CollegeRecon focuses on serving our military-connected members as they seek to discover information on education benefits, degree program pathways and university options. As a result of this targeted approach, we’re a great partner for universities looking to build or scale their efforts with this community.
With more than tens of thousands of military-connected men and women engaging with our brand each month, we have the ability to get your name in front of this college-bound audience more efficiently than any other publisher in the market.
In the last decade, we’ve seen drastic changes to the landscape of higher ed; more online offerings, OPMs consolidating university admissions and marketing operations, falling enrollment, increasing operational costs, etc. Due to this volatility, schools are looking for ways to offset these disturbances by being more strategic in their efforts to attract diverse students who can afford the high cost of post-secondary education.
The veteran and military community has become a priority demographic for many universities since the passing of the Forever G.I. Bill®. This audience aligns with most universities’ strategic enrollment goals; student veterans are likely to be:
- Diverse
- Older than traditional students
- First generation student
- Minority
- Married
- Working full or part-time
- First generation student
- Motivated
- 65% enlist is service for education benefits
- 70% report military service promoted their interest in higher ed
- 45% military specializations or job training included STEM-related fields
- Post-Graduation Success
- Veterans with Bachelor’s degrees earn approximately $84k, higher than their counterparts at $67k.
- Veterans with more than a Bachelor’s degree earn approximately $129k, higher than their counterparts at $99k.
- Lower student-loan default rates due to tuition benefits earned in service
There are many schools looking to begin or scale their effort to recruit these types of students. The market is competitive and it can be difficult to solidify a brand with a community that is constantly moving and has a high level of scrutiny. With all of that said, there is an immense opportunity for schools who are committed to serving this audience.
University G.I. Bill ® Revenues Overview
- $4.1 billion was spent on Post-9/11 G.I. Bill ® payments to universities in 2019 (this does not include Tuition Assistance payments or other iterations of the G.I. Bill ®).
- Approximately 900k G.I. Bill ® students received these benefits at approximately 11k accredited institutions.
- $396,000,000 was paid to the top 10 schools receiving G.I. Bill ® dollars
- 5,300 schools received more than $50k in G.I. Bill ® dollars
- 3950 schools received more than $100k in G.I. Bill ® dollars
- 2600 schools received more than $200k in G.I. Bill ® dollars
- 1400 schools received more than $500k in G.I. Bill ® dollars
- 1000 schools received more than $750k in G.I. Bill ® dollars
- 800 schools received more than $1m in G.I. Bill ® dollars
- 120 schools received more than $5m in G.I. Bill ® dollars
- 45 schools received more than $10m in G.I. Bill ® dollars
Is your institution in one of these categories? Do you think you could do better?
We can help get you there with a sustainable, veteran & military-first approach. We can show you how and build a long-term strategy with comparable universities to create benchmarks for your growth. We’ve been doing this for nearly a decade!