Top 10 Alarming Facts | Student Veterans
47% of student Veterans have children.
47.3% of student Veterans are married.
62% of student Veterans are first-generation college students.
Of Veterans who began using VA education benefits in 2017, 52% were enrolled in an undergraduate program, 24% in a two-year school, 9% in a graduate program, and 15% in a vocational, technical, or nondegree program.
75% of student Veterans are attending school full time.
Only 15% of student Veterans are the traditional age of college students. Most student Veterans are ages 24–40.
Veterans are enrolling in higher education to:
Increase their career opportunities.
Develop new skills.
Learn to apply military skills in civilian life.
Improve the quality of life for themselves and their families.
Advantages and disadvantages
Having served in the military before going to college brings some advantages:
Student-vets on average are older and have more life experience than other college students.
Military services can provide useful areas of knowledge and training in various disciplines.
Serving in the military helps enhance discipline, focus and leadership skills.
Student-vets have access to financial resources that can significantly help to support the cost of college.
Many campuses provide enhanced and targeted advising and support for student-vets.
Many student-vets have access to healthcare.
At the same time, coming to campus as a vet can present certain challenges:
Student-vets are on average older than their non-vet peers and also often come with very different experiences – this may make it feel like it is hard to fit in on campus.
About half of student-vets are in a long term relationship and/or have a child. This can present motivation to succeed but can also present life balance, financial and time management challenges.
Some student-vets have experienced serious injuries, traumatic brain injuries and/or are dealing with post-traumatic stress. This can present physical, neurological/learning and emotional challenges.