Transitioning From Military Life to College
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience when moving from military duty to college. Some service members separate and enroll as veterans. Others take an approved break from service to attend college before returning to the military. Whatever the circumstances, preparing for the changes outside the classroom makes it easier to concentrate on what happens inside it.
Rebuilding Community After Leaving Military Life
When you settle into base life, you build community quickly. Your neighbors live and work on or around the same installation, and you and your spouse meet people through units, base programs, and military organizations. Your kids even attend school with other base-connected students.
When you leave for civilian life, that sense of community can be erased. Veteran organizations on campus connect students with people who understand these experiences. Clubs, volunteer organizations, and community groups also expand that network.
Learn more about Social Integration on Campus as a Student Vet
Translating Military Experience Into Civilian Skills
Starting college doesn’t necessarily mean setting aside previous military experience. It still matters when applying for internships, part-time work, and a civilian career. But military job titles, specialty codes, additional duties, and acronyms mean little to a civilian recruiter.
The challenge is explaining it to people unfamiliar with the terminology.
Transitioning students learn to describe what they did in the military and connect those responsibilities to civilian skills such as leadership, logistics, project management, technical work, training, or supervision.
Verification of Military Experience and Training (VMET) helps you identify experience, training, and civilian-equivalent occupations. And, as you progress through college, you’ll update your resume with your education, internships, and other relevant experience.
Learn more about Using Military Experience on a Resume
Adjusting to Changes in Housing Benefits
Housing is one of the biggest financial adjustments during a transition. Families leaving active duty lose Basic Allowance for Housing or Overseas Housing Allowance, and moving away from government housing introduces expenses that weren’t part of the previous household budget.
Students using the Post-9/11 GI Bill typically qualify for a Monthly Housing Allowance. The amount depends on eligibility, enrollment, how you take courses, and the school’s location.
Compare costs using our BAH Rate Calculator, OHA Calculator, GI Bill BAH Rates
Managing Health Care After Active-Duty Service
Leaving active duty means changes to TRICARE coverage. Investigate health care before separation, not after a family member needs it.
Some separating service members and their families qualify for the Transitional Assistance Management Program, which provides 180 days of transitional health care for eligible beneficiaries. The Continued Health Care Benefit Program is another option for people losing TRICARE eligibility. It provides temporary premium-based coverage for qualifying beneficiaries.\
Your college may also offer health services, and the VA may as well, if you’re eligible. If you have ongoing prescriptions, specialists, or regular treatment, identify new providers before moving to avoid any interruption in care.
Read more about Healthcare After Active Military & TRICARE After Separation.
Preparing for Career Changes as a Military Spouse
A transition to college affects a spouse’s career as much as the service member’s. This is particularly noticeable for spouses returning from overseas, where employment opportunities, professional licensing requirements, or career options may have been limited. Update resumes, reconnect with professional contacts, and research licensing or credential requirements in the state where your family plans to live before the move.
Programs such as the DoD’s SpouseWorks provide information and planning tools for different stages of military life, while government and civilian employment resources can help spouses build professional networks, explore careers and connect with military-friendly employers.
Explore Civilian Transition Services for Military Spouses.
Preparing for a Temporary Drop in Income
Transitions can create a period when money going out exceeds money coming in. Moving expenses, deposits, school supplies, and other one-time costs can add to the strain.
Building an emergency fund before leaving active duty provides a cushion during that time. It’s also important to create a post-military budget based on the income the household will receive, not its previous compensation.
Service members with service-related medical conditions should explore VA disability benefits before separation. The VA Benefits Delivery at Discharge program allows eligible service members to file disability claims 180 to 90 days before leaving active duty, allowing the VA to decide sooner. Some service members and veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities are also eligible for Veteran Readiness and Employment services.
Learn more about Veteran Readiness and Employment and Benefits Delivery at Discharge.
Finding a New Sense of Direction
College can answer what comes next, but enrolling without a clear objective can lead to unnecessary classes, major changes, and wasted education benefits. Someone planning to return to the military has a very different education goal from a veteran preparing for a civilian career.
Identify your goal first, then research the degree, certification, or license you’ll need to accomplish it. From there, compare schools and programs based on that objective.
Read more about how to Determine Your Career Path and Education Goals.
Child Adjustments to New Schools and Social Groups
The move from base life to college also involves children who leave a DoDEA school, change districts, or enter a civilian school where classmates don’t understand military life.
The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children addresses the many education issues associated with transition moves. These include enrollment, placement, attendance, extracurricular participation, and graduation requirements for eligible military-connected students.
Contacting your child’s school before the move also helps you identify required records and any differences in course sequences or graduation requirements. School counselors also help students find activities, academic programs, and social opportunities that make the transition easier.
Explore College and Career Prep Programs for Military-Connected High Schoolers.
Families Establishing New Routines
Military life often organizes the household around duty schedules, deployments, training, and PCS moves. College creates a different rhythm, and it takes time for everyone in the household to adjust. A full-time student may spend fewer hours physically sitting in a classroom than they once spent at work, but classes are only part of the academic workload. Reading, studying, projects, and exams all take time.
The DoD’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP) helps service members and spouses prepare for these changes. It offers individualized counseling and transition planning, and courses covering everything from employment to entrepreneurship.
Learn more about the DoD Transition Assistance Program.
Mental Health Resources Available to Student Veterans
Adjusting to civilian life, a new financial situation, different family responsibilities, and an unfamiliar academic environment can create stress for the transitioner and their family. Mental health concerns can also affect academic life through difficulty concentrating, disrupted sleep, anxiety, or problems adjusting socially.
Students don’t have to wait until these issues interfere with school to learn what help is available. Resources include university counseling and wellness centers, VA mental health services, Vet Centers, and community providers. Some campuses also have student veteran organizations and VetSuccess on Campus services that help eligible students connect with additional support.
Explore Mental Health Resources for Student Veterans.
About the author
Michelle Nati is a contributing writer to CollegeRecon who has written about higher education and finance for Granita Media/Big Edition site Work and Money. She's also written law content for Leaf Group's Legal Beagle site and is a ghostwriter of non-fiction books. She lives in Los Angeles and spends her spare time combing flea markets for vintage photos and decor and playing with her dogs, Jellybean and Jukebox.
