Guard/Reserve Employment Guide: Finding Military-Friendly Colleges

As a Guard or Reserve member planning to attend college, finding a military-friendly college is a must. You want a college or university that understands you could be mobilized or miss classes because of your drill schedule.

You should already know that as a guard or reserve member, you can work full-time and attend college. However, you should remember that you can still be deployed or mobilized, even as a college student.

The guard and reserves will assist you if you go to college. They offer financial assistance and counseling programs to help you achieve your educational goals. Most importantly, finding a military-friendly school will make your educational experience more manageable as you try to balance college and your guard or reserve life.

What makes a college military-friendly?

A military-friendly college is a school that understands the specific challenges and concerns facing service members and veterans. It can help students with their VA benefits and understand periods of deployment or mobilization. Sometimes drill falls on a weekday, and classes might need to be missed.

Having a Veteran’s Center on campus can also help you know that a college is military-friendly. They can give you guidance and advice tailored to those serving in the military.

Going to school as a guard or reserve member

As a student and a guard or reserve member, there are things you can do to make the whole experience more manageable for yourself. Make sure to communicate with your advisor about your schedule. Your drill schedule comes out beforehand, so you should know what you might miss or need to rearrange to stay on task. While there is no planning for some mobilizations, being able to control some of your schedule is essential.

Staying organized is also a must. You can’t spend the weekend studying if you have to be at drill and need to plan accordingly. Schedule time to get your work done and have time to study while keeping your drill schedule in mind.

You can also make college more manageable for yourself by finding a school with flexible scheduling. Many schools have online options or hybrids where you would attend class in person, but there would also be an online component to your classes. You can also find school schedules that include night classes, accelerated courses, or more flexible times that work better for you.

College Recon School Finder App

At College Recon, you can find the College Recon School Finder app. Within this app, you have what you need to determine how military-friendly a school is and if the school fits what you are looking for. Within the app, each college or university result gives you a wealth of information.

Along with the BAH Rate (online and on-campus), CollegeRecon details if the school has the following:

• GI Bill-approved programs
• Yellow Ribbon programs
• Accepts Tuition Assistance
• Offers college credit for military experience
• Awards credit for CLEP exams
• Awards credit for DSST exams
• Provides Tuition and Military Tuition costs
• An SVA chapter
• A full-time veteran counselor on campus
• Has signed the VA Principles of Excellence
• Has a club/association for veterans
• Participate in the Veteran Upward-Bound program
• The 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success
• ROTC programs
• Provides scholarships for the military
• Offers reduced tuition for military
• Approved for MyCAA Spouse Scholarship Tuition

The app also offers stats such as the student population, general school information such as setting and the type of calendar used, and the programs available from associate’s to doctorate degrees. You can also use the school comparison tool to compare schools. Use the College Recon School Finder to search for the schools you are interested in and be able to make a good decision about where you want to go to college while also serving in the military.