How many college credits are meaningful to someone in the Army?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 14:09:23 -0400

For the army, how many college credits would it take to actually mean something. I've heard along the lines of 40

Response by CSM Danny S. made Apr 7 at 2021 2:23 PM

CSM Danny S. — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 14:23:54 -0400

The Army awards two promotion points per semester credit hour of civilian education up to 135 points for promotion to sergeant and 160 points for promotion to staff sergeant.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2021 3:20 PM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 15:20:04 -0400

Aside from promotion points, the milestones of 60 and 120 (Assoc. and Bach degrees).
There's a difference between just getting a bunch of credits and getting a degree. The Army is good at handing you electives. Promotion points only will get you to SSG, after that it's time to concentrate in a discipline (preferably before).

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Apr 7 at 2021 4:59 PM

SFC Casey O'Mally — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 16:59:36 -0400

Depends on the person. For me, none of them were really meaningful while I was in. They were very meaningful once I got out and went after my actual degree.

(Don't be like me! Start going after your degree NOW so you can already have a Bachelor's when you get out and then either transfer all of that GI Bill to family or use it to go after a Master's degree. Plus... it REALLY helps when going for Senior NCO promotions.)

Response by MSgt John Brazzle made Apr 7 at 2021 5:41 PM

MSgt John Brazzle — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 17:41:46 -0400

What does a degree mean in going for promotion from e7 to e8?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2021 8:39 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 20:39:05 -0400

I was told that I got less points for the e7 board when I had 90 hours compared if I had gotten my Associates first. So if you are looking to stay in and they are still looking at college the same way with the new system I would get your Associates first then work on a Bachelors degree

Response by CW3 Michael Clifford made Jun 17 at 2021 8:01 AM

CW3 Michael Clifford — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 08:01:40 -0400

Ask yourself what a degree is worth. I didn’t want to sit in an Army education center while my buddies were drinking beer and chasing skirts. Yet, I did it and it paid off. I started with my first course with a community college at the Ed center in 1975. By 1980, I earned an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from Saint Leo University. In 1981, it was a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology. I went from SGT to SSG and SSG to WO1 in that same month. In 1986, I earned a Masters in Public Administration from Western Kentucky University. I was the first to earn a college in my family and the only one to earn an advanced degree. More importantly, I was educationally ready to rejoin the civilian world for a career. On day one, I was educationally qualified for the position and didn’t have to take night school to be up with my civilian peers. Education, like any other aspect of your life, is what you put into it. I also did not let my military education falter while I worked on the civilian education.