a day during the winter (my slow season) in Northern Michigan is hard, but beats the hell out of 8 hours inside. Never looked back, never felt regrets.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Jul 22 at 2017 5:24 AM

SMSgt Lawrence McCarter — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 05:24:57 -0400

When I began worked towards My Bachelor degree i never took a semester off as I figured if I found and excuse once I might not ever start again. I felt it would be too easy to make and excuse the next semester as well. I just kept taking courses until I received that degree.